The Curse of Chalion
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Narrated by:
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Lloyd James
About this listen
Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cazaril is forced to confront not only powerful enemies but also the malignant curse that clings to the royal household, trapping him, flesh and soul, in a maze of demonic paradox, damnation, and death for as long as he dares walk the five-fold pathway of the gods.
©2004 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2004 Blackstone AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
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The Innocent Mage
- By: Karen Miller
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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"The Innocent Mage is come, and we stand at the beginning of the end of everything." Being a fisherman like his father isn't a bad life, but it's not the one that Asher wants. Despite his humble roots, Asher has grand dreams. And they call him to Dorana, home of princes, beggars, and the warrior mages who have protected the kingdom for generations. Little does Asher know, however, that his arrival in the city is being closely watched by members of the Circle, people dedicated to preserving an ancient magic.
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Heroic Fantasy well written
- By Bruce on 03-29-12
By: Karen Miller
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New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
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Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
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Magic Casement
- A Man of His Word, Book 1
- By: Dave Duncan
- Narrated by: Mil Nicholson
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Princess Inos lived an idyllic life in her fathers' sleepy, backwater kingdom, and she was best friends with her childhood companion, the stableboy, Rap. But when a prophecy seemed to say Inos should be married, she was exiled to the Impire to learn to be a lady. She was far away when Rap's magical talents began to emerge, and it was he who told her of the fate awaiting them both.
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One of my favorite Fantasy Series
- By Sean Dustman on 10-12-12
By: Dave Duncan
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Katherine
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.
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my favorite novel brought to life
- By Heather on 10-04-23
By: Anya Seton
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The Widow's Kiss
- By: Jane Feather
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Lady Guinevere Mallory has been married four times in 12 years, and each of her husbands has died mysteriously. Adept in the laws of property, she has secured the land of each of her late spouses, vastly increasing her personal wealth. After the death of her fourth husband, this trend raises some eyebrows at the royal court, and Hugh of Beaucaire is sent to investigate these puzzling events.
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Not bad, but veeerryyy ssslllooowwww narration.
- By I like to shop on 08-31-18
By: Jane Feather
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Reign of Madness
- By: Lynn Cullen
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents' crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family's ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents' own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns.
By: Lynn Cullen
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The Crown
- By: Nancy Bilyeau
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear. When novitiate nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London.
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Torture
- By S. Wells on 03-24-13
By: Nancy Bilyeau
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The Queen's Lady
- By: Barbara Kyle
- Narrated by: Barbara Kyle
- Length: 21 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Abducted as a child-heiress, Honor Larke escapes to London seeking justice from the only lawyer she knows: the brilliant Sir Thomas More. With More as her affectionate guardian, Honor grows to womanhood, when the glitter of the royal court lures her to attend Her Majesty, Queen Catherine of Aragon. But life at Henry VIII’s court holds more than artifice for an intelligent observer, and Honor knows how to watch - and when to act.
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Very Disappointing
- By elizabeth on 03-27-14
By: Barbara Kyle
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I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire
- Ravenloft: Strahd, Book 1
- By: P. N. Elrod
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Some of the parchment pages were the color of cream, thick and substantial, made to last many, many lifetimes. Other pages were thin and desiccated, positively yellow from age, and crackled alarmingly as Van Richten turned them over. There were no ornate illuminations, no fussy borders, only lines of plain text in hard black ink. The flowing handwriting was a bit difficult to follow at first; the writer's style of calligraphy had not been in common use for 300 years. No table of contents, but from the dates it looked to be some kind of history.
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Love it...just one complaint....
- By Ryan Conrad on 03-15-14
By: P. N. Elrod
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What listeners say about The Curse of Chalion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Tamara
- 07-04-08
Couldn't stop listening --- great fantasy novel
This book was extremely refreshing for me, especially after some so-so books. The narrator did an excellent job. And the story itself is wonderful. It starts off at a nice pace at the beginning. But towards the end, I found myself sitting in my car not wanting to stop listening. I think I listened to the last 6 hours in just two days. I kind of hated to finish it, though. I'm sure this is a book I'll return to in the future.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Judith
- 01-13-05
What a satisfying read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and didn't want it to end. Don't be put off by the little bit of magic in the story. The fantasy is a fairly minor element, and the characters are delightful and well drawn. One can almost imagine that the magic is merely the medical innocence of a long ago age. The gentle humor keeps the story lively. I will look forward to reading another book by this author if it becomes available.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Robert Glen
- 11-17-04
The Curse of Chalion (Unabridged)
This book was a lot of fun for me to read after I got into the story, it was hard to stop listening. I thought the characters were well defined. I certainly hope the author goes on with this storyline and that audible will have them on their side. There is nothing more fun than wanting more of a good story.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Racheal
- 01-28-09
Wonderful
I thought when it started it would be slow because of the way he was reading it but you come to realize the character is exhausted and broken and thats why. the story is fantastic! Must listen to it then Paladin of Souls was great also (but definately after this one!) Magic, desperation, laughter, intrigue, a splash of romance. I loved it
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- bossturbo
- 10-22-07
So-So
It was OK overall, good if there is nothing else to listen to. But nothing great... some boring parts, some good parts, lots of cliche's.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Nathan
- 04-13-10
Quite entertaining
This is one of those books where the heros are noble and the villains are evil. And there is a real pleasure in listening to them each get their due. I found myself staying up much later than I intended to keep listening. A great listen for a long car ride. It is perhaps a chapter or two long (I got the feeling the author liked the characters so much that she did not want to let them go just yet) though you too will probably not want to see the book end either.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Megan Robinson
- 04-05-20
Amazing
The Curse of Chalion is an excellent, slow-building medieval-type fantasy set in an alternate world full of political intrigue, with a fascinating religion based on a pantheon of five gods--the Holy Family, each associated with different seasons. There are also demons and various forms of magic, one of which, death magic, is technically illegal. Because religion and spirituality, curses and blessings, spirit and matter, are important part of the story, there are lots of interesting philosophical discussions.
