Review - The Envoy by C.J. Dragon

The new settlement for human refugees on Drakonis is ready, so River and Prince Eris travel to Earth to collect them. The refugees include River’s best friend Ben in addition to hundreds of others that have fallen out of favor with the Guardians. Getting the 700 humans settled in their new home is just one of the challenges for River. The Guardian he is now beholden to, Sebastian, sends River on dangerous missions to hostile planets. It’s enough to convince River the Guardian wants him dead. All this leaves little time for River to build his relationship with Eris, which is showing some strain. The two love each other completely, but as a prince, there are expectations on Eris, and his lover River, that the young ambassador isn’t sure he can live up to.

This second book of The Ambassador series is an episodic adventure as River navigates his new role as well as life with his new lover. You definitely need to read the first book, River, before picking up this story. While the plot is still solidly a science fiction space opera, I got the feeling of a superhero comic book from this story. There aren’t any silly costumes and definitely no capes, the mood is still there. River is a bit like Batman, a man with no superpowers but the intelligence to deal with almost any situation. The Guardian Sebastian has become the quintessential supervillain. He seems to spend most of his time dreaming up elaborate ways of killing River that, so far, haven’t worked.

The story is told from River’s point of view. I may have just compared him to a superhero, but River doesn’t have the ego that usually goes with that label. He is a very human character, complete with irrational fears, like spiders. However, River doesn’t let his fears control him. He has the strength of character to face his fears and overcome them. In a way, it’s his strength of character and self-worth that ultimately puts River at odds with Eris.

The prince is River’s lover as well as the person that challenges him the most. The two men come from different worlds, quite literally. River is a human from an Earth that hasn’t had royalty in his lifetime. Eris is a Crown Prince of the Drako, destined to rule over his world. No matter how much they love each other, a crisis of expectations is bound to happen sooner or later.

“The Envoy” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for other online sources.