The Envoys of War by Dave Lawson

At a Glance: A Classic Fantasy Adventure

The Envoys of War has all the things you’d expect from a classic fantasy adventure, it’s witty, full of brash characters who drip sarcasm, and a magic system that changes things just enough to be unique without things feeling out of place. We start off on a simple mission, with an underlying secret mission, and then our protagonists are thrust into a side quest that ends up taking their focus making for a fast paced, action packed adventure that any classic fantasy fan will appreciate.

The story follows Gen who is the bodyguard for Cordyn as they are both assigned a mission from their king to deliver vital intel to an ally in another land. The underlying mission for Gen is to determine if Cordyn is selling secrets to the enemy all while trying to maintain her composure with a person she considers her best friend.

Like any classic fantasy story, the path is only straight for a short time before Gen and Cordyn find themselves running into all sorts of issues from pissed off mages looking to settle a score, and then find themselves somehow in the middle of a rescue mission they can’t ignore.

Water Based Magic: A Twist on the Classic Mage

The Envoys of War takes place in Sarakan which is split up into multiple territories that each have their own belief systems and traditions, and Sarakan seems to be well thought out. There is a map included which has several of the territories but this book in particular only has us venturing to a few different areas such as The Isle of Winn full of the mages, which is separated from the rest of the continent by The Sea of Dread, Piran where our protagonist hail from, Oban, and Rosenfell.

Where Lawson really starts to make a statement and branch out of the typical fantasy is the magic system, which seems solely tied to water. On the surface that can sound a little bland, but in action it ends up being a really interesting and unique concept, because not only can the mages turn water to ice or steam like you’d expect, but they can also manipulate anything water based, including blood which allows them to control even living beings or heal them under the right circumstances.

There are multiple rulers as expected in an area with split territories, but the Envoys serve as the official diplomatic messengers of each area, who are accompanied by body guards such as Gen, who are proficient in martial combat and weaponry. Magic is clearly more powerful than the sword in Sarakan, but it is deployed in such a way that feels like there are checks and balances in place. We don’t get a ton of politicking in this one since it’s much more focused on the mission at hand, with only a bit of the underlying backroom dealings and conspiring that you’d see in something like an Epic Fantasy.

Character Trust: A Best Friend in Question

Gen is Cordyn’s bodyguard and best friend who is tasked with determining if her best friend is a traitor to their land and King. She is pretty in love with her sword, but that’s about it seeing that she is asexual and that is written well into her character making it feel like a footnote and not the focus which was great and made her a fairly unique character in this type of fantasy setting. She struggles between her sense of duty and her loyalty to her best friend, while also struggling with the feelings that Cordyn may also have betrayed her trust as well. She’s authentic with her struggles and you can really feel how much it gets to her as she almost slips up due to the stress multiple times.

Cordyn is a bit of a charismatic over talker who’s greatest asset and biggest weakness are his words, which regularly allow him to talk himself out of a bad situation, but more often he finds himself talking his way into one. He comes off as a bit of a jerk who is very full of himself for a good portion of the story, but does see some growth, especially in the area of his friendship with Gen.

Tobias is a Water Mage who Gen and Cordyn end up teaming up with reluctantly when they find themselves with a shared goal. He was one of the most frustrating characters for me, because while I can appreciate his reasoning for the revenge he was seeking, at times it felt a bit unbelievable that he would be so consumed and blinded by it that his decisions just felt foolish.

Gen and Cordyn are a fun time on the page, their interaction feel authentic and very much like long time friends who are constantly at each others throats but would lay down their life for the other. This really leads to some great moments from Gen who struggles between her mission and the possibility that her best friend is actually a traitor. They jump off their page and their dialogue is always distinct so I never found myself trying to work out who was speaking.

Fast Paced: A True Fantasy Romp

Lawson does a great job at keeping the book at a consistent pace for majority, and I didn’t ever feel bored or like i was trying to just get through a section. The book was full of fun and interesting conversations that also served as the delivery of a lot of the world building which kept it light and not feeling like an info dump. It’s told from 3 different POVs, Gen, Cordyn, and Tobias which allows you to get some understanding of each of their motivations and reasoning of certain situations through different perspectives, even though Tobias as a character got under my skin a bit, I never disliked his sections since they always added more to the story overall.

