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The Binding #2
Shadow Bound: Book 2: The Binding
In winning back her throne from her conquerer husband, Dieter, Matilde of the House of Svanaten has swapped one leash for another...Sidonius, the man she has been forced to swear a vow of vassalage to in exchange for his military support, is the famed slave-born general of the Ilthean empire, and has conquered every land he's invaded - including Matilde's.Worse, although Dieter has fled, he is not yet defeated. His forces launch strike after strike, sorely testing Matilde's new and uncertain hold on power. Every day he remains uncaptured drives Matilde deeper into the debt of the Ilthean empire.And the empire does not look kindly on vassals who try to secede. But Matilde does not look kindly on those who would bind her to their will - and Sidonius has under-estimated her ...
- GenresFantasy
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2010
54 people want to read
About the author
Deborah Kalin
11 books28 followersDeborah Kalin is the award-winning author of the collection Cherry Crow Children and The Binding books. She lives in Melbourne, subject to the whims of a toddler who thinks she's a cat and a cat who thinks she's a person. Both of them whinge, mostly about sleep and food. (The toddler wants less of each, the cat more. Both want more outside time.) Kalin herself hasn't slept uninterrupted through the night since March 2012.
A note on my Goodreads presence:
I am absurdly inconsistent with my use of shelves and ratings, or indeed with my use of this site altogether. Every couple of years I am filled with a resolve to use the site to document all the books I've read, all the books I've tried to read, all the books I've loved, all the books I want to read, or some combination of everything. And I come up with a new shelving or rating system, apply it for a couple of books ... and then forget it.
So take what you find here as nothing more than a very incomplete and oftentimes incoherent glimpse into my reading tastes and list-making tendencies.
A note on my Goodreads presence:
I am absurdly inconsistent with my use of shelves and ratings, or indeed with my use of this site altogether. Every couple of years I am filled with a resolve to use the site to document all the books I've read, all the books I've tried to read, all the books I've loved, all the books I want to read, or some combination of everything. And I come up with a new shelving or rating system, apply it for a couple of books ... and then forget it.
So take what you find here as nothing more than a very incomplete and oftentimes incoherent glimpse into my reading tastes and list-making tendencies.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 23, 2010
Here is what's awesome about this series: the strings are invisible, because there are none.
To clarify: most authors create characters with the intention of telling them what to do. No matter how many novels or stories we write, the false optimism of this belief never quite diminishes. Much in the manner of real human beings refusing to acquiesce to the demands of God or fate, good characters shake their fists at the minds which gave them birth and say, 'Screw you, buddy. See that horse over there, the one you expressly forbid me to steal on the grounds of it totally wrecking your plot? YOINK!'
Authors feel entitled to omnipotence in the worlds we create. We say, Let There Be Light, and there is light. We say, Let There Be A Garden, And A Serpent, And Some Strategically Placed Fig-Leaves, and our wish is the keyboard's command. But when we say, Leave That Apple Alone Guys, Seriously, I'm Not Even Kidding, do our characters listen? Do they hell. But it's a Good Thing, for all their antics make us want to tear out our hair, because even in imagined worlds, believeable human beings are neither predictable nor biddable. They goeth where they will. Sometimes, by its very nature, this wanton goething interferes with the plot. When that happens, either we follow and see where it leads, or we forcibly try to bridle our protagonists - but either way, it leaves a mark on the narrative. If our leading lady wrecks the path we lay down for her and instead goes striding off into the shrubbery, broken branches and telltale footprints point at her disobedience. And if we silence her, then those slender puppet-strings connecting her actions to our thoughts and fingertips become evident, glinting in the story-light and signalling an inability to govern what we have made.
Given the inevitability of such disobedience, a good story is one in which the author reacts by reshaping their expectations. Thus does the scenery remain unbattered, the strings concealed.
But in Shadow Queen and Shadow Bound, not only are the strings completely invisible, one doubts they were ever there to begin with. Kalin has not created Matte, Dieter, Sidonius, Roshi, Sepp, Gerlach and Amalia; rather, she has opened a window to their world, and set about describing what she sees. These characters are utterly real, so completely possessed of their own destinies, foibles, beliefs and motives that the idea of an author sitting down and planning their story feels almost...wrong. And yet, one has, and the longer I think about that fact, the more it becomes miraculous. The Binding is an incredible, beautifully written duoloy, and Deborah Kalin is a writer to watch.
To clarify: most authors create characters with the intention of telling them what to do. No matter how many novels or stories we write, the false optimism of this belief never quite diminishes. Much in the manner of real human beings refusing to acquiesce to the demands of God or fate, good characters shake their fists at the minds which gave them birth and say, 'Screw you, buddy. See that horse over there, the one you expressly forbid me to steal on the grounds of it totally wrecking your plot? YOINK!'
