The Councillor by E.J. Beaton – Review

Published: March 2, 2021

Publisher: DAW

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

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.

---

I get the feeling that this has been one of the most hotly anticipated (yet most visually underwhelming) books of early 2021. I’ve seen it on many lists of upcoming releases and more recently, in book hauls. The Councillor turned out to be one of the most incredible political fantasies I’ve read. It kept me guessing, subverted my expectations, and provided an adventurous and brilliantly good read!

Just before Queen Sarelin Brey’s death, she gives her friend, confidante, and daughter-figure a letter containing her choice for Councillor. Lysande Prior is the palace scholar, a war orphan plucked from a burned out building, so when she opens Sarelin’s letter and finds that she was appointed Councillor she is utterly stunned. Lysande must now choose the next ruler from one of the four city-rulers and stall long enough to find out who was responsible for Sarelin’s death. 

The city-rulers themselves are a varied lot, though my personal favorite was Luca Fontaine. I’m rather weak for intelligent, dark, and brooding characters so I was instantly rooting for (and yet distrusting) him. Cassia Ahl-Hafir is a fierce warrior and hobbyist chimera scholar and she was most definitely my second favorite. Jale Chamboise and Dante Dalgereth should be at one another’s throats as their people are, but can’t seem to stop gazing at one another though they couldn’t be more opposite. Jale comes from a land of art and luxury while Dante is from the cold, harsh north with a rigid sense of honor. 

Lysande certainly manages to keep the city-rulers on their toes throughout the book and even manages to earn their respect. There’s plenty of action despite the largely political nature of this book and it even has great scenery. So far I haven’t touched on the elephant in the room – magic. This is the historical “big bad” thanks to the White Queen, a magic wielder that tried to overthrow Sarelin decades prior and who wasn’t killed as many thought. She’s back and aiming to create a world where magic users oppress those who cannot wield it, though she’s certainly not opposed to torturing magic users that don’t agree with her. 

This whole book was just plain excellent – I found it difficult to put down because so much was happening and I simultaneously didn’t want it to end and wanted to find out what happened next. Right now it looks as if it will be a standalone (I don’t see any series info on Goodreads), though the ending certainly left things open for a sequel. Honestly, I would love to get my hands on a sequel just to have more of this world and see what happens between certain characters.