Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable continuation of Beguilement, 26 Jun 2007
I am a real fan of Lois McMaster Bujold's work - she was initially known for her Miles Vorkosigan series of nearly 20 books but I actually preferred her foray into fantasy, "The Curse Of Chalion" and "Paladin Of Souls" particularly. "The Sharing Knife" duology (the first book called "Beguilement" and then this one, "Legacy") is set in a different time and world than that of the Chalion/Hallowed Hunt books - this world is more like an agrarian early America.
My first comment is that if you haven't read "The Sharing Knife: Beguilement" yet then you need to buy that book before you even consider this one. These two books are a duology but, unlike pretty much all Bujold's other books, I felt this one would have been rather a struggle if read on its own. So if you haven't read "Beguilement" then get it first and don't read on as this review of "Legacy" has spoilers for the first book.
**SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1***
This book starts off where "Beguilement" left off - Dag and Fawn are married and are making their way to Dag's home. We have gone through the difficulties Fawn faced with her family's dubious acceptance of her new husband - now we get the same from Dag's people's point of view. Only worse.
A lot of this book seems to be about cross-cultural clashes. The Lakewalkers and Farmers are different groups of people and it seems that neither can accept the other. Dag's marriage with Fawn has actually broken some Lakewalker rules and despite him being a semi-hero it seems his friends and relatives don't cut him a lot of slack.
The first half of the book is about Fawn and Dag trying to settle down in Lakewalker territory - and struggling. They also try to find out more about the primed Sharing Knife that Fawn now has - it seems this is something a little outside Lakewaker experience. Then they hear of another Malice/Blight Bogle attack and Dag has to go on patrol, Fawn being left behind to fend for herself amongst unfriendly people.
There's a lot in this book about the "grounds", the Lakewalker magic which Fawn cannot see. There's also more about the Malice and how it takes over people and ground as well as some interesting vignettes into Lakewalker life. I enjoyed the book but I didn't always know quite what was going on with some of the more esoteric "ground" discussions.
Lois Bujold's writing style is as appealing as ever. As usual her characters carry on quite a lot of inner monologues so you get to understand how different people interpret the same events. I still have some residual doubts about the wisdom of a 55 year old man marrying an 18 year old woman but, after all, this is fiction. Poor Fawn has to deal with not only being nearly 40 years younger than her husband but also being rather inept in the Lakewalker territory, being a farmer girl. Her skills, and she does have some, aren't really appreciated except by Dag and she puts up with an amazing amount of insults.
I enjoyed "Legacy" - it was a fun read, had some nice moments of romance as well as a message about tolerance between different groups - but I didn't feel it was quite up to the standard of "The Curse Of Chalion". It still deserves 5 stars though!
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book, www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox 2007
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not her best, 1 Aug 2007
I am sure very few people will be coming to this book as their first encounter with this author, and many of the things that readers generally find appealing in her work are here - her good characterisations and very comprehensively realized fantasy milieu are present and correct.
And she has demonstrated in previous books that she can pen a good romance, and unresolved romantic or sexual tension has formed a prominent thread in previous books, including the first in this series.
But herein lies the basic problem - she resolved the romance issue in the last book - hero and heroine successfully got together,and indeed got married. To paraphrase Tolstoy ( at least I think that's who it was) 'happiness writes in white ; it does not show up on the page', i.e. it is hard to construct a compelling plot around a happy couple. She does try, and there IS some plot, both relating to the hitherto only briefly sketched culture of the Lakewalkers, and the Blight Bogles (which make me think - nanotech of some sort?) but not really enough of it. Compared to the Miles Vorkosigan or Chalion series, things move rather too slowly and are lacking in sufficient complexity to really keep you turning the pages. I just hope she doesn't do a Laurell K Hamilton and start spinning out the plot over book after book to pay the rent. All in all it's workmanlike enough, but I am not sure who it is meant to appeal to; I can't see it holding the attention of most male readers, it's too touchy feely and doesn't have enough action. And as romantic fiction it probably isn't quite syrupy or formulaic enough, and lacking complexity in the central romance. Hmm....OK but not brilliant
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite up to her earlier works., 16 Aug 2007
Overall a good read, but a bit lacking in both action and wit in comparison with the Chalion and Miles sagas.
The plot is mostly about Dag and Fawn dealing with the lakewalkers dim views of their marriage, as it goes against all tradition and "sense".
Dawn tries to find a place in lakewalker society, but it all seems to be cut a bit short, and lacking in depth and substance.
I got no real sense of getting anywhere, and it felt very like a typical book 2 of a trilogy, setting up the stage for the final part.
Bujold still writes good books, but this is not one I will read again and again, as have been the case for most of her earlier works.
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