Book 1), Beguilement (The Sharing Knife

Like many novels, Bujold's Beguilement is multi-layered. On one level, it is a fantasy novel where Lakewalker patrollers protect the lands from malice. On another, it's a romance novel, where the veteran patroller, Dag, and a runaway farm girl, Fawn Bluefield, meet under life-threatening circumstances and, as one might suspect, develop a romantic relationship with one another.

There are other things going in Beguilement, such as the dichotomy between Lakewalkers and farmers, but, for purposes of this review, I'd like to focus on the fantasy and romance layers first.

First, the fantasy: In this respect, Beguilement is good stuff. It takes place in an unnamed world where Lakewalkers, thought to have once been lords and known to be sorcerers, patrol the lands searching for signs of blight and its cause, malices. A malice is a concentration of energy, what Lakewalkers term 'ground', brought to life under mysterious and not fully understood circumstances. Malices are not good. They bring with them beguilement and death, draining the ground from other beings in order to evolve into increasingly more powerful beings. Worst of all, a malice doesn't understand death. This grants them a certain immortality.

Enter the sharing knife.

A sharing knife is a special Lakewalker weapon that, when used on a malice, 'shares' a death with the creature. This act of sharing is the only way to kill a malice.

As much as the book's title denotes one of the principal powers of a malice, it also refers to the effect Dag and Fawn have on one another. Herein enters the romance.

Dag is a dry-witted Lakewalker, a veteran with over twenty malice kills and a reputation as a capable, resourceful patroller. He has tragedy in his makeup, which I won't say necessarily haunts him, but certainly fills him with a sense of regret. It is this regret which increasingly weighs heavy on him when, out on patrol, a new malice threat and a farmer girl named Fawn Bluefield enter his life. I won't ruin anything about the encounter with the malice, only that both Dag and Fawn survive and go on to become lovers. It's an odd relationship: by custom, Lakewalkers and farmers do not interrelate in such ways. They take this 'forbidden love' back to Fawn's home where much drama ensues between herself, her family, and Dag.

That, in a nutshell, is what Beguilement is about. The story has points of slowness, but I never felt like it bogged down. The writing is excellent and tight; while there are other sub-plots intertwined with the main ones, none of them were a distraction. If anything, exactly the opposite: there's plenty of character-building here, and the characters are grounded, believable, and exceptionally thought-out. Fawn, despite entering the story as a runaway farm girl (which seemed a bit of a stereotype), soon shows us she is much more. Dag, for his part, plays the role of veteran soldier-sorcerer well; it's what lies beneath that draws the reader in and allows us to sympathize with his past and what he hopes for his future.

I found Bujold's system of magic and such concepts as the sharing knife to be original and intriguing. In many ways, it was this intrigue which kept me reading and wanting to know more.

One warning: Bujold leaps from one book to another with nary a break in the story. I imagine her having written all four books at one time (is there a fifth still to come?), then the publisher coming along later and slicing it into the four books we currently have. This probably isn't the case, but that's how one might look at it. With that in mind, if you read Beguilement, you'll at least want to pick up Legacy, because it picks up right where book one left off and goes a long way towards concluding the storyline begun in book one.

I think Bujold delivers with Beguilement and the larger The Sharing Knife series as a whole. Superb writing, well-grounded characters, and an intriguing magic system all come together to form an entertaining, engaging read.

Fawn Bluefield spent the night in a barn and she’s a bit road weary for it. She had to leave her family’s farm and now she’s on her way to Glassforge, one of the larger cities, to find work. However, she’s soon swept up in an adventure she didn’t anticipate, one that takes much from her but holds the possibility of giving her much in return.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. Fawn is in her late teens or early twenties and she has made this tough choice to head out on her own. We learn really early on that she’s pregnant and she doesn’t want to burden her family with the consequences, but she also doesn’t want to face their ridicule. As we learn about Fawn and her troubles, we also learn about this magical world around her. Plus, Fawn is short for her age and folks tend to underestimate her, or talk over her head and she has to correct them on that.

The Lakewalkers are little known to Fawn, other than she thinks it’s best to leave them alone. They patrol the area, often hunting malices and their mudmen. As a malice grows in size, it starts kidnapping more and more humans to do it’s bidding. The Lakewalkers do their best to put down these malices but with the constant suspicion from the settled folks, it can be a bit tough. Dag is an older Lakewalker with plenty of scars and losses to bear. Yet when Fawn needs his help, he doesn’t hesitate. The Lakewalker patrols are made up of both men and women and seem a but more open about several things, things that Fawn asks about later on, much to my amusement as it makes Dag blush!

I was definitely fascinated by the sharing knives and the groundsense the Lakewalkers have. This mystical element really drew me in and I found myself pondering all the ways one could make use of groundsense. I’m sure the Lakewalkers have some intricate social niceties when it comes to groundsense, just trying to be polite and not intrude on one another’s private thoughts and feelings. The sharing knives were intriguing but I found the rules for their making and use to be confusing. Perhaps that is better explained further along in the series.

The malices made me think of alien spores that were left here to terraform the planet to the aliens’s liking but were then abandoned because we have Lakewalkers who have sharing knives. Anyway, the malice in this story isn’t a straight up evil. It’s not something that Fawn can easily relate to or understand. But thankfully Dag has the experience and knows what to do! I think these malices are an interesting and worthy foe for the story.

Then we get to the second half of the book, which is just all romance. Now, I was already invested in Fawn and Dag, so I finished the book out. But I am not a romance genre person so I found the second half of the book slow and uneventful. There were some little nuggets here and there, such as meeting Fawn’s grandmother and learning about the bindings Lakewalkers use in their relationships, but the bulk of it was a snooze for me.

I really liked that the author put in common things that many women have to deal with that we typically don’t see in other fantasy fiction. There’s accidental pregnancy, miscarriage, talk of menstruation, and rape. Just an FYI – the rape is left incomplete because the bad guy is no longer able to continue on. I think authors shouldn’t be afraid to include such things in fiction because many of these things happen to many women and women make up a sizable part of the reading community. Kudos to the author for doing so!

I’m intrigued enough to want to continue the series but I probably won’t be dashing off to do so. Half a book of romance will last me quite some time.

