The Councillor is E.J. Beaton's debut novel that nobody should miss the opportunity to read! I am thankful to have received an ARC of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Councillor is a Machiavellian fantasy that follows the quest of Lysande Prior. After the death of Queen Sarelin Brey, Lysande has to find not only a new monarch to rule the throne but also make sure she doesn't choose the queen's murderer.

This novel is filled with so much fantasy, action, mystery, suspense, and intrigue that I loved every bit of it. The most important concept I look for is character development, and it was definitely there! I loved every aspect of Lysande, Luca, Jale, Dante, Cassia, and every other good or evil character involved in the story. The story started out a bit slow before the other monarchs came in, but once everyone came together so did the excitement. I also quite enjoyed the magical elements and political powers that came into play. It led to an even balance of friendships and untrustworthiness in my opinion. There were so many characters that Lysande really enjoyed the company of, but that nagging feeling that one of them might betray her always had me on my toes.

This standalone adult fantasy is a slow-burn plot line, but I felt that it was so easy to get trapped in this book and never want to look away. There are only fifteen long chapters throughout the novel, so the pacing might be a concern to those who don't prefer long chapters. However, I must say that I don't prefer long chapters either, but I loved the characters and plot line so much that it never once felt daunting.

All in all, I give a huge hats off to the author on a well-told story! For this being a debut adult fantasy novel, I am so utterly pleased and excited for more to come from E.J. Beaton's writing!

DRC provided by DAW via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: bisexual protagonist, queer secondary and tertiary characters.

Content Warning: drug abuse, death, violence, desecration of a cadaver.

The Councillor by E.J. Beaton is a political fantasy set in a medieval-like time, in a queer-friendly society, as far as achillean and sapphic relationships go.

The Iron Queen’s premature death leads to the appointing of her close friend and palace scholar, Lysande, as Councillor. She is the one in charge of choosing the next sovereign for the puzzle realm of Elira, among the four city-rulers. While the reign is occupied with the succession line, an old foe is secretly planning their comeback to claim what they think is rightfully theirs.

Despite the plot’s slowness and its partially predictability, the very compelling writing style (except for how the word “queer” was used in the novel) and the exquisite cast of characters are what made The Councillor a really enjoyable read.

Lysande’s freshness, Cassia’s formidability, Luca’s cunning, Jale’s cheerfulness is but a part of what made them all amazing characters. The one who caught my heart, from his very first appearance though, is Dante with his not-so-subtle yearning for the brilliant Lyrian prince. What would one do without a tad of yearning in one’s life? I really hope Beaton honours us with a novella about the princes’ first encounter and the beginning of their star-crossed love.

Ultimately, it was the ending that forced me not to give the novel full marks. It left me thinking: “Is there going to be another novel set in the world? Am I to expect a new standalone titled ‘The Consul’, which will pick up where the story left off?” To me, it is clear the story is not complete. The main villain has not been defeated. Lysande did not reach her full potential and I need a Lyrian-Valderran wedding (perhaps avoiding giving the readers flashbacks of the infamous “Red Wedding”).

To conclude, I really appreciated the reading experience E.J. Beaton offered with The Councillor, and if she is planning to continue this story, I hope that she will explore more the spectrum of queerness inside the boundaries of the Three Lands.

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.

I am in the minority for this one judging by the rave reviews it is getting ahead of its release. Like many of those other reviewers, I received a copy of The Councillor from NetGalley and DAW in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a short one: I did not finish this book.

We’re off to a great start. Lysande is an advisor/close friend to Queen Sarelin, who plucked her from an orphanage for her scholastic potential. Sarelin dies unexpectedly (murder!), but not before she secretly named Lysande as her Councillor. Lysande’s sole purpose in this role? Since Sarelin died without an heir, Lysande must select the new monarch of their realm from one of the four rulers of the cities that make up the realm. Of course, those rulers hate each other, and one or more of them might have murdered the queen. Sounds like a fun job.

This is exactly the kind of political intrigue I want from my high fantasy. Toss in the fact that there are a ton of openly queer characters (and it’s normal), and that’s cool: The Councillor should be a book for me. So what gives?

It drags. Like seriously, seriously dragged for me. Page after page after scene after scene of repetitive action and description. I reached a point where I was skimming just to see when something actually happened, and I think I finally got about a quarter of the way into the book before that occurred.

Despite a great setting and cool plot, none of the characterization and especially none of the narration works for me. Nothing gels into a compelling voice that makes me want to sit on the edge of my seat and bite my nails like I did for a book like The Goblin Emperor, which faces a similarly-inexperienced person dealing with huge political machinations.

All I can say, attempting to assuage my feeling bad for writing this review, is that I don’t think these are problems with the book or Beaton’s writing. As I said earlier, the critical consensus seems to be positive, so if you are interested in The Councillor, I would go with that—please don’t take this critique as a recommendation to skip this one. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me, and I decided to accept that and move on. Maybe next time!

Lysande Prior was a no-name orphan girl raised into the highest levels of her society after catching the eye of Sarelin Bray, the Iron Queen of Elira. The queen and the orphaned scholar became the closest of friends, a strange friendship in a society sharply divided by class. But when Sarelin Bray is assassinated, it falls upon Lysande to choose the next monarch from one of the four city-rulers seeking the throne. Each of these rulers is capable of ruling, just as each of them is capable of plotting with the rebellious leader known as the White Queen, but one of them– the charming Luca Fontaine– is as much of a rival as he is a potential ally. With war on the horizon and four contentious claims to the throne to decide upon, Lysande’s knowledge and scholarly skills are tested to their limit, and while she might be a scholar without equal, even she is not immune to the allure of power– or to the addiction to a powerful drug she must hide at all costs.