While the pacing is certainly on point, there were some interesting situations that didn’t feel slow, but felt like someone hit the pause button on the scene to get through the dialogue of the characters and setup of the scene. It wasn’t enough to make the book not enjoyable or take me completely out of the situation but was noticeable enough to garner a mention here. While it wasn’t often, here and there it just felt like the situation wouldn’t have allowed for that amount of planning and dialogue.

The action scenes in this were a really fun time, well written, and felt like I could see the combat unfolding in front of me, especially the scenes where magic came into play. The use of the unique water magic in The Envoys of War added some really cool dynamics to the scenes, and allowed for some extra tense moments to play out throughout the story. Overall this one was an easy read full of fun scenes, great character moments, and felt like a true fantasy story. Lawson does a great job at wrapping up the books arc while leaving room for the series continuation that left me feeling satisfied but eager to continue.

Between the Sheets: Expected Fade to Black

The Envoys of War sticks to the fantasy genres normal flow of eluding to but never showing the reader the spicier parts of the world, which worked well here earning this one a 🌶️ (1) on our spice scale.

Since the characters had so much depth and strong connections, I didn’t think that the fact that there wasn’t more intimate scenes between the characters took anything away from the story or believability of the relationships. I’m never looking for authors to add spice just to have it there, that usually always ends up being worse than not including it. I did appreciate the “insta love” trope with Cordyn in this one because he was so cheesy about it that it just worked.

Bro Reading Comfort: A Good Park Read

Lawson has created a fun fantasy story that really engages you from the very beginning, and I felt easily invested in the characters, and even laughing at some of the scenes as they happened, but nothing here would make me feel uncomfortable out in the wild reading this earning The Envoys of War a 😳 (1) on our comfort scale.

The cover art from this screams fantasy, and with a very recent redo has really upped the cover to be eye catching and will hopefully get more folks into this very cool world Lawson has started to create.

Darkness Factor: Gore and Betrayal

The Envoys of War certainly has the expected gore that comes with a classic fantasy story, but nothing too over the top or gratuitous so this one gets a 💀💀 (2) on the darkness scale.

While Lawson does a great job with exploring some themes that skirt on the dark side such as the feeling of being betrayed and seeking vengeance, it’s never anyhting that goes past typical fantasy and into grimdark.

Book Battlefield: A Good Addition to Classic Fantasy

The Envoys of War certainly has that classic quest and magic feel of any good classic fantasy, I instantly think of dungeons and dragons with a twist when I think back on my read of this one, and it was nice to have a more straight forward fantasy story. That doesn’t mean that the rest of the series needs to remain this way and I’m excited to continue with it to see how Lawson progresses his writing style and scope.

I’d say this is a good fit for anyone looking to get into more of the classic fantasy style with a sandbox magic system, focused quests, and light hearted character banter with some good depth and truly unique voices.

Should You Bother?

For Classic Fantasy Fans: Absolutely should give The Envoys of War a chance, I think this has the makings to be a really fun world and series!

Looking for a Fresh Magic System: The way Lawson has scoped the Mages magic to be only around water, but any water adds an interesting sandbox feel with good guardrails that keeps it feeling fresh but familiar enough that you will pick it up quick.

For Questing Fans: This has all the perfect pieces to keep the plot focused on the heros and their quest, I never felt I needed a lexicon to keep track of the world and it’s players.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

The Envoys of War was a real treat, Lawson has taken the classic fantasy style of group quests and thrown in enough twists on the plot and the magic system to create a really easy and fun to read book. Outside of some small nits I had around the enemies feeling like they were on pause, The Envoys of War was an absolute true classic fantasy romp perfect for the new generation of fantasy readers earning this one a 4/5.

Gen and Cordyn are the perfect duo, they truly feel like you’re getting to see two very old friends interact, they get under each others skin, but at the end of the day they are always going to have each others back, even with the threat that not everything is as it seems on the surface. They have such unique voices, that even if I didn’t listen to the audiobook for this one—which the narration was great for—I’d still know exactly who was speaking without needing to be told.

Tobias was an interesting one for me, our angry vengeful mage felt a bit too clouded by that need for vengeance, but he does see some growth and is also our vessel to understanding the magic system and how it’s water based but extends to any type of fluid that contains water like blood.

Overall I would easily recommend this to anyone looking for a fast paced classic fantasy, it’s got everything you could want from this type of story, cool magic, good plot, clear quest, a few good twists to keep it intriguing, and a complete arc with a good setup for the next book.

Be sure to check out this book and Dave Lawson, you can find him on X, Instagram, and his website!