The Hallowed Hunt (Chalion series)

I was greatly intrigued by the characters in The Curse of Chalion, and enjoyed the new twists added in The Paladin of Souls, but this third volume is mostly just "more of the same", and disappointing in comparison. Still, though, there are some new ideas, and Lois McMaster Bujold is always good in comparison to most other writers. If you liked either of the first two you should read it.

I completed this book in the first weekend after I purchased it.

The book is defintely on par with all of her other works, in the way that it makes you geniunely care about all of the characters and what happens to them.

I really appriciate the religon that she has set up in this book and exactly how limited the gods are in interacting with the human race.

There are a lot of parallels to the European settlement (couldn't think of a more politically correct word) of the Americas with none of the brutality sugar coated for the masses.

It was a very good story with several thought provoking concepts, with the requiste happy ending.

BTW, I require a happy ending.

Not really connected to the first two books. I was rather disapointed as it seems to be presented as a third book in a trilogy and it's got nothing to do with the first two books. The story as a stand alone was also nowhere near the quality of the other two books.

Laura Shumar read my mind when she posted her review.

Bujold is by far my favorite writer, living or dead. Hers is the only fiction, other than Shakespeare's, that I read with pencil in hand so that I can mark special passages. I have read all of her books multiple times, with the exception of "Diplomatic Immunity." "The Hallowed Hunt" will now join it on the far end of the shelf.

I will still buy her next book as soon as it is available, but with trepidation.

I love book 1 of this series, found book 2 lacking and book 3 is just average. Maybe because the writer is Bujold and I have higher expectation from her than any other writers. The main characters just do not lift off and the plot drags in some chapters, and at times confusing. I have the impression that Bujold has breaks during her writing and did not get all her thoughts together on this book. The beginning of the story is intriguing and promising and the ending highly imaginative. It is a pity that the in-betweens are at times slow and disjointed. Regreted buying the hardcopy because Book 3 is not one I will return to, unlike Bujold's Miles series and Book 1 of the Chalion series

The Hallowed Hunt
The third in Bujold’s trio of novels about the medieval/magical world of Chalion and its neighbors, this one is a bit of a disappointment. The first two novels hung together well, with the second novel, “Paladin of Souls” enabling a deeper exploration of the supernatural inteactions beween humans, gods, and demons which was introduced in the first novel, “Curse of Chalion”.

Once I find a series that interests me, I tend to binge-read, so I plunged right into the third novel after polishing off the first two. I was surprised to find an entirely new piece of the fantasy world being introduced, with only the sketchiest connection to the earlier novels, and no overlapping characters. We are not even sure we are in the same era: there are references to the Five Gods, but in the supernatural world of Easthome, the dominant spirits are outside the jurisdiction of the Five Gods, who must wait to be invited into the realm of souls.

It is all very complicated, and probably binge-reading at top speed was not the best way to follow the twists and turns of plot, counter-plot, spells and spiritual possession, romantic and political entaglements, along with new customs and cultural norms… it felt like work. At the end I felt the satisfaction of having gotten through it, but none of the charm of a well-constructed ending where you put down the book with a sense of “Yes, that’s how it must have been.”

Maybe a fourth book will redeem the effort it took to get through this one. I’m a bit wary.

This is my favorite of Bujold's works, and I'm a fan.

That probably means some other fans won't care for it, because it's different, it stands out. This is darker than most of her works. The central themes have to do with the religion of the world of five gods: It's about souls and duty and salvation, not about clever people besting the enemy. There's some romance, but it's very chaste.

This takes place in the same world as the light hearted Penrick books, and the two Chalion novels, whose tone falls between this older, deeper, more serious tale, and Penrick.

I love Bujold's world-building, which is well-showcased here. And her powerful, and deeply good characters, who also show up in this story. I'm also impressed by her ability to build and develop a complex, yet consistent, supernatural world to match the natural world.

If what I wrote sounds intriguing, buy the book, you won't be disappointed. If it doesn't sound like your cup of tea, well, it may not be.

Once again, Bujold gives us new characters and induces us to care deeply about their fates. Also once again, she introduces new aspects of the theological/supernatural world of the Five Gods. But this time, I was less enthralled with these new elements. Bujold uses the concept of spirit animals, and other related wrinkles, deftly in her plot and works them into her characterizations, but I rather hope that any future books in this setting add no more such complications.

Still, I gobbled the book eagerly and enjoyed the way in which Bujold brought the various threads together in the resolution.

The third venture into the Quintarian Universe by Lois McMaster Bujold introduces animal magic that gives "The Hallowed Hunt" it's name. The reader follows Ingrey kin Wolfcliff as he first investigates the death of the youngest son of the hallowed king of the Weald only to find himself mired in a conspiracy involving the ancient animal magic of the Old Weald that he is already personally familiar with.

From the first page the narrative hardly lets the reader take a breathe as the story unfolds before them thanks to the great craft of Bujold. The introduction of the animal magic of the Old Weald does take time to understand both for the characters and the readers, though this might have been the intention of the author from the start. However, the animal magic itself is a wonderful addition to the Universe that Bujold created. "The Hallowed Hunt" is a solid, good story that only suffers when compared to the first two books in the Quintarian Universe because there were no already familiar characters the reader knew from either previous book like there had been in "Paladin of Souls".

After finishing this book, I felt a great sadness that Bujold hasn't written another venture into this fantastic world. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, you're missing out.

I only started reading Ms. bjuold when her curse of chalion came to my hand. Love that book! and the follow up paladin of souls. I do not like space stories and so have not read those. I only read the sharing knife series as I was in hopes it was more of the 5 Gods story line. I really want more! but seems I am left with only these three. I love that she created such a unique world and adds such fully formed people. I want to read more about them!
This book is not as good as the first two but the Curse was on the final ballot for both th eHugo and World of Fantasy Awards and won the mythopoeic Award. hard to top that!
the hallowed hunt remains a great mystery, droping clues until the end when it comes to it. Yet it leaves us wondering "what else will happen?" or it did me. maybe that is the magic of her writing. at the end of Paladin I wanted to know more about the man who had the Bear inside him. But that was left hanging also. I love the Divine who accidently got the demon in this book. almost a story in a story. :) fully formed characters, what a joy--compaired to other books I have read. I also love her books as none (of these 3 anyway) are about youth on a quest to find themselves. old age trying to make sense of it all, perhaps :)
I keep these 3 books in my forever library. worth re reading ever few years!
and I still hope she returns to this 5 god, demon injested land ...
the Sharing knife series just doesn't cut it for me. its ok. but does not hold the wonder. so, I'm still hoping the author returns to this "land". Still looking for books 4,5,,6... :)

When Lady Ijada kills a prince in self-defense, Ingrey comes to deal with the corpse and arrest the murderer. But he discovers that Ijada, like Ingrey, bears a powerful animal spirit which possessed her in an ancient and forbidden religious rite. What Bujold does best, here, is character motivation. Characters themselves are strong but unremarkable (the protagonists especially); their journey becomes a god-touched web of politics with powerful twists and climax but a surprisingly lack of emotional effect. But The Hallowed Hunt remains compelling, not because of its characters or events but because of the motivations which underlie both. Bujold's strong narrative, slightly stylized and archaic in a way that suits the late medieval-esque setting, hovers at the edge of Ingrey's thoughts; it turns careful eye on his self-examination and on his discoveries as he navigates a playing field rife with secrets and sacrilege. The same event may be anticipated, occur, and then be recounted to two other characters and still remain fascinating, simply because of the interplay between the events themselves and how, and therefore why, characters engage with and convey them. This was my introduction to Bujold, and while the book itself doesn't amaze me--it's an accomplished work, solid and satisfying, but not particularly memorable--it does make me eager to read more by the author; she has a strong eye for the aspects which interest me most. The Hallowed Hunt itself I recommend moderately. It can stand alone from the Chalion series.