The Narration: Bernadette Dunne was great for this book. She had a practical, if sometimes young, Fawn down to a tee. I also liked her gruff voice for Dag. She had a great older female voice for the practical Mari, Dag’s patrol captain.

Beguilement is the 2nd Bujold novel I have read. The first was The Hallowed Hunt, the 2nd book in a series. I liked these 2 major characters, Dag and Fawn, much better as well as the magic described in it. (Hmmm... Maybe starting with book 2 in a series is not the best way to become enchanted with a series.) Anyhow, the reason for trying another Bujold series again - in the proper sequence this time - was because the characterization, intelligence and wit of the writer and the world-building in THH was so richly displayed. I knew another book by Bujold would be a pleasure and I was not disappointed. Dag and Fawn, residents of the same world but miles apart in terms of age, culture, knowledge and abilities, find themselves thrown together due to a catastrophic chain of events that reveals to a young Fawn the dark forces converging on her seemingly bucolic farming life and the troubling implications of that ignorance. Dag, a weary, maimed, older "patroller" finds himself protecting and educating Fawn to these once unknown but ever-present dangers only to put both of their futures in jeopardy with their respective communities when he slowly falls in love with Fawn and her courage, active and resourceful intelligence and her sheer force of will. So, yes, this is a romance but, even if you don't like your romance washed with your fantasy, don't despair!. Bujold knows how to keep her genres balanced and both types of readerships will come out of this experience happy. Before the end of book one, i had already gotten book two for my kindle library. There are so many real world dilemmas addressed in this book (series): the plight of women in a patriarchal society, the push and pull of an agrarian lifestyle vs. a metropolitan one and the obligations to one's own self versus the demands and needs of family and community. Oh, and then there's these evil creatures that devour life and mutate other beings at will - humans and animals both - in a quest to dominate the world. Could Dag and Fawn's surprising romance be a key in finally destroying this menace? Bujold puts a well-calibrated amount of everyday trials and concerns in the couple's way to build up the tension for both the natural and supernatural challenges this odd pair has to confront.

Although I found the book enjoyable enough to read to the end, there were a lot of things I did not like about this story.

It starts off as fantasy with lots of action, then suddenly switches to a laborious romance novel. The beginning of the book hooks you with its world building and the promise of a final boss battle with an interesting creature. The monster is destroyed and the action ends, but you're only a few chapters in. The fight against evil gets shoved aside, replaced completely by Fawn and Dag's unrealistic, sappy, predictable love story.

I have a hard time feeling sympathy for Fawn when she runs away from home. She feels very immature, and lacking depth. When some of the horrid things that happen to her seem to pass by her with little to no emotional reaction, I can't connect to her as a person. But she is happy to spend time thinking constantly about how she wants people to respect her and not treat her like a child. It feels like a winy teenager, even though she is in her early 20s (I think? It changes at some point, she may be as young as 18). We're told she is intelligent, but I can't remember an instance in which I truly saw her being intelligent. Mostly she is the damsel in distress. Too small, too injured, too inexperienced to fend for herself. Her main redeeming quality is that she is open minded about the taboo lakewalkers, and is very likable when she wants them to be her friends. But once she is back home with her family, she loses her ability to be likable and friendly, reverting back to immaturity.

Dag, on the other hand, I found much more interesting and layered. Walling himself off from romantic interests, struggling with his duty and his feelings, the care he shows for his people and protecting the land. I don't really understand why a mature, enjoyable person like him was attracted to Fawn who seemed one dimensional and childish. Not to mention the 30+ year age difference between them. At one point we are told that Dag is interested in her because she has a curious nature. Sure, she asks questions like anyone would. I really didn't find her to be unusually curious, and certainly not enough to make someone fall in love with her for it. I found myself wishing the author gave him someone else to have a romance with. Unfortunately he also lost his charm by the end of the book, because the romance that dragged on at the end sucked any tension out of the character. All his previous doubts, fears and inner conflicts that made him endearing seemed to melt away so that he could become a picture perfect romantic interest that is nearly as one dimensional as Fawn.

This story could have been improved by replacing Fawn with a more mature and likable character, and/or cutting the romance section short and getting back to the action. It's not that I dislike romance, but when the story used it as the sole focus it became dull. I would have rather continued to see the romance and action together, then split what felt like into separate stories. Had the story been more like the beginning of the book, I would likely be reading book 2 right now. Instead, I've decided not to continue the series. If I happen to see the next book at a thrift store I might pick it up out of curiosity, but I won't be purchasing this on my Kindle.

Fleeing her large, unsupportive farming family and an uncertain future, young Fawn Bluefield makes her way to Glassforge, a city where she hopes to make a new life. En route she runs into Dag Redwing, an "old" experienced Lakewalker patroller out hunting what farmers call blight bogles or malices - evil spirits which take over the essence of living beings, animal and humans alike. Most mysterious to the farmers is the sharing knifes they carry, which are made of human bone and primed by the willing death of a fellow Lakewalker. Being a Lakewalker himself Dag is willing to "share" a life with a malice and has the ability to sense a person's ground, or essence. Unbeknown to Fawn, Dag feels her groundsense that day. They both go their own ways until Fawn is captured by a malice herself and Dag comes to her rescue. Fawn is not defenseless however and in their next encounter she unknowingly binds them together when she uses Dag's unprimed sharing knife to kill their attacker. What ensues is a journey of clashing cultures, shared sorrows and unexpected healing for both Fawn and Dag, who has his own emotional baggage to carry.

And that was my favorite part about this book - shaggy-haired, lanky, one-handed Dag Redwing. Caring, resourceful, and experienced, he modestly goes about his patroller business as one of the best out there. He's always believed he's lacked the creative magic that some Lakewalkers possess but he's has that, too although he doesn't know it. At one point he's out both hands and he still manages to defend Fawn, whether it's a malice attack or misguided missive? from her own people. While I missed some of the worldbuilding and action of the first half, which is more traditionally fantasy-quest plotted, I still found the cultural negotiation between Lakewalker and farmer culture in the last half interesting. I knew going in that this is romantic fantasy, so at times the focus would be more on the main relationship and their character development, and nothing is lacking in this category. Both Fawn and Dag's backstories are revealed gradually as their relationship slowly develops into something more than friends. Surprisingly enough to me, even the age gap wasn't off-putting. I loved Dag and came to really like simple, naïve yet mature Fawn. I connected with her outcast family situation and the quiet courage that emerged when she most needed it. I wish the sharing knife plotline could've played out in this book because frankly I found the concepts of malices, groundsense, and sharing knifes all very intriguing. Otherwise Beguilement was a well-executed and satisfying romantic fantasy that I would recommend to fans of the subgenre.

