I was generously offered the chance to read an earc from The Justice of Kings, provided by Netgalley and Orbit books.
After receiving the book I remembered that I almost never start a new series before all the books have been published, because I don’t like having to wait for another year until I can read the next part.
Now I’ve finished The Justice of Kings I can say I’m happy that I already read it, but hating it at the same time. Because I really want to know what happens next!
The story about Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt and his team is being told from the point of view of Helena, Vonvalt his scribe. And the memoir type of narration gives us a perfect view on the happenings throughout the story.
What starts as a ‘simple’ murder investigation turns out to be an Empire on the verge of collapsing. One event leading to the next. It changes our main characters and the country itself.
It is so well written! After easying into the story in the first few chapters and getting to know the main characters, a bit of the country and history of it, the trouble starts. And throughout the book the feeling of foreboding grows and doesn’t leave. Being able to maintain that tension is a big accomplishment. It made me feel the story had put its claws in to me and didn’t let go until the end.
Was the story perfect? No, it wasn’t. There were a few parts that I had some questions about how or why. Or if the romance part could have been ‘more’ developed. Why then still give it 5 stars? Because for me a story doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’. If it grips me, holds me until the end and makes me want to read the rest and want to read it again in the future, I give it full marks.

While the characters we follow are untraditional, the supposed fantasy world feels disappointingly familiar.

The setup of this is great and different from anything I've read before. We follow Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor's Justice tasked with travelling the Empire to uphold the law in its remotest corners. His two companions are Dubine Bressinger, his bodyguard, and Helena Sedanka, his clerk and our point of view character. A much older Helena is telling us the story of Vonvalt and the impact he had on the Empire.

This book initially starts off as a mystery of sorts, with Vonvalt investigating the murder of a noblewoman. And that is interesting in and of itself; the investigation and the events preceding give us a good feeling for what kind of a man Vonvalt is: the law is everything to him, and while he is just, he is not cruel, and he is willing to let certain things slide. We also get plenty familiar with Helena, and quickly find out that, while she feels indebted to Vonvalt for rescuing her off the streets and giving her a job, she's not entirely sure that she wants to be a Justice. This conflicted feeling makes her sulky and belligerent sometimes, but since she's only nineteen it doesn't feel strange for her to act the way she does. She is clever, but not particularly strong when it comes to fighting, and it's refreshing to not have a main character that excels at all she does right off the bat.

The relationship between this trio is clearly deep, and fascinating to explore. There's an easy camaraderie among them, but there's also a deeper bond between Vonvalt and Helena that only gets explored a little bit. She sees a bit of a father figure in him, and he clearly has protective instincts towards her. Some of the scenes between them were very heart-warming, and I'm curious to see how this will develop in future books.

As our characters follow the thread of the murder mystery, they become embroiled in something much larger than that. If you like political machinations, you'll probably really enjoy this book, because there's plenty to be found, and I think the rest of the trilogy will focus a lot more on those aspects of the story than the ones related to Vonvalt's role as Justice.

I will say that I felt pretty confused by the world, and that feeling never really went away. The world is big, with plenty of colonized areas and different factions that have different interests, and even though I do feel the author tried to introduce the information gradually, I still found myself unable to form a solid image of the way the world works in my mind. I could never keep the different groups straight, or any of the countries, which made parts of this difficult to follow, especially towards the second half of the book. I did enjoy the writing style overall, and there were several instances where I felt the author had cleverly shown us something about the traditions of this world without telling us, and I really appreciated that.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of female characters in this book. Aside from Helena, there is only one other notable woman in the form of Justice August, and we don't spend much time with her. There is a moment in the story where August delivers a warning to Vonvalt. He ignores it because he didn't consider the situation dangerous enough. Later, someone else (a man) delivers a similar warning, and Vonvalt now seems to feel regret at having brushed off August due to thinking that her concern was born out of affection for him. But the man that he does listen to is also a friend of his, and yet his warning is apparently not considered an overreaction. Take from that what you will, but this, as well as the general treatment of female characters in this book, didn't always sit well with me.

