The Pawns of Havoc

The Envoys of Chaos

By: Dave Lawson

Narrated by: Laurence Stirling Knott

No Mercy, No Questions Asked.

Cork has quickly made a name for himself among the Kosellan mercenaries, but now his boss has come to him with an unusual job. Cork’s erstwhile countrymen, the Winn, have hired to him to travel into the barren Frozen Lands and destroy a convoy, leaving only one survivor.

Cork isn’t sure he can trust the Winn. He feels like a pawn in their political game. However, his mother is sick and the Winn have promised to heal her if Cork does the job. And killing is what Cork does best.

To make matters worse. Cork’s crew has been decided for him: Arabella, an inexperienced and infuriating archer, and Nessa, a gloomy criminal with murder on her mind.

Cork will have to figure out how to complete the job, avoid Winn treachery, and manage conflicts with Arabella and Nessa along the way.

It’s going to be chaos.

A Envoys of Chaos Novella.

©2025 Dave Lawson (P)2025 Dave Lawson

Great little story for our favorite side character!

Cork was one of the highlights of Envoys of War. Getting to learn a little bit more about his backstory and watch more of his personality was just such a fun time. I really enjoyed this book and as always, the narration was stellar!

Great dark fantasy novella!

Loved hearing this story the second time through on audio! The narration was great! This was a solid novella! It was definitely darker than Envoys, but I appreciated the deeper dive into the world and the Winn. The humor added an element of balance for sure. Cork is so funny. It was difficult reading about some of his decisions, but I kind of liked that the novella didn't take the easy way out and just make everything happy. The characters were forced to look at their own humanity and how far they would go for the ones they love.

The story telling and romance development between Cork and Arabella.

I, unfortunately, don’t like this narrator but man Dave Lawson can tell a fantastic story. I went into this book looking forward to more of Cork and ending up love Arabella even more! Loved their development throughout the book and how it makes Cork a better person

A Fun Standalone / Prequel Novella

Once again, Lawson balances action, humor, and a little romance in The Pawns of Havoc. This is a fun and bloody fantasy novella that hits the ground running. While I could nit-pick a few things, I come away having had a great time with this novella.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Good novella with mix of fun and grit

This novella is a prequel of sorts to Lawson's novel The Envoys of Chaos. I read it first and was fully able to understand the world and characters without having read the novel (which I did read immediately after). This is a fun D&D-esque story set in a medieval/Renaissance-themed fantasy world that deftly mixes lighthearted and grim/gritty moments. We might get one scene dedicated to banter and shenanigans followed by a scene of gory battle and harsh choices needing to be made. It's a peculiar vibe, one which I can meld with because I love both extremes of the cozy-to-grimdark spectrum. To be fair, I would put this novella more in the grim region of said spectrum, as the banter can be hit or miss, while one of the final scenes includes one of the darkest of dark choices and a moral conundrum that's pure candy for a grimdark enjoyer.

Out of the three most prominent characters, I found Cork to be my favorite. He's the viewpoint character, so there might be some bias as we're in his head the entirety of the story, but even if we weren't, I think I'd have been drawn to him over the other two. On the outside, he looks like a brute. A big, strong, axe-wielding fella with markings on his arms that indicate he's from a tribe of people who use destructive magic. But this big, tough man doesn't keep it a secret that he's working as a mercenary so he can get money for his mother's medicine. Nothing will endear me to a character, ESPECIALLY a beefcake like Cork, faster than making him love and respect women, especially their mother. I love him and I love that his motivation is so pure and wholesome.

The other two characters, the two women, are… well, my thoughts on them go back and forth. One moment, I'll think they're annoying and wonder 'why the heck are they here??' only for them to win me over later (then annoy me later, then win me over AGAIN). Interestingly, they annoy/win me over in completely opposite ways. This isn't to say I think they're *bad* characters, nor are they poorly written. Just that I was sometimes perplexed as to why they agreed to go on the mission

The writing is strong and full of banter. It's not particularly dense with metaphors or description, but it's not too bland, either. It strikes a good balance that I think will resonate with the majority of readers' preferences.