The Ambassador's Mission: Traitor Spy Trilogy, Book 1

I read the Black Magician's Trilogy and enjoyed it very much. However I fear that in switching to an audio book for the follow up titles I have messed with the pictures and sounds that I developed in my head for this world.

The narration simply did not fit well with my preconceptions of what the story should be about and I found myself being annoyed with the telling of the story.

The writing and story line in this next instalment of the series is not as strong as the first trilogy. Introducing some of the characters sexual preferences has been done rather clumsily and struck me as tokenism.

I will pursue this second trilogy but think I will switch back to the written word to complete the story.

Listen to the five minute sample. In the first hour and a half that does not change. Oh, you have other characters talking, but it is the same. They talk about feelings and the weather and grass growing and... I got too impatient to go longer than an hour and a half.

Canavan has several books at Audible, several in different languages. Most of her ratings are over 4 points, so there is a happy audience for her books, but it is not what I care for.

I actually liked the narrator, but several did not. I guess I am 100% off on this.

So, we're back and following the continuing adventures of Sonea in this follow-up to Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy. Got it. But the story seems to rely too much on the previous trilogy. Anyone picking this series up without having read it will probably feel lost about exactly why Sonea is feared as a Black Magician. The reader is simply, bluntly, told that she is feared and distrusted and then thrown right into this new tale.

The story, as my title for this review states, is pretty much average. It feels, I am sad to say, like the author understood that she had to fill three (sizable) books for this trilogy and took to that task with eagerness. Unfortunately, the story tends to drag because of the vast amounts of stuff (for lack of a better word) included. It's one big pacing fiasco in my opinion.

The problems really arise from the fact that out of all the POV characters we are treated to (Sonea, her son Lorkin, Ambassador Dannyl, or Cery) none of them have a truly compelling narrative and make a play for the story's lead protagonist. At the same time, this muddles the story's antagonist to the point where, when it ends, leaving us hanging for book two, you really are left wondering who (or what) was the overall force driving the story. There are sub plots galore, and they all seem to be possibly intertwined, but the antagonist is just simply ill-defined.

I also felt like the story was simply flat from start to finish. There really did not seem to be a true rise in the action towards a climax of any significance. And once we were treated to what I guess was the climax, it was short and almost not even a real test for the character(s) involved.

I had been prepared, going in, to read the entire trilogy. Now I am not so sure. I will have to let it sit and stew for a little while and ponder if the slowly developing plot is really something I am interested in moving forward.

This trilogy starts out very weak, although the next book gets a little better. The characters are difficult to believe, being very transparent and untroubled with 'darker' thoughts. It's also a bit of a 'journey' story, which I love, but this one is not particularly engaging.

It has been a while since I read Trudi's Black Magician series which I remember I really enjoyed. I probably should have reviewed this series predecessor because it took a little extra concentration to recall details from the former novel. I felt the start went a little slower start that I would like to have seen. Also, I would have liked to see Sonea's son go through some training. Lorkin is instead to be introduced to us after his graduation ready for his mission as an ambassador's assistant. However, things pick up and get good near the end leaving us with solid conclusions but several things that need to be resolved.

This story starts out really slow and I was getting real bored with it.However, I stuck with it and found it interesting. I was glad i did listen to it on audio.Because I would of not made it to the end.
Without giving too much away there is Romance; beginning and ending, Family; Lost and Found, and Alliances with old and new enemies. The way that Canavan expresses these different relatinships from different viewpoints not only brings the characters vividly off the page, but also stirs the emotions and feelings of the reader. They yearn for love. They miss their children (Even if they have none). They are confused by their old enemy. Because Sonea's relationships become the readers. Lorkin's relationships, Dannyl's and Ceryni's too.

Even after a character's family is murdered the narrator speaks in a glib voice. I appreciate that different characters have different voices and there are pretty varied accents employed, but all of the characters sound excited all of the time.

The characterization and character development are not great. These are all adults, but they none of them show forethought or suspicion, even thieves and people with something to hide. Nobody changes or grows.

I've enjoyed some of the other books set in this world, and maybe the narration spoiled it for me or maybe this one just wasn't for me.

Overall, I liked the story, but I really disliked the reader. In the beginning chapters of the book the reader would pause for a long time after each sentence/paragraph. Perhaps he was patting himself on the back for getting through the previous paragraph. I found it to be extremely irritating and almost stopped listening to the book. Luckily, the reader got better as the book progressed. I liked the story so much that I will be buying the next book in this trilogy and giving it a chance. I will not wait 20 chapters for the reader to quit pausing so long after each paragraph.

I have read The Black Magician triology and this first book in The Traitor Spy series was pretty much the same - only less interesting.

Discovery, Betrayal, adventure

The only books of Aspel i have heard are the books by Canavan, but like all his other books this one is of the same level of work, you can tell the caracters apart, he puts emotion into them, and he is clear