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The Cursed
War had killed Gwin's husband, and a plague of star sickness carried off her babies. Desolate, she nursed her stricken neighbors. But the few who would survive the sickness were doomed anyway.
Every survivor would be cursed, and each would become outcast, for the curses were more deadly than the plague itself. Some survivors would gain powers of healing--and equally the power to inflict disease at the merest touch. Some would see the future--and it would drive them mad. And some curses were even worse . . .
Under the law, no one could shelter the Cursed, but Gwin took in a young girl. Who could predict that her simple act of outlaw kindness would change her life--and her world--forever?
THE CURSED is an epic tale of mortals swept up in the maelstrom of destiny, of unforgiving fate, and of new beginnings. Journey with Dave Duncan into the world of THE CURSED.
Every survivor would be cursed, and each would become outcast, for the curses were more deadly than the plague itself. Some survivors would gain powers of healing--and equally the power to inflict disease at the merest touch. Some would see the future--and it would drive them mad. And some curses were even worse . . .
Under the law, no one could shelter the Cursed, but Gwin took in a young girl. Who could predict that her simple act of outlaw kindness would change her life--and her world--forever?
THE CURSED is an epic tale of mortals swept up in the maelstrom of destiny, of unforgiving fate, and of new beginnings. Journey with Dave Duncan into the world of THE CURSED.
418 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 18, 1995
5 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Dave Duncan
140 books591 followersOriginally from Scotland, Dave Duncan lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds were more satisfying than the real one, he published more than 60 novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical.
He wrote at times under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?")
His most successful works were fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and seven books about The King’s Blades. His books have been translated into 15 languages, and of late have been appearing in audiobook format as well.
He and Janet were married in 1959. He is survived by her, one son and two daughters, as well as four grandchildren.
He was both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SFCanada, and a member of the CSFFA Hall of Fame.
He wrote at times under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?")
His most successful works were fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and seven books about The King’s Blades. His books have been translated into 15 languages, and of late have been appearing in audiobook format as well.
He and Janet were married in 1959. He is survived by her, one son and two daughters, as well as four grandchildren.
He was both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SFCanada, and a member of the CSFFA Hall of Fame.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 24, 2025
“War, the curse of Muol, had rolled to and fro over the land, squeezing the people out like juice from a press.”
Well-written standalone fantasy. Refreshing approach: astrology works. Sort of. Further, Star Sickness kills most infected, the survivors are Cursed with unique symptoms which a wise person might turn into semi-superpowers. Gwin seems to herself out of friends, ideas, and time.
“I see the future, good and evil, but I can neither aid the good nor seek to avert the evil. I must let it all come. This is the Curse of Shool.”
When the Cursed focus on others their outcomes are much better. Given a leader, they might even change world history for the better. If she and they survive. Competing cultures, religions, people. The key to survival, not to mention victory, may be an umbrella Curse.
“Sometimes the fates move us in unexpected directions. And the truth may be less important than what is seen as the truth.”
Well-written standalone fantasy. Refreshing approach: astrology works. Sort of. Further, Star Sickness kills most infected, the survivors are Cursed with unique symptoms which a wise person might turn into semi-superpowers. Gwin seems to herself out of friends, ideas, and time.
“I see the future, good and evil, but I can neither aid the good nor seek to avert the evil. I must let it all come. This is the Curse of Shool.”
When the Cursed focus on others their outcomes are much better. Given a leader, they might even change world history for the better. If she and they survive. Competing cultures, religions, people. The key to survival, not to mention victory, may be an umbrella Curse.
“Sometimes the fates move us in unexpected directions. And the truth may be less important than what is seen as the truth.”
February 1, 2020
This was another forgotten gem. It's one of the few stand-alone books from Duncan's oevre. By the time this book came out, Dave was a well-regarded figure in the fantasy field. It was among the last of his books that I reviewed for the local paper. Re-reading it, I found it crackled on every page with an intriguing magic system, compelling characters and devastating conflicts.
January 13, 2020
It was really great there for awhile but 3/4 of the way through it suddenly took a strange turn. I guess it didn;t help that I was reading the ebook version and so was unable to quickly flip back to the maps to figure out where characters were or what places they were talking about. Very interesting world building about the cursed and their different abilities. The ending seemed rushed.
February 4, 2023
I was not able to finish this book.
It wasn't that I didn't like the writing or the characters, both were well crafted, but nothing happened in the first third of the book. It felt like a fantasy version of On The Road.
Maybe the rest of the book picks up and rewards the patient reader, but after a few hundred pages, I had had enough. There's better pages for my time.
It wasn't that I didn't like the writing or the characters, both were well crafted, but nothing happened in the first third of the book. It felt like a fantasy version of On The Road.
