Lois McMaster Bujold, 2005 – Audible version 2007, Blackstone Audio
World of the Five Gods, #1 in chronological order
Note that the cover says this is narrated by Kate Reading, which is not correct. The narrator is Marguerite Gavin. It is the actual cover though; I have this in my Audible library.
This fantasy novel is the story of Ingrey, Ijada, and Wencel, three people with spirit gifts that the inhabitants of the World of the Five Gods are wont to possess. The three live hundreds of years prior to the events of The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, and their exploits have no bearing on the later two books.
Their story is long and complex, and I regret going the audiobook route; I’m not a fan of the narrator (who is, again, NOT Kate Reading), and the convoluted spirit acrobatics (wolves, horses, dead kings, etc) would have been much easier to follow in print. It’s my least favorite book by this author to date, but still not completely terrible. I rate my experience of the book with a grudging three stars.