I've read all three books of the "Chalion" series by Bujold. And I often have trouble deciding which one is my favorite because it always seems to be the one I'm re-reading at the moment! However, as I am re-reading The Hallowed Hunt, that is where my thoughts are flowing and focused in the trilogy at this time. Which led me to meandering in the reviews of The Wild Hunt here on Amazon. In this, my "review", I will do a review of the book itself, and then I mean to respond to themes that have emerged from other reviews of this book.
The Wild Hunt takes us out of Chalion altogether into a new land in the same "world" - the Weald, a conquered land that overthrew its conquers, but has lost its indigenous culture. Its main character, Ingrey, is a rough bravo, with hidden depths who is sent to investigate a murder of the youngest scion of the high royalty of the Weald, and told to, in the name of political expediency, cover up the crime. Ingrey, upon encountering the young woman, Ijada accused of the thoroughly mad Boleso's murder, discovers not only that he cannot abide the miscarriage of justice he is sent to perpetuate, but that he is suddenly become the focal point of the gods and the lost shamanic culture of the old Weald that is rising to correct a hideous destruction of souls in his country's distant past. The culture is complex both in its "modern" and "ancient" portrayals, the characters are vivid, and the plot twists genuinely surprise the reader. This makes The Hallowed Hunt yet again Lois McMaster Bujold writing at the very top of her form and power as an author and the book does not disappoint.
Response to emerging themes and criticisms in many reviews of The Hallowed Hunt:
Where and when is The Wild Hunt set. This seems to be a running point in the more negatively critical reviews. Bujold takes a great leap out of the setting of the first two novels, and introduces an entirely new country, its customs and culture, all fully formed, very different, and above all, NOT set in Chalion. That seems to throw a fair amount of people for a loop.
The first two books, The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, have a singular setting in the country of Chalion, continuity and time through characters seen in the same setting/ (For instance, in Paladin of Souls, Ista, a secondary character in the first book, The Curse of Chalion, is the primary character of the second, events in the second book are set in Chalion only three years after the events of the first book and so forth).
The Hallowed Hunt seems to yank many readers up short by shifting altogether to some far country with all new characters and a very different scenario politically and theologically (though the Five Gods remain as the spiritual force of the books). Chalion exists in a brief mention in the Hallowed Hunt as the country that one of the main character's father comes from. Some people have stated that they don't understand where the country in the novel - the Weald - is geographically located, others assume its centuries in the past of Chalion. I disagree.
If we do some research, we find that Bujold based the original book and the original creation of Chalion on the historical unification of Castile and Leon into Spain, with loose associations with pertinent historical figures for her characters. In passing, it is noted that Darthaca, mentioned as a great kingdom beyond the bounds of Chalion, is loosely based on France. The Hallowed Hunt is set in a country that lies further beyond Darthaca, called The Weald. In the course of the story, we find that Darthaca invaded the Weald, conquered it and then the Weald over centuries of battle, throws the Darthacan invaders back out...all to no avail, as the invasion has destroyed the Wealdan culture forever. To me it feels that maybe, there is a hint of the Roman invasion of Gaul (loosely ancient France), which entailed the destruction of Gallic Celtic culture and the overlay of Roman culture that persisted thereafter. The ancient Weald which we see vividly through the eyes of a character,Wencel, the despairing last hallowed King of the Weald, feels very much like glimpses of ancient Gaul, perhaps with a touch of Briton thrown in, before Rome swept in. So to the recurring question of where did the Weald come from that seems to rise in reviews of the Hallowed Hunt, that is what I suspect Bujold used as a very loose basis for this book. (interestingly enough, a favorite secondary character, Jokul, a "pirate poet" and cheerful madman in The Wild Hunt is clearly based on Norse Viking Culture, right down to the "Viking" boat, and the skaldic poetry. Bujold knows her history!)
Then there is the question of the time frame of The Hallowed Hunt within the Chalion milieu, which also seems to cause confusion. The setting in time is vague, but it could easily be concurrent with the first two books, or not. The bare mention of Chalion, twice, only shows that its long feud with the Roknari princedoms is on-going, and known of, within the Weald.
It *could* be set during the period when the very first Roknari invaders overran Chalion clear to the border edge of Darthaca, before they were pushed back...or it could be set during the military campaigns of Paladin of Souls, as Chalion begins to edge towards possibly winning the war with the Roknari Princedoms forever. There is not enough detail to tell and perhaps it is not an important issue, except that it seems to cause question. I initially felt that it was concurrent in time with the first two books, but I don't insist upon that. Whether concurrent with The Curse of Chalion, and Paladin of Souls or set further back in time, it is consistent with the author's world building.
The other constant criticism that seems to rise in reviews of The Hallowed Hunt is that the characters are shallow and not as "fleshed out" as they are in the first two books, that we spend too much time inside the main character's head and view point, and that the pace of the novel is slower than the first two. I realize that my review like all readers' reviews is a personal opinion seen through the lenses of my own thoughts and biases. But I feel that if there is a "slow, rambling" book at all in the Chalion series, it is Paladin of Souls, as it meanders with Ista on her religious pilgrimage. And even that is not a criticism of Paladin of Souls, for that is consistent with how the characters are experiencing their adventure within its setting.
Further more, both Paladin of Souls and the preceding book, The Curse of Chalion are seen entirely from the POV of their main characters, just as it is The Hallowed Hunt seen entirely from the POV of its main character, Ingrey. And I think we spend as much time with Ista's or Cazaril's inner thoughts as we do with Ingrey's interior landscape. So, I just don't see that this "criticism" is sustained or correct.
Further more, to me, the main characters - Ingrey, Ijada, Wencel - are just as well developed as they are in the first two books, with just as many enjoyable secondary characters as well. In fact, the secondary characters, such as the cheerful madman Jokul, serious, worried prince Biast, the scorned princess Fara (who rises to become a stunningly pivotal character at the last, and - oh my - the vivid wild priestess of two gods, Halanna...no. In this book, the secondary characters come close to committing grand theft novel in a way that does not occur in the previous two books, so I think that this criticism is not sustained either.
I think, that what has happened a great deal with The Hallowed Hunt is that we all pounced on it the day it came out, expecting to go wallow again in the rich culture of Chalion, and perhaps follow a secondary character or even new character based again in the world of The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls. Since even from the cover of the book, we can perceive before we open it, that the primary god of the story is the Son of Autumn, we might assume perhaps for instance to pick up with a son born to Bergon and Iselle, the rulers of Chalion, perhaps embroiled in the final resolving conflict of the war with the Roknari princedoms, as a possible hypothesis.
Instead, what we got was a great leap to an entirely unknown culture and a unique interpretation of the existing religion in a country so distant as to be virtually unknown in Chalion; an incredible exercise in consistent world building while creating something entirely new. While this may have initially created a sense of whip lash to our expectations, the sheer breathtaking creativity that Bujold brings to this leap into something entirely different, while staying entirely consistent with her world building shows her writing at its best, and invites us to expand our horizons and join her in experiencing the journey of these vivid new characters. I was not in the least disappointed. In some ways. and without in the least criticizing The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls at all - I give them 5 stars too! - for me, The Hallowed Hunt may be my favorite, for it speaks deeply to my soul every time I read it.
Thus my personal thoughts.
Hopefully, they are helpful.
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Top reviews from other countries
VanIsleReader
third in the a”Chalion” series and just as great as the first two.
Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2021