After reading Lois McMaster Bujold's first Chalion book, I was an instant fan. So, I was really excited to get my hands on the audio versions of the first two novels in her second fantasy series: The Sharing Knife.

Alas, it really pains me to have to write a lackluster review for anything Bujold does, but here we go.

First, let me say that Beguilement is a romance novel, as clearly stated by Bujold herself on her website. In short, Fawn is not respected by her family. She is teased and called "stupid" by her parents and big brothers. She has gotten herself in some trouble, so she runs away from home. She manages to get herself in some more trouble when she meets the minions of a "malice," a creature which sucks the life out of nearby living objects and can only be killed by sharing knives which are made of human bones and are primed by a human's death (someone has to give their life to the knife). Fortunately, Dag comes along with his knives and saves Fawn's life a couple of times. Because of an unexpected occurrence with the knives, Fawn and Dag find themselves traveling together. During that time Dag realizes that even though Fawn is extremely naive, she's actually very bright. And a relationship develops....

Second, let me mention that I really disliked the voice of the audiobook reader, Bernadette Dunn. I have heard her before (Memoirs of a Geisha) and I liked her then, but that was a novel about a Geisha. Her voice doesn't work for Beguilement. It's too feminine, so the parts of the novel that were written with the male point of view (Dag) make him sound wimpy and weak. The voice she used for the female (Fawn) was too naive-sounding, hickish, syrupy, whiny, and often downright cloying.

Two strikes already, but Bujold clearly warns me that it's a romance, and she can't control the voice of the audiobook reader, so I won't fault her for those issues. And, as usual, Bujold's writing is superb. Her characters are well realized (she's very good at letting us view their inner thoughts) and dialogue is realistic.

Here are my main problems with Beguilement:

1. Fawn is unbelievably naive and has low self-esteem. This does not make for a fun or admirable heroine. Her family tells her she's stupid, so she thinks she's stupid. She whines and uses the word "stupid" a lot. I'm guessing that Bujold is trying to impart the lesson that when parents tell kids they are stupid, the kids end up with low self-esteem. Hey, I'm a psychologist, and I'm in total agreement with Ms Bujold's philosophy, but it was getting to the point where I was wondering if Richard Rahl (Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth) was going to show up and start lecturing about Fawn's nobility of spirit.

2. Dag, while likeable, is MUCH older than Fawn. I mean like decades. It'd be like Jordin Sparks with Phil Collins. That's a little creepy.

3. The magic system is really interesting (as Bujold's magic always is). The malices are fascinating, but after the first encounter with one early in the plot, we are treated to no more of these interactions. The rest of the book is slowly pushed along by dialogue, romance, and wedding preparations rather than action.

For someone looking for a chatty romance, I'm sure Bujold is way better than most everything on the romance shelves. But for someone who is expecting the greatness of Chalion, sadly, this isn't it. However, I do wonder if now that we've got the romance out of the way, might she return to the problem of the malices in book two? Now that Fawn and Dag are together, might Fawn have more self-confidence and be a more interesting heroine? Just in case, I think I'll try Legacy. I wouldn't want to miss any excellent Bujold fantasy. --FantasyLiterature.net

I'm coming fresh from reading the Vorkosigan Saga (e.g. Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga)). I picked up this book hoping to begin another series of similar scope and content. I'm not certain I have.

Others have described the story better than I can. Suffice it to say it is a fantasy set in a naturalistic world. It felt like a rough analog settler days of the US, minus the guns and more impressive machinery such as steam engines. There is magic, and there are monsters, but the magic shown is closer to being 'in tune' with the environment than sorcery.

Like other Bujold work I've seen, Beguilement is well written and character driven. One surprise for me was just how central the romance was in the story. It wasn't quite to the level of a pure romance novel, but easily got halfway there.

The book was interesting, and its ending appropriate if not completely satisfying. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume to find out what happens next.

I'm an avid sci-fi / fantasy reader. I don't generally read romance. I found this book satisfying: good, but not great. Hence, four stars.

In many ways, this first book of the Sharing Knife series is a return to Bujold's roots as a traditional fantasy writer. Its simpler world and structure hark back to her early effort The Spirit Ring.

Fawn the farmer girl is on the road alone. She's pregnant by a neighbor boy and she's not going to stay at home to endure the disgrace. She's heard of malices, but doesn't exactly believe in them. She stops at a farmyard for a drink of water from the well. When the Lakewalkers ride in, she hides.

The Lakewalkers are nomadic bands who rove the land, looking for trouble. Although there's tension between them and the farmers, everyone knows that when a malice appears the Lakewalkers are the ones who have to deal with it. There's a magic in them that allows them to kill the malices, but the rituals they use make the farmers murmur of black magic.

Dag the Lakewalker patroller carries two sharing knives made from the leg bones of his kin. One knife has been primed for use by a mercy stroke that killed a dying Lakewalker; it's ready to kill a malice. The other knife is made from the bone of his dead wife; it's empty, ready to kill Dag himself.

Fawn's pregnancy makes her the target of a newly-hatched malice. Dag tosses her the pouch, only she gets the knives mixed up. Somehow the unprimed knife absorbs the spirit of her unborn child that the malice has just killed.

It's a puzzle and Fawn and Dag become entangled and then fall in love. Just as this is not a typical fantasy, Dag and Fawn are not the typical romantic couple. He lost an arm in the same malice war that killed his first wife and he's more than 30 years older than Fawn. Dag and Fawn are engaging separate characters; as they struggle to find a way to be accepted by Fawn's family the reader falls in love with them.