After the first reading of The Councillor, it will come as no surprise that, like her character Lysande Prior, E.J. Beaton is a scholar. It will also be no surprise that Beaton focused on Machiavellian politics in the realm of Shakespearean theater as well as in more modern fantasy literature. And to top it all off, Beaton is also an award-winning poet. Her expertise is on full display in The Councillor, a political fantasy novel with as many twists and turns as a bestselling thriller, filled with as much rich sensory detail as a historical epic, and written with elegant prose one would expect of an accomplished poet. In short, The Councillor is the rare sort of debut that engulfs the imagination from the opening lines and doesn’t let go until long after the last page has been turned.

Lysande Prior is not an ordinary fantasy hero. She may not even be heroic. While she may be able to wield a blade, she is a scholar first of all and the story reflects this. She is always thinking back to the books she has read, the conversations she has had, the observations she has made. And like any good scholar, she is always willing to reflect and consider her memories in a new context, no matter what or who the subject of that inquiry is, and no matter how much it might hurt to realize that her actions– or those of the people she loves– may have caused more harm than good. Such realizations are painful, but they are necessary to find wisdom.

That’s not to say that Lysande is without faults, or that she is a representative of some mythical Ideal. At her core, Lysande is a Machiavellian figure. To most readers this would indicate that she believes in the notion of ‘the ends justify the means’, but there was always more to Machiavelli’s The Prince than a pithy slogan, and there is more to Lysande Prior than Sarelin Bray’s nickname, ‘the girl with the pen’. On the surface, she is a calm and logical scholar. But peel back that layer to find a calculating observer. And beneath that, there is a woman with a growing taste for power. And the passionate woman with dangerous tastes. And the nascent addict. And, and, and. . . The rest of the characters are just as complex, as Beaton did not forget that, while Lysande may be the point of view character throughout the book, she is not the only person who lives in this world. Whether it is the treacherous Luca Fontaine or the watchful Litany that Lysande is dealing with, there is always a sense that these characters are more than just players coming on and off a stage. With a simple twist of perspective, they could have been the star of show.

The world of Elira is just as carefully crafted, though one may not notice it first. There are no multi-page descriptions of scenery, cultures, or magic. There is no classroom setting in which the characters sit down mid-book to listen to a lecture about their people’s history. The characters inhabit their world, off-handedly mention bits of history or poetry, reference the books they read once upon a time, or talk about fashion, art, and cultural mores as they naturally arise. It is up to the reader, then, to piece together a picture of Elira and its people. Or to infer a world from what is left unsaid. The presence of silk and velvet, for example, suggests a complex fabric industry feeding aristocratic demand for cloth that is sumptuous and difficult to make, as well as emphasizing the difference between rich and poor. Not all fantasy authors are willing to assume that the reader is intelligent enough to put the pieces together without extensive exposition that gets in the way of the story. But Beaton assumes that her readers are clever enough to keep up. This is a breath of fresh air by itself and would set The Councillor apart from many of its bookish peers. But there is another element that sets it apart in the best way: it assumes gender equality as part of the world. Women can be soldiers and men can be fashionable, and neither will be disregarded for their tastes or preferences. In a genre that can imagine talking dragons, wizards, and all manner of fantastical creatures, fantasy still clings to Victorian notions of gender and hand-waves away these outdated norms as somehow “historically accurate”. Despite the talking dragons.

But while The Councillor has its roots firmly in the works of the European Renaissance, it does not fall into old traps. Instead, all characters have their strengths and flaws, and their places in society are not defined by their gender. This means that everyone has a chance to be whatever they choose. It also means that anyone could be a traitor. Lysande Prior may be one of the greatest scholars of her age, but even she has her blind spots. Who lurks in those blind spots and what secrets do they hide? That is the great mystery of The Councillor. Its narrative is compelling from the first line to the last, and while most of the mysteries will have their answers by the end, there are enough openings to make a reader wonder, ‘But what if. . . ?’ It’s questions like that that make a book memorable, and will make readers want to return to it again to find the clues laid out from the beginning, and to revisit a political mastermind in the making.

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Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

The Councillor is described in the blurb as a "Machiavellian fantasy," and that really is a perfect way to describe this book. This is a book for fans of highly political fantasy, with a focused lens on the subtle arts of negotiation, scheming, manipulations, secrets, and power. There are also some incredibly well-drawn characters that only add to the many layers present in this story.

The story kicks off after Queen Sarelin's death when Lysande is appointed Councillor. It is up to Lysande to determine who should become ruler next, while also quiet attempting to figure out who played a role in the death of the queen. Lysande is thus surrounded by a myriad of people with varying levels of power, all of whom want more power, and she has no idea who she can actually trust. This, as you might suspects, sets up a tense, unpredictable setting in which all the players begin their dance of politics. This book is basically the equivalent of an enormous jigsaw puzzle with oddly shaped pieces that supposedly fit together, but you aren't sure you're going to figure out how.

The story is told solely from Lysande's perspective, which I appreciated in the sense that it really helped to keep me on my toes in not knowing anything at all about the other characters other than what Lysande already knows. I might have liked more perspectives in order to better understand everyone's motivations and background, but I like the mystery this allowed, as well as the ability to thus spend more time in Lysande's head getting to know her and her strategies. I absolutely loved Lysanda's stoic determination in the face of every unimagined obstacle that is thrown her way. When this novel starts, Lysande may already be a close confidante of the queen, but she is also technically just the palace scholar. She is from a poor background and is not an elite and she has no seeming desire to be in any sort of leadership position. So, when she is thrust into the position of Councillor she is constantly aware of her perceived shortcomings and lack of knowledge around what she should be doing or how to handle various situations. Because of this, she often relies heavily on her own historical studies of past leaders and events, which allow her to shape her persona and actions as Councillor. I really appreciated this aspect and focus on the importance of having histories to provide guidance, as well as seeing someone who truly is not sure how to handle these situations essentially "fake it 'til you make it," as I think Lysande ended up executing her role excellently.

