The Councillor (The Councillor, #1)
E.J. Beaton
This Machiavellian fantasy follows a scholar's quest to choose the next ruler of her kingdom amidst lies, conspiracy, and assassination. When the death of Iron Queen Sarelin Brey fractures the realm of Elira, Lysande Prior, the palace scholar and the queen’s closest friend, is appointed Councillor. Publically, Lysande must choose the next monarch from amongst the city-rulers vying for the throne. Privately, she seeks to discover which ruler murdered the queen, suspecting the use of magic. Resourceful, analytical, and quiet, Lysande appears to embody the motto she was raised with: everything in its place. Yet while she hides her drug addiction from her new associates, she cannot hide her growing interest in power. She becomes locked in a game of strategy with the city-rulers – especially the erudite prince Luca Fontaine, who seems to shift between ally and rival. Further from home, an old enemy is stirring: the magic-wielding White Queen is on the move again, and her alliance with a traitor among the royal milieu poses a danger not just to the peace of the realm, but to the survival of everything that Lysande cares about. In a world where the low-born keep their heads down, Lysande must learn to fight an enemy who wears many guises… even as she wages her own battle between ambition and restraint.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
This was an incredible book and my reading year definitely started on a high.
After the death of Queen Sarelin, Lysande, the court’s scholar and a simple commoner “adopted” by the queen, rises to become The Councillor of the orphaned Elyria realm and has to appoint a new leader from the different “city-state” rulers of the kingdom.
The action takes place in a renaissance style world with places reminiscent of European and Mediterranean countries. The cultures of each cities were distinctive with their own traditions and history, and the queer normed, gender equal societies made for a rich and interesting world building.
This was definitely a more character oriented book and the main character, Lysande, was very well written. She is a scholar with a cultured and analytical mind that is respectful and considerate of others but as we discover she also holds dark traits and addictions. The book was written in a third person point of view but it was solely through her eyes the story unfolds; however the other characters also felt very real and complex.
It was incredible to delve into her mind and emotions as she deal with the power vacuum created by the death of the queen, the rise of an old enemy but also prejudice, lies and political manoeuvrings. The plot itself was very Machiavellian with many twists and turns, and a great dose of mystery.
The most prevalent fantasy aspect was the appearance of mythical beasts like the chimera or the panther and the practice of elemental magic.
For me one of the biggest quality of this book was its writing. It was so elegant, lush and sensual which is no surprise since the author is also a poet. The descriptions and world-building were integrated seamlessly into the plot with some truly gorgeous prose. There was multiple passages I read over and over just to feel the beauty of the words written again.
The Councillor is a great character-driven political fantasy, I can’t wait to read the next book !
0Has everything that SHOULD have worked for me: queer characters in a queer-normative world, slow burn heavy court politics, beautiful prose, and a complex & morally grey fmc
I’d recommend this but unfortunately it just kept losing my attention. Wasn’t connecting with the characters or the relationships either so I stopped caring about the plot. I think this may have worked better if it was shorter
0just. so. GOOOOOODDDDDDD
0
© 2024 Pagebound