I also wish the world had been less inspired by the Roman Empire. While reading, I looked up some of the words he uses that relate to the Empire, such as "margrave" (a medieval title for a commander assigned to defend part of the Roman Empire) or "reichskrieg" (wars fought by the Roman Empire as a whole against a common enemy). Even the way he described how other religions became part of the Empire's pantheon was reminiscent of Romanization. At this point I can't say whether this is intentional or not; maybe the author is planning something epic and we find out that the world in this book is actually our world. But based on just this book, all I can say is that I wanted something different and more unique than a copy of the Roman Empire with some minor tweaks.

This debut follows the story of the Emperor’s Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt, Helena his clerk and Dubine a swordsman. The trio are travelling through the towns of the Empire of the Wolf ensuring proper customs are being followed in line with the expectations of the Emperor. Justice Vonvalt is a much feared man, where people are both intrigued by the Justice, as well as terrified of what he can do. Vonvalt has magical abilities such as being able to use ‘the Voice’ which commands people to tell the truth. Under certain conditions he can also speak with the dead. He uses these to act as Judge when criminal activities happen in the towns.

The story begins very fast paced when they arrive in a town called Rill where people are following a banned faith. Claver, a priest, who has joined the trio is not happy with the judgement of Sir Vonvalt and leaves the town in anger. You can tell that it won’t be the last time you see the priest. They move on to the next town where the support the mayor in finding the person who murdered a Lord’s wife. The hell that ensues sends them back to Rill and the beginning of a difficult battle where no man is above the law.

This is an engaging, dark beginning to a new fantasy series. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say, I didn't manage to get through all of this book and I'm very sad about that – I’ve been seeing hyped up reviews for it since before Christmas and couldn’t wait to start reading it. And when I started, things were looking good. It had a slow, brooding start, and I liked the fact that it was Helena the clerk and not Sir Konrad Vonvalt the intimidating Justice that was narrating the story because it gave a different angle. I also liked the bits of world building I got to see early on, especially the familiarity of the empire’s religion incorporating and changing slightly the preexisting beliefs of conquered kingdoms, and the arcane magic possessed by all the Justices.

However, I soon grew tired of Helena as a narrator because she was so petulant and never focused on the events I wanted to follow as the reader – Helena herself notes the silliness of her youth, as she narrates the story from much further in the future, but for me that wasn’t enough of an excuse to put up with it. The unravelling of the mysteries also felt too slow, and overall it just felt like everyone was grey and miserable about everything all the time, with nothing interesting enough going on to justify that. As I often do when I DNF a book after giving it a decent percentage of reading, I skipped to the last couple of chapters to at least get some conclusion, and to be honest I didn’t feel like I missed much. Maybe this was just the wrong read at the wrong time, but I don’t think I’ll be revisit this, sadly. There are plenty of raving reviews, though, so do give the story a fair chance!

Thank you to Orbit and Nazia for giving me access to this wonderful novel!

The Justice of Kings is a fantastic, Elden-Ring style novel full of complexities, dark politics, and inspired by historical events. It’s a very good approach to taking inspiration from the politics of the Holy Roman Empire, and for me, the novel is good in many areas. Characters feel distinct from each other, thereby having their own agendas. I especially loved Vonvalt’s characterisation that was done by the narrator, who is a hot-headed young woman that wants to prove that she can do much more than law-keeping bureaucracy.

That being said, I would have wanted a glossary and a world map. It would have helped to reference some of the many numerous regions and sometimes the worldbuilding did go beyond and above. In parts, it helped to explain certain scenarios of prejudice, of corrupt characters, of corrupt clans hating the very idea of Vonvalt being the agent, or let’s say, part of the Emperor’s Voice. In other parts, sometimes it did refer to places that could have been mentioned in later parts of the story. Parts of the narrative explaining the backstory of Vonvalt could have been more in the climax rather than being so upfront. Foreshadowing would have been a better choice for some parts of the narrative. You can clearly see wherever Vonvalt goes, along with Helena and his companion, they clearly see the effects of war and corruption and while he upholds the Emperor’s Law, he begins to realise that being loyal to an empire that never considered him as a rightful citizen of their regime, despite the fact that he professed loyalty and killed his own countrymen for the Empire, it gave me very much Star Wars Vibes.

