Book Review: The Sharing Knife, volume 1: Beguilement, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold has firmly established herself as one of the masters of imaginative fiction with her previous work. Her Miles Vorkosigan series (which you should read, if you haven’t) is one of the best science fiction series I’ve read. In recent years she’s turned towards writing fantasy, and it’s clear that she has a solid sense of just how much to reveal to the reader, and when to reveal it. She manages to continually supply just enough information about this world of her devising to keep the story interesting.
It’s a nicely imaginative world, filled with just enough magic and mystery to seem fantastical, but not so much that it’s overdone. There are strange monsters known as malices, the magical groundsense of the Lakewalker people, and hints of a long-lost connection between them and the normal folk they protect. The story focuses on Fawn, a young farmer woman running away from home, and Dag, a grizzled, one-handed Lakewalker, the veteran of many battles with malices. You can see the romance coming from a mile away, but Bujold has a talent for writing these sorts of romances and characters, and it’s quite an engaging book.
Bujold has a knack for presenting setting in an unobtrusive way, a few short sentences here and there making up the bulk of the scenery description. It’s not enough to distract from the story, but just enough to give you the picture you need to go on. She also has a good sense of humor and an easy-to-read style that keeps the pages turning. My main complaint is about the narrative arc, as there seems to be a tendency for the stakes to be lowered rather than raised as the pages go by. The story starts off with a bang, and never quite gets back to that height by the end of the book. There is, however, a second volume that just came out in hardcover, so this tale might be one that needs to be read in full before such judgments can be made.
I really enjoyed this book, despite the issues I had with its plot structure, and I’m definitely going to read the sequel. Bujold’s writing style is always nice to read, as it always seems to fit right in with the story, rarely if ever a distraction. Overall, it’s a fun book that will keep you reading, and it’s quite possible that the few problems I had with it will be rectified in the sequel. Definitely recommended.
The Sharing Knife, volume 1: Beguilement, by Lois McMaster Bujold. New York: Eos, 2006. $7.99 in paperback. Amazon link.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
So how much did you love the horse scene?
September 6th, 2007 at 4:42 am
Recommendation: review Everything Evil by Coheed & Cambria. I can provide it.
September 7th, 2007 at 2:58 am
c1: Both the horse scenes were funny, although I think I might have laughed more at the scene with the horse in the barn.
Jacob: Everything Evil? Good title for a book. What’s it about?
September 10th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Actually it’s a song title; Coheed & Cambria are a very interesting prog. rock band. One of the things that makes them interesting is that all of the songs, and all of their albums, tell an (a-chronological) sci-fi/fantasy story known as “The Amory Wars” (originally “Bag.On.Line Adventures”), which is supplemented by a number of comic books written by the lead singer/songwriter of Coheed & Cambria (whose name is derived from the names of two major characters in the story), Claudio Sanchez, who is something of a (somewhat unmarketable, due to his curiously high voice) brilliant songwriter and guitarist. It’s all kinda complicated. I’ve always just focused more on enjoying the sound of their music and the way that I like to interpret the lyrics.
Anyway, what the song (or any of their songs) mean(s) kinda depends on who you ask, but it’s generally agreed that Everything Evil refers to Coheed killing his daughter, Josephine, by hammering her in the head, after she was assaulted and raped (described in an earlier song), because he believes she was infected with the Sinstar Virus. Coheed then becomes enraged after he finds out she was not infected, and evolves into a beastlike form due to the Monstar Virus (threatening Heaven’s Fence and empowering him with the ability to drain the Keywork). This is followed by a transition, and we then hear the narrative of Josephine calling out, and her pleas for “Paris:Earth’s” (Sector 12’s) remain, foreshadowing her own future.
Like I said, it’s complicated. It’s also really cool. I don’t know if you’ll enjoy the music or not, but I particularly enjoy the post-transition area. It’s not hard to interpret the lyrics to one’s own life (see the full lyrics here on my blog).