Maybe the rest of the book picks up and rewards the patient reader, but after a few hundred pages, I had had enough. There's better pages for my time.
January 20, 2019
I read this one a while back when I was checking out Canadian authors. I thought it was well written and held my interest but, ultimately, not the type of fiction that I typically follow.
January 28, 2019
Simple easy book. Predictable to think ahead.
October 13, 2013
The world of cursed is a unique one, set in a fallen empire with warring factions inside and deadly invaders outside. The focus is on the cursed - survivors of the star sickness who end up with various psychic gifts.
The powers are mostly two fold - the healer can can easily harm, the telepath can broadcast, the one with out emotion can manipulate them in others, the luck bringer causes occurrences good and bad. Then there are the shapechangers, continually shifting into new bodies without control, and the forecasters, who doom themselves to imbecility if they stray from the future they've forseen. It's a fascinating and unique system of magic.
The rest of the infected die .
There's a lot of strong and appealing characters, all of which escape sterotypes. Gwin is a woman of strength and determination, with a gift for handling people. Bulion is her love interest - a fat grandfather in his sixties who rules his clan with bluster and unexpected shrewdness. His lust crazed grandson is actually a virgin - though not for lack of trying. Their priest is his crippled grandson.
Among the cursed, Tibal is a mixture of joy, sorrow and humor as he lives his life remembering forward. Ordor changes from man to woman with uncaring acceptance - becoming luckily clever as the moment needs, while his companion Jaspur is usually jealous and complaining... The cast is large but full of memorable characters, and I only ever get confused between some of Bulions numerous progeny.
There are several issues that I didn't notice when reading when younger. While there are women in power in this book, they are still second to men in many cases, and several of the cultures mentioned will never accept a woman ruler. Bulion's family is no exception - as a group leaves for a journey he muses that the men's wives are already pregnant, so there will be no 'missed conceptions'.
All of the main characters and most of the people in power are all white. Dave Duncan doesn't mention skin colors a lot, and I tend to assume that the different naming styles and cultures signify different physical types, but a close re-read confirmed that when skin color is mentioned in relation to a main character or their family, it's of light tone. Even the shapeshifters never seem to shift into a different ethinicity.
Most disturbing of all is the complete and utter lack of anything than heterosexual relationships. It is implied that heterosexual pairings are the only kind in the world - not because same sex pairings are forbidden, but because it never occurs to anyone to have one.
There are three main characters who are shape shifters, and most of their changes are to an alternate gender. It's also revealed that they turn into copies of real people. And it's made quite clear, than even among long term partners, no sexual relationships happen unless they are of opposite genders. It doesn't matter which of them is of which gender, except that they are opposite.
The emotionless cursed pair off with the telepathic broadcasters, as they can share their emotions. But again, it's made clear that these are again, always male/female pairing.
I find this book fascinating, funny, well written and filled with admirable characters ( and a couple of loathsome ones ). But I no longer mark it as five stars because of these issues.
The powers are mostly two fold - the healer can can easily harm, the telepath can broadcast, the one with out emotion can manipulate them in others, the luck bringer causes occurrences good and bad. Then there are the shapechangers, continually shifting into new bodies without control, and the forecasters, who doom themselves to imbecility if they stray from the future they've forseen. It's a fascinating and unique system of magic.
The rest of the infected die .
There's a lot of strong and appealing characters, all of which escape sterotypes. Gwin is a woman of strength and determination, with a gift for handling people. Bulion is her love interest - a fat grandfather in his sixties who rules his clan with bluster and unexpected shrewdness. His lust crazed grandson is actually a virgin - though not for lack of trying. Their priest is his crippled grandson.
Among the cursed, Tibal is a mixture of joy, sorrow and humor as he lives his life remembering forward. Ordor changes from man to woman with uncaring acceptance - becoming luckily clever as the moment needs, while his companion Jaspur is usually jealous and complaining... The cast is large but full of memorable characters, and I only ever get confused between some of Bulions numerous progeny.
There are several issues that I didn't notice when reading when younger. While there are women in power in this book, they are still second to men in many cases, and several of the cultures mentioned will never accept a woman ruler. Bulion's family is no exception - as a group leaves for a journey he muses that the men's wives are already pregnant, so there will be no 'missed conceptions'.
All of the main characters and most of the people in power are all white. Dave Duncan doesn't mention skin colors a lot, and I tend to assume that the different naming styles and cultures signify different physical types, but a close re-read confirmed that when skin color is mentioned in relation to a main character or their family, it's of light tone. Even the shapeshifters never seem to shift into a different ethinicity.
