Paladin of Souls: A Novel
『Paladin of Souls』は、ロイス・マクマスター・ビジョルドによるファンタジー長編で、『チャリオンの影』と同じ五神世界を舞台にする。元王妃イスタが巡礼の旅に出る中で、神々、悪霊、政治的陰謀に向き合い、自分の意思と自由を取り戻していく。
作品情報
元王妃イスタの巡礼は、魂の束縛を解くための冒険へ変わる。
英語原書の初版系書誌で ISBN 0380979020、456ページを確認した。ヒューゴー賞長編部門などを受けた五神世界の代表作。
書籍情報
- 出版社
- Harper Voyager
- 発売日
- 2003-09-23
- ページ数
- 464ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 15.24 x 3.58 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780380979028
- ISBN-10
- 0380979020
- 価格
- 2599 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Science Fiction & Fantasy/Fantasy/Epic
One of the most honored authors in the field of fantasy and science fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold transports us once more to a dark and troubled land and embroils us in a desperate struggle to preserve the endangered souls of a realm. Three years have passed since the widowed Dowager Royina Ista found release from the curse of madness that kept her imprisoned in her family's castle of Valenda. Her newfound freedom is costly, bittersweet with memories, regrets, and guilty secrets -- for she knows the truth of what brought her land to the brink of destruction. And now the road -- escape -- beckons. . . . A simple pilgrimage, perhaps. Quite fitting for the Dowager Royina of all Chalion. Yet something else is free, too -- something beyond deadly. To the north lies the vital border fortress of Porifors. Memories linger there as well, of wars and invasions and the mighty Golden General of Jokona. And someone, something, watches from across that border -- humans, demons, gods. Ista thinks her little party of pilgrims wanders at will. But whose? When Ista's retinue is unexpectedly set upon not long into its travels, a mysterious ally appears -- a warrior nobleman who fights like a berserker. The temporary safety of her enigmatic champion's castle cannot ease Ista's mounting dread, however, when she finds his dark secrets are entangled with hers in a net of the gods' own weaving. In her dreams the threads are already drawing her to unforeseen chances, fateful meetings, fearsome choices. What the inscrutable gods commanded of her in the past brought her land to the brink of devastation. Now, once again, they have chosen Ista as their instrument. And again, for good or for ill, she must comply.
One of the most respected writers in the field of speculative fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold burst onto the scene in 1986 with Shards of Honor , the first of her tremendously popular Vorkosigan Saga novels. She has received numerous accolades and prizes, including two Nebula Awards for best novel ( Falling Free and Paladin of Souls ), four Hugo Awards for Best Novel ( Paladin of Souls , The Vor Game , Barrayar , and Mirror Dance ), as well as the Hugo and Nebula Awards for her novella The Mountains of Mourning . Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages. The mother of two, Bujold lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
レビュー
-
もうVorkosiganシリーズはいらないかな？
TheCurseofChalionの続編（姉妹編？）今回は、怒れる王妃Istaの探求の物語。とにかくFiveGodWorldを活写する暗喩の散りばめかたが上手い！さすがBujoldといったところでしょうか。古い日本人ならArhysが出撃する第二十三章は泣けますよ。
-
なぜトリプルクラウン？
なぜこの本がトリプルクラウンなのか非常に疑問だ。都市間の小さな世界の争いで、ありきたりな悪魔付きの魔法使いとの戦いで、それすら物語の中盤以降で。ヒロインは陰気な周りの人間の観察が好きなおばさんで（さらにそのおばさんのモノローグで話は進むし）。過去の（1990以前）受賞作は、新たな世界観を示した骨太の作品が多かったのに。原書の表現も冗長でクドく、なぜそれほどまで一般的な単語を避けているか理解しがたかった（古語的な単語を使って何らかの表現上の奥深さが表せていたとは思えない）。自分の語彙力が今一つとはいえ、文章として読むのも苦痛だった。少なくとも、Connie Willisのほうが圧倒的によかったね。キャラクターを表す表現も、少ない単語で的確に、かつ魅力的に表現していたね。前作を読んでいなかったとはいえ、初めて読む人に対してもそれなりのキャラクターへの感情移入を誘導し、かつまた、わくわくするストーリーを提供するのが、賞を得るための作品の要件ではないのか。あまりにレベルが低過ぎる。この作品を評価する人々は、他に本を読んでいないんでは。ヒューゴー、ネビュラ、ローカスも落ちたもんだ。
-
Very good book
I had a lot of fun reading it. Thanks for the chalion series
-
A strong sequel to The Curse of Chalion
