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The first of the Five Gods series
This is a re-read – or a re-listen because this time it's the audio-book. Bujold is my favourite author and of all her books this is my favourite, so this is a five star review before I even start. I wasn't sure I liked Lloyd James' narration to start off with, but it quickly grew on me.
Cazaril, once courtier, courier/spy, captain and castle warder, now a homeless, hungry and ragged refugee, is walking from Ibra, across Chalion to Valenda, home of the Doawager Previncara, back to the only place he thinks he might find sanctuary after being freed from slavery in the Roknari galleys. He's a broken man, physically and mentally, seeking only a quiet refuge. He'd even be willing to work as a scullion in the kitchens – anywhere safe – and hopes only to be remembered for his days there as a page.
To his surprise and extreme gratitude the Dowager Provincara not only remembers him, but values his return, and once installed in the household she charges Cazaril to be tutor-secretary to her granddaughter Iselle, lively sister of the heir to Chalion's throne, and Iselle's companion Betriz.
This begins a sequence of events that takes Cazaril back to the capital, Cardegoss, a seething hotbed of poisonous intrigue with a weak and sickly ruler and an over-ambitious chancellor. Murder, greed and betrayal are daily dangers, but there are unexpected allies as well. Caz has to deal with old, and very dangerous, enemies, the ones who conspired to send him to the galleys in the first place. But besides his own troubles, there's something seriously wrong with the ruling house. A shadow hangs over the whole dynasty and clings to Iselle and her brother, too. Gradually Caz unravels the origins of a curse, but not without deadly danger and drawing the attention of the gods.
The five gods (Mother, Father, Daughter, Son and Bastard) and the system of religion are characters in their own right and a heavy presence as they act on the world through the humans in the story. Magic is regarded as a miracle of the gods. The background world is fully realised – based on the Iberian Peninsula in the fifteenth century (though turned upside down geographically).
Why do I like this book so much? Though it has plot in spades, the characterisation is what lifts this above the ordinary. Cazaril is a complex character, gradually rebuilding himself throughout the book despite, or perhaps partly because of being an unwitting tool of the gods. In the beginning Caz has no sense of self-worth but the old Dowager Provincara sees his value and gradually he rises to the challenge she sets him, protecting and guiding 'his ladies'. We see through Caz' eyes in tight third person viewpoint. His modesty is appealing because it's genuine. He really doesn't see himself as extraordinary, even though he does extraordinary things. Even at his lowest Caz still has integrity and honour, not something he wears on his sleeve, but a deep internal moral compass. He's a deeply private man, not given to sharing his thoughts with anyone except the reader, but he's not stuffy and he has a wry sense of humour.
There's a love story in this too, but it's very subtle and on first reading you hardy notice it at first, but it plays out well.
The story is a study of how one quiet but determined man can effect great change. It's a dialogue between free-will and divine intervention. Where does one stop and the other start?
Highly recommended in both written and audio format.
This is a re-read – or a re-listen because this time it's the audio-book. Bujold is my favourite author and of all her books this is my favourite, so this is a five star review before I even start. I wasn't sure I liked Lloyd James' narration to start off with, but it quickly grew on me.
Cazaril, once courtier, courier/spy, captain and castle warder, now a homeless, hungry and ragged refugee, is walking from Ibra, across Chalion to Valenda, home of the Doawager Previncara, back to the only place he thinks he might find sanctuary after being freed from slavery in the Roknari galleys. He's a broken man, physically and mentally, seeking only a quiet refuge. He'd even be willing to work as a scullion in the kitchens – anywhere safe – and hopes only to be remembered for his days there as a page.
To his surprise and extreme gratitude the Dowager Provincara not only remembers him, but values his return, and once installed in the household she charges Cazaril to be tutor-secretary to her granddaughter Iselle, lively sister of the heir to Chalion's throne, and Iselle's companion Betriz.
This begins a sequence of events that takes Cazaril back to the capital, Cardegoss, a seething hotbed of poisonous intrigue with a weak and sickly ruler and an over-ambitious chancellor. Murder, greed and betrayal are daily dangers, but there are unexpected allies as well. Caz has to deal with old, and very dangerous, enemies, the ones who conspired to send him to the galleys in the first place. But besides his own troubles, there's something seriously wrong with the ruling house. A shadow hangs over the whole dynasty and clings to Iselle and her brother, too. Gradually Caz unravels the origins of a curse, but not without deadly danger and drawing the attention of the gods.
The five gods (Mother, Father, Daughter, Son and Bastard) and the system of religion are characters in their own right and a heavy presence as they act on the world through the humans in the story. Magic is regarded as a miracle of the gods. The background world is fully realised – based on the Iberian Peninsula in the fifteenth century (though turned upside down geographically).
Why do I like this book so much? Though it has plot in spades, the characterisation is what lifts this above the ordinary. Cazaril is a complex character, gradually rebuilding himself throughout the book despite, or perhaps partly because of being an unwitting tool of the gods. In the beginning Caz has no sense of self-worth but the old Dowager Provincara sees his value and gradually he rises to the challenge she sets him, protecting and guiding 'his ladies'. We see through Caz' eyes in tight third person viewpoint. His modesty is appealing because it's genuine. He really doesn't see himself as extraordinary, even though he does extraordinary things. Even at his lowest Caz still has integrity and honour, not something he wears on his sleeve, but a deep internal moral compass. He's a deeply private man, not given to sharing his thoughts with anyone except the reader, but he's not stuffy and he has a wry sense of humour.
There's a love story in this too, but it's very subtle and on first reading you hardy notice it at first, but it plays out well.
The story is a study of how one quiet but determined man can effect great change. It's a dialogue between free-will and divine intervention. Where does one stop and the other start?
Highly recommended in both written and audio format.
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