It is a slow-burn novel for me, as it took quite some time for me to get engrossed due to the various political factions that exist within this sprawling. It felt more like Matthew Ward’s Legacy trilogy in a sense, and I think the novel was packing a lot of content that could have been expanded further. There is a very deep story here that is set for multiple sequels of that I am confident. The writing is very good, and the characters are the strongest aspect of this novel. The Dark-Souls and Elden Ring style influences are present, along with the historical fantasy links. This is quite a good novel, and I would want a glossary and a world map. This novel has amazing writing, deep political intrigue and dark fantasy. Worth reading for sure.

Justice is coming, after all.

And it will involve the fall of empires and the rise of heroes and villains. That's what this novel is about.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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I really enjoyed The Justice of Kings. There's a lot to like: the magic system, storytelling, plot twists and compelling characters all wrapped in an amazingly rich setting.

Although I had my doubts in the beginning of the story, I quickly grew accustomed to and even became more immersed in the story every time Helena's POV came up. Her character provides a different insight into those of Vonvalt and Bressinger. All three main characters are really well developed in fact and their dynamics are richly portrayed.

Despite having simple prose rather than something overly flowery, this story's setting is detailed and a lot of time is dedicated to exploring the cultures and belief systems in it. Moral dilemmas and questions crop up often and are handled really well while giving more depth to our main characters.

Overall, this is a fantastic read and one of my favorites this year. I'm excited for the next one!

Rating: 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings is the first volume of an epic fantasy trilogy set in the Sovan Empire, a Middle Ages type fantasy empire. It is a story with multiple religions, complex main characters, a unique magic system, and tons of political intrigue that all play a key role in the plot. We are introduced to one of our main point of view characters, called Helena Sedanka. A nineteen-year-old orphan waif who Vonvalt rescues and sees in her a possible future Justice, or perhaps more. Helena is training to be an imperial clerk to our other main character Imperial Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt, and his companion Dubine Bressinger. Helena documents their trials and gives us a unique insight and perspective throughout the story, this insight especially from someone young and innocent gives a story depth and richness. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is among the most fabled of the justices. His legend includes being a great swordsman with a history of battles. Konrad examines heresy, murder, disappearances, corruption, treason, and the eternal battle of good vs. evil. However, by giving us Helena’s POV we find out some useful details, that Justice Vonvalt doesn’t always consider important, it works really well.

The narrative pace gradually builds and takes time to slowly develop and it's definitely worth it. There are some great dynamics between Helena, Vonvalt and Bressinger. This book has some really interesting themes; the study of morality, the rule of authority between religion and the law. Just how far you are willing to go to uphold personal and moral values, human nature and greed.

The prose is really easy to read and there is a richness to both the world and the characters. While it is a large world with a lot of complex political issues it feels very much like the story of Vonvalt, Helena and Bressinger and their relationships with each other and interactions with those around them. Utterly brilliant and already my favourite book of 2022!

The Justice of Kings was one of my anticipated reads of 2022 and so I was extremely grateful to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I enjoyed the mystery element to this book. I really appreciate when a book seamlessly blends together genres, and does it well, which I thought this book did. I was heavily invested in the story, the worldbuilding, and the characters. There was just so much intrigue, especially political intrigue, which is something I adore in fantasy, that made me fly through this book as quick as I did. With the core of this book being centred around a murder mystery, the pacing was just what I look for in a fantasy - fast enough that the plot progresses but not so fast that you're unable to take in what has been happening.

The fact this story was told in a narration style was very appealing to me. I liked the unique way in which we were shown events as they unfolded. However, that being said, I found the character whose perspective we see through – Helena – was not as interesting as the character who, by all definitions, was the main character of this story – Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt.

While I'm used to flowery, lyrical writing in my fantasy books, I really appreciated the basic way in which this was written - which is not a bad thing at all - because it allowed a world full of rich history and complex characters to be easily digested, and is the type of book I would recommend to people who are just starting out to read adult fantasy, in particular.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the romance. I found it quite contrived and unnecessary to the story. Despite this book being an ‘adult’ fantasy, the romance was very reminiscent of a YA fantasy (not that there’s anything wrong with that at all, but it wasn’t what I was personally expecting from this book.) There did seem to be an element of insta-love in there.

Overall, I think this was a solid fantasy debut. It was disappointing to me but I appreciated the elements included and would be interested in reading the sequel.

First, thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the review copy.

So...well... this is awkward... The Justice of Kings was one of my most anticipated releases of this year, especially after seeing so many of my friends giving this 5 stars, which made me hella excited, but the truth at last is that I'm pretty dissapointed (and that makes so damn sad).

