This book is something I like to refer to as my shit.
Not shit in a bad way, but in the “Oh yeah, that’s my kinda shit” shit.
You’ve got battles. You’ve got wit. You’ve got snark. You’ve got adventure, conflict. Even some scheming here and there. Plus, a whole lot of chaos.
Envoys of War stars Gen, a badass warrior with a big sword who likes to fight and call things Francois as the main POV character, but we all know the sweet-talking, bad-idea-fling-obsessed Cordyn is the real star of this show. Or, at least I think so.
Gen and Cordyn truly do make a wonderful protagonist pair, foiling each other’s personalities perfectly. You almost don’t need dialogue tags when these two are on page, as their personalities and differences shine through in their words to each other.
The magic system is intriguing – when I think of fantasy magic, I think of the controlling of all elements. But in this universe, it’s water – and not just the kind in rivers and streams. Basically, anything that flows. I won’t spoil exactly what tricks the mages in this universe can pull off, but there’s a reason they’re feared.
Lawson’s writing style is approachable, and his descriptions do just enough to paint the picture you need to envision the world – which is exactly my preference when it comes to descriptions and narration. The map at the front of the book helps to place landmarks and countries, but with the way the story flows, I caught on relatively quickly where things were and which countries were near which. And this is a massive compliment from my literally zero sense of direction self.
Lawson promotes Envoys of War as a witty, comedy fantasy. Which of course is accurate, but I do think the author sells himself short here. In between the sharp banter and well-timed punchlines lies a story rife with political scheming, backstabbing, and plotting.
What the author does exceptionally well though, is conflict. And not just between hero and villain, or human and giant spider. But between friends, characters who share common interests and goals. Oftentimes the major characters, even the best of friends, will disagree on how to solve a conflict, and it causes a rift between them. None of these situations feel forced, or for the sake of generating more turmoil among the good guys. It’s all organic, believable, and effective.
To wrap it up, Envoys of War effortlessly blends bloody battles, action & adventure, and laughs into a just-right amount of pages. There wasn’t a box Envoys of War didn’t check for me. I loved it from first page to last.
An easy 5/5 stars!
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