I think Lois McMaster Bujold has exactly the right idea with the Chalion series. Each book stands alone, but if you have read the first one (Curse of Chalion), you get all the background material you need to understand the geographical, political, and religious systems of her world. This means that later books (Paladin of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt) can have fresh new characters and plots, but we don't have to endure many info dumps. The magic system, meanwhile, gets more and more complex, as we learn more in each book. Perhaps best of all, the plot can wrap up at the end of each novel.

What I like best about Bujold is her wonderfully imaginative and complicated magic. I love how she lets the reader discover it a little at a time (it would be overwhelming if she threw it all at us at once). We learn about the magic as the characters do, and this makes for a lot of mystery and tension. Plots get deeper, more complex, and scarier throughout this series.

Bujold's characters are always deep, especially the point-of-view character whose private thoughts we are privy to. In The Hallowed Hunt, that character is Ingrey, a nobleman who bears a wolf spirit and has been charged to transport the noblewoman Ijada to the capital, for she's been accused of killing the prince who tried to rape her. The prince was dabbling in some dark sorcery which affected Ijada, and together Ingrey and Ijada must unravel the mystery of the spirit animals. As they learn more and more, the magic get deeper, darker, and actually quite frightening.

The Hallowed Hunt is another excellent installment in the Chalion series. I'm not rating it as highly as the others, though, because I felt like the climax at the end wasn't quite as tight as the previous two books. Ingrey, the hero, ended up correctly guessing some of the solutions and Bujold threw in a bit of romantic fluff involving two beating half-hearts that made my eyes roll. But, all in all, it was a very good fantasy and I sincerely hope that Bujold will grace us with more Chalion stories in the future.

Like other reviewers, I was initially put off by negative the store reviews and didn't hurry to read this, but when I did finally read it I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I agree that it isn't her best work, not as good as Paladin of Souls, for example, but there's a great deal of space between "not LMB's best" and "not good". I'm continually impressed by her completely original, and well-worked-out, theological system - theological fantasy is hard to do well, almost nobody can bring it off at all. Rather than just making "the gods" a bunch of characters with special powers but who are basically human (as even the Greeks did), or having unseen gods move in mysterious ways more-or-less offstage, she has genuinely transcendent beings who participate in the action in ways that completely make sense without being at all human. Depicting believable nonhumans is one of the hardest things to do in speculative fiction, and she achieves it.

The theological underpinning is complicated, in this third book, by the inclusion of a form of shamanism in which sacrificed "spirit animals" are linked, by means not fully specified, to human souls, thus preventing them from reaching the gods unless another shaman releases them. I think this works but it is bordering on being too complicated; if it was elaborated any further I think it would become so.

It's unfortunate that the female lead is offstage for key parts of the action, and remains a bit undeveloped - we are told, rather than shown very much, that she is courageous and determined (like Bujold's other female leads). I would have liked to see more of a couple of the minor characters, too, such as the formidable Learned Hallana. Ingrey, the male lead, perhaps becomes too good too soon given that he has been an outcast who has had to get along as best he can without paying too much attention to morality for most of his life.

Bujold follows her well-tried writing approach of thinking of the worst thing she can do to her main character and doing that - like Cas in Chalion, Ingrey gets thoroughly mangled in body and spirit on his journey to the conclusion. Perhaps it's time for a new approach before it becomes too formulaic.

Having set out to recommend the book, I have listed a number of drawbacks and given the impression - which may be true - that Bujold is coasting a bit in this one. Given, though, that I always wish there were more Bujold books than there are (she's one of the only two authors I buy in hardback because I know I will reread the books repeatedly), a new one is a happy event even if it isn't up to her very highest standard.

Lois McMaster Bujold's latest novel is her third fantasy set in her "Chalionese" milieu. The Hallowed Hun_ is set somewhat later than the first two such novels, and in another country, a more "German" sort of place (Chalion being "Spanish"). It's an enjoyable novel, if not quite as good as either The Curse of Chalion or Paladin of Souls.

The hero is Lord Ingrey, who works for the aging King of the Weald. The King's dissolute son has just been murdered, apparently by one Lady Ijada. Ingrey happens to bear a wolf-spirit as a result of a botched experiment of his father, who was trying to recreate an old magic of the Weald that had been made illegal long since. Ingrey finds that Ijada also bears an animal spirit, a leopard. And that she had killed the Prince is self-defense -- he was trying to rape her -- or something worse. Ingrey escorts Ijada to the capitol, and quickly falls for her, while worrying that she is twice condemned -- for the murder of the prince, and for illegally bearing an animal spirit. But it soon turns out that some much more elaborate issues are involved, concerning the succession to the Kingdom, and especially the claims of the long displaced former rulers of the Weald.

It's pretty solid work, but never quite caught fire for me the way many of her novels do. She adds some complications to the magic system set up in the first two novels, but it remains an intriguing system. If you like Bujold, you'll want to read this -- if you don't, this won't change your mind.

The king lies dying and now the prince is dead, apparently killed in self-defense by the young noblewoman he was going to rape in a magical ritual.

So opens an amazing and complex work of fantasy set in Bujold's mystical land of Chalion. For the young woman is haunted by a leopard that the prince had slain to steal it's magical power, and the man sent to guard her and take her to the capital for trial hides a totem wolf within himself.

Were this the only work we had to judge Lois McMaster Bujold by we would still be hailing her as a fantasy genius. But since she has written books that are sharper, deeper, funnier and closer to the human spirit, this suffers only by comparison to her Vorkosigan series and to the other Chalion books. It stands completely alone and independent of the other Chalion novels, and in some respects, her fans may be disappointed not to have another adventure with the old friends from those books.

This is still a tour de force, where a divine can be possessed by a demon to great comic effect, where a polar bear can expose corruption and where for a night the dead can walk once more and choose. It is a love story and an adventure story full of desperate rides and struggles. It does not get five stars only because we do not have the option to give six stars to her other books. Taken in an of itself, this is a wholly satisfying fantasy. Highly recommended.

When this one started off, I felt like it had the potential to be the best so far in the series. Even though it takes place outside of Chalion and features not even a reference to characters in the previous books, it creates yet another splendid moral atmosphere and a set of grandly intriguing characters. Gorgeous prose and gorgeous verisimilitude in the world building, as always. However, it does grow even more talky than McMaster Bujold's books usually do, and I was disappointed in the lack of interaction between the main characters and the general lack of any kind of action (especially after my pump was primed with promises that the hero was some kind of ninja/Jedi/berserker when properly provoked). So, all in all, a little slower than I might have liked, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

I found this the weakest of the Chalion series, and I LOVED #1 and enjoyed #2. I didn't really get how this one fit into that world, and I didn't really enjoy and care about the characters the way I did for the first two. It not terrible, but I was pretty disappointed considering how powerful and interesting the first two were.

I haven't read everything by Buold, but I have read the two previous books in this series. Even though a few years have past since I've read them, I remember them being much more fast paced and action filled. This book is slow. It plods along. Regardless, it's still a good book, just not up to par.

I'm not even sure how it fits in with the others. I don't recognize any of the characters from the previous book and I suppose I would have to reread them to find out. So if you are someone who plans to read this as a stand alone, I don't think you would have any problems following the story. Basically, you have to main characters: Ingrey and Ijada. They are both Weirdlings in that they possess an animal spirit. Normally, this is punishable by death and the two are in fear that things will lead to this vein eventually. But there is a much more problematic occurance on the rise. The Hallowed King is dying. His youngest son is murdered (by Ijada--in selfdefense) and another being--claiming to be the REAL Hallowed King is moving his pieces around the board to plan for something big--I mean BIG.

