The Hallowed Hunt and Paladin of Souls

I read these 2 books out of order. I read The Hallowed Hunt first, loved it and went back to the store to get Paladin of Souls. There is another book thats actually the first book in the series (The Curse of Chalion) that I'll have to read even tho I've already figured out who's who and what's what). No matter, the books stand on their own and I didn't even realize it was a series since the same characters do not appear in these two books. It seems to be more of a series of a particular land with it's particular set of rules.

The Hallowed Hunt
Lois McMaster Bujold


Paladin of Souls
Lois McMaster Bujold


The characters are well drawn, and sometimes quite formal. Both stories deal with humans carrying the souls of animals which for some, the religous can be a mark of favor from the Gods (of which there are 5) or for the non-religous - a charge of possesion. I suppose the first book would probably give me the rules on why the two groups have different rules about housing animal souls.

There are lots of books that deal with people incorporating the essence of an animal. For the most part it gives them a second sight; different from their own human sight, the essence of their animal. It's usually cooperative. Here it's not always cooperative. Sometimes the animal soul rides the human and sometimes the human rides the animal. Riding the animal soul is preferable, as the other way the human becomes like the base animal without empathy.

Both books are mysteries of a sort. In Paladin of Souls, a woman *accidently* travels finding 2 brothers who live near the border of hostile people, with an odd problem. One brother is bedridden with a mysterious illness, only waking briefly each day to take some food and water. He is wasting away. The other brother is hale and hearty yet when he sleeps a wound on his shoulder weeps blood only to close up and heal once he wakes. The mystery is why and how these 2 brothers are intertwined by others around them; both family and enemies.

In The Hallowed Hunt, a woman is being held as a murderer of a royal person. An attempted rape she does indeed kill the man who was set on raping her. In the melee and apparent magical transference of an animal soul she is now possessed of a leopard soul and in danger of being put to death because of it. Her escort, a man who has been pardoned of his possession believes her story of possession and begins to unravel the mystery of his own past possession as his animal soul becomes unbound.

Lois McMaster Bujold writes beautifully. I savored these books and now I have to go find other books by her, she's got quite a few under her belt.