Apr 17 2024

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Book Review: Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

Title: Trials of Empire

Author: Richard Swan

Series: Empire of the Wolf #3

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: The third novel in an epic fantasy trilogy, which follows the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice – a detective, judge and executioner all in one. THE TIME OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND. The Empire of the Wolf is on its knees, but there’s life in the great beast yet. To save it, Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena must look beyond its borders for allies – to the wolfmen of the southern plains, and the pagan clans in the north. But old grievances run deep, and both factions would benefit from the fall of Sova. Even these allies might not be enough. Their enemy, the zealot Bartholomew Claver, wields infernal powers bestowed on him by a mysterious demonic patron. If Vonvalt and Helena are to stand against him, they will need friends on both sides of the mortal plane—but such allegiances carry a heavy price. As the battlelines are drawn in both Sova and the afterlife, the final reckoning draws close. Here, at the beating heart of the Empire, the two-headed wolf will be reborn in a blaze of justice . . . or crushed beneath the shadow of tyranny. -Goodreads

The Review:

Not quite as slam-dunk as the second book, but still a satisfying ending to a great trilogy.

I don’t often regard middle books in a series as the best, but I’ll continue to talk endlessly about how much I loved Tyranny of Faith. And it’s not that the story peaked in that book, as this final installment still had a fantastic momentum, culmination of events, and a great ending. It’s that it had less of those slow, deep character connections. It was also more bleak, not leaving much room for that great humor that tipped the second book from good to phenomenal. There were glimmers of those elements, but they were few and far between.

I liked the exploration of character and morality – a common theme in this series. This really good examination of sticking to the letter of the law vs the spirit. Is it just to break the law when it’s for a greater purpose? And who determines that purpose as righteous? I love how it looked at both sides of that argument and illustrated how it can be used for both good and evil (and a lot of in-between). A nice food for thought that added substance to an already entertaining story.

The main character, Vonvalt (who isn’t actually the POV character, but I still consider him the star of the show) was incredibly unlikable, and not written in a way where you can tell the author is making an unlikable character more appealing to the reader in a “but you’d like him if you could just get to know him” way by showing redeeming qualities. I loved it. As a result, he was one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about in ages. And seeing him through Helena’s eyes made it work even better, as it didn’t provide the reader any means to judge him by but off his actions. It’s such a creative series in that regard, with style and voice, and one of the reasons I’m looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

If you listed out all of the components in the first two books and told me to pick my least favorite one, it would’ve been the supernatural stuff. I generally like supernatural, but it felt kind of out of place in the first book and took the story away from the legal conflicts and interpersonal character work I was enjoying so much. Unfortunately, supernatural is what Trials of Empire focused on almost exclusively. It was integrated a lot more seamlessly the further I read, and overall I enjoyed it, but my lack of enthusiasm for the story to take that direction might be another reason why I didn’t enjoy this as much as I could have. Totally a preferential thing. Also, I could’ve used more time with the wolf men…

Overall, I’m happy to have read this series and, as mentioned, I can’t wait to see what the author will come out with next!

Recommendations: if you’re in for a well-balanced, totally engaging trilogy with interesting character work and moments of pure brilliance – give this a try!

Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, and Spinflight! <3

I’d like to thank Orbit Books, Richard Swan, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Trials of Empire!

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by Niki Hawkes

Jan 30 2023

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Book Review: Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

Title: Tyranny of Faith

Author: Richard Swan

Series: Empire of the Wolf #2

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: A Justice’s work is never done. The Battle of Galen’s Vale is over, but the war for the Empire’s future has just begun. Concerned by rumors that the Magistratum’s authority is waning, Sir Konrad Vonvalt returns to Sova to find the capital city gripped by intrigue and whispers of rebellion. In the Senate, patricians speak openly against the Emperor, while fanatics preach holy vengeance on the streets. Yet facing down these threats to the throne will have to wait, for the Emperor’s grandson has been kidnapped – and Vonvalt is charged with rescuing the missing prince. His quest will lead him – and his allies Helena, Bressinger and Sir Radomir – to the southern frontier, where they will once again face the puritanical fury of Bartholomew Claver and his templar knights – and a dark power far more terrifying than they could have imagined. -Goodreads

The Review:

One of the best books I read last year!