I liked it, but I wished there was more action in the story; thus four stars instead of five.

If there are any constants in Lois Bujold's writing, there are two: trials of the spirit and surprises, and this book is no exception.

Ingrey kin Wolfcliff has his duty: to investigate what seems to be a strange murder, and to bring to justice an even stranger murderess, one possessed of, and by, a leopard. But, of course, not all is as it seems, and Ingrey ends up facing challenges moral, physical and, ultimately, philosophical, before his Long Night can end.

This book has it all. Comedy high and low. Tragedy to make even the Gods weep. Treachery and forgiveness. Laughter and heartache. Mercy and vengeance. And the true horror implied by the words "mostly dead," which for me will never again be funny. Above all, Bujold's characters are always *people*, with all the strengths and weaknesses that implies.

Along with all of the above, this book is a most wonderful romance, as Ingrey and Ijada meet, utter strangers, and go on to find first friendship, and then love, and learn why their hearts must truly beat as one, if either is to beat at all.

"Hallowed Hunt" is even better than "Paladin of Souls," and I wouldn't have believed that possible before I had read it.

This was one very good book. It takes place in the same "world" as The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, but as she did with Paladin, she writes a non-sequel. In fact, unlike Paladin, this story takes place in another country and there are none of the same characters. It looks like she's writing the kind of series that both pleases and frustrates me. It pleases because I get to learn more about the world she's created without being told the same story over and over. It frustrates me because, as good as the stories may be, the absence of characters I came to know and love in the previous book(s) leaves me wanting to know what's going on with them. However, the reality is, she's doing the harder of the two tacks because to continually use the same characters eventually comes to the point where one asks, "How much drama can one person or family take?" I'd always rather feel like I want more than to feel like I've been overfed.

Anyway, I digress. The plot, in a nutshell, involves a murder mystery and the ensuing court-based political intrigues. It's been done before, but Bujold is an incredible writer. Her use of language is, well, wonderful. And the way she handles high fantasy makes suspension of disbelief easy. While there may be quite a bit of magic going on, the characters stay grounded in such a way as to not make me yawn and say, "Oh, okay, here's where he becomes a demigod (a la Raymond Feist)." They're as awed and freaked out by it as I would be if I were caught up in a similar situation. Plus, the characters she creates tend to play against type. Keep an eye out for the redheaded prince from the icy southern areas. This is a character I'd like to see again.

In fact, there are lots of characters I'd like to see again. I can only hope that, as Bujold continues to write in this world and introduce more and more interesting characters, eventually they will all come together in some way. Whether that happens or not, the fact that I want it to happen means she's done her job as a writer. She's pulled me in and made me want more.

In 'The Hallowed Hunt', Lois Mcmaster Bujold weaves the various threads of the plot together to form an intricate pattern that echants and captivates. The characters are brought to life in a way that makes you empathise, even with the Earl Horseriver, who has his own plots in mind, and is not above killing those that get in his way.

Amidst the quiet political struggle that is going on in the Weald, which could very soon come to a climax as the old Hallowed King lies in deteriating health, his death seeming imminent, his younger, have crazed son, Boleso has been slain. Ingrey kin Wolfclif, a Lord who lost land and title as a child due to an illicit act of sorcery inwhich his Father involved him as a child, is dispatched to investigate. He takes into custody the Lady Ijada, who claims self defense in her killing of Boleso, as he had taken her into his chamber for, seemingly, a similar act of sorcery, as well as rape. Through this she has had the soul of a Leopard bound into herself unwillingly, which stirs the thoughts of the wolf spirit bound in his breast for Ingrey. As the escorts the arested woman back to the capital city the preasence of another spell over Ingrey, which seeks Ijada's death, is discovered, and with the aid of a Temple Sorceress, is cast out. Once they are met on the road by Earl Ordainer, Wencel Horseriver, who hides his own dark secrets as well, the two have begun to grow close to one another, and Ingrey vows in his heart to try and save Ijada from the fate of death, which could come upon her in the form of swift justice once at the capital city.

Horseriver, who at first they think may be an uneasy ally in their plight, proves to hide more than they had imagined. What is this dark secret that seems to bind Horseriver, and Ingrey, and what of the dream of long dead Spirit Warriors that Ijada speaks of, and the almost uncanny link that has forged between her and Ingrey, and what does all of this have to do with the Hallowed Kingship, and the land known as the Wounded Woods, once Holytree of the old Weald.

I highly recomend this novel for any fantasy fan who loves to delve into complex and unique magic, religious, and political systems. Most definately, I will look for my by Lois Mcmaster Bujold.

RD Williams, author of 'The Lost Gate'

A competent court officer sent to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding a prince's death finds the woman accused to be much more than he imagined. The strange circumstances grow stranger as the man charged with her transport across country for delivery into the hands of justice discovers there is more to himself than he had imagined as well. It seems that the difficulties surrounding this case will not resolve themselves easily; not without divine intervention and the revelation of ancient secrets.

This is the first of Lois McMaster Bujold's books I have read and I am very impressed with her writing. You do not read one of her books; you enter her world. The mythical world of Chalion. In a few words, she is able to brush characters of unique human proportion in meticulous detail. She sets these characters into swirls of political intrigue within this fantasy world from the Middle Ages and puts them on collision course with supernatural forces. Of course it all leads to a romance of superhuman proportions and a clash of titanic spiritual powers.

Once you accept the theological construct in her world of five gods, and some may find this difficult, the story is both realistic and compelling. She applies the spiritual fantasy consistently and with an even hand as in earlier books of Chalion. This is not a book for the squeamish and some may be disturbed by the use of animals that is depicted, but if one cannot put evil into a story of good verses evil, then what is the point?

I'm not generally a fan of fantasy, preferring to keep my stories closer to the real world, but Lois has captured me as a reader with her use of description and subtlety and made me wonder about earlier books where she has turned her hand to other genres. But Chalion, no doubt, requires further exploration. I would recommend this book to anyone desiring to read for escape and great entertainment. I would not recommend it to young readers or those not morally or spiritually well grounded, lest they try to bring pieces of that world back into ours.

Reviewed by Hugh Mannfield at stormbold.com.

Lois Bujold is, I believe, the best living writer of fantasy/SF, and this book should plese old fans and make new ones.

It is sometimes described as the third volume of the Chalion trilogy, but uses no characters - mortal at least - from the earlier books. It does continue to use the complex "quintarian" religion of the earlier books, built around worship of five gods known as the Father, Mother, Daughter, Son, and Bastard. And, as in the prior books, the gods play a role and make cameo appearances at key junctures.

In this book Ingrey, a landless minor nobleman, has been assigned to take the lady in waiting Ijada back to the capital where she will be tried and probably executed because she has just murdered a prince. Ingrey soon finds out that the murdered prince was involved in dark and dangerous magic, but that is only the first of a series of revelations. Ingrey discovers he has a dangerous enemy, but his enemy has used a powerful spell to become truly invulnerable to attack. With the King lying near death, is there a plot to capture the throne, or is some subtler goal being sought?

As Ingrey searches for the answer to these mysteries, he also searches for the truth of his own past, to learn why his own father used forbidden animal magic similar to that used by the murdered Prince on him, and the nature of the wolf spirit he now carries.

As in any Bujold book, we can expect iteresting characters, a well-built world, and plenty of excitement. Other reviewers have disagreed, but I thought this book better than 2004 Hugo winner "Paladin of Souls".

