Cazaril, 35 years old, is bereft of all that he once had save the raggedy clothes he wears. Half his life has been in the military, though that ended when he was sold into slavery through betrayal. Having now escaped, he trudges towards where he spent time as a page for the provincial ruler. Though broken in body and spirit, he struggles on. Better days are soon to come for him. To his bewilderment, he finds himself having become a tutor to two teenage girls, a princess and her handmaiden. He becomes ever more involved in the battlefield that is courtly life.

This is a very character focused book, both in terms of introspection and what matters. The vast majority of that involves daily life at the palace and the court intrigue that entails. There's the occasional fight and some adventure, though it all results from the moves that players have made against each other. That means it's much more talking than anything else. Threats, demands, manipulation, bribes, accusations, and gossip abound. When those fail there's blackmail, beatings, and assassination to fall back upon. There's also some romance, a considerable amount of flirting, and a few unwanted advances. Despite the dark moments, it tends more towards being uplifting and triumphal by the end. I found this to be very refreshing and invigorating. I wouldn't call it a feel-good fantasy, but it's certainly closer to that than what I mostly read.

The Curse of Chalion has some historical inspiration and basis from the ending years of the Reconquista in the 15th century. One of the main differences is that their religion has five gods, who meddle in human affairs when possible. There are many religious customs and rituals to appease them. Various sorts of miracles are possible by the saints though they are mostly for the benefit of the god's agenda rather than anything else. However, death magic can potentially be used by anyone. If it's successful it takes both the life of the user and the target. There are theological conversations that discuss the particulars and implications of their religion. Aside from this there aren't really any other fantastical elements. It's the sort of book that could be called something like secondary world historical fantasy.

I ended up enjoying this more than anything else I've read this year and it's among the most I've enjoyed any fantasy novel. There's almost nothing with which I take any issue. It may not be exactly what I want, but it's close enough. One a different note, it's truly astounding and frustrating how different books can be from the same author. It'd a lot easier to be able to dismiss an author without any concerns if it could be assumed that all they write would be received in a similar way. If the rest in this setting are anywhere as pleasing as this was, then it'll definitely be among my favorite series.