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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780061139079
ISBN number: 0061139076
Label: Eos
Manufacturer: Eos
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: May 01, 2007
Publishing house: Eos
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 138685
Studio: Eos
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Product Description:
Troubled young Fawn Bluefield seeks a life beyond her familys farm. But en route to the city, she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, nomadic soldiersorcerers from the northern woodlands. Feared necromancers armed with mysterious knives made of human bone, they wage a secret, ongoing war against the scourge of the 'malices,' immortal entities that draw the life out of their victims, enslaving human and animal alike.
It is Dag—a Lakewalker patroller weighed down by past sorrows and onerous present responsibilities—who must come to Fawns aid when she is taken captive by a malice. They prevail at a devastating cost—unexpectedly binding their fates as they embark upon a remarkable journey into danger and delight, prejudice and partnership . . . and perhaps even love.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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This author's writing can be very uneven. some of her series i like, some i can easily live without. This series is insightfull, she has created a world and kept it consistent, the character developement is excellent, and she has a logical progression in the storyline that still manages to suprise me.
one thing about this author that i don't like, is that she tends to re-issue old stories under a new title. and you need to be very carefull not to get a new copy of something she very first wrote 10 yrs ago!
Rated by buyers -
I've really enjoyed and appreciated Bujold's work since I started teaching a college class in science fiction and fantasy back in 1979. She just seems to get better as the years roll on. This volume of The Sharing Knife has a cross-cultural wedding at its end, but it's clearly the very first half of a two-part story. That said, the principal characters are engagingly complex and the cultural details are innovative and thoughtful. I'm looking forward to reading the second volume and any others that may follow in the series.
Rated by buyers 
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After reading Lois McMaster Bujold's very first Chalion book, I was an instant fan. So, I was really excited to get my hands on the audio versions of the very first two novels in her second fantasy series: The Sharing Knife.
Alas, it really pains me to have to write a lackluster review for anything Bujold does, but here we go.
First, let me say that Beguilement is a romance novel, as clearly stated by Bujold herself on her website. In short, Fawn is not respected by her family. She is teased and called "stupid" by her parents and big brothers. She has gotten herself in some trouble, so she runs away from home. She manages to get herself in some more trouble when she meets the minions of a "malice," a creature which sucks the life out of nearby living objects and can only be killed by sharing knives which are made of human bones and are primed by a human's death (someone has to give their life to the knife). Fortunately, Dag comes along with his knives and saves Fawn's life a couple of times. Because of an unexpected occurrence with the knives, Fawn and Dag find themselves traveling together. During that time Dag realizes that even though Fawn is extremely naive, she's actually very bright. And a relationship develops....
Second, let me mention that I really disliked the voice of the audiobook reader, Bernadette Dunn. I have heard her before (Memoirs of a Geisha) and I liked her then, but that was a novel about a Geisha. Her voice doesn't work for Beguilement. It's too feminine, so the parts of the novel that were written with the male point of view (Dag) make him sound wimpy and weak. The voice she used for the female (Fawn) was too naive-sounding, hickish, syrupy, whiny, and often downright cloying.
Two strikes already, but Bujold clearly warns me that it's a romance, and she can't control the voice of the audiobook reader, so I won't fault her for those issues. And, as usual, Bujold's writing is superb. Her characters are well realized (she's very good at letting us view their inner thoughts) and dialogue is realistic.
Here are my main problems with Beguilement:
1. Fawn is unbelievably naive and has low self-esteem. This does not make for a fun or admirable heroine. Her family tells her she's stupid, so she thinks she's stupid. She whines and uses the word "stupid" a lot. I'm guessing that Bujold is trying to impart the lesson that when parents tell kids they are stupid, the kids end up with low self-esteem. Hey, I'm a psychologist, and I'm in total agreement with Ms Bujold's philosophy, but it was getting to the point where I was wondering if Richard Rahl (Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth) was going to show up and start lecturing about Fawn's nobility of spirit.
2. Dag, while likeable, is MUCH older than Fawn. I mean like decades. It'd be like Jordin Sparks with Phil Collins. That's a little creepy.
3. The magic system is really interesting (as Bujold's magic always is). The malices are fascinating, but after the very first encounter with one early in the plot, we are treated to no more of these interactions. The rest of the book is slowly pushed along by dialogue, romance, and wedding preparations rather than action.
For someone looking for a chatty romance, I'm sure Bujold is way better than most everything on the romance shelves. But for someone who is expecting the greatness of Chalion, sadly, this isn't it. However, I do wonder if now that we've got the romance out of the way, might she return to the problem of the malices in book two? Now that Fawn and Dag are together, might Fawn have more self-confidence and be a more interesting heroine? Just in case, I think I'll try Legacy. I wouldn't want to miss any excellent Bujold fantasy. --FantasyLiterature.net
Rated by buyers 
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I cannot understand why an otherwise fantastic storyteller would write such a mediocre book. Perhaps it is harsh to give it only one star, but this book is so completely out of character for Ms. Bujold that I felt could not give it more. I love her all her other books, but I actually found it painful to read this one.
Rated by buyers -
This woman can write. I have never read anything of hers that I didn't like, and this is no exception. I am interested to see where she is going with this series.
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