Beguilement starts as a traditional romance, two lovers trying to overcoming the barriers put between them by their mutually suspicious societies. But it's set in a fantastic world with "Lakewalkers" using their powers to defeat the remnants of a long-ago apocalypse. The nations of old never recovered, leaving the world lightly populated and still trying to reclaim abandoned lands.

Bujold wrote this series to break one of the key unspoken premises of SF/Fantasy - that resolving a plot requires dealing with a political power structure. In the Sharing Knife series our heroes have to deal with everyone as equals, persuading them, or failing to, on their own merits and making changes solely through their own actions. No monarchy to be heir to, or Headmaster to guide them, or opposing nation to bring down. Just Dag and Fawn trying to use their own lives as a way to change the world for the better.

It's a shock to some readers--who've written bitterly disappointed reviews on this page--but I like it.

Whether you would rather classify this as a fantasy novel or a romance novel, there is no question that it is well written. Ms. Bujold has created a rich world full of complex characters and a history that we only get a glimpse of in this first installment. There are moments of tense action and brutal violence along with the beginning of a deep romantic involvement between two of the characters.

I truly enjoyed this novel and even during the slower moments of day to day life, found the characters and writing vibrant enough to hold my interest throughout. The magic system is fairly unique and I am interested in learning more about the origins and limitations as well as learning more about the history of this fascinating fanatasy world.

A lot of people have complained that this book is a romance novel disguised as a fantasy just to get fantasy fans to purchase it. I disagree. My only complaint was that the main love scene in the book was a bit long for my tastes and a bit more detailed than what I am used to in traditional fantasy novels. However, the romance plot line in general really helps to flesh out the story and give some vulnerability to the tales principle characters.

Along that note, one of my favorite things about this novel was that the main characters in it are not superhuman as in a lot of traditional fantasy. Both of the main characters have physical and other limitations that make them seem more real and believable.

All in all, an excellent novel and am looking forward to the second installment in the series.

I just finished reading this last night. It took every ounce of my will power to finish it. I read the reviews on how great an author this person is, but I was very disappointed.
I liked the plot, I think that has something going for it. but it just never kicked in. The characters are good, but I never felt pulled into them, there was never a moment I said to myself, "Oh I can't wait to find out what's happening to her, or him."
In the end would I buy or read the next one in the series. Probably not.

Lois McMaster Bujold has written quite a number of the best books that I have ever read, so I picked this one up as soon as it came out. And I hated it. I had no interest in the characters or the story. Her prose was its usual sterling self, but the book was dreadful. If you like her other work I would suggest staying away from this series.

In many ways, this first book of the Sharing Knife series is a return to Bujold's roots as a traditional fantasy writer. Its simpler world and structure hark back to her early effort The Spirit Ring.

Fawn the farmer girl is on the road alone. She's pregnant by a neighbor boy and she's not going to stay at home to endure the disgrace. She's heard of malices, but doesn't exactly believe in them. She stops at a farmyard for a drink of water from the well. When the Lakewalkers ride in, she hides.

The Lakewalkers are nomadic bands who rove the land, looking for trouble. Although there's tension between them and the farmers, everyone knows that when a malice appears the Lakewalkers are the ones who have to deal with it. There's a magic in them that allows them to kill the malices, but the rituals they use make the farmers murmur of black magic.

Dag the Lakewalker patroller carries two sharing knives made from the leg bones of his kin. One knife has been primed for use by a mercy stroke that killed a dying Lakewalker; it's ready to kill a malice. The other knife is made from the bone of his dead wife; it's empty, ready to kill Dag himself.

Fawn's pregnancy makes her the target of a newly-hatched malice. Dag tosses her the pouch, only she gets the knives mixed up. Somehow the unprimed knife absorbs the spirit of her unborn child that the malice has just killed.

It's a puzzle and Fawn and Dag become entangled and then fall in love. Just as this is not a typical fantasy, Dag and Fawn are not the typical romantic couple. He lost an arm in the same malice war that killed his first wife and he's more than 30 years older than Fawn. Dag and Fawn are engaging separate characters; as they struggle to find a way to be accepted by Fawn's family the reader falls in love with them.

Beguilement starts as a traditional romance, two lovers trying to overcoming the barriers put between them by their mutually suspicious societies. But it's set in a fantastic world with "Lakewalkers" using their powers to defeat the remnants of a long-ago apocalypse. The nations of old never recovered, leaving the world lightly populated and still trying to reclaim abandoned lands.

Bujold wrote this series to break one of the key unspoken premises of SF/Fantasy - that resolving a plot requires dealing with a political power structure. In the Sharing Knife series our heroes have to deal with everyone as equals, persuading them, or failing to, on their own merits and making changes solely through their own actions. No monarchy to be heir to, or Headmaster to guide them, or opposing nation to bring down. Just Dag and Fawn trying to use their own lives as a way to change the world for the better.

It's a shock to some readers--who've written bitterly disappointed reviews on this page--but I like it.

Whether you would rather classify this as a fantasy novel or a romance novel, there is no question that it is well written. Ms. Bujold has created a rich world full of complex characters and a history that we only get a glimpse of in this first installment. There are moments of tense action and brutal violence along with the beginning of a deep romantic involvement between two of the characters.

I truly enjoyed this novel and even during the slower moments of day to day life, found the characters and writing vibrant enough to hold my interest throughout. The magic system is fairly unique and I am interested in learning more about the origins and limitations as well as learning more about the history of this fascinating fanatasy world.

A lot of people have complained that this book is a romance novel disguised as a fantasy just to get fantasy fans to purchase it. I disagree. My only complaint was that the main love scene in the book was a bit long for my tastes and a bit more detailed than what I am used to in traditional fantasy novels. However, the romance plot line in general really helps to flesh out the story and give some vulnerability to the tales principle characters.

Along that note, one of my favorite things about this novel was that the main characters in it are not superhuman as in a lot of traditional fantasy. Both of the main characters have physical and other limitations that make them seem more real and believable.

All in all, an excellent novel and am looking forward to the second installment in the series.

I just finished reading this last night. It took every ounce of my will power to finish it. I read the reviews on how great an author this person is, but I was very disappointed.
I liked the plot, I think that has something going for it. but it just never kicked in. The characters are good, but I never felt pulled into them, there was never a moment I said to myself, "Oh I can't wait to find out what's happening to her, or him."
In the end would I buy or read the next one in the series. Probably not.