I should mention, however, that I would consider Lysande a bit of a morally grey character, which matches the many other morally grey secondary characters that appear throughout this book. It's hard to know what is necessarily "good" in this world since everyone has their own bias, but it was a lot of fun exploring everything via the different characters that we meet, all of whom have very strong and distinct personalities. A few of the more intriguing characters we meet are Luca Fontaine, Cassia Ahl-Hafir, and Litany. Litany in particular is full of surprises, and Luca is one of those mysterious figures that holds an abnormal form of charisma and intrigue that you can't help but find yourself drawn to, even though you know there's something uncertain and unpredictable about him. I'd go as far to say that there is not really any character in this book that I would deem 'unintelligent,' and it's precisely because this book is full of highly intelligent people that you never know what to expect or where something new is going to pop up.

The world of The Councillor also feels rich and teeming with culture and expansive lands. We get to hear quite a bit of background about various places and peoples, but I would have loved the chance to learn even more about the world (though that's certainly not a complaint, as I'm very satisfied with what was provided in this book). This also appears to be a sex positive and queernorm world, which I also find refreshing in fantasy where we can set aside the many prejudices that plague our own world and imagine something new. Because Lysande deals with a bit of a drug problem, we also get to explore some more details in this world in the way of things like the drugs and drug sources that helps to just make everything feel that much more expansive and detailed. There is also, of course, some magic present in this world, though I hesitate to say too much about it in fear of adding any spoilers. It's an interesting magic that I would really love to learn more about, as I feel as though it wasn't expanded on quite as much as it could've been.

The pacing of the The Councillor felt very steady throughout, and it's definitely a slower pacing overall. If you're looking for something with a lot of action, this isn't it. There are certainly some more action-heavy scenes, but for the most part this book's action takes place in the form of dialogue and more subtle activities and thinking. There are also a lot of fine details given throughout about the world, the politics, and the history which does keep things on the slower side at times. I thought the pacing worked extremely well for the story and have no complaints, but I also understand that some people will prefer something that moves a bit more quickly.

Overall, I had an amazing time reading this book, even if I did find myself a little lost at times because of all the details. This is a book I can absolutely see myself re-reading and getting even more from it. If you like an involved, highly political fantasy, then you must put The Councillor on your radar! I cannot wait to see what E.J. Beaton has in store next. It's five stars from me!

The Councillor explores the concept of power, privilege and wealth in a medieval setting. From the perspective of Lysande, you are experiencing first hand the struggles of someone not born into nobility and how she stands in contrast to the other rulers. Each of the main characters is well defined and has unique motivation and character quirks, which makes the overall story feel alive and believable. I even rooted for Lysande and tried to figure out who would backstab the other rules next. I enjoyed the book a lot. The overall themes reminded me a bit of the animated Avatar series and a light version of Game of Thrones.

This was interesting. Good, immersive fantasy perfect for fans of authors like Michael Sullivan and Robin Hobb.

22/25 (88%) 4.5 stars.
Buckle up and fasten your seat belt, folks, cause I'm about to demand a HYPE for this.

Question: What do The Final Empire, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and The Name of the Wind have in common? Hm? Any idea? The answer is: they're the only fantasy debuts I've ever read that are better than this book. So this should tell you enough about my admiration for E.J. Beaton's brilliant writing already - I do have some tiny complaints, but they're on a level where I mostly don't care about them at all because they're so tiny that most people maybe won't even care about them at all. Anyway: this is my candidate for best debut novel of the year. Yes, I know, this year does have ten more months but I'm not seeing anything that could come close. Let's get into why this is excellent, okay?

'The Councillor' is a mixture of truly outstanding writing, an incredibly well fleshed-out, flawed protagonist, and a perfectly constructed plot. How does the author achieve that? How does she manage to live up to that incredibly promising synopsis that made me pick this up?

The short answer is that E.J. Beaton simply does everything right. She just doesn't make mistakes, there aren't any of the pet peeves other authors have like deus ex machina or invincible protagonists, there aren't things that don't make sense.

Example: when a character dies, their friends don't stop in the middle of a battle to mourn them. This is a thing that often keeps going on my nerves: there's a battle going on, your enemies don't wait for you to mourn your friend, okay? They just don't do that. So Beaton doesn't do that. Yes, you get the shock, you get the sadness, but the battle goes on.

But let's get to the good and the bad, shall we? The first good thing I have to mention about this books is the writing. It's excellent. Period. Don't try to argue that point with me, I'm not even discussing it. Beaton has found the perfect mixture in terms of writing: not too flowery and not too minimalistic. It's measured perfectly: descriptions, Lysande's thoughts and dialogue keep interchanging in just the way it should be.