The protagonist, Cazaril, is a world-weary, reluctant hero. A nobleman and knight of the realm, he was the commander of a fortress but was betrayed and sold into slavery. He's only thirty five but after 19 months in the slave galley, he looks twice that age, mostly because of his prematurely grey beard and worn out body. The slaves on his ship are all rescued by a neighboring country's navy, and after recovering from a severe beating, Cazaril makes the trek to the castle of the Dowager Provencera, where he's served as a page as a boy, hoping for work.
Cazaril is very diffident, and doesn't believe in his own bravery because he's thoughtful and cautious instead of heedlessly valiant.He's also very kind, which stupid people see as a weakness, but is really a strength, and he understands the political dances necessary to survive in the courtly world. He has great perception and integrity. Cazaril is made the tutor of the Dowager's headstrong and idealistic granddaughter, the nineteen year old Iselle, and her lady in waiting, Betriz. When Iselle and her fourteen year old brother are called to the capitol to be made the official heirs of their older half-brother, the king of Chalion, who is child-less, Cazaril goes with them. And discovers the royal family of Chalion seems to be cursed.
Political alliance marriages are a thing in this medieval world, and the story explores variations on this situation, ranging from happy and well-balanced to fraught with turmoil. Many of the marriages have age differences, and it was nice to have a balanced depiction of this dynamic. Iselle's widowed mother was lovingly married to the much older former king, and Iselle is contemplating political alliances with princes in the surrounding kingdoms, who range in age from 70 to 7. She's being pursued by a scuzzy forty year old adviser to the king, who seems to be jockeying to be the power behind the throne, or perhaps, to stage a coup. Cazaril himself falls in love with Betriz, who is fifteen years his junior, and feels totally unworthy of her because of this. Happily, she doesn't agree. There are also queer characters in the story, one of whom is very important, and they are presented in a matter of fact way. It's not a "Look, there's queer characters, isn't this a diverse book" kind of thing, this actually is a diverse book.
Despite being overlooked and denigrated by the younger, testosterone-ridden noblemen, Cazaril expertly helps Iselle and Betriz navigate the dangerous political undercurrent of the court, and even attempts death magic to save Iselle from the scuzzy older man. This doesn't go exactly as expected and Cazaril ends up with a tumor in his gut enclosing both a ghost and a demon, as well as now having second sight. The gods, mainly the Lady and the Bastard, have chosen Cazaril to break the curse of Chalion. Despite the fact that this terrifies him, he does his stalwart best, with help from his friends.
There is medieval warfare, political intrigue, ambushes, assassinations, death of supporting characters, skirmishes, torture, siege, magic involving sacrifice, sexual misconduct, rape, bandits and jerks with swords, all described enough to give a taste for what is happening without being overwhelming. It also has one of the most realistic depictions of a brain injury I've yet to read. It is totally worth your time and I highly recommend it. I really enjoyed the narration by Lloyd James, who did an excellent job.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- R.
- 12-17-10
Great Novel, Flawed Narrator
I'm a fan of Lois McMaster Bujold and really enjoyed the novel, but Lloyd James' narration made the recording very difficult to get through. (He does not narrate the sequel, which is in much more capable hands.) While handling a number of characters is a challenge, good narrators know that cartoon voices are a poor way to handle a novel. The cartoonish voices are especially problematic because they are so random: at one point, though the novel is set in culture explicitly inspired by medieval Spain, a servant randomly develops a southern U.S. accent. They're also inconsistent, both with each other (at one point a character may have a distinctive vocal tick for an extended period, then dropping that tick several chapters later) and with the text (making perfectly serious and important characters sound like they stepped out of a Bug Bunny cartoon). Grover Gardner, Bernadette Dunne and Kate Reading have done Bujold's other novels, and it'd be great if one of them re-recorded this one.
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Story
- Cheap and Lazy
- 10-13-11
Good Story, Well-Told
A smooth blend of fantasy world-building, character and plot developments, everything moving at an adequate pace. It's told from the point of view of the main character, our reluctant but steadfast hero. The narrator did a great job with the voices, even the women. A pleasure.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Martin
- 10-06-18
A very satisfying story
I enjoyed reading this. The ending was very satisfying. The characters were interesting and believable.
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