Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold (2007, Paperback, Reprint)

I am a great fan of Lois McMaster Bujold. Once again, I was not disappointed. The Sharing Knife (Beguilement) is the first of a two part series set in a world which might well be medieval earth. This is a world which believes their once-present gods have abandoned them. This is a world in which a continuously erupting evil exists. This evil can only be held at bay by a group of people whose special abilities afford the general population their only protection, but at the same time mark them as different and not to be trusted.

The Sharing Knife is a love story and a tale of dedication and sacrifice which is hard for us to imagine. It is an intricately woven, spellbinding adventure, well worth the time to read. I can hardly wait for the sequel.