- The Curse of Chalion
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The Curse of Chalion 
Cover of first edition (hardcover)Author(s) Lois McMaster Bujold Cover artist Doug Beekman Country United States Language English Genre(s) Fantasy novel Publisher Eos (HarperCollins) Publication date August 2001 Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback), E-book Pages 442 pp (hardcover)
502 pp (mass-market paperback)ISBN 0-380-97901-2 OCLC Number 44979697 Dewey Decimal 813/.54 21 LC Classification PS3552.U397 C87 2001 Followed by Paladin of Souls The Curse of Chalion is a 2001 fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. In 2002 it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Locus Awards in 2002.[1]
Both The Curse of Chalion and its sequel Paladin of Souls (2003) are set in the landlocked medieval kingdom of Chalion. The Hallowed Hunt (2005) is a prequel taking place in the Weald, a land to the south of Chalion, several hundred years before.
Contents
Plot summary
Lupe dy Cazaril, a castillar (a knight or minor baron), returns home to the Royacy (Kingdom) of Chalion a broken man, though he is only in his mid-thirties. "Caz", as he is known to his friends, had defended a castle during a long siege, only to be ordered to surrender it. Afterward, a jealous enemy had seen to it that he was not ransomed (as were the rest of his men), but sold into slavery, spending 19 months as a galley slave before finally escaping.
His old noble patroness finds a use for him as a tutor for her granddaughter, the Royesse (Princess) Iselle, half-sister to the king, and her companion, Lady Betriz. Despite his ardent desire to live a safely low-profile, peaceful life, Caz finds himself drawn into a strange journey of dangers both spiritual and temporal as he seeks to dispel the debilitating curse that hangs over the royal family of Chalion.
Major themes
The Curse of Chalion is noted for its focus on religion and metaphysics. This is not only a novel about self-sacrifice and redemption, but also a piece of speculative theological fiction which closely examines the relationship between free will, fate, and divine intervention.
The five gods of the Chalion world are developed original characters that follow strict rules rather than abstract entities with nebulous powers. Because the Gods can work only through the will of a consenting human there is a complex consideration of the problems of free will.
Allusions/references to actual history and geography
Chalion is a looking-glass version of the kingdom of Castile and Leon, and the novel is loosely based on the lives of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the unifiers of Spain. However, the story of The Curse of Chalion is not simply a retelling of the lives of Isabella and Ferdinand, and Chalion is not simply Castile. The story takes quite a different path from the historical one, and the major characters are distinct personalities, not simply versions of historical people.
Iselle's mother Ista, heroine of the sequel Paladin of Souls, is based on Isabella of Portugal. Iselle's father Roya (King) Ias is based on John II of Castile, whose favorite Alvaro de Luna inspired Bujold's Arvol dy Lutez. Iselle's half-brother Orico represents Henry IV of Castile, who was called "the Impotent", and her full brother Teidez corresponds to Alfonso de las Asturias. The geography is likewise based on that of the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century—but mirrored, north for south. Chalion is Castile; Ibra is Aragon and Valencia; South Ibra is Catalonia; Brajar is Portugal; the Roknari princedoms are Al-Andalus; and Darthaca is France.[2]
Notes
- ^ "2002 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2002. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- ^ as shown on the map: http://www.dendarii.com/map.html
External links
- Publisher's page for The Curse of Chalion
- Bujold Nexus's Chalion index; includes link to map of Ibran Peninsula
- The Curse of Chalion at Worlds Without End
Vorkosigan Saga Works Shards of Honor (1986) · The Warrior's Apprentice (1986) · Ethan of Athos (1986) · "The Borders of Infinity" (1987) · Falling Free (1988) · "The Mountains of Mourning" (1989) · "Labyrinth" (1989) · Brothers in Arms (1989) · "Weatherman" (1990) · The Vor Game (1990) · Barrayar (1991) · Mirror Dance (1994) · "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" (1995) · Cetaganda (1995) · Memory (1996) · Komarr (1998) · A Civil Campaign (1999) · Diplomatic Immunity (2002) · "Winterfair Gifts" (2004) · Cryoburn (2010)
(omnibus reprints):
Borders of Infinity (1989) · Vorkosigan's Game (1992) · Cordelia's Honor (1996) · Young Miles (1997) · Miles, Mystery and Mayhem (2001) · Miles Errant (2002) · Miles, Mutants and Microbes (2007) · Miles in Love (2008)Characters Vorkosigan family Other Vor of Barrayar Others Barrayaran
EmpirePlanets Governance History Other worlds 
Fantasy The Spirit Ring (1993)The Fivefold Pathway
of the SoulThe Sharing Knife Categories:- American fantasy novels
- 2001 novels
- Novels by Lois McMaster Bujold
- High fantasy novels
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