Let's just start with what I liked. Obviously the fact that the main theme is the law. Most of the moral debates I really enjoyed and the application of common law on itself I loved. And also because of this Vonvalt was the most interesting part of the book. The main focus on the story in this first one is a murder mystery, we also get some sneak peaks at what seems to be a good chunk of political intrigue but it not really explored in this one (something which I look forward to in the next books of the series). Furthermore I'm really looking forward to explore the world in general.

The memoir type of narration is one of my weak spots, I love it most of the times.

Also the goriness at the end, huge fan of that. Though i wouldn't call this grimdark it definitely has some dark fantasy undertones.

Now, for what I activaly disliked.... Why is Helena treated as a teeanger when she is 19? Like there is a huge diference between a 15 year old and a 19 year old. This leads me to the most unnecessary love story I've read in a long time. It came out of nowhere. Really, I'm someone who really doesn't like romance in general, but this one was terrible, at least have your characters spend sometime with eachother before they say they are in love. (honestly it made no sense, I even thought I missed a chapter). I'm happy that it didn't took over the entire book but it was still prominent enough at some parts.

The other thing that bother me a lot was that one character (keeping it spoiler free) had her mind severed from her body. And the MC just referred to her like a "mindless simpleton" wtf. Also, they decided to treat her like she was dead cause you know... simpleton. There were many ways to described that in a less ableist way.

In an overall summary The Justice of Kings left me pretty cold, also adding that my expectations were really high so now it is a major disappointment. Still, I will read the next books in a series because is a debut novel and with some fixes it can become a great series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

The Justice of Kings is exactly the kind of law based, epic character driven fantasy that I need in 2022. This is a world of morally grey characters preaching and trying to practise justice, clashing with a religion that was once only seen as a nuisance and the ambitions of lords. The highlight- and what made this story so different to others in the genre- is that the main POV is not the character mentioned in the synopsis, Sir Konrad Vonvalt but actually his clerk and justice in training, Helena. Using her as a main perspective allows for a greater view of the world that Richard Swan has built: here is a girl from the streets who is being trained, a little unwillingly, to dispense justice on people across the country. It isn't a life she wants or one she'd even choose for herself, but she finds herself staying with Vonvalt (and his companion Bressinger) out of loyalty and a desire to be something greater. Seeing her gradual realisation that the man she sees as her teacher and the living embodiment of justice is actually just a man was weaved together with her own story of trying to determine what she wants for herself.

Helena's perspective and character growth aside (she is writing this story as an old woman), I loved the mystery aspect of this book which starts out with the small town murder of a prominent woman and leads into the corrupt behaviours of rich men and religion across the entire country, aided (unintentionally) by the brash and arrogant actions of Vonvalt. These are characters with a deep history and morals, all of which are challenged throughout the 600 pages, and the ending especially speaks of greater things to come in the future. Richard Swan has written a thrilling mystery, with a fascinating magical and religious system, alongside characters who preach one message and act another. I'm so glad I read this book and I'm eager for the next two in the series!

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan was an amazing read. The work is well written and deep. The author managed to weave a a fantasy tale that has been littered with legal references that I found to be fascinating and completely relevant to the real world.

The novels main hero is Sir Konrad Vonvalt an Emperor of Justice (a sheriff) who is surprisingly kind, understanding and lenient in some regards. The entire story is told from his clerks point of view as they traverse towns. It is a unique point of view but I found it fascinating nonetheless.

The overall mix of legality with fantasy was what pulled me into this book and the universe that the author created. It was raw and real and utterly wonderful to read. The author did a wonderful job of bridging the gaps between law, fantasy and adventure. The fight scenes were well executed and the discussions surrounding movements from ole to new religions was amazing and relevant to human history.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and cannot wait to see what else the author has to deliver! A compelling tale indeed.

Book: The Justice of Kings
Author: Richard Swan
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2022

Special thanks to Orbit for giving me access to an e-arc of this on Netgalley in return for an honest review.

tJoK is written from the perspective of Helena Sedanka, clerk to the renowned Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt. She speaks directly to the reader about events she witnessed & played a part in, which ultimately led to some future catastrophe within the Empire of the Wolf. The Empire has grown rapidly in the past century, largely under the guidance of the current emperor. It is something akin to the Holy Roman Empire, in that its subsumed constituent territories still maintain some level of autonomous control. What they must all follow, theoretically, is the Empire’s common law, a legal system which has heretofore been administered predominantly by roaming Justices, though permanent courthouses are popping up in larger settlements.

