The Paladin

By: C. J. Cherryh

Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Now betrayed by the Emperor he once protected, master swordsman Saukendar leaves the way of the sword behind him forever - so he thinks. When a headstrong peasant girl burning to avenge her murdered family demands that he train her, Saukendar is faced with a momentous choice. Send Taizu away, never see her again - or join her and destroy the tyrant who has nearly destroyed them both.

©1988 C. J. Cherryh (P)2020 Tantor

Karate kid, paladin style

C J Cherryh’s The Paladin is an enjoyable tale of a disgraced older paladin, living in exile, who is approached by a teenage girl asking for training to avenge her family’s murder. There’s quite a bit of reluctance, but eventually he relents. He accompanies her on her quest for revenge, but both of them get wrapped up in larger political machinations occurring throughout the region.

Cherryh offers a well-designed tale of the classic master / student relationship. The setting appears to be an amalgam of both medieval chivalry and Japanese samurai bushido. There’s quite a bit of introspection as well as lamentation on the part of the paladin.

The narration is excellent with solid character distinction. Pacing is uniform and a bit on the slower side.

Engaging Story / Narration Lacking

Full disclosure I am a huge CJ Cherryh fan. I read this book when it was first released. I have been waiting for an audiobook version for a long time.
For me the story was just as engaging as the first read. A full world with it’s own culture and customs.
That said; the narrator was not the best match for this particular book. His northern North American accent, tone, meter, do no service to a story set in what reads as a far East location. A more neutral accent would have served the story better. Also, a little more care in audio editing would have caught the varied pronunciations of main character names. I am sure the narrator would be better served by more modern books set in New York. Anything 20th century or forward . It is a voice made for PI novels.

really fabulous

This book shows you with details and pulls you in. From a hopeless beginning to a happy ever after, the arc of this story holds together and has you caring about the characters all the way.
And a woman who sets out to do the impossible and succeeds is pretty fun!

Paladin

Gives a small,( tiny) window into what ancient Asia might have been like.
love the intrigue and combat theories, plus the world build was so great, one could almost see it out the window

needs more voices for a full dramatic reading to give it justice

All this time

I read this story yearly for thirty years. The audio is a nice adaptation. Still a great favorite.

Utoo movement needed in science fiction !

he never took no for an answer and she had to submit to get the training.

WONDERFUL book. Plodding narrator.

The Paladin by C.J. Cherry is one of my favorite books. It starts with a long, funny, engaging clash of wills between two strong-minded, soul-wounded heroes. From there the suspense and action (and humor) build relentlessly. The story keeps getting better and better to the end of the last page.

The setting is medieval Asia, back when people expected supernatural creatures like demons and dragons to interfere in their lives, but there are no supernatural events in the story. Still, one of the heroes is already larger than life at the start of the story, and by the end they're both, deservedly--but ironically, because one started out as a farm girl--the stuff of legends.

(By the way, this is a complete, satisfying, stand-alone novel. There are no sequels, prequels, or companion volumes.)

The narrator does okay, although unfortunately he wasn't well cast (his voice and accent don't fit the story). The main problem for me is that he tends to pause. way. too. often in the middle. of extended. thoughts, adding confusion and jerking me out of the story, which is frustrating. Next time I listen to this, I'm going to try speeding it up. That may help a lot.

Not SF. Is spot on Fiction. 😁

Was expecting a SF story, all of Cherryh's books are great to read, and now listen to.
Historic Fiction.
Was as enjoyable as any of her other work.
Highly recommend to everyone.
Would have made an enjoyable series.

Quirky for CJ Cherryh but so engaging.

Really engaging story from the start. Loved the training and relationship development. Especially liked the world building and combat strategies. The second half totally changes direction. Wasn’t sure I liked the chaos of war at first, but it builds and ends nicely.

Enjoyed the narration—didn’t experience the same reaction as other readers.

A personal favorite

The Paladin is very possibly my favorite book of all time. Cannot recommend it enough.