Very boring. I would have totally guessed that this was a different author. Pretty much, all the characters did was move from place to place speculating about why "miraculous" things were happening to them. The characters were 1 dimensional and without personality.

The first 2 Chalion Books were great.

The Hallowed Hunt is the third book in LMB's series about Chalion, and when I opened it I really didn't know what to expect. LMB is a fantastic author with a rare gift for characterisation, and has a knack for phrases that you'll want to flick back and read again later. They stick in your mind. That said, The Hallowed Hunt isn't really her best offering.

The story is about a faintly disgraceful and down-at-the-heels gentleman, sent to a castle to figure out who murdered a prince there recently. It turns out to be a girl, and surprise, surprise, they then manage to fall in love and have marvellous adventures. The whole thing is made far, far more interesting by the weird five-fold god system in place, and the very unique animal spirit system. Basically LMB doesn't do anything that anybody else has done, so if you think it's going to be the same as the last fantasy book you read, then you're very wrong.

I personally thought that `the Curse of Chalion' was amazing, and the two sequels haven't been to the high standards of the original. This doesn't make a hang of a lot of difference, because LMB is a great author and her worst is still leagues ahead of anyone else's best.

But the characters just don't appeal to me the way LMB's people normally do. They're just hard to identify with. You're left thinking that these people aren't the type of people you'd be friends with if you were given the choice.

But they things are very, VERY minor. Read the Curse of Chalion first. After you've read that, you want more Chalion. It's as simple as that, and then you'll want to read this one. Trust me, it's inevitable.

This is Bujold's 3rd novel in the world of Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. It is not really a sequel, however, as there are no overlapping characters or reference to the events of the other two books. It can thus be read independently whether or not you have read the others.

I can't help feeling slightly disappointed that Bujold seems to be focusing on this fantasy series, as I really hoped that there would be more to the story of Miles Vorkosigan. Still, Bujold has as fine a hand with fantasy as she has with science fiction. In some respects, it is fairly conventional fantasy, set in a medieval culture with a spice of magic thrown into the mix. Still, her stories are very far from formulaic. Bujold's approach to fantasy reminds me of that of Dave Duncan, in that the magic in her stories derives naturally from a rich and well-realized theology. All three of her Chalion books have a "mythic" quality in that the stories ultimately revolve around the relationship between gods and man. As usual, the characters are well-drawn and interesting, managing to be convincing while retaining the capacity to surprise the reader. As the three books go, I find it not quite as engaging as Curse, and about on a par with Paladin.

Generally known as the author of the acclaimed Miles Vorkosigan series of SF novels, Bujold's last couple of books have been set in her fantasy universe of Chalion. These have been outstanding novels, but the latest (The Hallowed Hunt) doesn't quite measure up. It's still extraordinarily well-written and carried Bujold's trademark prose, but the interest level just wasn't there. The characters weren't as intriguing as previous volumes go.

Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff has been sent to a manor house where one of the king's sons has been brutally murdered. The accused killer is a young noblewoman who had been in the service of lord Boleso's sister. However, he had planned to use her in one of his unnatural rites, and she bludgeoned him, supposedly in self-defense. Ingrey has been sent to bring her back to Easthome for trial. However, he finds himself caught up in a web of politics and deceit, as the king is fading fast. Ingrey must not only deal with his growing feelings for this young woman, but also the dark secrets of his own past, and how they link him with the current plot to wrest the Hallow Kingship from its rightful heir. Ingrey will find that getting involved with the gods is not always a pleasant thing.

First, I can tell you that this is a completely standalone novel. No knowledge of the previous two books (The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls) is required at all, as they have only established the world these characters live in. In fact, this story takes place in a completely different country and it's unclear if it's even in the same time period. That being said, I kind of missed the fact that there was no connection between these books. That might have made some of the characters a little more interesting. Instead, Bujold has to create everything from whole cloth, and she's not entirely successful.

I find the whole concept of the five gods to be fascinating, and Bujold makes good use of it here. We've seen the gods before, but we've never seen them in conflict with what's going on in the story. Instead, usually they're either the catalyst for what's happening or they're working behind the scenes. This time, the conflict is going against them, and it makes it even more interesting. The story is also tragic when we find out what is truly going on with the Weald magic and a massacre committed a long time ago. When Ingrey finds out the truth about his past and the role that he must now play in it, the story comes together very nicely.

Unfortunately, it takes a while in getting there, and Bujold failed to make characters that gripped me in the meantime. They aren't bad characters, and I did find them somewhat intriguing, but long passages of the book dragged where the characters involved didn't grab my attention at all. It's hard to really say what was wrong with them, as overall, Ingrey and Ijada were good, I found them a bit overwritten at times. I just wanted Bujold to get on with the story, which is unusual for me. Bujold is usually a master of characterization, and her quiet scenes are usually some of the best, but not these. Another time where the story dragged was Ingrey's first meeting and subsequent carousing with Jokol. The entire scene on the ship, while amusing at times, just made me wish Bujold would get back to the story. Yes, Jokol turns out to be important and so this scene was needed, but I didn't find him that interesting and wished the scene had been shorter. Finally, Wencel just irritated me. Again, his situation (and his family's) gripped me, but the character himself just wasn't fun to read about. This made the final journey to the Wounded Woods boring to me, making that sequence drag as well.

That's not to say the book was bad, though. I don't think Bujold is capable of writing a "bad" book, and The Hallowed Hunt certainly isn't one. Most of the time, the characterization is wonderful, and even Ingrey and Ijada come into their own. Oswin is hilarious. His wife, the sorceress Hallana, is even more so, and adds a light comic touch to her scenes with Ingrey and Ijada, yet she's also fairly deep for a minor character. Even the complaints above (save Wencel) are mainly about the characters at certain times. Overall, they were quite nice. Bujold's prose is as gorgeous as ever, with only a few internal monologues feeling a bit clunky. She does manage to mix a little bit of tragedy with some comedy relief without making it jarring.

The Hallowed Hunt is well worth the read. Just because it doesn't quite measure up to her previous Chalion outings does not change that. Bujold has written another page-turner that I'm really glad to have read.

David Roy

I haven't read the other Chalion books: this is my first Bujold book and so I can't comment on the relative quality of this entry into the "series"... but in terms of absolute quality, I really liked this book and am happy (gleeful) to report I have a new author I can look for.

Hallowed Hunt is a completely independent book. You need not read the other entries into the series to appreciate it, although some background gets short shrift. The opening premise is stunning, well-executed, and draws you into the book to see where Bujold is going to go with it. The ending is also pretty darned good, making the book well worth the read.

It's the middle that drags. The characters are a bit flat (more dimension than most "epic fantasy", but not good enough to carry a couple of hundred pages by themselves). A good bit of the front half of the book is just setting the pieces up and the action is somewhat contained. Nonetheless, this is one of the better fantasies I've read recently and a good step up from most of the over-long junk that lines the shelves of the local megastore. Recommended, although I suspect the other books in this series are better.

Recently, I noticed Lois McMaster Bujold was going to be coming to a local bookstore, so I picked up a copy of her latest work so I may be more abreast of what she has been doing. The last time I read one of her books was Spirit Ring, and I found the book to be interesting and different from most of the other fantasy I was reading at the time. From those pleasant memories, I forged ahead with Hallowed Hunt.

The book draws the reader in from the very beginning. "The Prince was dead," it reads, and you instantly want to know what is going on concerning the situation. Her writing style is very well developed. She keeps the story moving along, and the reader interested in the story. However, the beginning of the story seems to draw on a bit long. She is subtly setting up more hints for later on in the novel. She mentioned that the story originally had a more romantic plot, and I believe that this is one of the remnants of such (for there is no lack of character development for Ingrey and Ijada in those same pages).