Lois McMaster Bujold has written quite a number of the best books that I have ever read, so I picked this one up as soon as it came out. And I hated it. I had no interest in the characters or the story. Her prose was its usual sterling self, but the book was dreadful. If you like her other work I would suggest staying away from this series.

I wanted to love this book because Curse of Chalion and Paladdin of Souls were two of my favorite books of all time. However, I couldn't even get through half of it. The pacing was just not there, and very little of intrigue happened after the first 50 pages. I think Bujold is a master writer, so I'll keep checking out her other books, but this one's a thumbs-down.

So... I'm an unabashed Bujold fan. She and Patricia Briggs are the most consistently solid writers, both for plot and deep fascinating characters. Bujold's Barrayar series is awesome, her Five God series is great (mostly), and this series is enjoyable. In that order.

This is essentially a mix of Huckleberry Finn and Bloody Jack, with magic - it's unclear if it's the US East Coast in a long-ago time, far future time or alternate universe. Doesn't really matter. It's interesting.

Grizzled old soldier falls for young ingenue, but their love is forbidden by both peoples. In the process of finding a home, they both change and come up with ways to change the world, while oh yeah saving the world from the magical monsters that keep popping up.

One thing I love is its positive portrayal of women. The very young non-magical girl is kind and hard-working... And somehow always the smart one of the pair, the one with insight and radical new ideas. She saves the day with guts and smarts, again and again, and gets her husband thinking in new ways that make a difference. Berry the Boat Boss is another cool female character - in charge and feminine, dealing with rough rivers and rougher river crews with authority and good humor.

The ending felt oddly like it wasn't an ending. Dag kept talking about how his ideas had to get out there, bit it seemed like he failed every time he tried to win over either side. So... I didn't get that. Still, it's not a terrible ending.

Audiobook

Another great series by this author. I loved that the language wasn't all flowery, I loved the humor, I loved the romance and the speed of it. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[My bias: Lois Bujold is my favorite fiction author and I have read all of her novels.]

Beguilement is one of those "neither fish nor foul" novels which is either going to really work for you or is going to fall flat. It's so well-written that I doubt anyone could find it bad, but if you don't buy in to the premise then you will probably be wondering why such a good writer was wasting her time on such an uninteresting story.

But if you do buy into the premise, you'll flat-out love it.

What is this mysterious premise? The typical romantic fantasy novel falls into a standard pattern where the lead characters meet, get exposed to some horrible danger, fall in love, defeat the horrible danger, marry, and live happily ever after. But what if the danger part (including the vanquishing) happens before the characters fall in love and well before most of the plot?

Fawn and Dag are thrown together by accident and bound together by a "sharing knife", something which resonates with past tragedies and broken up lives for each of them. Out of this wreckage of their previous lives, they find themselves drawn into a genuine love for each other, even though both of their separate cultures will disapprove of the match.

Beguilement is primarily a book about real-world consequences to romantic fantasy ideals. For instance, it opens with a young girl dealing with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. And throughout the novel Bujold keeps bringing our romantic images back down to earth. Her Aragorn-like Lakewalkers have to deal with dirty clothes, bad smelling comrades, nagging wounds, and a sense of futility about their somewhat thankless and never-ending task. Her farmers live a fairly comfortable but definitely rustic life, where a trip to the town twenty miles away is a once-a-year venture. In fact, Dag is something of a walking consequence all by himself, since he has lost a hand in a battle in which his patrol was defeated by an overwhelming force.

Be aware, this is only the first part of a two-part story. It does work reasonably well as a stand-alone book, because it ends at a very natural break-point in the plot. In essence, Beguilement tells the story of the consequences of their meeting and love affair within Fawn's farmer world. Volume 2 promises to continue the story into the alternate society of Dag's Lakewalkers. I expect it will also eventually close the loop on the meaning and purpose of the sharing knife itself.

I read Paladin of Souls and loved the character development and how the story flowed. I decided to read the rest of the books in that series and enjoyed them all. I wanted to see if her other books were as good and found Beguilement is just as well written. She does a great job of allowing the readers to bond with the characters. Everything in the story is fits and flows well - some authors are too wordy and use ten sentences for something that could be told in five. She does not do that. I did not find myself skimming to get to the interesting parts; I didn't need to. I can't wait to start on book 2.

I have hadthe ebook versions for a few years. Originally I first read them was thru my local library. I read the whole series books 1 - 4 at least once a year. I highly recommend these books from young to the old. Plenty of action, romance and what could happen to us I the future. I just plain love them all. It one of those type once you started you can't put down until you've read all four books.

I was a bit wary in picking up Beguilement, primarily because there were some less than favorable reviews floating out there in fantasyland. Many readers were disgruntled with Ms. Bujold's turn away from strict fantasy to a more romantic, character driven type of story. Since I love a good romance with my fantasy or sf, I decided to give it a shot after warily eyeing the books in my local Borders for a few months.

The story opens with Fawn, a very young, naive girl walking to Glassforge to escape a family that loves but doesn't listen to her, and bearing an unwanted child as a result of a stupid fling with a stupid farmboy (affectionately dubbed "Stupid Sunny"). Fawn encounters a farm to rest at, meanwhile patroller Lakewalkers arrive at the scene to rest momentarily from their pursuit of Mudmen and a Blight Boggle (aka Malice). Enter our other hero Dag--who only has one hand, the other an intimidating hook, and is much older than our heroine Fawn. Fawn hides in a tree, but Dag using his 'groundsense' can feel her hiding in the tree above him. Eventually the Lakewalkers leave, and Fawn continues on her way, only to be scooped up and very nearly raped by a pair of Mudmen. She is rescued from this nasty fate by Dag...and here their adventure together begins.