Authors feel entitled to omnipotence in the worlds we create. We say, Let There Be Light, and there is light. We say, Let There Be A Garden, And A Serpent, And Some Strategically Placed Fig-Leaves, and our wish is the keyboard's command. But when we say, Leave That Apple Alone Guys, Seriously, I'm Not Even Kidding, do our characters listen? Do they hell. But it's a Good Thing, for all their antics make us want to tear out our hair, because even in imagined worlds, believeable human beings are neither predictable nor biddable. They goeth where they will. Sometimes, by its very nature, this wanton goething interferes with the plot. When that happens, either we follow and see where it leads, or we forcibly try to bridle our protagonists - but either way, it leaves a mark on the narrative. If our leading lady wrecks the path we lay down for her and instead goes striding off into the shrubbery, broken branches and telltale footprints point at her disobedience. And if we silence her, then those slender puppet-strings connecting her actions to our thoughts and fingertips become evident, glinting in the story-light and signalling an inability to govern what we have made.
Given the inevitability of such disobedience, a good story is one in which the author reacts by reshaping their expectations. Thus does the scenery remain unbattered, the strings concealed.
But in Shadow Queen and Shadow Bound, not only are the strings completely invisible, one doubts they were ever there to begin with. Kalin has not created Matte, Dieter, Sidonius, Roshi, Sepp, Gerlach and Amalia; rather, she has opened a window to their world, and set about describing what she sees. These characters are utterly real, so completely possessed of their own destinies, foibles, beliefs and motives that the idea of an author sitting down and planning their story feels almost...wrong. And yet, one has, and the longer I think about that fact, the more it becomes miraculous. The Binding is an incredible, beautifully written duoloy, and Deborah Kalin is a writer to watch.
November 15, 2010
Upon reading the first book in this series, I promptly fell in love with everything it had to offer. Between its evocative, strong imagery, precise setting and gripping plot, I could not find one thing I disliked, but what made the book for me was the heroine. Matilde, as I've written in a previous review, is an unforgettable character. Her strength in the face of adversity grabbed me from the get-go, and as she revealed more of herself, my admiration for her grew. Never before had I read about such a flawed, yet utterly human character. She was believable unlike many other heroes and heroines out there.
And after this second installment, it proved no different. If anything, I love Matilde now more than ever before, and the situations thrown at her elicited more sympathy and hurt from me than anything in the prior book, especially a particular situation which I won't detail. Yet the fact that she triumphs in the end had me smiling for hours, for there's no character who deserved a happy ending more than Matilde. I haven't read such a satisfying story in a very, very long time.
If there are any future books, I'll buy them without a second thought. Deborah Kalin had proven to be a superior writer, and I can't wait for whatever else she might put her brilliant imagination and writing skill to.
And after this second installment, it proved no different. If anything, I love Matilde now more than ever before, and the situations thrown at her elicited more sympathy and hurt from me than anything in the prior book, especially a particular situation which I won't detail. Yet the fact that she triumphs in the end had me smiling for hours, for there's no character who deserved a happy ending more than Matilde. I haven't read such a satisfying story in a very, very long time.
If there are any future books, I'll buy them without a second thought. Deborah Kalin had proven to be a superior writer, and I can't wait for whatever else she might put her brilliant imagination and writing skill to.
March 22, 2011
This book was brilliant!
I was drawn in the whole time, and I was sad to see it end.
I was even sadder because it seemed the ending was clear, nothing more could be added. Until the last line.
I cannot wait for the third book. I'm sure it will be fantastic!
I was drawn in the whole time, and I was sad to see it end.
I was even sadder because it seemed the ending was clear, nothing more could be added. Until the last line.
I cannot wait for the third book. I'm sure it will be fantastic!
October 4, 2020
3.5. Seemed a bit all over the shop
February 3, 2015
I'm not sure how to put this - I both like and dislike this book (and the previous one). They were both interesting enough to make me finish them quickly (in a good way!) but overall I wouldn't actually say I liked them. The plot seemed to just go off in different directions on a character's whim, which isn't particularly my cup of tea, but the characters are written well, Matilde in particular. I'd like to see a completely different style of story from Deborah Kalin, I somehow have a feeling I'd like it a whole lot more.
August 2, 2010
A fast moving, entertaining read. Well balanced characters and just enough blood shed to keep everyone entertained. Nothing revolutionary, but a satisfying read.
October 31, 2011
Can't wait for book three.
September 6, 2013
I wish there was a third book, I was so eager to see what came if matte and dieter
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews