The Lascar's Dagger

The word "spy" has such heavy undertones, especially when it comes to genres in fiction. When I first picked up The Lascar's Dagger by Glenda Larke, everything I knew about it came from its description, so I was surprised when it turned out not to be the kind book I thought it'd be. Not that I had an inkling of how a story about a cleric-intelligencer was going to play out in a fantasy setting in the first place; still, if not a gripping page-turner, I expected at least something faster paced. But at the same time, I wouldn't exactly call this book slow, though it definitely had its ups and downs.

Case in point, it took a week to read the first third of the book, but the rest only took me about a few days. and I'd actually polished off the second third in a single sitting. For me The Lascar's Dagger was the type of novel with an ending much stronger than its intro; it may take its sweet time finding its momentum, but when it does, you'd better watch out. I know I could hardly put it down once the story got going.

The novel follows Saker Rampion, a priest who also serves as a spy for the Pontifect of the Va-Faith. On a routine information gathering assignment, he unwittingly stumbles upon Ardhi, a lascar up to no good. After a brief tussle, Saker comes away with the lascar's dagger, and its magical properties are revealed when multiple attempts to discard the weapon prove unsuccessful. Even after throwing it into the harbor, the dagger always seems to make its way back to Saker Rampion's side!

Not long afterward, the Pontifect reassigns Saker on a new job to act as new spiritual adviser for the prince and princess of Ardrone. Meanwhile in another place, a young woman named Sorrel Redwing is on the run, charged with the murder of her husband. She ends up at the royal court too, after the Princess Mathilda takes Sorrel under her wing and offers her protection. At this juncture, the story is still in the process of evolving and has not reached its tipping point. However, once it becomes clear that Mathilda also has a larger role to play, the situation ramps up into a new and irreversible development.

In fact, for a spoiled princess, Mathilda had a lot to offer as a character, and was the one who stole the show for me, not least because the story might not have ever taken off if not for her actions. She also had by far the most interesting personality, even if at times she was a self-absorbed brat or even an airheaded ninny. Sorrel takes second place, impressing me with her strength and loyalty, and the fact she appears to have the patience of a saint. It's the female characters that really shine in this book, and they were the ones who drew me in despite Saker Rampion being the most prominent character. As it turned out, the fact that he was a spy didn't even play into the story all that much, at least not in the ways one would expect, and at times some of his shortcomings and naivete were positively cringe-worthy.

While I would not call this book action-filled or even an adventure, readers who love epic fantasy for the political intrigue and all that entails would find lots to like in The Lascar's Dagger. There are scandals, betrayals and plays for power, cleverly used to raise the stakes. Then there's the magic, an intriguing element that adds a sense of mystique and danger. There's not just one avenue of magical power in this world but several systems, one form of it being a "witchery" which relates to the spiritual sphere. I like that different people can be granted different kinds of abilities, as well as the idea of how a witchery power comes to a person in the first place. It's a very unique way of looking at magic, and raises plenty of questions about the evil and good forces of the world.

A while ago, I contemplated books -- especially firsts of a series -- that are slower to get started and realized that I don't mind a putting in a little investment if I think the payoff will be worth it. I have been pleasantly surprised like this before in the past, so I'm always reluctant to put aside a novel even if the introduction doesn't grab me right away. In this case, I'm glad I decided to stick with The Lascar's Dagger because the story eventually grew on me, and the ending presented a very tense situation in which the implications for the next novel are mind-boggling. I have to praise this book for its originality; there are ideas in here never seen before, and with really no way to predict what's coming next, I'm definitely on board with continuing this series.