The characters in the novel are definitely a strong attraction. Quirky and interesting, you find yourself wondering about them more than the main character at times. However, Ingrey does surprise you on occasion as well.

The plotting throughout the novel moves slowly, revealing layers and layers. It is done rather well and helps determine the pacing of the novel. The magic and theology of the story are all interesting and definitely well-developed from the previous novels. Neither are forced into the story and flow naturally into it.

Overall, I liked the novel. The idea of how shaman's and compounding spirit animals was interesting and worked well into the overall concept of the book. The novel also had a decent amount of romance that does not end badly. If you looking for this along with an plot of self-nihilism, then this is your book.

This book is DEFINITELY worth reading if you love Bujold and her Chalion series, but be forewarned that it's slower paced and more dark and "repressed" than the first two.

However, the mood accurately reflects the plot: the principal character drags his heels and attempts to slow down the physical progression to his prisoner's confrontation with "justice", even as he denies, represses, and refuses to peek at the dark and dangerous mysteries hidden inside himself.

In contrast, his lovely prisoner confronts her similar affliction with honesty, courage, and openness ... which is humbling to the otherwise honest and courageous main character.

Like all Bujold's books, the main characters learn, change and progress throughout the book--which makes the reading worthwhile. I think the determining factor as to whether a particular book strikes a chord with readers is the individual reader's own life experiences and situation. I.e. "Hallowed Hunt" may cause epiphanies for those with deep, dark secrets they haven't fully faced or addressed; those of us with more common hidden sorrows might also be moved, but not as profoundly.

My personal "epiphany book" of this series so far is "Palladin", the second one ... it has so many "GONG" sections (parts that resonate in my soul), that I'd badly deface the book if I followed my urge to highlight them all. And as I was recently rereading, "Curse", the first book, I again found myself reaching for a pencil about 200 pages in. But I haven't felt that urge for this third book ... it simply doesn't resonate with me as much, despite the fact that I enjoyed it.

Am I glad I bought it? Definitely! Will I reread it? Yes, this is my 2nd time ... but I probably won't have the urge to read it again in the next 6 months (while I WILL reread the first two within that time.)

Will I buy/read the next in the series? Are you kidding??? I'll be one of the first on the pre-order list!

Now no one disturb Ms. Bujold as she writes for us ... shhh, be very quiet.

Yowza! This book is serious work. It delves into rich detail needing a lot of pages to cover a 2-week period. It is best taken in small samples of a few pages, or at most a chapter, at a time. The 5 limited gods, who seem to prefer dead people to living ones, are back. So are the disorderly demons. There is also a new factor: people, known as shamans, who have animal spirits bound into their souls. Once common, they have become rare and have the distinct problem that their souls can't be taken up by the gods when they die until the animal spirits are removed. The book follows Ingrey: a fine young man who has a wolf spirit in his soul and seems a bit slow-thinking, and Ijada: the resident Superfantasticfemale who is gorgeous, intelligent, athletic and devoted, facing a death sentence for killing a prince who tried to rape her, is bound to a leopard spirit, and is also heir to the site of a long-ago massacre of shamans that left their souls sundered. They must deal with the king from that time who has made himself immortal by taking over the body and soul of a son or close relative each time he dies. He wants to die permanently and will do anything to accomplish that. If he fails, Ingrey will become his next victim. Ingrey and Ijada, who fall in love under that old king's influence, want to free the ghosts of the massacre victims so that their souls can go to the gods. See if they can do it.

Odd. What I normally do before reading a book is to sort these the store reviews by "Lowest Rating First" and see if there's an underlying trend which might indicate an actual bad book. Doing that here gave me enough of a bad feeling that I worried about the book. But, since the wife wanted to read it, we got it from the library. I read it before she could get around to it [g]. Anyway, I was extremely relieved that I found the book to be excellent. I found myself darn near as engrossed as I did while reading "Curse of Chalion." Since it included far more of the political-level and more development of the characters than did "Paladin of Souls" (and no convenient enemy invasions), I thought is was better than that book. If I had to stretch to find something bad to say about the book, the worst I could come up with is 1) the antogonist is more cypher than villain and 2) it would have been nice if Bujold had used SOMETHING from the other two books besides the basic premise of the religion. Other than that, the book is excellent. I felt it to be nicely paced and, like the others, highly emotionally satisfying. I rate it at 5 stars out of 5.

Just finished read Palm version of the book (the store shipping to Israel is soooooooooooooo expensive...).

I am long time Lois fan - red all her books, and in love with most of them, but in last years she slowed down a bit...

Diplomatic Immunity and Hallowed Hunt are still very good reading, but after Civil Campain and Chalion/Paladin one expects better...

Hallowed Hunt is just not in the same league - characters are shallow, plot seems same - unwilling hero is twarted by gods to do some job connected to old times... I also had this feeling that I am into Robin Hobbs Assasin series all over again (animal magic etc.)

Still, as mentioned one of reviewers before, Lois is great writer and pages (well, screens in my case) turn fast and I liked my reading. And now I am free to re-read Chalion again:) (20th time, something like that...)

This third book in the "Chalion" or "Five Gods" series requires a bit more thought to appreciate than the previous books. Or maybe it's that it takes more effort to identify with the protagonist at first. I strongly recommend making the effort, since this story is wonderful, highly re-readable, and a little philosophical (what is the nature of leadership?). Chalion is mentioned only in passing, but since this story takes place hundreds of years before the previous two books, that should be okay. Just don't expect to hear from any of the human characters from the previous books. The Bastard and the Brother do turn up here, quite a bit in fact. For the rest, get the book! It's worth your time.

Lois McMaster Bujold is an incredible author! Her worlds are detailed, fully-realized and intriguing. Each of her characters is deep, complicated, and unique. And the plots! Wow! She is one of the few authors I read where I can't guess what is going to happen about 50 pages in. Her writing is for intelligent readers and I appreciate that she doesn't dumb her books down.

This book starts rather quietly. But as the darkness and suspense built up I was more and more involved/invested. The plot/idea/premise was fascinating. I was on the "edge of my seat."

So...as you can tell, I highly recommend this book to you.

In fact, LMB just can't write them fast enough for me!

Lord Ingrey Kin Wolfcliff is dispatched by his employer to bring back the body of the murdered Prince Boleso to the capital city of Easthome for the funeral. He is also to bring back the royal's killer Lady Ijada who claims self-defense as he tried to rape her and was prepared to sacrifice her in a black magical rite. Instead, she conked him on the head and the spirit of the leopard he killed entered her body when she touched the dying prince.

Ingrey knows all about animal spirits inhabiting humans as he is possessed by a wolf in a rite that was conducted by his father. On the way back to the capital where the hallows king is dying, Ingrey is attracted to his prisoner but finds himself compelled to kill her. The geas is broken by a powerful sorcerer and they make it safely to Easthome. Ingrey spies on Earl Wencil because the people in power are afraid that he will try to usurp the rightful heir, Prince Biast. Little do any of them know that Wencil's plan for Ingrey involves the old magics outlawed when the Weald was invaded by the Darthacan Quintarians who worshipped five gods and forced their religion on the conquered people.

Ingrey grows into his acceptance of his wolf spirit and he is helped by Lady Ijada who accepts the spirit leopard that was thrust into her. She has a role to play in the final working of the weald magic one that could cost her life or that of Ingrey if she falters in her convictions. Brilliant characterizations, a fast paced and exciting storyline and a villain it is hard to hate make THE HALLOWED HUNT a fantastic epic fantasy worthy of a Hugo or a Nebula Award nomination.