First and foremost, this story really is a romance (so I do understand why certain fantasy readers might have been disappointed with the book). Fawn and Dag take on the Malice and defeat it in the first third of the first book--and from there, the rest of the story is focused on how the two of them learn to abandon the prejudices of their respective people, and fall head over heels in love. While most fantasy stories tend to focus on some looming showdown to be concluded in the last quarter of the book, I found it intriguing for Ms. Bujold to do away with the external threat, and focus on the characters instead. Intriguing and very rewarding. The relationship the author crafts between the young, inquisitive and wide-eyed farmer girl with the world-weary, much older Dag is realistic and touching. You can't help but fall in love with both of the characters as they struggle with their own feelings for each other. Fawn has no special abilities, and is seen as inferior by many of the Lakewalkers (something that will be explored more in the second book). As a heroine, she isn't your typical kickbutt, smart-mouthed tough girl. But her innocence, as she is only 19 years old, is endearing and makes her more sympathetic as a female character in a situation that is much larger than she is. Dag is a hero to be loved and cherished--being significantly older than Fawn (I won't spoil the actual age difference), and having been around the block before with a former wife, his rediscovery of feeling and true love is heartwrenching. All the jerks that try to keep them apart (be it Fawn's family or the stubborn Lakewalker society) made me want to tear out my hair and beat someone up--yes, you care about these characters THAT much.

So far as the fantasy goes, it's solid, as always. Ms. Bujold is no newcomer to the genre and does a wonderful job with her world of Lakewalkers and Farmers, principles of magic, and the ever-present evil Malices. Everything feels real--which is no small feat for a fantasy author. What I was most impressed with is her attention to cultural differences and mistrust between the two classes of people.

After finishing Beguilement, I had to rush to the store to find a copy of Legacy. These books are wonderful, and nowhere near finished. I cannot wait for the next installment! Romance fans will love the humor and gradual love story that unfolds between Fawn and Dag, and fantasy fans will be pleased with Ms. Bujold's continued high level of writing and fantasy world building. All around, a wonderful reading experience!

Review courtesy of TheBookSmugglers.blogspot.com

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of three authors on my must-buy-in-hardcover list, no matter what. I had just finished The Hallowed Hunt, her last book, immediately before beginning this one, so I had her at the top of her game in my mind. This book disappoints as it falls into one of romantic literature's great cliches, having no one really interesting in it besides the hero and heroine. The background characters in The Sharing Knife are written in shorthand, and have no focus except the Dag and Fawn. In The Hallowed Hunt, the side characters are vivid, real people - Hallana, Oswin, Jokol, Lewko - and you could see the edges of the rest of their lives and could imagine great books being written about them. Because those characters were not marginalized as mere framework for the hero and heroine in that book, Hallowed Hunt is far more deeply textured, vivid, and interesting. Sharing Knife reads only like the prologue for the next, which I hope has some action and more interest to it.

Disappointed and angry. That was my first reaction after finishing Beguilement, first volume of The Sharing Knife. I despise trilogies or doxologies or anything that ends with a "to be continued..." and ending this volume at Dag and Fawn's wedding totally did not work for me. Succinctly folks, I think Beguilement was published with the sole purpose of gouging readers out of $17 (or $25) before delivering on the final finished work. Bujold's loyal fans have been victimized by a marketing ploy that increases revenues without increasing value.

Make no mistake, however, I like what I have read so far of The Sharing Knife. If not Bujold's best work (how can I tell when I've only read about a third of the total story?) it is nevertheless very well-written. The plot begins in a fast paced high-action mode and once the pace slows down a bit, Fawn's and Dag's unfolding romantic relationship is nicely and realistically developed. The Lakewalker's world is original and fascinating. And the larger conflict of how the protagonists are going to go about solving the "Malice" problem is riveting. I was thoroughly intrigued with the hints that the purity of The Sharing Knife (holding the "ground" of Fawn's unborn daughter) is going to be a potent secret weapon in defeating the Malices and I am impatient to see if my guess is correct.

One nitpick I have is that Fawn's farmer family is 100 % off-the-mark unbelievable to me. Unfortunately this family dynamic is consistent with Bujold's world view of families that are composed of a younger sister with older brothers (see the description of Ekaterin's family in A Civil Campaign or less obviously Drou's family in Barrayer.) In Bujold's world view older brothers are always loutish and parents are always oblivious. My own experience is that an only daughter would be the spoiled princess of the family, especially spoiled by her older brothers. My mom, born in 1924, was the youngest and only daughter in a farming family of four sons and she was the only one of the children who went to University while the boys had to work hard on the farm. Ok, that quibble aside, Lois McMaster Bujold has set up an exciting premise in these opening pages of The Sharing Knife and despite my disappointment and anger of being duped into paying out $17 before getting the rest of the story next summer, I'm hopeful and optimistic that the final installment will deliver everything that I love in a LMB story and that the two installments taken together will prove to be a soul satisfying read.

So I give Beguilement a `must read' four stars while also advising readers to wait and buy the paper back when volume two is published this summer and read the two together.

Finally, did anyone else notice that Dag is also the first name of Ghem-general Dag Benin in Miles Vorkosigan's world? Curious re-use of an unusual name, I wonder if there is any significance to the choice?

A great writer can develop characters and tell stories that seem more real than the life around you. Lois McMaster Bujold is a great writer. This book stuck with me so much for two days that I finally had to force myself to listen to music and read another book, just to get back into my "real life." I suppose I am surprised by the mixture of reviews here, but not everyone is willing to go in new directions with a writer. I loved the Miles Vorkosigan books and was reluctant to jump into the Chalion books; but they turned out to be terrific, creative, and original on their own. Now Bujold has gone in a different direction. I waited a month before starting Beguilement, then read it in one big gulp. I was disappointed only in that I wanted more -- NOW.

Yes, it's different from her other books. There is less physical action and more romance (including one of the best love-making scenes I have ever read -- romantic without leaning toward either pornography or silliness). I am not a man who reads romance books. But Bujold's characters are as compelling as ever and there is plenty of internal action and clever interaction between characters. Bujold does not need space battles to create interest. Her characters' unique and fascinating reactions to their dilemmas has always been the reason that kept me re-reading her earlier books and following her in whatever new directions she wishes to try.

It's too soon to give a real judgment on this book alone, because so much will depend on the second half to come. But I have great expectations, and Bujold has rarely disappointed me.