The way this is told is abslutely flawless, the way Beaton inserts Lysande's voice and perspective into this book is just impressive. Not just for a debut author but for an author in general. Beaton delivers everything just where it should be, both the concrete things we want to know in a special scene and also the overarching threads that keep this book together are placed perfectly. Here's an example of how she paints a setting:

"The ceremonial lane through the city had disappeared, replaced by a mishmash of traders, and a throng engulfed them as they reached the west side of the city. Lyrians flowed around them, carrying baskets of chilies or rice; bankers glided past on open palanquins, athletic-looking staff in scant clothing keeping them company. While attendants hurried between mules and street-traders with parcels and small sacks, nobles stopped to talk and laugh without any regard for the crowds. To be human was common, Lysande thought, but to be seen as human was a luxury that only certain could afford, and it seemed no cheaper here. It was almost impossible for their party to navigate without hitting some merchant or messenger: if Rhime had been madcap, this was pure, unadulterated chaos, without any pretense of direction."


If you've read the synopsis, then you know what to expect: this isn't action-packed, but rather focuses on politics and the relationships between the characters. And while it excels at that, it also excels at the action scenes. There aren't many of them, but oh boy, Beaton can write action scenes. Basically, she can write anything... apart from the transitions between chapters, maybe. There are two tiny critiques I have to make in terms of the writing: These transitions between the chapters could be better. Because, as Petrik has rightfully mentioned in his review: these chapters are very long. This entire book consists of just fifteen chapters and the transitions between them aren't as elaborate as they should be. Basically, each of these chapters focuses on a single big event - and then in the next chapter, we're somewhere else. Yes, we get to know how Lysande came to be there, but I think the transitions between most of these chapters are too abrupt. They're not episodical, but it's a bit... abrupt. Not a lot, just a tiny bit, mind you.

Next good thing: characters. Beaton shows us this story through the eyes of a single protagonist and... that's an excellent choice! Lysande is a reader for readers, clever and witty, but not too much. Also, she has flaws that keep her grounded, good work, Ms. Beaton, good work. Really well done. The side characters are well-constructed as well. I always knew who everybody was so obviously Beaton managed to portray them as unique personalities.

“When you’re one of us, Prior, and you have eyes upon you every day, it’s as if you’re walking on a pond in winter,” Luca said. “The ice has frozen just enough to venture out. At any moment, it might crack, and send you plunging down below. So you walk carefully; you take ginger steps, and if you reach out to hold another’s hand, your fate becomes bound up with theirs. If they fall, you fall. If they make it across, you do too.”



Also really well done: the setting. Nicey, nicey. The setting in a nutshell: medieval/Renaissance setting with gender equality and no homophobia. This doesn't mean that there aren't any bad -isms going on: there are many stereotypes between the indivual parts of Elira, and there's also a big, fat lot of racism against folks who can do magic (Elementals). That racism is connected to the intriguing backstory of Beaton's plot: years ago, there was an Elemental uprising which resulted in a lot of bloodshed. In the end, the 'normal' people won and the Elemental leader, the White Queen, disappeared. Since then, the various city rulers' different approaches to Elementals have been a reason for conflict: some of them simply eradicate them all, other wish to ally with them. This overarching conflict is perfecty interlaced with Lysande's big inner conflict.

Lysanne's inner conflict summed up: she was raised by the Queen who won the war against the Elementals and who now keeps executing every single one of them. On the other hand, Lysanne's best friend is an Elemental... and the scholarly Lysande also isn't very fond of executing people just for being born as different - so she tries to use her new station of power to make things better for everyone.

“Changes are a tricky business.” Derset’s tone was still hard stone, but there was an edge to it: an urgency that implored her. “You can cut away all the roses in the garden, but you’ll prick your fingers on those thorns.”


Plot: perfectly constructed, some small conveniences, nothing terrible. It has a huge twist which I saw coming before but that didn't stop me from enjoying this in any way. The dialgues are excellent as well, but sometimes a little too... pompous or artificial in some scenes for me.

To sum it all up: this is an incredibly impressive book. It deserves far, far more attention than it has got so far. So I'm hereby officially requesting a hype.

This is an excellent debut with a queer protagonist in a queer setting with amazing characters and just the right amount of worldbuilding. So many authors overburden their readers with extensive world-building and info-dumps in their first installment of a series - Beaton hasn't. E.J. Beaton has the increbile talent to measure everything she uses in her storytelling. There's not too much or too less of anything, everything is in its place. To be honest, I was a little afraid to read this because I've never been as hyped by a synopsis before. And this hasn't promised too much: I'll definitely pick up the sequel and everything else E.J. Beaton decides to write. Highly recommend this one to anyone who likes intrigues, a well-constructed plot and excellent writing.
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Dialogue 4
Setting 4
Characters 5
Writing Style 4
Plot 5

How often is the main character in a fantasy novel a scholar? While as readers, we can find glimpses of ourselves in all sorts of characters, one of the best experiences involves following the storyline of a protagonist that we relate to at the deepest level possible. Lysande from The Councillor is that person for me. A scholar who is tasked with the responsibility to decide the next ruler of Elira, Lysande, a commoner that royals (“silverbloods”) have paid no heed to in the years at the palace, is now a key player in the destiny of the realm. She must learn the ways of the court and use all the knowledge that she has gained from her studies to not just appoint the right ruler, but also, maybe, make a difference to the lives of the common people.

Content Notes: Depictions of murder, violence, losing a loved one, genocide, substance addiction and withdrawal.

Thoughts on The Councillor

The Councillor is an exceptional book. It was not just my connection to the protagonist that kept me immersed in this story, but the world and culture depicted by Beaton is breathtaking as it drew me in and I never wanted to leave. I have tried reading royal court dramas before but often, there are so many characters, point of views, and plot points to keep in mind, that I find it hard to focus.

On the World

The Councillor was the perfect read for me because it was focused and precise like its protagonist and Lysande was the perfect character to help me understand the world and the intricacies of Elira. I appreciated that the details about the existence of magic, magical creatures, and humans with magic (“elementals”) were slowly introduced.

