Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
The Sharing Knife Series, Volume Four
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; 1 edition (February 10, 2009), Format: Kindle Edition, File Size: 438 KB, Print Length: 464 pages, Language: English, ASIN: B001NLL8UG

This is a story about battles.  A fight against evil creatures, predjudice and old concepts. Dag, the magic wielding Lakewalker and his young bride the Farmer-girl Fawn continue their story with plenty of adventures. They have found a new Lakewalker camp where Dag can learn to use his developing maker abilities, but it isn’t long until Farmer versus Lakewalker troubles start to appear. Add into this story a new kind of Malice and you have an interesting tale.  This book takes place immediately following Passage.

Lois McMaster Bujold has written numerous Science Fiction and Fantasy books and series including The Vorkosigan Saga, The Chalion Universe Series and the The Sharing Knife Series. Horizon is the last book in The Sharing Knife Series which has a total of four books. These books fall into the Fantasy genre but can also be considered a Romance since it revolves around a love story. There is magic in this universe that is welded by the Lakewakers and it takes place in a society that is equivalent to ours in the early 19th century. It occurs after the fall of a greater society that was destroyed by the creation of evil creatures known as Malices. In this world the Lakewalkers serve by destroying these creatures as they continue to randomly pop up. The story is told in a third person narrative by the two main protagonists Dag, the Lakewalker and Fawn, the Farmer girl.

I liked the first two books in this series better than the last two books, but I am still glad I read them all as it is a satisfying tale. This book once again addresses the problems associated with predujice and shows the harm it can cause.  Dag’s journey and inner struggle are well written and believable.  He is looking to the future and continually coming up with great solutions.  All the characters are pretty well rounded and show good depth.  We are introduced to some new characters and we learn more about Lakerwalker magic and makings. The story had a great build up to an exciting and frightening climax. The book shows that through co-operation and understanding people can overcome their dfifferences and learn to combine their strengths to the benefit of all.

I recommend this book, it is a good conclusion to an interesting and different fantasy series.  If you enjoy reading a good, original fantasy story that revolves around a romance then you will enjoy this book.  This is a stand alone book, but you will enjoy it more if you read the books in order as the story builds from book to book.