Castillar Lupe dy Cazaril feels broken in both body and spirit. After fighting through several wars and then pulling an oar as a galley slave he's finally walking back to the last place he felt at "home". He's 35 going on 70 and his whole desire is a quiet comfortable place to hide. Instead of a quiet retirement Cazaril finds himself secretary and tutor to the sixteen year old Royesse Iselle and her companion Betriz. Guiding her through the corrupt court that betrayed him is Cazaril's idea of hell but things are far worse than he thought. The royal house of Chalion is under a curse and Caz must find a way to break it to save both Iselle and his country. 

From the beginning I found myself caught up in Cazaril's life. The writing is exceptional. Cazaril is very realistic, definitely a man I wish I could hang out with. The culture and religion (the gods are a large part of the story) are well thought out and smoothly woven into the story. There is plenty of humor and a strong appreciation for irony, especially when it comes to theology. The Curse of Chalion is a masterwork.

The Curse of Chalion (2002) owes some inspiration to the real world unification of Spain. Obviously, there was no magical curse involved, but the vague family tree is there (substitute Isabella for Iselle and you see it). Other than the Spanish flavor to names and geography it is complete fantasy. There is a sort of sequel in Paladin of Souls which takes place after Chalion and is about Iselle's mother Ista. No more Cazaril, but still quite good. Again the main character is not a teenager, which is something I appreciate. The third  book, Hallowed Hunt, is in the same "world" as the first two but not in the country of Chalion itself and has no relation to the other two books.

The audiobook of the Curse of Chalion is narrated by Lloyd James.