Statistics: 6 out of 11 finished book, others started.

All but 1 enjoyed this book.

We liked that the reader was partially responsible for understanding the world Bujold introduces us to in this, which is the first of a number she has written based in this high medieval country with a strong theological background accepted by the main characters which becomes ever more important as the plot unfolds. For most of us, the world-building done by Bujold drew us into the mind-set of her characters with little difficulty despite giving us a lot to work with in the first few chapters. To be fair a few found this harder to appreciate.

The Spanish influence in names and places gave a fresh feel taking us away from “fantasy fiction norms”. The characters and characterisations were particularly strong – drawing us to believe in both the people we wanted to see succeed as well as those we hoped would fail. Though the writer kept us guessing as to whether good would or even could prevail without great cost. This was enhanced by the fact that no-one was entirely good or bad – the “baddies” had moments of redemption just as the “good guys” were flawed and sometimes you were not sure which was which.

Strong female characters – particularly Iselle and Betriz – added to the enjoyment. There was a love story but it remained understated and did not intrude unnecessarily while adding an element of hope for some of the characters. The nature of the medieval world depicted did restrict women – which was truly medieval (according to our medievalist) – but also showed where they wielded real power.

We discussed the fact that this was not a human against “other” sword and sorcery fantasy novel – rather the struggle existed between like members of the same society / family whose motivations and true abilities were not always clear to themselves. This felt more real – people are not black and white and neither were the people here.

The theological elements of the story were genuinely intriguing and offered lots to talk about – whether or not the reader was theologically inclined.

2 that hadn't read her work before were keen to see more.

Verdict – give it a go! (even if you don't normally bother with this stuff)