Harriet Klausner

"The Hallowed Hunt" is the third book in a realm that began with "The Curse of Chalion" but does not continue among any of the primary or secondary characters. The author sustains her amazing writing with new individuals peppering a well-laid plot involving illegal practices and old religion.

An animal spirit imparts powers to the bonding individual, a concept fresh to the series. Although skillfully employed, the history involved with the ancient custom could have been more detailed including what specific animals grant what abilities or were typically used for which class of individuals.

Some of the main characters are not as fleshed out as in the past. I speculate a novel involving the main characters from all the books will be an option in the future considering the author continues to generate new protagonists in the same world. As with the prior novels, a detailed map of the significant terrains would have been useful.

I highly recommend the series to any fan of the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff knows about animal possession. Still, when he arrives at the deathscene of a prince, he is shocked to find the accused killer to be a beautiful woman--who happens to be possessed by a leopard. It's his duty to bring Lady Ijada to the capital where, perhaps, she can find justice. But some compulsion, almost impossible to resist, is urging him to kill her at once. A very different compulsion draws him to her.

In a meeting with a priestess, the wolf that dwells within Ingrey becomes active--opening his eyes to the magic that is around him and hinting at one of the ancient heresies--that animal-ridden people have a special path to the deities. But Ingrey and Ijada are not the only people with the forbidden animal inhabitation. Ingrey's cousin, Earl Horseriver, seems inhabited by a stalion--and something more. Whether that something more is good or evil, Ingrey has a hard time determining.

Author Lois McMaster Bujold combines fascinating world-building, intriguing and multi-dimensional characters, and plenty of magic and action to deliver a truly superior fantasy. Bujold explains the history of the tortured land, and then weaves that history into the present, and into the task that Ingrey and Ijada must fulfil.

THE HALLOWED HUNT is set in the same world as Bujold's earlier (and excellent) CURSE OF CHALION and PALADIN OF SOULS. Although I enjoyed the earlier books, I think HUNT surpasses even those.

The Hallowed Hunt (2005) is the third novel in the Chalion series, following Paladin of the Soul. Prince Bolesco was the youngest son of the hallow King of the Weald. After killing, skinning and butchering his manservant, the Prince was banished to Boar's Head Castle, a remote hunting lodge. Six months later, the Prince was dead, having been killed by Lady Ijada after a magical ritual and attempted rape.

In this novel, the hallow king is dying in his castle within Easthome. The kin families are maneuvering and the thirteen ordainers are receiving bribes. The Royal Sealmaster, Lord Hetwar, sends his man Lord Ingrey to the castle to clear up (and clean up) the crime.

Ingrey inspects the preserved body, noting the remains of mystical symbols and the crushed skull. He also looks at the dead leopard. Then he checks out the crime scene, including the cutoff silk rope hanging from a beam and the armor and weapons hung on a stand.

Rider Ulkra, the Prince's housemaster, tells him the circumstances that had led to the Prince having locked himself within the room with the leopard and the girl. He states that the two guards and himself had ignored the cries for help from the girl as the Prince had ordered. He also declares that the Prince had not uttered a sound.

When Ingrey interrogates Lady Ijada, she states that the Prince had claimed to be taking the spirit of the leopard within himself. The Prince had hung the drugged leopard from a beam while muttering strange words. Then he had stalked the noblewoman and herded her into a corner by the armor stand.

Terrified, she had found the haft of the war hammer under her hand and had swung it as hard as she could at the Prince's head. When he continued to stumble toward her, she swung the hammer again and he fell. As she was fumbling in his robe for the room key, she felt the leopard's spirit leave the Prince and enter her own soul.

Apparently the Prince had previously performed such rituals on several occasions. After her own investiture, she *smelled* the presence of other animal spirits within the Prince's soul. Since Ingrey had been involuntarily invested at the age of fourteen with the spirit of a wolf cub, he could readily understand her situation.

Lord Ingrey and his men take the Prince's body, packed in salt, back to the capital. They also take Lady Ijada and the Prince's guardsmen. On the way, Ingrey involuntarily tries to kill Lady Ijada four times. Luckily the geas is removed in Red Dike by Learned Hallana, a Temple sorcerer and physician-divine.

Lord Ingrey finds himself falling in love with Lady Ijada, but is quite irritated by her naivete. If she arrives at Easthome, the resulting Temple inquiry probably will sentence her to death in order to protect the reputation of the Prince and his family. However, she insists on continuing onward.

Lord Ingrey learns more about his wolf-spirit during the next few days than in all the prior years. He also starts to experience the voice of gods and waking visions of them. People are starting to look at him with confusion and awe. Of course, he would rather forego such privilege.

Much like the earlier volumes in this series, this novel tells of the rectification of an ancient misdeed. Four hundred years previously, the Darthacan King Audar slaughtered four thousand spirit-warriors and shamans of the Old Wealding. Their ghosts linger on within the Wounded Woods, but something is being done.

This novel is a tale of secrets. Lady Ijada is probably the most open of the major characters, although Learned Hallana is very forthcoming in her discussions. Lord Ingrey is highly secretive, even in his internal thinking, and his associates are very close mouthed. The novel dwells more on personal revelations than upon actions; these revelations continually surprise the reader.

Highly recommended for Bujold fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of magic and intrigue.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I don't find this world as compelling as those from some of Bujold's other settings, but she couldn't write a bad book if she tried. This one still kept me up past my bedtime reading. Her characters are always compelling, even those you hate. Some are downright funny. Some play the buffoon well.

I gave this book 2 stars because Ms. Bujold's writing style is wonderful, as in all of her books. The book itself is very disappointing. The first 65% or so of the book takes place entirely in the main character's head. He is trying to understand the precipitating event for the story. As I said, it's very well-written, but it goes on and on. When some action does finally take place, it unfolds at such a leisurely pace that the reader has no problems seeing what is going to happen.

Often when I am looking at information about books I also want to know about the audio version. A bad narration for instance can ruin an audio book experience. Luckily, this one is read by a narrator who has no trouble with Bujold's made up names-- she is consistent in pronunciation and doesn't stumble. If I had my druthers, I would rather have had this book read by Lloyd James-- his narration of Curse of Chalion was very, very good. But this is still a good solid effort. If occasionally I had to ponder a section to realize that a line was thought rather than spoken by the character I still found the book to be an enjoyable listen.

For a fan of Bujold's other works, The Hallowed Hunt is bound to be disappointing, but it's still much better than the majority of other novels in the genre. The main problem with this book is the lack of characterization. Both of the main characters, Ingrey and Ijada, are very flat and two dimensional. Bujold seems to be trying to make up for this by giving them a lot of weird powers (which accumulate over the course of the book), but it has the same effect as frosting a loaf of bread. The major villain also lacks character depth (and has even weirder powers). He does, however, manage to be suitably sinister with being cliched, which is a point in Bujold's favor.

Other than that, the Hallowed Hunt is very good. The plot is entertaining, and the ending is downright gripping. The are some interesting minor characters, including Lewko, a petty saint, and Hallana, a pregnant sorceress who sheds small amounts of disorder wherever she goes. I especially enjoyed the forest magic and the ancient tribal shamanism that Bujold has added to the traditional Quintarian theology of her other Chalion books. Once again she has delivered a refeshingly original setting as well as a fast paced plot, and these were enough to hold my interest despite the novel's other weaknesses.

I should mention that despite it's faults, The Hallowed Hunt is MUCH better than Bujold's latest book, Beguilement, which has good characters but absolutely no plot at all. Hopefully next time she'll be able to capture the best of both worlds.

