A review by maiakobabe
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

Ista is now the Dowager Royina of all Chalion, but she's having trouble shaking the titles she's been known by for most the past two decades: Mad Ista, hysterical Ista, Ista who needs to be watched because she is danger to herself. In her mid-40s, Ista despairs that the family curse, now broken, might define the rest of her life as well. Then inspiration strikes: perhaps a pilgrimage under an assumed name could prove the vehicle to travel, see some more of the world, breath some clearer air, and spend company with some young, adventurous people less defined by their dark pasts. And so Ista takes to the road with just one young lady's maid, two travel wardens, a small trope of soldiers dedicated to the Daughter and one a divine of the Bastard's order as her spiritual advisor. In truth, Ista wants nothing more to do with the gods. But the gods, it seems, are not yet done with her. The simple pilgrimage quickly runs into demons, secret conspiracies, death magic, and a danger that might strike all the way to the heart of the kingdom. And Ista finds that she still has the capacity for both sweetness and steal when the world demands them. This was my second time reading this book, but the first as an adult, and I absolutely LOVED it this go around. The audiobook reader is excellent and I am living for middle-aged fantasy protagonists these days. Give me a character who has seen some shit and nevertheless persists!