Paladin of Souls: A Novel, Book 2

Lois McMaster Bujold

HarperCollins, Sep 23, 2003 - Fiction - 464 pages

One of the most honored authors in the field of fantasy and science fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold transports us once more to a dark and troubled land and embroils us in a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm.

Three years have passed since the widowed Dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family's castle of Valenda. Her newfound freedom is costly, bittersweet with memories, regrets, and guilty secrets -- for she knows the truth of what brought her land to the brink of destruction. And now the road -- escape -- beckons. . . . A simple pilgrimage, perhaps. Quite fitting for the Dowager Royina of all Chalion.

Yet something else is free, too -- something beyond deadly. To the north lies the vital border fortress of Porifors. Memories linger there as well, of wars and invasions and the mighty Golden General of Jokona. And someone, something, watches from across that border -- humans, demons, gods.

Ista thinks her little party of pilgrims wanders at will. But whose? When Ista's retinue is unexpectedly set upon not long into its travels, a mysterious ally appears -- a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion's castle cannot ease Ista's mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods' own weaving.

In her dreams the threads are already drawing her to unforeseen chances, fateful meetings, fearsome choices. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.

What people are saying

Review: Paladin of Souls (Chalion #2)

User Review  - Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) - Goodreads

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I've decided to diversify and pursue six different ...

Review: Paladin of Souls (Chalion #2)

User Review - Goodreads

A sort of sequel to Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls follows Ista, one of the more minor characters in the first book as she tries to break out of her constrained, controlled and rather sad life ...

About the author

One of the most respected writers in the field of speculative fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold burst onto the scene in 1986 with Shards of Honor, the first of her tremendously popular Vorkosigan Saga novels. She has received numerous accolades and prizes, including two Nebula Awards for best novel (Falling Free and Paladin of Souls), four Hugo Awards for Best Novel (Paladin of Souls, The Vor Game, Barrayar, and Mirror Dance), as well as the Hugo and Nebula Awards for her novella The Mountains of Mourning. Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages. The mother of two, Bujold lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Paladin of Souls: A Novel, Book 2; Bujold, Lois McMaster; Chalion series
• Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
• Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003
• ISBN: 0380979020, 9780380979028
• Length: 464 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Fantasy / Epic; Fiction / Fantasy / Historical; Fiction / Romance / Fantasy