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The Sharing Knife, Vol. 4: Horizon Audiobook
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(3.01) - 2,420 listener ratings
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In a world where malices, remnants of ancient magic, can erupt with life-destroying power, only soldier-sorcerer Lakewalkers have mastered the ability to kill them. But Lakewalkers keep their uncanny secrets—and themselves—from the farmers they protect. So when patroller Dag Redwing Hickory rescued farm girl Fawn Bluefield, neither expected to fall in love, marry, and defy both their kin to seek new solutions to the split between their peoples.
As Dag’s abilities have grown, so has his concern about who—or what—he is becoming. At the end of a great river journey, he is offered an apprenticeship to a master groundsetter in a southern Lakewalker camp. But as his understanding of his powers deepens, so does his frustration with the camp’s rigid mores with respect to farmers. At last, he and Fawn decide to travel a very different road—and find that along it, their disparate but hopeful company increases.
Fawn and Dag see that their world is changing, and the traditional Lakewalker practices cannot hold every malice at bay forever. Yet for all the customs that the couple has challenged thus far, they will soon be confronted by a crisis exceeding their worst imaginings—one that threatens their Lakewalker and farmer followers alike. Now the pair must answer in earnest the question they’ve grappled with since they killed their first malice together: When the old traditions fail disastrously, can their untried new ways stand against their world’s deadliest foe?
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"Bujold is really creating her own genre at this point in her career... and doing a masterful job of it. It's fantasy - but set in a rural/agrarian culture reminiscent of frontier America, with a population divided into farmers and lakewalkers. The lakewalkers have a pseudo-psychic ability to sense "ground" (lifeforce?) and manipulate it; their purpose is to hunt and kill malices (malignant creatures that eat or absorb the grounds of people). There are hints of a long-ago apocalypse that created malices and perhaps also lakewalker abilities... but that background and all these details are really subordinate to the central story. In the central story it becomes a romance - a winter/spring relationship between Dag, a lakewalker, and Fawn, his farmer bride. He is 56, with a lifetime of sorrows behind him. She is 19, but wise and determined beyond her years. As we follow the two of them over the course of four books we get to watch interesting, complex characters take on realistic challenges and deal with issues of prejudice and deep-seated traditions."
— Kiri (5 out of 5 stars)
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“[Bujold’s] eventful conclusion to [the Sharing Knife] series proves that her talent for storytelling persists regardless of genre.”
— Library Journal -
“Bujold develops the characters and their relationship skillfully enough to please romance as well as fantasy fans.”
— Booklist -
“Dunne’s narration is good, with all of the large cast of characters given distinctive voices. She uses variations in tone and pitch, paired with a ‘down-home country’ delivery where appropriate among the more rural characters; thus Fawn sounds fresh-faced, breathy, and young, while her much older spouse, Dag, has a low, raspy voice…[A] solid performance.”
— SoundCommentary.com
The Sharing Knife, Vol. 4: Horizon Listener Reviews
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" So I have only read this series by her, but I have yet to read one that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. She's a very engaging writer and her characters are real and interesting. "
— Merrin, 1/31/2014 -
" This was a very satisfying conclusion to the Sharing Knife series. There's something quiet and contemplative about these books -- every time a malice appears (after book one) it seems oddly out of place and shocking. This book follows Fawn and Dag as they start to get some traction in their plans to change the world. The books are very much about changing the world one person at a time, and starting on a small scale. I think that's why I don't really feel compelled to give them a five -- that seems to be the theme of much of the PC lit I read, so it seems a bit worn. But Bujold does it well (as she does everything well) and they're books I enjoy rereading. I like the feeling that the world isn't against them -- it's just going along, doing its thing, and some people agree with Dag and Fawn, and others don't, and that's just fine. Like I said -- peaceful and thoughtful. "
— Rachel, 1/7/2014 -
" Absolutely wonderful wrap-up to the series. "
— Barbara, 1/3/2014 -
" Fabulous closing chapter to this series. I wondered how Bujold was going to pull off a satisfactory conclusion to the problems her characters faced, but she did it, wonderfully! "
— Tinav, 12/27/2013 -
" Great finish for the series. Shows well how things are going to progress without wrapping it all in a nice little bow. "
— Marianne, 11/9/2013 -
" Finished this one last week. The entire series just got better from book to book. "
— Elizabeth, 10/31/2013 -
" Great stuff! I'm not sure if this is the last in the series, though, or if it will continue... "
— Gwen, 9/25/2013 -
" This series has a bit more on relationships and a little lighter on action, but still has the detailed, interesting and self consistent world that she always seems to create. I am once again in the sad state of being out of Bujold books to read. "
— Ken, 9/2/2013 -
" Good, but I didn't like it as much as the first book or two in the series. "
— Selena, 8/3/2013 -
" Somehow thoroughly new, but still familiar. Excellent read, in my opinion. "
— Magda, 6/22/2013 -
" The pacing in "Horizon" was better than the third Sharing Knife book. Good character interactions and plot, and a twist in the climax to make things interesting. All in all, a good way to end a series. "
— Lisa, 3/21/2013
About Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most honored writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. In 2019 she was named a Damon Knight Grand Master by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, one of science fiction’s highest honors. She has won seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards. In 2011 she was awarded the Skylark Award for her significant contribution to science fiction. Hugo awards for Best Series were received by the Vorkosigan Saga in 2017, and the World of the Five Gods in 2018.
About Bernadette Dunne
Bernadette Dunne is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.