Most disturbing of all is the complete and utter lack of anything than heterosexual relationships. It is implied that heterosexual pairings are the only kind in the world - not because same sex pairings are forbidden, but because it never occurs to anyone to have one.
There are three main characters who are shape shifters, and most of their changes are to an alternate gender. It's also revealed that they turn into copies of real people. And it's made quite clear, than even among long term partners, no sexual relationships happen unless they are of opposite genders. It doesn't matter which of them is of which gender, except that they are opposite.
The emotionless cursed pair off with the telepathic broadcasters, as they can share their emotions. But again, it's made clear that these are again, always male/female pairing.
I find this book fascinating, funny, well written and filled with admirable characters ( and a couple of loathsome ones ). But I no longer mark it as five stars because of these issues.
July 8, 2016
This book has a lot of potential, and lived up to some of it.
Note - this review has some story details that could be construed as spoilerish (but not too many). So read on at your own discretion.
I liked the author's concept for a 'magic system' where the Cursed have double-edged powers. This system was developed and flushed out as the story progressed. I think the first 3/4 of the book was good...
For me, the whole relationship between the main protagonist Gwin and her husband Bulion didn't quite jive. Her high opinion of him didn't particularly seem justified. Or maybe I just didn't like that she started the story with ambition/drive as woman business owner, and then seemed to give that up and pursue having a *much* older man's babies (regardless of what actually happened).
Unfortunately, I didn't find the characters 100% believable (especially as the book progressed).
Example dialog that bothered me:
"I said that the Academy would provide the services of a Muolscath as he has been requesting and would waive all fees for the next five years. ... "
"You're right, I suppose, ... Gwin turned to Bulion, "What do you think?"
He shrugged. "Sounds better. But no charge at all seems absurdly generous"
There are several things I don't like about this scene, however, one of them relates to Bulion's response. He is a patriarch of a farmer family/clan, and his fiscally-oriented response struck me as incongruous with his character (especially since it was regarding a community of the Cursed that he doesn't seem to have a significant stake in).
Other parts just don't seem 100% clean. For example, there is scene where a warrior is thinking,
"He could envy the kid. No man ever forgot his first kill."
However, in the story the "kid" has already killed at two other men and the "warrior" knows this… Note, for scenes like this, I usually can find ways to make it make sense in my head, for example:
- Option 1: the warrior just forgot about the kid's other kills
- Option 2: the kid was only a 'half-man' before and therefore this is his first kill as a 'real-man'
- Option 3: this is the kid's first premeditated kill in a battle/skirmish and that is what counts
However, I don't like having to make these sorts of justifications to make the story make sense, and I had to do it more often than I would have liked in this book.
Another problem I had with the book is there seems to be an excess of weird names to remember. Minor characters would be referenced without a lot of context, and I repeatedly found myself thinking, "who is s/he again?"
Also, I'm not a fan of prophecy/destiny being an integral part of the plotline… and the integration of prophecy in this book didn't feel particularly well-done and/or clean.
Note - this review has some story details that could be construed as spoilerish (but not too many). So read on at your own discretion.
I liked the author's concept for a 'magic system' where the Cursed have double-edged powers. This system was developed and flushed out as the story progressed. I think the first 3/4 of the book was good...
For me, the whole relationship between the main protagonist Gwin and her husband Bulion didn't quite jive. Her high opinion of him didn't particularly seem justified. Or maybe I just didn't like that she started the story with ambition/drive as woman business owner, and then seemed to give that up and pursue having a *much* older man's babies (regardless of what actually happened).
Unfortunately, I didn't find the characters 100% believable (especially as the book progressed).
Example dialog that bothered me:
"I said that the Academy would provide the services of a Muolscath as he has been requesting and would waive all fees for the next five years. ... "
"You're right, I suppose, ... Gwin turned to Bulion, "What do you think?"
He shrugged. "Sounds better. But no charge at all seems absurdly generous"
There are several things I don't like about this scene, however, one of them relates to Bulion's response. He is a patriarch of a farmer family/clan, and his fiscally-oriented response struck me as incongruous with his character (especially since it was regarding a community of the Cursed that he doesn't seem to have a significant stake in).
Other parts just don't seem 100% clean. For example, there is scene where a warrior is thinking,
"He could envy the kid. No man ever forgot his first kill."
However, in the story the "kid" has already killed at two other men and the "warrior" knows this… Note, for scenes like this, I usually can find ways to make it make sense in my head, for example:
- Option 1: the warrior just forgot about the kid's other kills
- Option 2: the kid was only a 'half-man' before and therefore this is his first kill as a 'real-man'
- Option 3: this is the kid's first premeditated kill in a battle/skirmish and that is what counts
However, I don't like having to make these sorts of justifications to make the story make sense, and I had to do it more often than I would have liked in this book.