I'd read the prior 2 books in this series and expected to be less impressed with this one after reading the other reviews here. Now that I've read it I'd say the negative reviews are too picky. This is a great book.

IMO, this seems to read faster than the prior two, so you might think it's 'lighter' or less complex. Perhaps, but it has a well-developed set of characters, plenty of plot turns to keep you interested, yet with smooth reading. I liked how these characters and the issues they were facing were put into the same universe as the prior 2 books, yet they were separate enough to be different and interesting.

I picked it up on vacation and got hooked quickly. Give it a try!

I read the mainly negative reviews here and was concerned about purchasing The Hallowed Hunt, so I checked it out from the library first. Now, I'll admit that I found something lacking in the Paladin of Souls, but whatever was missing there had shown up in the Hallowed Hunt.

I liked this bok. The story was interesting and the characters were fairly unique. Okay, the heroine wasn't as fully fleshed out as I may have liked, but the story wasn't about her. It was about the gods and theology. And this is where the book really shone. I have enjoyed Bujold's unique viewpont of the gods and heaven and that's what I've considered the best of her Chalion books. And the Hallowed Hunt is really about a crusade of the gods. The people aren't that important, and that why their caracters weren't a fully developed as some would have liked. They were just vessels. And I think Bujold was trying to make that point which is why the characters were rarely fleshed out.

That being said, the ending seemed abrupt. I think if Bujold had taken another 30 pages or so to flesh out the events in the end it would have been better. Considering the slow pace she used to build up to the climax, it's disapointing that she hurried through the whole reason for the story. I felt like I needed to reread the last 60 pages or so because I missed so much of what was really going on. But I'll still go out a buy a copy.

James Nicoll has posted a non-spoiler review of "The Hallowed Hunt" on his live-journal, and since there are currently no reviews or summaries of the book here, I thought I should post it here as well:

So I finally read this. It's sitting in the work related TBR pile for ages, because I keep what I think will be the best manuscripts for last, to help me get through the latest "Recent Plot Chunk of On-Going Fantasy Story #62" and "Loud Explosion Clumsy Info Dump Space Adventure #23", which I wouldn't have to read if you people would just stop buying them.

Bias: I am not a fantasy fan. It's not like I hate it but it just doesn't punch the right buttons for me. It's like coffee, which I like, vs tea, which I am indifferent to.

Omission: I have not read the second book in this series.

Good News: It doesn't matter. Each book set in this universe is a complete book and each comes with enough information of the world that you do not need to have read the other books.

The book begins shortly after the brutal (but justly earned) killing of Prince Boleso. Boleso was done in by Ijada, a well-born lady whose immediate family is dead. The Prince thought her isolation made her an easy target for a rite he wanted to attempt and right up to the moment when she smashed his head in, his plan was working exactly as it was supposed to. Lord Ingrey is given the distasteful task of investigating the death and of dealing with Ijada, who has a very good chance of being put to death, both of regicide (or whatever killing the Spare is called) and for having been the target of the particular rite the Prince performed. Ingrey has very good reason to be sympathetic to Ijada, since as we learn early in the book, he was the subject of a similar rite and only escaped destruction through a special dispensation.

This would normally be enough to drive a book but in fact the killing of the Prince and the use of poorly considered magic are fairly far down the list of serious challenges the pair will face. There are worse things to fear than bungled spells, incompetent would-be sorcerers and court politics; Lord Ingrey and Lady Ijada are going to get to deal with some of those things.

I think that's vague enough.

I enjoyed it. Her little kingdom has history, which is a plus, and demographic succession is not presented as a thorough process, also a plus. You can also enjoy the book without caring about either of those or anything beyond an adventure story, if that is what you want, but it's nice to see something other than a painted backdrop.

I liked it. I expect her readers will, too.

While colorful and dimensional, this author does not waste time describing every flower, tree, dress, etc. along the way. She gives detail to what is important to reader involvement without becoming verbose. I really like her style.

I really enjoyed this book...honestly, I wanted to like it more. The writing is evocative and engaging--Bujold paints some amazingly beautiful and haunting pictures with her words--the characters are interesting, and the story has a flow that carries the reader along from beginning to end. As it's own book, I thought it was excellent. As part of the Chalion series, it seemed a little out of place. The connections to the previous Chalion books (Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls) seem tentative at best. It almost felt like Bujold had re-purposed another story for this novel. Given how tightly the previous two books were connected, the disconnect here felt a little jarring. That aside, it's still a wonderfully told story, and definitely worth reading.

A lot of reviewers seem to feel that "The Hallowed Hunt" is unengaging, and I an see somewhat what they are talking about, but after about 30 pages it really starts to seat itself, and by the midpoint it becomes practically impossible to put down. On the whole I would have to say that as the Chalion books proceed they get better and better. This entry also benefits from the new setting, which is much freer and less tied to real historical analogues and far more internally coherent than the Ibran setting of the earlier books.

I highly recommend it, especially if you liked "Paladin of Souls"

This is a good fantasy novel set in the same universe used by the author in 2 prior books. While this is a independent story, this book is easier to read if you're familiar with the prior books. Bujold continues her articulation of the underlying religous/magical structure of this universe in an interesting way, adding levels of complexity to the structure in a reasonably systematic manner. The plot is ingenious. This book is competently, as opposed to well, written. As commented by some other reviewers, the depth of characterization is not as good as some of her other books and it is not as witty as some prior work. Still well above average for this genre.

Reread as I wait for new book to come out. I loved the book when it first came out, but despised the villain. (boo, hiss!)
Now I read it and skipped most of scenes where the villain dominates – and enjoyed it much more.

The Good
* Our Heroine Iyada doesn’t want to sleep with the prince, but she’s too dignified to beg for rescue from someone who isn’t going to help her.
* Iyada may be naïve about the courts giving justice to someone who killed in self-defense – killed a prince in self-defense – but she’s very clever about solving the ghost problem.
* Our Hero Ingrey in black leather. I want fan art.

The Bad
* Our Villain doesn’t want to take over the world anymore. He just wants to quit. Hello, depression!
* Princess Fara thinks men have to lay down their lives for the prince and women just have to lay down, it’s all the same thing. BOOOO
* Ingrey saves all the ghosts, but he can’t call his dad’s ghost. *sniffle sniffle bawl*

The Double Take:
* Prince Jokol Skullsplitter and his huge axe. But he is ‘skull splitter’ because he can drink massive quantities of booze, and because he memorized enough poetry to split his skull.
Check your assumptions. In fact, check your assumptions at the door. – Lois McMaster Bujold, Vorkosigan saga
* Ingrey ordering the rampaging polar bear “Down” – and it gets down
* When Ijada decides to marry Ingrey, she figures Right Now is a good time. And the guests she has – princes, priests, ghostly heroes – are all the guests she needs, thank you very much.

Lois McMaster Bujold has done something with this novel that I did not think she was capable of doing: She wrote a boring book! The characters are flat, especially the point-of-view character, who does not seem to have any control over what's going on around him and doesn't try to do anything about it. The story itself is almost impossible to follow and, when you figure it out (I think I did anyway), you don't really care. There is one great scene, however, that almost redeems the entire book--when the lead character meets one of the gods, you feel like you're right there. Too bad the entire novel did not have that powerful writing.

This past weekend I reread this book and saw a high school performance of Pippin. As a consequence, I'm in Charlemagne overload. The backstory to The Hallowed Hunt has many obvious parallels to the Bloody Verdict of Verden and yet those events are merely a jumping off point for one of Ms. Bujold's intricate morality plays. The plot is a little slow (with several wonderful wordscapes as compensation, say "pirate poet" three times fast) until the last 1/3rd, whereupon it takes off like a runaway horse. The characters are satisfyingly complicated and self-consistent.