The people of Axium, the seat of the ruler, have the motto of ‘everything in its place’ and that is reflected in the hierarchy in the council and advisers. They struggle with giving Lysande, a commoner, the reins to the world, but being named by the dying monarch is an undisputed claim. Through the four contenders for the throne and the travels in this book, I learned about their diverse culture and customs at the right pace. Prince Luca Fontaine from the Rhimes, Dante Dalgereth, the First Sword of Valderos, the Irriqi of Pyrrha, and Prince Jale Chamboise from the deserts of Lyria all showcase different sides of the realm, with their customs, languages, and specialities. Symbolism is pertinent throughout the book by being situated in the context of the world. The silent sword, stones, and knots used to represent friendships were all well thought out details that I enjoyed reading.

On The Intricacies of Court

Lysande grew up in an orphanage and it was only almost a decade ago when Queen Sarelin, having returned from the war with the White Queen, chose her as the Palace Scholar. Sarelin was like a mother to Lysande and taught her everything there was to know about combat, while at the same time opening her mind to all the knowledge housed within the palace. When Sarelin passes away, she entrusts Lysande to choose the next ruler. Battling her grief at losing the person she loved the most in the world, Lysande takes control of the palace and its affairs, puts on a straight face for the rulers of other cities who have come to impress her and take the throne. Lysande recognises that she is a nobody and as she learns the affairs of the realm, sees the atrocities inflicted upon elementals, she decides to use her time in the position of power wisely.

As a scholar, she is used to studying and making decisions based on all the information she can collect. She has gravity that others find it hard to ignore and with guidance from her advisor, Desert, she grows into the role of the Councillor in no time. Bold, unapologetic, and smart, Lysande sets out to do something she never imagined would be possible in her dreams: to be heard and to be seen. But as someone who has grown up in poverty and seen the hard truths of life, she knows the importance of alliances and uplifting people along with her. I love her tactics and insights about people because she always seemed to know what would make them happy and how she could have a partnership with them. She is also not one to mince words. Her relationship with the Irriqi, Mistress of Laws, and Litany were three of my favourites. The book shows her journey as a novice Councillor to someone who understands power and can recognise the difference between an alliance and a friendship.

On The Elementals

A scholar who has studied books knows the magnitude of erased voices and histories. It is only when one has looked through all the books that they can find, can one truly know what is missing. Many centuries ago, the elementals, humans who can control the elements, used to be rulers and a respected part of the community. But things have changed since. The White Queen fought with an army of elementals on her side and somehow the public opinion has turned against elementals, even those who have nothing to with the war from years past. When Lysande loses someone close to her, she questions the humility and reasons behind the genocide of the elementals and puts a stop to it. She doesn’t have a motive here. All she wants is the best for the people that are in this realm and she knows that not everyone has the luxury of influence. It is decisions like this one, orders that seem impulsive but actually have major repercussions, that make Lysande formidable.

I loved The Councillor and it is a book I will always cherish. I am excited to read the second part of the duology and can’t wait to add this book to my home library collection. These 500 pages are packed with action, memorable characters and plot twists, that you will love. Every chapter helped me build a better picture of the world and become more immersed. The pace never faltered, and I had so many emotions, like sadness, disappointment, astonishment, respect, betrayal… I could go on. Most importantly, if you are someone who loves books and seeks knowledge, The Councillor will give you a glimpse of the influence scholars can have on the world. I personally think we need more stories like this one.

The Councillor is a Machiavellian inspired fantasy set in the fictional kingdom of Elira. Well, sort of. There’s a definite Renaissance-influence in the world-building, with a series of city-states all banding together against those that surround them. (Oh, and they produce a lot of wine, and olives). The main character, Lysande Prior, also shares a lot of her history with Niccolo Machiavelli himself: both serve roles as political understudies and advisors, both write treatises on the subject of power, and both are shrewd, cunning and intelligent.

But where Machiavelli was known for the ruthless that gave Machiavellian political philosophy his name, Lysande is a much more likeable character, concerned about the welfare of her community and her friends, and willing to put her smarts to good use to protect them. The result is a compelling character arc.

I should note here that Lysande is also an interesting character because she’s unlike so many others we see in fantasy. She’s mildly addicted to a drug that has effects not unlike cocaine (so I’m told), and she has a strong sense of sexual desire, even about those she intellectually knows it’s not a good idea to get involved with. None of this is ever justified or excused, it’s just a part of who Lysande is – and we get to see how she grapples with the consequences. I don’t enjoy reading about drug addiction as a general rule, but I did appreciate that this book is more in line with actual drug use in society (i.e. high functioning individuals you’d never expect) and that we weren’t treated to a sermon or a pity party about it. This is also a good place to note that Lysande is bisexual (and there are flashbacks to a past f/f relationship) and it’s entirely unremarkable.

As for the plot, don’t expect too many battle scenes or clashing armies (though there are a few). The battle for Elira is mostly one of wits. Lysande is a scholar at heart, and we see her puzzle her way through events, calculatingly cultivate alliances, and rethink everything she thought she knew about former Queen Sarelin. A lot of this book is spent second-guessing the motives of the city-state leaders Lysande is ostensibly meant to choose between. It’s compelling stuff, and I love seeing a quieter, more intellectually focused fantasy that shows off a different set of character traits and exudes a different kind of intensity and energy.

