Book Review of The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

   

Name of Book: The Trials of Empire

Author: Richard Swan

ISBN: 978-0-316-36198-9

Publisher: Orbit

Part of a Series: Empire of the Wolf

Type of book: Fantasy, dark, grim, law, religion, wars, exploring the world, mystery, religion vs secular laws, magic 

Year it was published: 2024

Summary:

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.

Characters:

Main characters include Helena Sedanka and Konrad Vonvalt. While in previous books Helena was a hotheaded and frustrated young woman, in here she seems to be a lot more mature and I get the impression that she surpasses Konrad Vonvalt himself in law aspects as well as creativity. She also has a twisted relationship with Vonvalt that she needs to untangle before moving, or decide what she wants. Konrad Vonvalt is definitely a man to admire, but in this one he feels a bit, well faded and ready to retire. The villain, Claver, is also complex and a lot of things are also shocking to learn about him. There are plenty of other characters but unfortunately they weren't as well drawn as the ones I have mentioned.  

Theme:

No one knows how things will go

Plot:

The story is in first person narrative from Helena's point of view. Prior to beginning THE TRIALS OF EMPIRE, I will highly recommend to do it immediately after reading the previous two books: THE JUSTICE OF THE KINGS and THE TRIALS OF FAITH because it feels as the author doesn't really go back to discuss what is happening in the previous two books.  The story also feels as if on hyper drive and the ideas  are too crammed within and not properly fleshed out. However, its definitely bittersweet and I have high hopes of mention or continuation of Helena and Vonvalt in next several books.  definitely think that the list of characters was quite necessary for this book because while the main characters are wonderfully complex and memorable, there are some that I had trouble remembering. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Richard Swan is a critically acclaimed British genre writer. His debut fantasy novel, The Justice of Kings, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into eight languages. His other work includes the Art of War and Great Silence trilogies, as well as short fiction for Black Library and Grimdark Magazine.

Richard is a qualified lawyer, and before writing full time spent ten years litigating multimillion pound commercial disputes in London. He currently lives in Sydney with his wife and three young sons.


For updates follow him at stonetemplelibrary.com.

Opinion:

Boy oh boy where do I start? First of all its quite necessary to read the previous two books, and not just a year apart, but best few months or so before reading this one. (Or at least read a summary of two books on author's website.) This was quite an intense read with characters that we either love or love to hate (here's looking at you Claver) In this book the readers explore the world of the Wolfsmen far away from the metropolitan area as well as small city states that we have explored so far. Because I read the previous two books back in 2023, it did take me awhile to understand what is going on so far and why we are where we are. There is also a resolution to Helena and Vonvalt romance (I'm not going to mention how it ends) and yes the story is heartbreak all the way to the end. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)