Lois McMaster Bujold
Hardcover | Pages: 453 pages Rating: 4.01 | 6138 Users | 374 Reviews
Mention Books In Pursuance Of Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4)
| Original Title: | Horizon |
| ISBN: | 0061375365 (ISBN13: 9780061375361) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Sharing Knife #4 |
| Characters: | Fawn Bluefield, Dag Bluefield ne Redwing Hickory |
Narration Supposing Books Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4)
Eight or more years ago, I bought and read the first book in this series, Beguilement, but never felt particularly motivated to finish the 4-book series until a few weeks ago. It occurred to me that before I let my (expensive non-resident) library card lapse for the next few months, I should grab this series off the library's shelves and plow or skim through it, as the spirit moved me.The second book was a skimmer for me (I didn't rate or review it because of the amount I skipped over), but the third was good enough that I actually read the whole thing with a fair amount of interest, especially the last part, which really ramped up the intensity. The excitement kind of ramps down again at the start of this fourth and final volume in the series, but I found myself unexpectedly taken with the telling of Dag and Fawn's stay with a camp of Lakewalkers, where Dag can learn from others how to use and control his abilities as a maker and healer. The magical aspects of this were fascinating.
Dag and Fawn are still battling the prejudices that Dag's people, the Lakewalkers, have against Fawn's, the farmers, and vice versa. Specifically, Lakewalkers don't like Dag practicing his healing abilities on farmers. But when a young farmer boy gets lockjaw from stepping on a nail, what's a self-respecting healer to do? And one thing leads to another, and of course Dag and Fawn and their friends aren't finished dealing with the deadly malices that blight their lands. And one malice is of a sort that no one's ever seen before:
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This book turned out to be a lot more interesting and exciting than I was expecting. I wasn't sure if Bujold could find a way to wrap up the series that would be both believable and satisfying to me, but she did it. It's definitely my favorite book of this western frontier fantasy series.
Bujold is a very creative and talented author who writes believable characters. I'm not sure if I'd recommend plowing through the entire series unless (a) a frontier era fantasy sounds interesting, and (b) you don't mind a large side helping of May/December romance. But I can tell you that, at least in my opinion, if you do, you won't be disappointed by the ending of the series.
4.5 stars.
Art credit: http://pre09.deviantart.net/b043/th/p...
Describe Appertaining To Books Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4)
| Title | : | Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4) |
| Author | : | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 453 pages |
| Published | : | January 27th 2009 by Harper Voyager (first published 2009) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Romance. Fiction. Science Fiction Fantasy |
Rating Appertaining To Books Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4)
Ratings: 4.01 From 6138 Users | 374 ReviewsCrit Appertaining To Books Horizon (The Sharing Knife #4)
Eight or more years ago, I bought and read the first book in this series, Beguilement, but never felt particularly motivated to finish the 4-book series until a few weeks ago. It occurred to me that before I let my (expensive non-resident) library card lapse for the next few months, I should grab this series off the library's shelves and plow or skim through it, as the spirit moved me.The second book was a skimmer for me (I didn't rate or review it because of the amount I skipped over), but theEight or more years ago, I bought and read the first book in this series, Beguilement, but never felt particularly motivated to finish the 4-book series until a few weeks ago. It occurred to me that before I let my (expensive non-resident) library card lapse for the next few months, I should grab this series off the library's shelves and plow or skim through it, as the spirit moved me.The second book was a skimmer for me (I didn't rate or review it because of the amount I skipped over), but the
The Sharing Knife tetralogy is one any author would be proud to have. The characters are charming, the writing is a thing of beauty, and the world is profoundly fascinating, a kind of fantasy version of the American midwest with mild post-apocalyptic elements. I particularly enjoyed the loving accounts of flatboat sailing and trail riding in the second two books.And yet... it's not quite Bujold's best work. I'd say the issue is two-fold. One, while the characters are generally very fun to read
This is supposed to be the conclusion of the Sharing Knife series, but even though it has a satisfactory ending, I really don't want to think that Bujold has told all the stories there are to tell in this world.I loved the characters and I thought the magic system, which they explore and learn cool things about--things no one else even thought to find out (I love characters who "think outside the box"), was very clever and well-thought-out.Bujold is a great science fiction writer, but she is
This series could have been so much better if it was less about the romance and more about...everything else. The malices/mud-men/mages and all the back story with the Lakewalkers and their magic and whatnot was really compelling. The world was really interesting, and a lot was made of how dangerous the north is but we never get anything except for a vague reference to the character Dag's time spent up there. The whole story with how the Lakewalkers essentially need two deaths to be shaped into
I know I know, I have been bored for 2 books now and still I read this one. I just wanted to know how it ended. But after having thought about this, it ended as boringly as it went on. Nothing happened at the end either.Right this book then. Dag and Fawn talk --> they talk to other people --> they think about things ----> they are going north with a bunch of other people ---> more talking and thinking.*falls asleep* Yes I actually fell asleep while reading.Nothing happens, and when
Dag and Fawn continue their mission to bring Lakewalkers and farmers together. Dag also finds a Lakewalker Maker willing to train him. Predictably, Dag pushes the limits of his host Lakewalker camp and he and Fawn must travel onward in search of a home. Predictably, they also gather an assortment of characters to join their journey.Dag and Fawn both annoy me a great deal in this installment. While I want their mission to succeed, I want it to seem less preachy and I want them to be less perfect.
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