LabRat, I just loved "Paladin"! And a theme running through those two books - yes, we have free will. But what if we surrender that will to that of the gods (as happens in the book?) Very thought-provoking.
Also, if you liked "Curse of Chalion" and "Paladin of Souls", try out LMB's "The Spirit Ring". It's one of her earlier novels and it's rewarding.
In fact, reading about you reading LMB made me pull some of her books off the shelf and re-read them:
The Sharing Knife: (it's a tetralogy) by Lois McMaster Bujold. 29. Beguilement 30. Legacy 31. Passage 32. Horizon
More by one of my favorite authors. Fawn Bluefield is an unhappily pregnant unwed young woman running away from home. The bad guys capture her and evil things are about to happen when she's saved by Dag Redwing, the Lakewalker. That's in the first two chapters. And a lot more happens after that.
In-laws. Outlaws. Quests. Bandits. Magic (of a sort.) Wolves. Alligators. Saving the world. True love.
Don't miss it.
33. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Quest to Follow The Bible As Literally As Possible by A.J. Jacobs.
By the author of "The Know-It-All". From the jacket blurb: "A tale of a year spent by the author, who decides to obey every commandment in the Bible (not just the usual Ten.) He vows to avoid wearing clothes of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin. Plus, he doesn't trim his beard for a year.
He visits a Kentucky-based creationist museum. He sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance."
Lots of fun.
34.The Messenger by Daniel Silva.
Another in the series of thrillers staring Gabriel Allon, art restorer and Israeli intelligence agent. Couldn't put it down.