I am a little frustrated that the whole story is told from the POV of the protagonist, Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff. I think the character insights from the he-thought-she-thought narrative of The Spirit Ring (another Bujold novel) was one of its best features and I really wanted to know more about the heroine's, Ijada's, motivations. Hmmpf.

So: excellent prose (as usual), interesting character motivations, complicated historical allusions, slow & talky start, slam-bang finish. Not one of Ms. Bujold's best, but definitely worth reading and rereading (a 10%er in Sturgeon's Law-speak).

I picked this up out of curiosity, as I am a fan of the Miles books. I find it to be just as intricate, though quite a change of pace. I did not have a chance to read the Curse of Chalion, and in the first few chapters it was clear that I was missing something. It resolved as an issue rather soon. I, once again, put sleeping off much longer than I should have.

Don't get me wrong, Bujold is a fantastic writer--far better than most. However, her 3 most recent offerings, The Hallowed Hunt and The Sharing Knife parts 1 and 2, are not, to me, even comparable to her previous books. I cannot give her less than 4 stars for these, but I am disappointed--her work normally rates 10.

Lois Bujold is my favorite author. Even her worst book (and this is it) is better than nothing--some fascinating characters, a complex and stunningly-imagined world, and imaginative plot.

So what's missing?

For one thing, her usual abundance of secondary appealing characters; instead we have mostly sketchy, and unattractive stick figures like the unconvincing would-be "hallowed king," Horseriver, and his unpleasant princess wife, Fara. There are a few intriguing exceptions: Jokol, the poet-prince visiting from a foreign land, and the gravid healer/mage Hallana, for instance. Which just makes their rarity more obvious.

The middle of the book simply doesn't have a plot which could hold my attention. The beginning and the end of the book come closer to Bujold's usual high standard, but the middle surprised me; it was boring. I didn't think Bujold could write a boring chapter; it turns out she can.

If you're new to Bujold's work, Don't Start With This One. If you haven't read Paladin of Souls and The Curse of Chalion and are fond of fantasy literature, they're delightful and I recommend them highly. If you've devoured everything she wrote and don't want to reread one of her books the sixth time, The Hallowed Hunt is better than nothing.
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Upon re-reading the book--several months later--I would, if possible, give this little work 2 stars rather than 1. As other readers have suggested, my high regard for Bujold's work make me compare this book to her wonderful works in general. The miracle is that she usually performs magic herself. No wonder that this middling-good work disappointed me. It is worth rereading, and worth two stars.

Another good book in the Chalion series. LMB's fantasy writing is brilliant - I'm not a fan of her SciFi. If you liked the others in the series you'll like this one. Its not a sequel as no characters from previous books are mentioned. It just uses the same world for a new story.

Dont believe the naysayers. I read the first 2 books in this series and then stopped bc so many people wrote terrible reviews for this book and how it wasnt as good. Engaging, well-written, and a new interesting history to add to the chalion verse. Read it.

I expected this book to be from Ista's point of view, and was greatly disappointed to find that the POV character was a man called Ingrey. That disappointment lasted, unfortunately, though it is no fault of Bujold's that I loved Ista so much and had been looking forward to this book because I'd wrongly assumed it would feature her!

I finished the book, anyway, and it was good reading. I stopped in the middle to go read another book I'd wanted to read more, and the fact that I could do that means this book is at most 3 stars.

I eagerly awaited "The Hallowed Hunt," and bought it on the first day it was available. While it opens strongly, the main characters engage with no moral dilemmas and do not grow over the course of the novel, in contrast with "Paladin of Souls" or "The Curse of Chalion." The most interesting characters, disappointingly, are the supporting characters, of whom I look forward to seeing more.

For me, this is probably the least rewarding of all of Bujold's novels, including "Spirit Ring." Still, she does know how to write a page turner, and that skill serves the novel well. 3 (disappointed) stars.

This is the first book I've read by Lois McMaster Bujold. I really enjoyed it.

She created a very believable and complex world. She had a nuanced approach to magic, which I appreciated, and wonderful characters. The plot was engaging throughout. My only complaints are that the story seemed a bit too neat and convenient in places and occassionally a bit hard to follow.

I just can't get over how good this series is. I still think Curse of Challion was the best book (not just of this series either, I'd say it is probably my favourite novel), but this story was certainly brilliant, as are most of Bujold's books.

I love Bujold's work. I've worn my way through multiple copies of several of her books, and learned to buy in hardcover wherever I can. I'm so glad I got this one from the library.

The time I spent slogging through The Hallowed Hunt could have better been spent eagerly re-reading any three of Bujold's other books. Although listed as book 3 in the enjoyable Chalion series, Chalion is only a marginal kingdom for the setting of this book - only the religion carries over from the earlier series. There is no action, and no interesting characterization. Characters reveal their secrets through the dull monologues and trite conversation. The plot isn't fully developed until halfway through the book, but that doesn't create suspense, just boredom.

The most interesting thing about The Hallowed Hunt is that I found myself going through the five stages of grief after reading it. More or less, anyway - true "denial" would have inspired a re-read, and there's no way I'm going to do that. A week ago, I would've said that I would never find a book by Lois McMaster Bujold that I didn't like. I guess I've reached "acceptance," because now I can say that I have.

This was a lovely story - not as well written as the first two Chalion books but it is a 5 star read nontheless. I would give the first two 6-10 stars frankly.

I no longer wish for her to only write Vorkosigan now. But I would like to have more of Ista's travels.

After an excellent start, this series went downhill - to the extent that this (third) book is probably not even worth reading.

Set in a land far to the east, beyond Darthaca, Chalion is barely even mentioned in this book - and what made the first two books good doesn't appear either.

The characters are wooden, with none of them truly believable. The land (The Weald!?) seems half-formed and isn't very well realised. Worst of all is the new magic system. The whole 'animal-spirits-bonded-to-human-spirits' thing didn't make the slightest bit of sense.

Stick to the first two books of this series and forget about this clunker.

I don't know how Lois McMaster Bujold does it, but her stories are never predictable. In a field (fantasy) where the reader can so often predict the outcome of a story by page 10, this book kept me turning the pages with anticipation until the very end.

I probably won't return to this novel as often as I will to her previous book Paladin of Souls, but it definitely goes on my list of books to reread.

I'm a big fan of Ms. Bujold's -- I've read most of the Miles Vorkosigan novels at least twice, some particular elements of the series many more times... I thought Curse of Chalion was great, but I was a little disappointed in Paladin of Souls ... This book was not as good as Book 1, but definitely better than Book 2. It had quite a few interesting twists along the way...

Lois McMaster has always been reliable when it comes to exciting fun reads. This time is no different. What is different is the switch from her sci-fi world of Miles to the fantasy landscape. She created a world and situations I found an excellent twist on the usual fantasy genre all set within a darling love story. A good read.

... not really a sword-and-sorcery buff.

This series of books is well-written, but like all magic-based stories, seems arbitrary and mushy compared to her Vorkosigan Saga books. I enjoyed these because Ms. Bujold is such a talented word-smith, but if I had it to do over again, I think I'd Pass.

Fans of the genre will love them, I think.

You decide.

The Chalion series is one of Bujold's best. I just wish it hadn't taken me so many years to get around to reading it. Bujold is at her most complex best, wrapping intricate and engrossing plotlines around personal angst and growth and the human condition. If you like Bujold and haven't read these yet, or if you haven't read her books at all, this is an excellent series to start with.