When we meet Konrad, Helena & Konrad’s other attaché Dubine, they’re travelling through an innocuous village called Rill. They discover that the inhabitants are still openly practising a banned religion. This would be a simple matter of Konrad accepting their renouncing of the religion & a fine being paid were it not for the 4th member of their group, a young priest who has been following them around & getting on their nerves due to his naive zealotry. He seemingly accepts Konrad’s judgment but leaves the group, who carry on their rounds until they come to a city wherein there has been a high profile murder. From there, events in the Empire start to filter into their awareness, & the semi-comfortable state of operating which the Order of Justices have worked in starts to seem far less so.

In my day job I manage the business support staff to a large legal team. It is no way near as glamorous as following Sir Konrad Vonvalt around as his clerk, but it does mean that in this book I found the closest thing in fantasy so far to my real life & I loved it.

A new epic fantasy book with murder and political intrigue.

The first 50% of the book you are learning about the world, the different players in this game. How it it all comes together and the perilous place the world is in. All from a novice learning her trade.

I was gripped after 50% and did not want to put the book down. A murder investigated, leading to the use of powers beyond our understanding. Speaking to the dead and the messages that can pass through. A circumstance where nothing is clear, except that this world is changing. But will it remain with the justice? Or will it return to the religious house? A read which looks at the institutions universally known and questioning the morals and justice of humankind. I couldn’t put the book down, the tense scenes led me to want to find out more. I laugh, I cried and I was blown away by this book.

Highly recommend this read, I can see this will be a large and vast fantasy series that I am excited to read more about.

The characters are fascinating, and to each their own story and background we have only just begun to understand.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for sharing with me the e-ARC.

You know that feeling when you move on the second you finish your current read to your next read and forget almost everything that you read? Well. It kind of happened to me with The Justice of Kings. Not that I haven’t enjoyed my read, not at all, but that’s why I’ve been struggling to write this review. It’s finally time, and I will try my best.

The story was about a Justice named Sir Konrad Vonvalt, whose job was many roles at once: a jury, a judge and executioner of the Empire. Sworn to uphold the Law in the Empire, the story started with Vonvalt and his fellow companions, his taskman and warrior veteran Dubine Bressinger, and his apprentice and clerk, Helena, traveling in the whole Empire and going to the small villages to ensure that the Law was respected everywhere, when they were suddenly asked in Galen’s Vale, a merchant town, to investigate the murder of a noble and business man’s wife.

“All may be judged by the law, so all may uphold it; but all those who uphold the law may not judge it.”

I had some troubles connecting to the characters at first, but that could be easily explained by the original and honestly amazing choice of narration. The book was written from Helena’s first-person POV even though the main character of her story was definitely Sir Konrad Vonvalt. It was therefore a bit difficult to connect to Vonvalt and Dubine at first because we had to learn about them from a 19 years old girl’s perspective. But slowly through my reading, I started to like these characters, and I really enjoyed the complex and touching relationships Helena had with each character.

“Justice if not vengeance, and vengeance is not justice. But the two often overlap. The state is as capable of vengeance as any individual, for what is the state if not the people that comprise it?”

The best part of the book was definitely the plot and the murder mystery. I had not read a lot of fantasy stories with murder mystery intrigue before but I thought it worked really well together. The plot was pretty fast-paced from the start, alternating between intrigue and world-building information. While the plot felt fast-paced, the book was actually full of world-building, which was really interesting. I was fascinated from the start by the lore of this book, and while the plot didn’t feel like it was an epic fantasy story, the world of this new series felt definitely huge, complex and full of old history. Which is my favorite kind of world-building. As for the plot, well it was so intriguing, that at times I couldn’t put the book down. A lot of chapters were finishing on a little cliffhanger which kept me going until I was falling asleep from exhaustion. My interest in the story wasn’t at its peak during the whole read, but I was definitely intrigued for the most part of the book.

“No one is above the law.”

