The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee

Spying? It’s all about fast cars, beautiful girls. shoot outs and explosions, right? Erm.. No.

It tends to involve lots of tension, risks and fear, with an absolute dependence on those above you not to betray you by intention or otherwise. It’s about making hard choices and following instructions that will affect either many lives or simply yours. This is what the Laurentine Spy puts across, making it a very interesting read, even if it’s not as action packed as contemporary novels.

Set in a late medieval world of high courts and fleets of sailing ships the Laurentine Nation stands in opposition to the larger Corhona. One of its key weapons are the Laurentine Spies, well schooled agents in deep cover positions within the courts. Not allowed to know who the others are in the court, they watch and report all that occurs of note through a guardian who is their only link with home. Each works for their own reasons. Saliel wishes to escape the lowliness her birth condemns her to and dreams of a cottage by the sea once the job is over. Athan wishes to prevent unnecessary bloodshed for his people following his witnessing of a massacre as a young child. Both are spies amongst the higher classes of Corohonase society, talking to officers and wives of officers to uncover their host nation’s plans in the ongoing rivalry between the countries. However, the royal consort is becoming concerned and summons in a spycatcher. This ratchets up the pressure on the pair as they must independently act to avoid the man. To complicate matters, Saliel has some magic skills allowing her to transfix people with her eyes. Whilst useful, it also means she’ll burn as a Witch if she is ever caught…

Presenting a dark take on the “war within the shadows” concept, Emily Gee weaves this in with elements of magic, romance, class warfare and occasional bursts of action to create something different to anything I’ve read before. The book has a distinctly thoughtful feel, and a lot of emphasis is put into cause and effect. The characters are also interesting, with their own hopes, dreams, ambitions and motivations played out in the way they behave and respond to situations as remaining hidden becomes harder and harder.

Whilst slow, the atmosphere the book puts across held my interest despite the fact that most of the above description would have cause me to put a less audacious book down long since. For a novel look at the cloak and dagger genre, the Laurentine Spy is worth a look.