Beguilement has the potential to create new Bujold fans, especially from among those readers who enjoy thoughtful romances. But those of us who value her world-building skills and plotting abilities have much to love, as well. This new Sharing Knife universe is a fascinating one, with deep political and spiritual themes. The relationship between the Lakewalker patrollers and the common villagers they protect is a complex one, and the concept of the "malices," embodiments of an evil that can be temporarily thwarted but never completely vanquished, provides a dark and compelling backdrop to the work. The two protagonists are both imperfect, wounded heroes who bring their own experiences of pain and loss to the fight. The "sharing knife," which teaches mortality to the malices by sharing an individual's death, is a remarkably powerful and poignant symbol that lies at the heart of the entire plot. Beguilement is different than Bujold's past works, in that it offers only half of the story (completed in Legacy), but that should not dissuade anyone from enjoying this work. It is well worth reading and savoring on its own before following up with its sequel. Once you read it, you'll want to return to this universe and delve deeper into its mysteries.

No different than the harlequin's put out under "Urban Fantasy" this book takes hides it's romance setting under Fantasy.

Let me just finish Locus's quote for it:
"she a farmer’s daughter, he an adventurer on the trail of a deadly demon... and they must deal with their forbidden love..."

Seriously. A good portion of the first half of the book is really about their forbidden passions for each other. (Farmers and Lakewalkers aren't supposed to hook up it seems).

I had to put the book down unfinished. I didn't even make it to the (evidently) climatic bowl healing scene.

This author is responsible for some of the best written sy-fy you will ever read with the Miles Vorkosigan series. If you expect this caliber of story telling, you will be extremely disappointing. There was so much promise here, but she never fleshed anyone out, particularly ignoring the most interesting characters, the Lakewalkers. We have to be told several times that Fawn is intelligent and likable because you never see that in the book. She's in need of a spanking and getting sent to bed with no supper. She is portrayed as a selfish child/woman with no real feelings for anyone but herself. That said Bujold is a good enough writer to make the book readable as a toss on a rainy afternoon when you have nothing better to do, and Dag, the main male character, is very interesting and believable.

Downloaded this audiobook from my library when I was just looking for something to fill my mind during those rainy drives to and from work. What a surprise to find that the book is entrancing and the author makes me actually laugh out loud! Halfway through this, I knew I'd fallen in love...and, despite my pocketbook's protestations, I shall be buying everything I can find with this author's name on it.

This whole series is gorgeous, especially on audio (@Audible). If you love fantasy at all, take a chance on this book, and once you're hooked, go to Audible and buy the whole series.

Highly Recommended!

Lois McMaster Bujold develops a fascinating world and characters. On top of everything else, including the love story, the discovery of inner strength and talents, overcoming adversity, cooperation and more, it is a wonderful story of two groups of peoples slowly overcoming superstitious prejudice and the beginnings of true understanding and trust.

She provides just enough information about the events that occurred before the books for the reader to theorize about the probable history. I hope Bujold has plans for a future book(s) expanding on the history of this `world' and possibly more development of the third group of `peoples'.

I was so hooked that I promptly purchased the other 3 books in the series. All were totally enjoyed the first, second... fifth time through them. I keep discovering things with each read.

Because of these books I also decided to try out her Vorkosigan Saga. 17 books of the series later and I can't wait until the next release.

This book features one of the author's favorite character types: the superfantasticfemale. I want to marry them all. Fawn Bluefield leaves home after getting pregnant from a romp with a local boy, gets into trouble, and meets Dag Redwing Hickory: a reasonably competent male. He falls like a ton of bricks. There is overt sexual content with a wonderful narration of Fawn's first orgasm; she is hooked. The viewpoint shifts between the two protagonists, which is a change since Bujold has previously concentrated on a single character. The narrative does bog down in places. The theology is low-key, there are no gods, and magic is weak. The focus is on "ground," which all things, from rocks to humans, have. The enemies are known as malices, which appear randomly, feed on ground thus killing or driving away things around them, catch animals and give them human size and intelligence, sometimes enslave humans, make war, and grow until destroyed. Destroying one is not easy and requires a 'sharing knife' of the title. The implication is that humans inadvertently created the malices during a past time of higher civilization. Think about nuclear weapons, and watch for further installments.

Lois once again provides perspectives on who is "disabled". I love the pokes at judgements folks make about appropriate sexual partners (or numbers of them), pre marital sex, the proper ages for couples, etc. The story line moves quickly and is entertaining. I always have book insomnia when reading her works. They are always so fun.

This book features one of the author's favorite character types: the superfantasticfemale. I want to marry them all. Fawn Bluefield leaves home after getting pregnant from a romp with a local boy, gets into trouble, and meets Dag Redwing Hickory: a reasonably competent male. He falls like a ton of bricks. There is overt sexual content with a wonderful narration of Fawn's first orgasm; she is hooked. The viewpoint shifts between the two protagonists, which is a change since Bujold has previously concentrated on a single character. The narrative does bog down in places. The theology is low-key, there are no gods, and magic is weak. The focus is on "ground," which all things, from rocks to humans, have. The enemies are known as malices, which appear randomly, feed on ground thus killing or driving away things around them, catch animals and give them human size and intelligence, sometimes enslave humans, make war, and grow until destroyed. Destroying one is not easy and requires a 'sharing knife' of the title. The implication is that humans inadvertently created the malices during a past time of higher civilization. Think about nuclear weapons, and watch for further installments.

Lois once again provides perspectives on who is "disabled". I love the pokes at judgements folks make about appropriate sexual partners (or numbers of them), pre marital sex, the proper ages for couples, etc. The story line moves quickly and is entertaining. I always have book insomnia when reading her works. They are always so fun.

I avoided this novel for a while. Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my favourite authors, and I've quite enjoyed her other fantasy novels (esp Spirit Ring), but as each one comes out, all I can think of while reading it is that I'm getting this INSTEAD of a new Vorkosigan novel.

I forgot about that after about 3 pages with this book, and was drawn into the story in a way that Curse of Chalion or Paladin of Souls never managed. Perhaps it's because the main character of Dag has many Milesian qualities (including physical handicaps) that make him more interesting that the protagonists in some of the other novels.

