Beguilement
Young Fawn Bluefield has fled her family's farm hoping to find work in the city of Glassforge. Uncertain about her future and the troubles she carries, Fawn stops for a drink of water at a roadside inn, where she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, enigmatic soldier-sorcerers from the woodland culture to the north. Fawn knows the stories about the Lakewalkers: they are necromancers; they practice black sorcery; they have no permanent homes and own only the clothes they wear and the weapons — mysterious knives made of human bone — they carry. What she does not know is that the Lakewalkers, as a whole, are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as “malices,” creatures that suck the life out of all they encounter, and turn men and animals into their minions.
Dag is an older Lakewalker patroller who carries his past sorrows as heavily as his present responsibilities. When Fawn is kidnapped by the malice Dag's patrol is tracking, Dag races to rescue her. But in the ensuing struggle, it is not Dag but Fawn who kills the creature — at dire cost — and an uncanny accident befalls Dag's sharing knife, which unexpectedly binds their two fates together.
And so now the misenchanted knife must be returned to the Lakewalkers. Together, Fawn and Dag set out on the long road back to his camp. But on the journey this unlikely pair will encounter danger and delight, prejudice and partnership, and maybe even love...
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record, not counting his Retro Hugo. Her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. In the fantasy genre, The Curse of Chalion won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the 2002 World Fantasy Award for best novel, and both her fourth Hugo Award and second Nebula Award were for Paladin of Souls. In 2011 she was awarded the Skylark Award. In 2013 she was awarded the Forry Award. In 2017 she won a Hugo Award for Best Series, for the Vorkosigan Saga.
The Sharing Knife
A romance/fantasy crossover series.
The Sharing Knife consists of four primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Book Reviews
[this review is based on the audio book version, read by Bernadette Dunne. Blackstone Audio Inc.] This book could be easily placed on the romance shelf instead of fantasy. Anyway, it's a pleasant story. Easy to read (or listen to), perfect for little light read between heavy epics. This was my first experience of Bujold's writings and I 'll be checking out her other novels too.