I did have a few small issues. The pacing was a little slow in the middle (not helped by the giant chapters, with nowhere good to take a break). I also thought some of the big reveals about the villain and the true extent of magic in this society came a little late given this is a standalone novel: the last hundred pages were riveting, but they also had to do a lot of work to wrap up all the plot threads and create a compelling rationale for what had come before, and it didn’t always pull it off. I haven’t seen any news of a sequel, but I really hope there is one, since I think this world is ripe for a follow up that revisits some of the characters from this book and maybe gives us a glimpse into some of the other city-states we spent less time in.

This was an excellent debut. As I said, I’m really hopeful we’ll see something else set in this world, but if not, I’m still looking forward to seeing what Beaton writes next.

This is one of the best high-concept fantasy novels I’ve read in some time. The setting is Elira, the middle one of three adjacent countries that are in constant rivalry and sometimes more. It’s a geographically diverse place, with jungles, deserts, and a near-arctic region, and there are five major cities, each with its own co-equal ruler. And one of those local rulers, historically, is sovereign over the whole country, but that power has shifted from city to city as dynasties come and go. At the moment, things are being run by Sarelin Brey, the Iron Queen, ruler of the city of Axium, who led the armies of all the cities against Mea Tacitus, the White Queen, who rebelled more than a decade before, and defeated her -- but she’s apparently still around, in hiding somewhere and still very dangerous because she controls magic, through the elementals.

But the protagonist is really Lysande Prior, orphaned in that war and taken in and raised when she was twelve as a proto-scholar by Sarelin. Now she’s the Queen’s friend and companion, as well as an author and historian, and she has developed into a highly intellectual and very subtle person. But she’s still a commoner and lacks a family, much less connections of any sort, so no one else at court pays her much attention (when they’re not actually sneering at her).

But then the Queen, who has no heirs,is assassinated and she has followed long custom by secretly appointing a Councillor, who will have sole power to choose one of the other city rulers as the new sovereign. And, to everyone’s shock, that Councillor is Lysande. It’s going to be a very difficult struggle, both in handling the other four rulers, each of them trained to power and authority, and also in figuring out what to do about the White Queen, who probably was behind the murder. And what about the elementals themselves? For her own reasons, Lysande doesn’t like the previous capture-and-kill policy where they’re concerned. And then there’s the addictive effect of the powdered chimera scale in which she indulges privately, and which affects her ability to think and make rational decisions more than she realizes. And what about the Shadows?

Beaton is very inventive in her worldbuilding, much of which is threaded through the narrative in subtle ways. Her world has a matriarchal slant, for instance, but it’s just part of the background, not the focus. And the whole idea of magic is handled in ways I haven’t seen before. Both Lysande’s character and those of the city rulers she struggles to manage are developed fully and in detail, to the point that the reader can begin to predict how they are likely to react in certain situations. The author also weaves literary and historical commentary through the story in a way that reminds me a bit of Ursula LeGuin. Moreover, Beaton has a knack for poetic word choice that makes for the sort of writing that causes you to pause and reread a paragraph just for the music of it. I predict that this one is going to win some awards this year.

Lysande is a scholar, plucked out of an academy at a young age to work for the Iron Queen of Elira. When the queen is killed by an unknown assassin, Lysande is thrust into a leadership role in the kingdom, with little support and only her wits to guide her.

What an outstanding debut novel. Lysande is a gem of a main character in a high fantasy world that feels familiar yet fresh. Beaton weaves an intricate plot packed to the brim with tantalizing ingredients – underground secret societies, complex political maneuvering, passionate romance, dastardly treachery, and forbidden magic. This book also tackles drug addiction in a way I haven't seen in other fantasy novels. I’d strongly recommend this, especially for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay.

The best way to describe this book is "highly intriguing", and that intrigue was what kept me turning the pages! Beaton has assembled an intricate and complex world with a lot of competing pressure points, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them all unfold and then collide into each other. Beaton's writing is sumptuous and lyrical, and the scholarly viewpoint of her MC gives the sense of a deeply-build world well-worth the exploring.

If this continues into a series, there are a lot of concepts I would love to see explored further. (Frankly, I could've done with a lot more on the BDSM front! Luca and Lysande are delicious together, but I felt teased the whole book! Was hoping for a bit more satisfaction by the end. ;) )

HIGHLIGHTS
~Machiavelli, if Machiavelli wasn’t a dick
~The presents are code and the code is snark
~Who gets the crown? Everybody!
~Snakes
~Forget knives, the assassins have fireballs
~Do you want some kink with your romance, madam?
~Silver > gold
~A very pretty quill
~Bookworms kick ass, actually

Everyone is touting this book as a Machiavellian fantasy, so the first thing you need to know about The Councillor is that yes, it absolutely is Machiavellian.

The second thing you need to know about The Councillor is that it is absolutely not Machiavellian at all.

The comparisons are easy to see: Lysande, the main character of the Councillor, is the advisor and companion to the queen of Elira, just as Machiavelli was involved in Florentine governance – he was in charge of government documents; Lysande is commonly called the queen’s scholar and knows the library inside-out and backwards. Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a treatise on how monarchs should control their kingdoms; when The Councillor begins, Lysande is writing An Ideal Queen, much the same except written for a world where ‘women and men’ are equals. Machiavelli believed rulers could use violence if the ends were good; Lysande idolises Sarelin, the Iron Queen who plucked her from obscurity with bloody hands.

But the thing is – describing something as ‘Machiavellian’ isn’t just to say there’s politics involved. It has the connotation of being unethical; the Oxford Dictionary defines it as ‘cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics’.

Is Lysande cunning? Yes. Does she scheme? Yep. But unscrupulous? No. And, which I find far more important – and which you should, too, given that she is tasked with choosing the Iron Queen’s successor! – does she believe, as Machiavelli did, that cruelty is more valuable than mercy in a leader? That it is better for a ruler to be feared than loved, if they can’t be both?