The story includes fights with interesting and compelling supernatural foes (which I am so stealing for my RPG campaign), and very special 'magical' artifacts, and a believable, but not complex world background that are all tied together. There are also several parts that made me laugh out loud.

As I'm reading a book, I often sort of visualize how certain scenes would look as a film, or what actors would play which roles (Daniel Day Lewis could totally be Dag). With this book, about 4/5 of the way through the novel, I suddenly realized that the film I was sort of creating in the back of my mind was totally a chick flick!

The main 'story' of the novel is actually the romance between Dag and Fawn - two very different characters from very different backgrounds. Dag is an experienced Lakewalker (sort of a cross between a Ranger and a Jedi), while Fawn is a young, naive farmgirl.

Much of the conflict in the novel actually revolves around getting Fawn's family to accept that this old weirdo is actually in love with their little Fawn.

Yes, that's right, this book is essentially a romance - but a romance more in the tradition of Romeo & Juliet, or Casablanca, or even A Civil Campaign. It's not your typical Harlequin dreck. Like I said, I was 80% through the novel before I even twigged to the fact that I'd been snookered into reading a romance.

Highly recommended, unless your heart is made of stone.

Beguilement is the first installment to the Sharing Knife series. The story revolves around Fawn, a 'farmer' girl who ran away from home after a mistake of judgement that resulted in trouble (for her at least) and Dag, a 'Lakewalker' who lost his wife and arm in a war that no one but lakewalkers know about.

This is the first book by Lois McMaster Bujold that i have ever read, i found it interesting, but i cannot say this is the best novel i have ever read. Although the idea behind the Sharing Knife that the Lakewalkers carry is intruging i thought that Bujold could have done more with the story, eventhough this is the first book in the series. The 'fight' between our two main characters and the 'malice' was over too quickly and the rest of the story just sort of dragged on, although i admit that there were parts which were needed (like Fawn's return home). There was no buildup of the 'mystery' of the whereabouts of the 'malice' or how it became so powerful in such little time (although it was mentioned...but the characters never even consulted that idea for long and just threw it away)

I also thought that the ending was slightly anti-climatic, and hope that the next novel to the sequal would bring more excitement to the plot.

In the last couple of years Lois McMaster Bujold has determinedly written the stories of the characters that have come wandering through her creative mind, rather than the tales that the publishers, market analysts and that we the fans have asked of her. The results have taken us to unexpected places in the last few novels - but with very enjoyable results.
"The Sharing Knife" is no different. It is an enjoyable read with likeable characters and as with all of her books is quite difficult to put down. Easily absorbing with some substance to it. Yes, this book can be called a "Romance Fantasy" and it does have a sweet courting relationship between its two main characters as one of its major plots. But it also has depth, interesting twists, humor, intelligence, well developed characters and a fascinating world that Lois McMaster Bujold has created for us. All the things we have come to expect from this invigorating writer. Read both books, I promise you will not be disappointed.
S. Smith, Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Sharing Knife is an exploration of a new fantasy world following on from Lois McMaster Bujold's last three fantasies set in a different world (The Curse Of Chalion, Paladin Of Souls and The Hallowed Hunt). The world of The Sharing Knife is that of 'farmers' who work the land or live in towns in a quasi-mediaeval era, and the 'Lakewalkers' who patrol the country and rid it of various nasties (Blight Bogles or Malices, Mud Men and other things). The Lakewalkers do this using special senses (groundsense) that the farmer folk don't have and consequently are rather feared for their 'sorcery'.

The Sharing Knife investigates what happens when these two worlds clash - when a farmer daughter helps a Lakewalker to dispose of a Malice - and the repercussions this has on the protagonists and their families. This book is the first half of a duology and deals with the world of the 'farmers' and our heroine Fawn's attempt to strike out on her own road and escape her stifling family. Dag, the Lakewalker who rescues her from some bandits, is an older and experienced Patroller who has lots in his past which he is trying to ignore. When these two meet they are forced to confront the differences between them in order to move on.

The love story is much more to the fore in this book than Lois McMaster Bujold's previous offerings - the Chalion series or the Miles Vorkosigan space operas. It's a gentle love story where you understand why hero and heroine are drawn to each other - mainly through the differences between them and shared experiences that bind them together. There are some amusing moments with Fawn's family and some scary moments when Fawn is kidnapped, but overall it is a gentle and light story which I enjoyed very much.

Oh, and you can read a sample chapter of this book at harpercollins website (just search for "Sharing Knife") to begin to decide for yourself!

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.

This is a solidly written and in some respects unusual fantasy novel. One theme in this book is middle-aged loneliness and sexuality, definitely different for this genre. Much of the book is really devoted to character development with deliberately low key action. This fictional world is deliberately prosaic. Quite different from most fantasy novels and I suspect the Bujold is setting the stage for something more ambitious in the next installment.

*Spoilers* Although there isn't really much to spoil. I love Lois Mcmaster Bujold, but Beguilement is just not up to her usual standards. When I finished it all I could think was "Where did the plot go?" The fantasy ideas were interesting, but they weren't explored with Bujold's usual complexity. The Spirit Ring, Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, etc. are absolutely gripping, and I've come to expect that from her. But this latest work is all fluff. The most entertaining part of the book was the first 25 pages, in which Fawn, a naive farm girl, meets Dag, who is about 30 years older than her, has one hand, and kills evil creatures called "malices". Fawn is kidnapped by a malice, and Dag attempts to rescue her. Instead, Fawn kills the malice but almost dies, and Dag has to nurse her back to health. After that the story deteriorates into boring romance and squabbles with Fawn's closed minded and one dimensional hick relatives. The end of the book lacks any kind of resolution, or even suspense. Fawn and Dag get married and ride off into the sunet. It is hinted that Dag's relatives will not like Fawn. Oh boy.

I'll leave the detailed reviewing of The Sharing Knife to Ms. Bujold's many other fans. Recently I read a short article she wrote on creating particular scenes for TKS and she refers to some readers reactions when she veers outside the lines. Come on folks, this is the time creativity blooms and the writer takes her readers into unknown territory! Might bother a few but there are many of us who like it a lot.

So, keep coloring outside the lines, turn the paper over and draw anything you want, Ms. Bujold. I'm looking forward to Vol. 2!

Nancy D.