I can’t remember where this was recommended to me as an excellent fantasy novel by a female writer whose work is in danger of being overlooked these days, but it made enough of an impression that I bought this when I saw it at library book sale near my house. Unfortunately, Ms. Bujold will boy get royalties on the dollar I gave the Southeast library. Fortunately, I did get a good book. I devoured it as quickly as I could over the first few days that I had it.

A damaged hero. A princess (not meant for the hero; but he has his own love interest, holding a more suitably lesser status). Interesting and brutal (though not unnecessarily grim) politics and a religious system that I suspect George R.R. Martin of having borrowed from and an interesting magical ecosystem. The setting, despite stabs at new nomenclature, is basic western medieval. The ending drags on, but that’s not the worst sin.