Monday, July 23, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold



The Curse of Chalion is the first work in Lois McMaster Bujold's "World of the Five Gods" (which also features her Penric & Desdemona Novellas).  Despite sharing a world with those Penric novellas, it's a more serious fantasy story - that's not to say there aren't some witty moments and dialogue, but at the same time it works extremely well.  Bujold is a master at creating believable characters with believable dialogue (even if its not as comic here as in some of her other works) and that's shown here as well.

But what makes the Curse of Chalion an excellent fantasy work is how it features a lawful good hero, a noble, honest minded adviser and former warrior in a fantasy world who is easy to root for and not in any way Lawful Stupid.  Ned Stark, our hero is not.  This is a story that is a mix of court intrigue and some magical elements and having a hero who is not a scheming plotter and yet not out of his depth at the same time is a refreshing change, and it makes him extremely easy to root for and makes this book very enjoyable.

---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------
When Castillar "Caz" dy Cazaril comes to Valenda, it is as a man with basically nothing left.  A former lord and captain in the nation of Chalion, Caz has spent the last few years as a slave on a Galley after he was somehow left off the list of nobles to be ransomed when his last command was taken.  After being freed, the only thing Caz can think of is to walk across the Country to the town of Valenda to hope the old Noble Dowager Provincara, who he served as a youth, might recognize him and give him some place in her household.

Instead, to Caz's surprise, the Provincara appoints him to be the Secretary and Tutor to her granddaughter, Iselle, the 3rd in line to the throne of Chalion, and Iselle's combination Betriz.  In Iselle and Betriz he finds young intelligent women naive at first but open to teaching, and Caz finds himself content.

But when Iselle and her brother (the heir to Chalion) are called to the royal capital by their Royal Brother, he finds himself in the last place he wanted to be - back in the eyes of the dy Jironal brothers, who were responsible for his enslavement and ruin.  Worse, the brothers' ambition and corruption is great and they have their own designs on Iselle's royal status....and if Caz isn't careful, their machinations will result in his own end.  But as Caz attempts to navigate this Court intrigue and guide his royal student, he'll find himself not only caught up in mortal danger, but in the perils of the Five Gods - their blessings....and their curses.
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As I mentioned before the Jump, what makes this book so excellent is its main character, Caz.  Honorable as can be, but far from stupid, Caz begins the book beaten and seemingly broken, but quickly gets his wits about him and uses them to do the best for his charges and to try and get them ready for their lives in the Royal Court (and beyond).  Again, it's hard not to compare him positively to Ned Stark - Caz is an utterly uncorruptable man, to whom taking a bribe - or even appearing to take a bribe for his own safety - is absolutely unthinkable.  But unlike the Ned Starks in fantasy, or the other Lawful Stupid characters, Caz is well aware of the implications of this behavior and how it means that he needs to especially watch out for those who don't play by the same rules.  And he teaches both Iselle and Betriz this quite clearly, so they are on the look out for those who would seek to use them.  The end result is a hero who is refreshingly honest and so easy to root for, as he struggles to figure out how he can help Iselle escape the fates planned for them by both the corrupt human antagonists and by the dead man's curse that hovers over the entire Royal family.

It helps that the other characters around Caz are very believable.  Both Iselle and Betriz are intelligent and forceful young women and it's easy to see how they would take to Caz's teachings....and how they take them beyond what Caz might immediately think of - the moment Iselle reveals her plan and proclaims that Caz taught her "that" (and Caz thinks to himself "I did?") is absolutely priceless, and a real gem.  By Contrast, her brother Teidez is a contrast in that he is a total fool who, without a Caz to guide him (his tutor Dy Sanda means well and is a good guy, but is unable to convince Teidez why he should listen) is led badly astray, and again it works really well.  And the side characters and antagonists work quite well as well (I think I won't go more in depth here, you get the point).

The worldbuilding with the world's magic and Gods also is excellent.  As I've read the Penric Novellas I was a little familiar with how the Five Gods work in this setting, though as this is the first in the setting some of the god's workings (particularly that of the Bastard's Demon) don't quite line up with the later novellas, but they are internally consistent, so that's not really a problem with this book.   The magic isn't intrusive and everything makes sense, so it all works out well.

My only quibbles are essentially that Caz's plot to solve the day midway through is so obviously doomed to fail in a certain way that I was really waiting for that to happen (and the prophecy which he ignores mid-way through is certainly going to come true) to a point of minor distraction and that well, the final way things play out is quite literally deus ex machina.  It works mind you thanks to the way the book builds up its Gods and Goddesses, but it's a little bit of a disappointing way for it all to end.

Still, I greatly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading its sequel shortly.
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