It’s always sad when a favorite series finishes. Peter McLean closed his War of the Rose Throne series in 2022, and I thought that was that. It was a great ending to one of fantasy’s most consistently thrilling series. Imagine my excitement when, earlier this year, I learned that McLean was revisiting the world of the Rose Throne with Paved With Good Intentions. Double that excitement, to understand how thrilled I was to receive a review copy, and double it again, now I’ve read it. Thomas Piety may not be in the novel, but McLean’s new central character, Eline, is every bit as compelling.

This is a complete standalone novel, set in the same universe as The War of the Rose Throne series. There is no need to have read those books in order to enjoy Paved With Good Intentions, although there are some references in the book that will mean more if you have read the original quartet. Whichever you decide to read first, you won’t be disappointed!

The novel opens with Eline killing her husband. Her abuser. Unfortunately for her, somebody saw her do it. Fortunately for her, someone else is happy to clear up the mess and stop Eline from going to the gallows. Unfortunately, that someone wants something in return.

Eline finds herself working for Luka, one of the “Queen’s Men,” a shadowy secret police, who keep the wheels of politics and intrigue well greased in the city of Drathburg, and beyond. For her newfound freedom, Eline must insinuate herself into a high-end brothel and assassinate its Madame. She has no idea how she will accomplish this feat, but she has little choice but to accept.

Eline quickly adapts to her new status, but can see no way to carry out Luka’s wishes. Yet, she must, for the Queen’s Men, know everything, including the whereabouts of her children. Failure for Eline means death for her loved ones.

The thing I enjoy about Peter McLean’s novels is that they are about ordinary people. Flawed individuals with cores of iron, living in a brutal world. The events they can affect are small. Politics and disputes whirl around them, whilst they struggle in vain to make sense of their own predicament.

Being a centrist dad of a certain age, it’s written in the stars that I have to listen to political podcasts. One of the things they often say on them is that most people aren’t interested in politics, except at election time. They’re too busy with their own struggles. Wrangling with family, a suspicious mole, or an officious boss. Perhaps the neighbor’s dog is noisy. These are the people who make up Peter McLean’s books. They’re not interested in politics. They’re interested in making it to the end of the day, week, month, year.

That politics happens to them is almost coincidental, until they find themselves neck deep in a plot they barely begin to fathom. So it was with Thomas Piety, and so it is with Eline. Don’t get me wrong, both have agency and are architects of their own destiny; it’s just that, rather than being involved in grand plots, they are simply reacting to and working with the events immediately around them.

I love this approach to world-building. There is always a bigger picture, but we only see it through the evolution of McLean’s characters.

There are lots of exciting and surprising revelations as Eline burrows into the political underbelly of the city of Drathburg. Like many of McLean’s creations, she is a strong woman able to control who she wants to be, though she has to contend with many demons, not least of which is the trauma instilled by her violent husband and her hand in his death. Eline is supremely intelligent and quick on the uptake, using her skills to her advantage while she works for Luka; building her position as the novel progresses.

This is not a complete novel. While there is a solid ending, it is only the beginning of Eline’s rebirth as an agent of the Queen’s Men. I, for one, can’t wait for more. The novel is filled with tantalising plot hooks, and McLean’s trademark likeable characters with complex motivations. The story of Thomas Piety and The War for the Rose Throne may be complete (or not?!), but their spirit lives on in Eline and Paved With Good Intentions. I’m looking forward to seeing where her road leads next.

If you would like to pick up a copy of Paved With Good Intentions, you can do so here. (This is a UK Affiliate Link. I was unable to find US availability.)

If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here. 

I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.

Source: geekdad.com