Books › The Hallowed Hunt
The Hallowed Hunt
470 pages
A deeply compassionate, character-driven fantasy about two haunted souls finding solace and strength in each other amidst political and spiritual peril.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into a dense, autumnal forest where the shadows are long but the hearth fires burn bright. It is a deeply compassionate, character-driven experience that prioritizes psychological depth and spiritual healing over breathless action. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, wrapping the reader in an atmosphere of quiet tension and intimate stakes. The prose is elegant and intelligent, anchoring you firmly in the minds of deeply mature, beautifully flawed protagonists who are grappling with profound trauma and the heavy burdens of duty. It is a story that delights in the slow, careful building of trust, offering a deeply satisfying exploration of how broken people can forge something whole and resilient together. Perfect for those who crave fantasy with a rich, empathetic soul.
- Mood
- spiritually heavy
- intimate
- autumnal
- tense
- Tone
- compassionate
- thoughtful
- earnest
- wry
- melancholic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- healing from trauma · spiritual burden · mature romance · duty and honor · loss of bodily autonomy
- The writing
- Elegant, intelligent, and deeply anchored in the characters' psychological and spiritual interiority.
- The arc
- Moves from a place of isolated dread and spiritual contamination toward profound healing, shared trust, and hard-won redemption.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love mature, slow-burn fantasy where the emotional and spiritual stakes are just as compelling as the political intrigue.
Content notes
- attempted sexual assault
- animal sacrifice
- loss of bodily autonomy
- murder
- suicidal ideation
About the book
An acclaimed legend in the field of fantasy and science fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold returns to the vivid and perilous world of her previous masterworks, the Hugo Award-winning Paladin of Souls and Hugo and World Fantasy Award-nominated The Curse of Chalion, with an epic tale of devotion and strange destiny.Prince Boleso is dead -- slain by a noblewoman he had intended to defile.Lord Ingrey kin Wolfcliff has been dispatched to the remote castle of the late, exiled, half-mad royal to transport the body to its burial place and the accused killer, the Lady Ijada, to judgment. Ingrey's mission is an ugly and delicate one, for the imminent death of the old Hallow King has placed the crown in play, and the murder of his youngest son threatens to further roil already treacherous political waters. But there is more here than a prince's degenerate lusts and the fatal retribution it engendered. Boleso's dark act, though unfinished, inadvertently bestowed an unwanted mystical "gift" upon proud, brave Ijada that must ultimately mean her doom -- a curse similar to one with which Ingrey himself has been burdened since boyhood.A forbidden spirit now inhabits the soul of Ijada, giving her senses she never wished for and an obligation no one sane would desire. At once psychically linked to the remarkable lady and repelled by what she carries within, Ingrey fears the havoc his own inner beast could wreak while on their journey, as he fights a powerful growing attraction... and an equally powerful compulsion to kill.The road they travel together is beset with dangers -- and though duty-bound to deliver Ijada to an almost certain execution, Ingrey soon realizes that she is the only one he dares trust. For a malevolent enemy with designs on a troubled kingdom holds Ingrey in his sway -- and without Ijada's aid and love, the haunted lord will never be able to break free and realize the great and terrible destiny bestowed upon him by the gods, the damned, and the dead.
Description from Open Library.
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