Another problem I had with the book is there seems to be an excess of weird names to remember. Minor characters would be referenced without a lot of context, and I repeatedly found myself thinking, "who is s/he again?"
Also, I'm not a fan of prophecy/destiny being an integral part of the plotline… and the integration of prophecy in this book didn't feel particularly well-done and/or clean.
June 25, 2009
Many have died from the star sickness; those who survive become Cursed, the holders of mysterious, double-edged powers conferred by the stars, or fates. It is unwise to have contact with the Cursed and illegal to shelter them, yet after the death of her husband and children from the sickness, innkeeper Gwin Nien Solith does just that, taking in a girl cursed with the power to heal or kill. When farmer Bulion Tharn and some of his family come to Gwin's inn, a quest begins which will change the destinies of Gwin, Bulion, and their whole world.
I had a hard time getting into this, but I'm glad I kept on. The worldbuilding is excellent; the curses and their ramifications and implications are very well worked out. Duncan's characters are vivid and their dialogue witty and fun to read. There are many hints of prophecy and destiny, but he manages the plot adroitly so that there are still surprises along the way. I hadn't read anything by Duncan in years (after reading the Man of His Word series a long time ago); I may seek out more of his books now.
I had a hard time getting into this, but I'm glad I kept on. The worldbuilding is excellent; the curses and their ramifications and implications are very well worked out. Duncan's characters are vivid and their dialogue witty and fun to read. There are many hints of prophecy and destiny, but he manages the plot adroitly so that there are still surprises along the way. I hadn't read anything by Duncan in years (after reading the Man of His Word series a long time ago); I may seek out more of his books now.
April 30, 2009
In this world, a crumbling empire, a mysterious star sickness either kills you or leaves you "cursed" when it strikes. This curse is manifest in powers, that when left uncontrolled leave you insane. Thar are the manifest powers of their gods: shape changing, the reading and broadcasting of thoughts, healing, future telling, the fatalistic changing of events, and the overarching dominance over people. Add to this an invading barbarian hoard, and those that the barbarians had fled from generations before.
What the world needs is a renewer. Funny how things work out.
What the world needs is a renewer. Funny how things work out.
August 7, 2012
"To credit herself with having God as personal advisor seemed dangerously arrogant."
Duncan's worlds are just amazing, and this book was no exception. Polion's lament was beautiful, Bulion's longing for home was incredible. In short, the whole things just sucks you in and really grips.
It ended rather abruptly, of course; there was a lot of build up to a rather shortened climax. In that regard the scope could've been toned down a little given the overall length of the book, but you can forgive that when you really get into the characters as I did.
Duncan's worlds are just amazing, and this book was no exception. Polion's lament was beautiful, Bulion's longing for home was incredible. In short, the whole things just sucks you in and really grips.
It ended rather abruptly, of course; there was a lot of build up to a rather shortened climax. In that regard the scope could've been toned down a little given the overall length of the book, but you can forgive that when you really get into the characters as I did.
July 28, 2012
I've only read the Venice series of books by DD before this (which I really really liked). I didn't think this was as good, but it was reasonably entertaining, some interesting characters, and the way magic was dealt with fairly unique. I guess it was a bit long winded was the main problem. But I'll definitely be reading more DD in the future (but I won't be re-reading this one).
October 14, 2012
Ohne diese Masse an Rechtschreibefehlen und Wortstellungskatastrophen hätte man auch drei Sterne geben können, aber doppelte Wörter im Satz und Buchstabendreher und das auf jeder zweiten Zeite machen einen beim Lesen echt grantig.
Darum leider nur zwei Sterne, für die deutsche Fassung, vielleicht ist das Original ja besser.
Darum leider nur zwei Sterne, für die deutsche Fassung, vielleicht ist das Original ja besser.
November 22, 2009
Slow to get started, but ultimately engrossing story of a world where those with special powers are dubbed "Cursed." And though they are ostracised, they end up being needed to save the land from war. Duncan again delivers believable, likable characters in a unique world.
August 6, 2011
Oh how I wish this had been split into two books and the ending expanded greatly, but otherwise, I loved the book!
August 3, 2016
Perfect
The premise of little empires descending into chaos because a barbarian horde wants to swallow them whole and a Cursed messiah to save them all is just perfection.
The premise of little empires descending into chaos because a barbarian horde wants to swallow them whole and a Cursed messiah to save them all is just perfection.
November 6, 2022
I loved this as a teenager. Don't remember much except thinking the magic system was cool and being sad it is a standalone novel.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews