The Hallowed Hunt

The Hallowed Hunt is the third book in Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion series. Though that's a bit disingenuous, since this book doesn't take place in Chalion. Nor does it contain any of the characters from the previous two books. Even in cameo roles. Even mentioned in passing. But the gods are the same, as is the universe, so it's part of the same series. There's some chatter among the fans that it should really be referred to as the Five Gods' series, or the Fivefold Path of the Soul series, since all of the books are examinations of this fascinating religion Bujold has created. But either of those names would imply a series of five books. Since there are currently three, with no hint of another forthcoming, those titles don't entirely fit either.

The lack of familiar characters is only mildly disappointing, as all of the new ones are really great. There's sweet, naive Ijada who doesn't know a ton about real-world politics, but is pretty adept at navigating theology. There's tortured Ingrey who may be the least trusting character I've even encountered. Then again, who better to put in the middle of a conspiracy to figure everything out. It would have been nice if he'd recognized his allies a bit sooner, but he got there in the end. Then there's all the divines and shamans who discuss the theology of their world endlessly and hardly ever seem to agree on anything, right beside the nobles who do the same thing with politics.

The mystery and conspiracy at the heart of this novel takes its sweet time to unfold. Which is fantastic. The pacing is really just superb. Every time I figured things out, another twist got thrown at me. It kept me on my toes right up until the very end.

But what I like most about this book (and the other two books in this series) is the emphasis on choice and free will. The gods can do nothing without the consent of humans, which is a really interesting way for religion to work. And it makes for some fascinating alliances and conversations.

The only trouble is that the series now feels somewhat incomplete. Three of the five gods have been examined in depth. The other two have made appearances, but really deserve stories of their own. Maybe Bujold will get around to writing them someday. In the meantime I'll have to content myself with the fact that another of her series - The Vorkosigan Saga - has 15 books and is, as far as I know, complete.

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