Unfortunately, I lost interest in the plot toward the last 100 pages of the book and it took me a while to finish it. The writing was also average, not bad but not exceptional either, and you know how I love my writings: poetic, lyrical, slow and enchanting, and it wasn’t the case here. What also annoyed me during my read was the immature insta-love romance that occurred and everything related to that part which I had found completely unrealistic and childish.

But overall, The Justice of Kings was a strong debut fantasy read that I would recommend. I enjoyed my reading, the murder mystery was intriguing and the characters were complex and interesting. The book will be released next February 22th, so definitely keep an eye on this one!

3.5 stars !

"The justice of kings" it's a fantasy, but it feels like it's just a mystery, without any fantasy tropes. The pacing was a little too slow for me, with a murder investigation. I really tried to read it and finish it, but i couldn't. The story is told very interesting though, through a thrid party, Helena, which was a nice change from the usual story. But that's all i found interesting. Even if it's a fantasy, i feel it's not for me. A lot of politic motives and religion discussions, a lot of details thrown at you and you get confused.

I really want to like this book, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I was not interested in the characters, in the plot, or in the mystery. It was too slow for me to give it a bigger rating.

Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings is the first book in his Empire of the Wolf Series. It focusses on the story of Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt, a detective and prosecutor in the Sovan Empire’s Imperial Magesterium.

The story is told through the eyes of his now aged clerk, Helena, as she recounts events that occurred as she struggles with her role as clerk. From the outset you realise that this is an ominous tale of an Empire imploding as Helena begins the retelling of her story with

“It is a strange thing to think that the end of the Empire of the Wolf, and all the death and destruction that came with it, traced its long roots back to the tiny and insignificant village of Rill”

Her account begins with the Justice dealing with a remote village who extensively practice a pagan religion instead of the edicts set down by the Sovan Empire. However, instead of dealing with the matter as one of his companions, Patria Bartholomew Claver, a zealous priest in the religious order of the Empire, believes that he should. Mainly burning the inhabitants of Rill and razing the village to the ground as an example, Vonvalt uses his experience to deem that the only recompense should be that the inhabitants of Rill should be fined if they denounce their faith and follow the statutes set down in Sovan Law.

This seemingly innocuous event has far greater consequences than is first imagined.

We then follow the Magister and his retinue, which includes Vanvalt’s right hand man, Bressinger and Helena, as they travel the land. Meting out the Emperors Justice. When they reach the town of Galen’s Vale, they are then asked the murder of a noblewoman.

Armed with his resolve and the powers of a Justice, the Emperor’s voice (which can command people to tell the truth) and the power of Necromancy (in which the Justice can talk to the newly dead), Vanvalt investigates the murder which leads the group into a tale of intrigue, both politically and criminally.

Now, I have to say that I found this book to be a grower. I cannot say that I was immediately enamoured from the first page and it took me a while for the story to sink its teeth into me.

There are a number of plots and subplots occurring throughout the book, which Richard Swan carefully introduces throughout this slow burn, and it is not until you are about a quarter of the way through the book that you realise the ramifications of the initial lines in the tale as not only do the team face a web of conspiracy in the murder, there are some really serious political complexities happening in the sidelines.

The characters themselves are well written and again I found that they grew on me rather than me becoming immediately invested.

Vonvalt himself is a character that you would think that I would immediately drawn to, as the story seemingly revolves around the stoic magister. He reminds me of a combination of Umberto Eco’s William of Baskerville in his cold analytical method of dealing with every situation. However, at times, he can display rashness of character when his emotions come to the fore and he will kill perpetrators of a crime immediatley, sometimes bloodily.

Helena herself is a character that lives in the shadow of the Magister and what she is to become. As the story is told from her point of view, sometime in the future, there are two representations of her. One as an inexperienced clerk, learning how to be a justice, dealing with her insecurities as she fits into this role and whether she actually wants to be in this role. In her other aspect, we get inklings that she may be a justice or that she may even be something else entirely.

The book is peppered with interesting side characters, such as Bressinger, who whilst being present in the book, is on the sidelines of the main relationship between Vonvalt and Helena, and will mediate between the two.

Patria Claver is another interesting character, and when we meet him initially, we see him as the toothless zealot, but as the layers of the story are peeled away, we begin to see the threat that he poses and what impact his actions have on the downfall of the Empire.

