Steve asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

When I first read The Hallowed Hunt years ago, I wrote you that I didn't like it as well as the first two "Five Gods" novels. Now after re-reading all three, plus gaining more understanding of spirit animals from Penric, I am happy to say I was totally wrong. I did not dig under the surface like I should have. Maybe I am older and smarter now? Great book. And now I understand why you used the POV you did.

Lois McMaster Bujold I'm glad you revisited The Hallowed Hunt! Yes, that one seems particularly prone to suffer from readers expecting it to be some other book, and being peeved when it does not match their expectations, instead of mine.

I am about to start recommending readers approaching Chalion read it first, to circumvent that expectations-effect. Although that might just generate the same problems in reverse order. I'd need to hear from a few more readers who'd read tHH first in order to form a theory.

I have heard from quite a few readers who, like you, read it again later and had a wholly different and more satisfactory experience. But persuading readers to read again a book they bounced off of in the first place is a bit of a trick.

Passive-aggressive bully-boy Ingrey was a very interesting viewpoint character for me to write, but I can see how his prickly surface (and interior) could be off-putting at first. And his character-arc was not to become a saint, like Caz or Ista, but a sacred king, quite a different job description. But, yeah, there may be such a thing as a writer trying to be too subtle.

Ta, L.

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