Advocate by Daniel M. Ford – Review

Published: April 22, 2025

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: The Warden #3

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 368 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5 Stars

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

Synopsis:
Aelis de Lenti is back on her home turf, but it’s not quite as welcoming as she remembered….

Recalled from Lone Pine to investigate claims of murder by magic against her mentor–legendary Warden Bardun Jacques–Aelis takes to the streets of the grand city of Lascenise, and plumbs the deepest secrets of the Lyceum to clear his name. Certain of her success, she doesn’t count on thieves, subterranean labyrinths, or the assassins that dog her steps from the moment she leaves her tower.

Behind all of it lurks a ring of unknown wizards who can seemingly reach anyone with their magic. Without knowing who she can trust, Aelis must gather what allies she can to unravel the web of intrigue, murder, smuggling, and theft originating in the halls of magic power. With an old friend from her college days, a war-haunted gnome thief-catcher, and the advice of her imprisoned advisor, Aelis races to save lives and expose a conspiracy that seeks to change the face of the world.

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This series is so completely underrated in the fantasy community and I just feel like it needs a big shout out for being amazing, especially since this third installment is actually my favorite yet. I thought The Warden was a fantastic series opener that introduced a spectacularly cool world and magic system and Necrobane was a solid read that was brought down somewhat by a sequence that reminded me of the Tom Bombadil section of The Lord of the Rings (a personal hatred of mine). Advocate takes us in a whole new direction with a whole new setting and characters, which made this feel extremely fresh and exciting!

Aelis has been called back to Cabal Keep in the city of Lascenise where she is to act as the advocate for Archmagister Bardun Jacques, her former mentor and one of the greatest Wardens of all time as he stands trial for murder. In this world murder by magical means of another magic user is a crime punishable by death, even if one does happen to basically be a living legend. Jacques specifically requested Aelis because he knew she would be a tenacious pain in the ass and solve the puzzle surrounding this situation. You see, Bardun Jacques did commit the crime he was accused of, but he was in the midst of investigating a secretive underground group of wizards who have been smuggling magical artifacts. It seems that the culprits are likely very well connected and this conspiracy may go all the way to the top of the magical food chain. It’s clear from the outset that the odds are stacked against Aelis de Lenti and she is repeatedly warned away from meddling, lest her career be irreparably harmed despite her weighty family name. 

My long time readers know at this point that I simply cannot resist a good mystery or investigative element to any of my books and Advocate most definitely fulfills this most loved blending of genres. Aelis ends up in some seedy areas with shady characters, she commits some crimes of her own, and even foils several assassination attempts during the course of her investigation. She isn’t above getting her hands dirty and I like that it shows her greasing palms with some cold hard coinage and making use of her many skills and her many friends. In what I thought was a realistic and reasonable reaction, her closest friend Miralla points out that Aelis just keeps asking for more from the people around her without considering how her needs impact them. It’s good for a character to have consequences for their constant use and abuse of friends.

This is definitely my favorite of the three installments and I’m really hoping for more because the ending of this opened up a whole new level of subterfuge and complexity for the next book. There were some lovely resolutions to plot points from previous books and though I missed certain characters like Tun and Pip, I loved all the new ones that were introduced. It was cool to see Aelis in her element, attending dinner parties, snooping through libraries, and generally making a nuisance of herself. She remains a strong character, unapologetic for both her title and wealth, and I admire her determination to make her Warden position something she truly earned and not something anyone could say was merely given to her. I have my fingers crossed for several more books set in this world!