Three years have passed since a sorcerous curse was lifted from the royal family of Chalion. Chalion and the western kingdom of Ibra have allied and now prepare for a military campaign against the Roknari principalities to the north. Ista, the Dowager Royina, is far removed from such concerns. The lifting of the curse has returned to her a sense of self and intelligence, but her family is still treating her as a pariah. The removal of her children to the capital and the death of her mother have left her without purpose, so she plans to make a pilgrimage in honour of her memory. But it appears that destiny still has plans in mind for her. Paladin of Souls is a loose sequel to The Curse of Chalion, although you could probably get away with not reading the previous novel. This book is primarily a stand-alone story revolving around Ista, the mother of the new Royina of Chalion, who finds herself at a loose end as her family moves on with their lives without her. Ista was a minor character in The Curse of Chalion, where she was often confused and frightened. Here, in her own story, we meet a much more capable and intelligent woman, but one who is frustrated at being treated as a near-invalid by her family. This is an unusual epic fantasy in some senses. The protagonist being a middle-aged woman is a relative rarity in the genre and its primary thematic concern being with establishing or re-establishing a purpose in later life is a universally relatable one. There is also a lot of more familiar fantasy tropes, including romance, epic battles and formidable sorcery. Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most talented authors working in either science fiction or fantasy, with excellent prose skills and great characters, and she blends these elements together again her to create a novel which is vivid and engrossing. It's not quite as successful as The Curse of Chalion, although it's close. Paladin of Souls has a somewhat slighter story than its forebear but unfolds over around a hundred extra pages, making it feel at least a little flabbier and less-focused than the previous novel. The book also spends a lot of time establishing the secondary cast in the opening chapters, but surprisingly only a couple of them played major roles in the denouement, the rest either just hang around or disappear for large stretches of time. They're a fun bunch of characters but ultimately don't feel like they have a clear purpose in the book. That said, Bujold's world of the Five Gods remains an intriguing creation, effectively a magic-heavy version of Iberia in the 15th Century (fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan will particularly enjoy this novel and its forebear, I believe). The characters are sharp and some of the plot twists are quite clever. Paladin of Souls (****½) is a strong fantasy novel revolving around themes of love, war, family and honour. It's one of Lois McMaster Bujold's most critically feted novels, having won Best Novel in three of the genre's biggest awards, the Hugo, Nebula and Locus. The book is available now in the UK and USA.
-
McMaster Bujold kann's halt
Die Heldin bezwingt ihre Gegner dank eines Boosts, der ihr von den Göttern zufällt, während ihr Love Interest brav das Händchen hält - jeder andere Autor wäre wohl an dieser lahmen Story gescheitert. Doch Lois McMaster Bujold gelingt es, ihrem Paladin of Souls Witz und (jedenfalls meistens) Spannung zu verleihen. Allein das zeigt ihre Klasse. Ich habe das Buch gerne gelesen und ziehe den Hut vor ihren schreiberischen Fähigkeiten.
-
Amazing Story…
This is the second in the Series about Chalion and the five Gods. These books are terrific reads full of strong characters and a great storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them.
-
This could be the best story I've ever read
This could be the best story I've ever read. Deep and rich narrative the whole way. Loved the way it unfolds out of Curse of Chalion.
関連する文学賞
- ヒューゴー賞 第52回（2005年） ・受賞