I liked Justice of Kings quite a bit, but wasn’t blown away by it. Even though the unconventional narrative won me over and I enjoyed my experience, I found the main character a bit hard to read and the mystery a bit underwhelming. By grace of the book gods, I picked up the sequel immediately and I’m SO GLAD I DID!

Gone were my problems with the main character – she grew into her own in a way that felt progressive and organic. I found a personal connection to her I was missing in the first book and as a result was 100% invested. In fact, all of the characters were compelling in their own way, their story arcs taking totally different directions than I was predicting – I love that. My favorite thing about the book, easily, was the relationships and bonds between the characters and the overwhelming sense of camaraderie. I usually have to pick up a Greatcoats novel for that.

The mystery element was awesome, involving a lot of moving pieces and gradually revealing answers without being too over-complicated. If I wasn’t in it completely for the characters, I would’ve been compelled to keep reading anyway just to figure out whodunnit. I loved the mash-up of fantasy/mystery (it read like a fantasy) and especially appreciated the legal components included in the book. There was this great debate of morality and justice on the merits of following the letter of the law vs. the spirit of it, which was particularly good food for thought and added a lot of depth. It’s great when authors can present grey-area problems that don’t have a clear right answer. It’s up to the characters to decide which hard decision to make and I find the thought-process fascinating. This is an intelligently written book.

The magic system was also a lot more realized. I usually don’t have patience for metaphysical components, but here it was handled well enough that for once it didn’t bother me.

And to boot: it was funnier.

Overall, I can’t wait for the next one!

Recommendations: pick up this series for great character companionship, an interesting exploration of justice, and an unconventional POV writing style. This series gets better and better as it goes along.

I’d like to thank Richard Swan, Orbit Books, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Tyranny of Faith – I loved it! :D

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by Niki Hawkes

Dec 8 2022

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Book Review: Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

Title: Justice of Kings

Author: Richard Swan

Series: Empire of the Wolf #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: As an Emperor’s Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt always has the last word. His duty is to uphold the law of the empire using whatever tools he has at his disposal: whether it’s his blade, the arcane secrets passed down from Justice to Justice, or his wealth of knowledge of the laws of the empire. But usually his reputation as one of the most revered—and hated—Justices is enough to get most any job done. When Vonvalt investigates the murder of a noblewoman, he finds his authority being challenged like never before. As the simple case becomes more complex and convoluted, he begins to pull at the threads that unravel a conspiracy that could see an end to all Justices, and a beginning to lawless chaos across the empire. -Goodreads

The Review:

I knew nothing about this book before diving in, save that it had an unconventional narrative. And really, that’s all I needed to know. I generally love it when authors get creative and break a few rules. In this case, the person who would be considered the main character (as his story is the most compelling), is not the perspective the story is written from. Instead we see him through the eyes of his assistant as she retroactively documents their journey together. It was a risky strategy, as we’re missing the parts where we get to see WHY the character makes certain decisions, but it also makes for some surprising moments, so it’s a good trade-off.

That said, I didn’t really care for some of the behaviors of the main character. She read very immature to the point where I was wondering why her companions put up with her. I couldn’t tell if she was written that way on purpose to evoke those emotions or if my personal biases made me more sensitive to it. Overall it didn’t lessen the experience, as I’d much prefer an unlikable character to a boring one, but I can see her bothering some readers.

The story didn’t have as much magic or fantasy components as I thought it would. It was more a legal mystery set in a fairly typical fantasy world. Kind of in the same vein as Locke Lamora. I didn’t mind the lack of magic while reading, but after finishing the book wished the mystery component had been a bit stronger, as that was the main highlight of the book. I enjoyed the legal component and the overall theme and moral debate of following the letter of the law vs. the spirit. It was good food for thought.

I’ve never read anything quite like this and find myself interested to see where it goes next. I can see why a lot of people are loving this one.

Recommendations: pick this up for a low-magic fantasy with legal and mystery components. The unconventional perspective approach is unique and interesting enough to make it stand out a bit from the crowd.

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