The Ambassador's Mission by Trudi Canavan : a review

The Ambassador's Mission is book one of the Traitor Spy trilogy and follows on from Trudi Canavan's previous seven novels (two trilogies and a standalone). For a reader coming in without any of the previous back-story there is little sense of missing any required history or appreciation of the characters. Canavan cleverly reintroduces the important players and provides whatever context is required for the story to progress. I'm still amazed that I've gone all this time and not read any of Canavan's stories before.

There are three key characters whose tales intersect at various levels and who the story follows throughout. Sonea is a Black Magaician and tied to the guidance and control of the Kyralian Guild of Magicians. She is a Healer and has emerged from within the ranks of the very poor to be a powerful magician (and somewhat feared by her colleagues). Her son, Lorkin is also a magician but an Alchemist. He agrees to accompany Lord Dannyl, the newly appointed Guild Ambassador, to Sachaka as his aid - both to help Dannyl in his search to fill some of the gaps in Kyralian history and also to explore more of the world than the city of his birth. Cery is an old friend of Sonea and a Thief in the City, he's familiar with the darker side of life.

"The Ambassador's Mission" ends on the delightfully teasing note of intrigue and deception, and as any good story does leaves you wanting more. Sonea has helped catch the rogue magician and Thief Killer; Cery has avenged his family's deaths and grown closer to his only surviving child (and learned a nice tidbit of information about a certain other Black Magician.... no spoilers); and Lorkin has come closer to discovering more about the Sachakans, the people they call Traitors, his father Akkarin, and hidden magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am keen to continue reading the trilogy to discover what happens with our three main characters. It has everything: political intrigue, clash of cultures, fighting, magic, avoiding capture, more magic, quips. But more importantly it is enjoyable and I really do want to know how this story ends. I've ended up caring about these characters, curious about the Sachakans and Traitors and blood gems and magic, wondering how the Wasteland fits into all of this, and whether the Guild will let go of old prejudices and fears.