Synopsis:
Don’t kill the messengers.
As a bodyguard for the King’s Envoys, Gen has the perfect job: traveling, drinking wine, and hitting things with her sword. Her latest mission is to accompany Cordyn, an Envoy and her best friend, through enemy territory to deliver vital military intelligence to an allied nation.
The problem? The mission is a sham.
The King believes Cordyn might be a spy. While Cordyn may be the worst kind of libertine—brash, arrogant, and on the run from half the husbands in the kingdom—Gen can’t imagine him betraying her or their nation.
With obtuse bandits, vengeful mages, and a resolute lutist, they embark on a daring rescue mission, complicated by Cordyn’s increasingly complex schemes. As ominous enemy plots surface, Gen and Cordyn must decide what matters most, their nation or their friends.
A rollicking fantasy adventure for fans of Dungeons and Dragons, Nicholas Eames, and Michael J. Sullivan.
Review:
I went into the Envoys of War in my favorite fashion, without knowing a single thing about the book other than the genre and who wrote it. Being newer to fantasy, I expect a close group of friends, one major quest, and some minor obstacles along the way. Envoys of War left me pleasantly surprised.
The close friendship box is checked off by Cordyn and Gen. Cordyn is a mess, and it’s curious why Gen favors him so much. Gen is straightforward with a good heart. Cordyn often entertains himself with devious activities. The pair is given a quest right from the beginning, and while their friendship seems mismatched, their interactions offer humorous banter and fun contrast.
However, rather than every effort propelling our characters toward achieving their main goal, the conflicts line up and their courses change throughout until the main quest is irrelevant. The characters don’t just encounter stumbling blocks, but events that change their direction completely. They don’t allow their duties to overpower their morality, regardless of the shenanigans Cordyn dabbles in.
We pick up a few people along the way, and the dynamic between several of the characters shifts throughout the book. Characters that I didn’t like at the beginning, I became fond of later on. Characters who didn’t like each other but maintained a mutual goal worked together. Some even started as enemies, or uncertain strangers, only to become the best of friends.
The banter between characters was enjoyable, suitable for the atmosphere of the book, not over the top, while still feeling genuine. It also served to help world-build in a way that wasn’t overly informative and easy to digest.
The action itself is a bit of a slow burn as Lawson takes the time to build up the characters and introduce new plot lines. However, I never felt bored or that the pacing was too slow. I delighted in the slower moments when characters were discussing plans, or trying to determine who was friend or foe.
My favorite thing about the plot is that it was not a straight line from point A to point B. The characters would head out to complete something, end up having to deal with a different task, that task would take them elsewhere, etc. I was never sure where things would end up, and I was unable to predict the storyline.
Within those caveats, the characters would make plans on how to get out of certain debacles. Yet, a lot of plans were thwarted, which fueled my enjoyment, not because I did not want the characters to succeed, but because it forced the characters to come up with unique ways to problem-solve.
The Envoys of War was a very fun adventure. With characters to love, characters to hate, and a plot that evolves as the story goes on, it’s a must-read for fantasy fans, especially those who are newer to the genre. Lawson builds strong characters, navigates them through exciting twisty plots, and crafts fierce battle scenes. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, whose narrator was superb and perfect for each character involved.
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