“Control people with a sword, and they resent you. Control them with a song, and they plead for more.”

No. She doesn’t. And that is really important.

So I wouldn’t call The Councillor Machiavellian. Because Lysande, drug addiction and all, has a better, more hopeful vision of what a kingdom can be than Machiavelli ever did. And although she never wanted the responsibility of deciding the fate of Elira, once she has it, she realises that she can do something with it.

Don’t get me wrong: she’s not an idealist, and she doesn’t start this journey believing the system needs changing. She’s grown up with the mantra restrain, constrain, subdue from her childhood in the orphanage, and the maxim of Elira’s central province – everything in its place – isn’t a whole lot better since it’s applied to people rather than cutlery, but it is something she more-or-less believes in. She believes in both. She lives her life by both. It takes her world being turned upside-down before she – slowly, gradually – starts to realise that maybe the world ought to stay upside-down.

the particular effects of living in a place where you feel like a jeweler’s rag, always in contact with diamonds and emeralds, but only to show up their quality.

Lysande has grown up a common scholar amongst the noble silverbloods (whose blood is not literally silver, it’s just a name), and you can bet that the ladies and lords have made their feelings about her felt. And yet it’s only when she suddenly holds the power of the crown – even if it’s only to give that crown to someone else – that she seems to realise that the way they’ve treated her isn’t all that great. Or rather, not all that great, and also undue. ‘Everything in its place’? Her place is now as Councillor, above all of them; above even the city-princes of Elira’s other provinces. And yet she’s still the same person she always was, so how can it be correct to treat her differently? Why was it okay to snub and slur her before and not now, though she hasn’t changed?

Everything in its place.

Do you call that a philosophy, she had once asked Sarelin, or do you call that a threat? Sarelin had become very busy cleaning her hunting-knife and had said nothing.

Maybe it wasn’t okay. Maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe restrain, constrain, subdue is a terrible way to live. Maybe she should spread her wings and see exactly what she’s capable of.

Aside from classism, Lysande also has to confront Elira’s prejudices towards Elementals, persecuted magic-users who can control earth, air, fire, water, or what’s known simply as ‘mind’. Though she’s not one herself, her best friend Charice secretly is, and Lysande’s loyalty to Serelin, who had Elementals executed throughout her reign, is an uneasy bone of contention between the two friends. Although the issue is personal for Lysande in the form of Charice, it becomes bigger than that when she gains the power to potentially do something about the way Elementals are treated.

She traced the metaphor with a finger–Elira, the tapestry of many colors, climates and cities, sewn together by one leader.

At the expense of a certain type of people, her conscience added.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t impressed, at first, with the concept of the Elementals – their magic seemed predictable and simple. And maybe it is, a little – theirs isn’t a very original magical ability – but more than what they can do, it’s their place in Eliran society – or the place they might be able to make, with Lysande’s help – that matters to the story, and that was a very interesting aspect to the book that I didn’t see coming. More, it becomes clear that the Elementals have their own culture, their own beliefs and traditions and rituals, which are going to be far more important than Lysande can believe. Maybe their magic isn’t super interesting (to me), but the Elementals as a people very much are.

And that attention to detail shines through in every part of Beaton’s worldbuilding, from social norms to fashion to food to flora to dance, and plenty more. The five provinces of Elira are almost five separate countries, culturally, and introducing the reader to them via the city-rulers who come to Lysande vying for the crown is an excellent move, showcasing the cultures each ruler has come from – and that has shaped them – rather than info-dumping the reader. But to be honest, I’d happily read all the info-dumps Beaton feels like writing, because her prose is stunning. She has a way of putting things into words that is simply breathtaking.

There were times when you wished for a shared language of breath, a grammar of the eyes, a vocabulary of touches, so that nothing needed to be risked through sound.

The Councillor is an intricate dance of culture and politics, and there are layers upon layers of secrets here – not least that of who, and what, killed the Iron Queen, and what, if anything, the White Queen – Sarelin’s long-time enemy, a fearsome Elemental – had to do with it. There are multiple factions all working towards incompatible goals, some of whom will compromise and become allies, some of whom will fight to the bitter end. There are no monoliths here, and even the characters and groups positioned against Lysande…most of them have pretty good reasons to be doing what they do. Black-and-white morality doesn’t have a place here; the situation just isn’t that simple. Acts may be unforgivable, but the motivations of Lysande’s enemies are sympathetic and complicated – just as they should be.

Every character we meet is three-dimensional and multi-layered, driven by their own desires, shaped by the cultures they come from; it’s impossible not to adore them all, and not to marvel at how real Beaton manages to make entirely fictional people. I challenge you not to fall in love with Litany, the young woman who becomes Lysande’s lady’s maid (and rather more), or Cassia, the city-ruler of Pyrrha, who shares Lysande’s interest in the extinct, magical creatures called chimeras. And it’s very difficult indeed not to be seduced by the wickedly intelligent, mysterious Luca, city-ruler of Rhime, who makes no friends and keeps all his secrets close.

I really have to take a moment to talk about the handling of sex and sexuality in this book, because it’s just wonderful. Beaton uses beautiful prose and a frank approach to normalise, not just a world in which men marry men and women marry women and no one bats an eye, but one in which a woman doesn’t have to be ashamed of her sexuality. I’m not talking about her bisexuality specifically – although I loved that Beaton made it clear that Lysande’s attraction towards women doesn’t cancel out her attraction to men, and vice versa, any more than her relationships with men make her heterosexual – but simply the fact that she feels desire, and knows herself desired, and enjoys sex, and none of these things are in any way shameful. Lysande experiences desire, and she acts on it when it’s reciprocated, without shame or guilt; she’s a sexual being, and the lack of commentary on that is its own commentary. Sex and romance are separate things here, and adults can have sex and enjoy each other’s companionship and that is enough; not every sexual relationship is a romantic one, or comes with strings attached, or is entered into in the hope that this person might be The One. And this is without mentioning that Lysande is something of a dominatrix, sexually: something which is also presented without comment, which the narrative does not shame or punish her for. It’s clear that Lysande never even considers that her ease with her sexuality, and sexual preferences, are anything to be ashamed or hesitant about. As she shouldn’t, because they aren’t! But it’s refreshing to see how well Beaton has stripped our world’s sexual hang-ups from the world of The Councillor. More casually sex-positive fantasy, please!

This is a chimera of a book; not just one thing or the other, subverting your expectations throughout, and yet harmonious and beautiful, all its pieces coming together into a marvelous whole. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, and I honestly can’t believe this is Beaton’s debut! It reads like the polished work of a master storyteller – it’s honestly perfect. There’s not one thing I’d change, or even critique. I love it even more than I expected to: there’s no question this is going to be one of the best books of the year, and one of the strongest debuts I’ve ever seen ever.

Long live the Councillor!

ARC provided by the publisher—DAW Books—in exchange for an honest review.

The Councillor is a Machiavellian fantasy novel I didn’t know I wanted.

I think this book deserves more buzz; other than a few glimpses on social media, the only occurrences where I heard about The Councillor was from Nils and Elliot Brooks. The Councillor is a Machiavellian fantasy novel and debut by E.J. Beaton. The death of the Iron Queen Sarelin Brey has fractured the realm of Elira, and now the city-rulers are vying for the throne. The story follows Lysande Prior, a scholar chosen as the new Councillor, and her quest to choose the next ruler for the kingdom. In the meantime, she also has to seek who murdered the queen. This, as you can probably guess, is a slow-paced novel filled with politics, scheming, conspiracy, and assassinations, and they’re handled wonderfully. Do not start reading this book expecting there will be a lot of battle scenes. Except for a tournament—that takes up a small section within the entire novel—and the climax sequences, battle scenes aren’t a priority, and that’s completely okay. I will, however, add that the battle scenes were incredible, and I hope the sequel will feature more action sequences because they were so good.

“Strength without swords.”
“How does one conquer without a sword? Without a weapon?”
“The real leader conquers with her mind. Princess Santieri’s phrase, second century, was it not?”

For me, there are two key points that made me enjoy reading this novel; the first one being Lysande herself. Lysande, as the main character, is a great character that surprised me several times. The narrative in The Councillor is told exclusively through Lysande’s perspective, and she’s quite a complex character; she’s mostly composed on the outside, fiery on the inside. Plus, Lysande is really not your typical hero. As she tries her best in her own way to live up to the examples and expectations established by Sarelin Brey, Lysande also has her own internal conflicts and addictions—drugs, sexual fetish—to control. I also enjoyed reading the relationship development between her and Derset, Litany, and Luca Fontaine. And despite Lysande being a morally grey character, some parts of her—like her intoxicating passion for books and stories—were so charming.

“It comforted her to smell the leather and to feel the presence of so many books around her. She could never be alone in a realm of shelves, where characters from ancient stories might speak to her in smooth metaphors and pleasantly gnarled phrases; places she had never seen might spring into life, painted in full range of hues that her imagination supplied, offering a pale green forest, a mountain daubed with gray limestone, or an ocean splintered by the dying sun.”

The second main positive factor of the book, and definitely my favorite one, would have to be Beaton’s prose; it is beautiful and rich with quality, and it has the power to manipulate the readers. There’s something about Beaton’s prose that felt so seductive to me; the letters inked into this novel reminded me of Robin Hobb’s level of prose. Beaton has previously published a poetry collection and has been shortlisted for the ACU Prize for Poetry and the Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize. Not only that, but Beaton’s Ph.D. thesis also included analysis of Machiavellian politics in Shakespearean drama and fantasy literature, and all of these permeated into her storytelling and poetic writing style.

“Books are rewarding companions, Your Excellency,” she said. “A good poem can speak to your soul in ways that people rarely do, and every relationship with a book is a mutual one. Stories are never forced to accept your affection.”

Honestly, though, the only reason The Councillor didn’t receive a higher rating from me was because of its pacing. The book consists of 15 chapters, and they’re all long chapters; almost every chapter took me around 30-60 minutes to read. This and the relatively slower-paced narrative made the pacing of several scenes in the middle sections of the book felt sluggish for me to read. However, this is overall a minor criticism; the positives aspects of the novel totally outweigh this.

“Confidence before the nobility. Humility before the people. Books had a strange way of making themselves useful in your life, words sprouting up when you least expected them.”

The Councillor is a smartly-crafted political debut imbued with elemental magic, monsters, chimera, intense tournament, and intrigues. As I’ve mentioned earlier, The Councillor is a slow-burn novel, and although it indeed took me a bit longer to read than my usual reading pace, I think the prose was utterly worth savoring. If I’m not mistaken, this is a duology, and I’m curious to find out how the series will end, and don’t worry, there’s no cliffhanger here.

Official release date: 2nd March 2021

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping) | Bookshop (Support Local Bookstores!)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did, because on paper the concept is everything I should love (palace intrigue! magic! addiction!), but it really needed a better editor, and ultimately the the execution failed to live up to the story's--and, I suspect, the author's--potential.