The tale itself is set in a world that is equally dark and steeped in mystery. It appears to be something resembling The Black Forest of Bavaria and incorporates many german/saxon vernaculars. I always find this kind of setting to be quite oppressive and there is this menacing feeling to the environment which permeates through the story.

The Justice of Kings is a slow burn of a story, that slowly eases its claws into you as the tale grows into something quite different from the one that you first expect, full of twists and turns that keeps you turning the pages until the end.

Book review - Justice of Kings by Richard Swan 5/5🌟

I got an E-Arc from @orbitbooks_uk through @netgalley in return for an honest review.

There are so many original fantasy releases this year and Justice of Kings is by far my favorite.

In Justice of Kings you follow the justice Vonvalt through the eyes of his scribe Helena. In the Sovan Empire a Justice works as investigator, judge, jury and executioner in the name of the Emperor. To do their job they employ magical powers to get the truth from the living and the dead.💀 During the book Vonvalt gets trapped in a political game between church and state, which will forever change the empire.

I love political plots in fantasy, but I've never read one with such an original point of view. Justice of Kings feels like an episode of Law and Order in a medieval world with a sprinkle of magic.🔮

The storytelling through the eyes of Helena rather than the main character Vonvalt also provides amazing insights. You see Vonvalt's actions judged through a bystander perspective that provides for a unique reading experience.

Swan's writing, though heavy and a bit procedural at some points, is perfectly suited for the type of story he wants to relay. The world of law and justice, just like in our world, is a very formal affair and this is perfectly executed by Swan.⚖

The character of Vonvalt is one of conflicts between believe, duty and character. Stiff at one time, passionate the next. Helena herself is a brilliant character in her own right. Doubting her place in the world and the future Vonvalt sees for her.

All in all Justice of Kings is a magnificent first book that already has me craving for more. I can't wait to how deep the plot goes!

Really liked this story. It does have a mystery that helps the story get along but, for me, the main point of it, is the relationship between Helena (the clerk) and her mentor, Justice Vonvalt, as things start going wrong in the empire… It’s a very fast paced book, no dull moments, with a very interesting political component.
There’s always something happening and it makes you wonder how bad things will get…
I’m waiting for book two!

https://lynns-books.com/2022/02/17/the-justice-of-kings-empire-of-the-wolf1-by-richard-swan/
4.5 of 5
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Very impressive start to series

I was very pleasantly surprised by The Justice of Kings. I was in two minds about requesting this one, mainly because I’m trying to be more reasonable (not always with success) about my book requests but also because I wasn’t sure about whether my mood was in the right place for this particular story. As it happens I’m glad I threw my slight reservations out the window because moody or not this story compelled me to keep turning the pages. I loved the choice of narrator, the world is developed with (more than likely) deceptive ease, the murder mystery is intriguing and more complex than first meets the eye and, well, put simply, it just won me over so easily and quickly.

By way of a quick synopsis – this is the story of Justice Konrad Vonvalt. Vonvalt is an Emperor’s Justice, which basically means he travels the country, investigating crimes and delivering swift justice. Effectively, Justices are complicated roles that curtail the need for judge, jury or executioner – their remit encompasses all three and on top of extensive knowledge of the law they are wielders of arcane knowledge that gives them uncommon powers. They are respected and feared in equal measure.

Firstly, this story is not narrated, quite surprisingly, by Vonvalt himself but by his clerk, Helena Sedanka. Helena, now an older woman, is recounting Vonvalt’s story. I really enjoyed this choice of narrator. Helena has a refreshingly honest way of narrating the story. She isn’t afraid to share her emotions or tell things the way they actually happened, no embellishments or over exaggerations. She isn’t always enamoured with the lifestyle or her travelling companions and the complexity of the relationships adds an extra level to the story. Obviously this style results in a certain amount of foreshadowing – for a start, we know that Helena is recounting this story as a much older woman – so that removes a certain level of threat when she finds herself in dangerous situations. She also sometimes makes remarks (not verbatim) such as ‘we later found out our mistake’ or ‘this didn’t work out as well as we hoped’, etc. Personally, I love this style of narrating and find these little tidbits add to my enjoyment somehow because they portend future doom and gloom.

Secondly, I love that this story really gives you food for thought because on top of the murder mystery/conspiracy plot line there is the underlying struggle for power. The Justices are powerful people and as is frequently the case, where there is power there are those that covet it which brings into focus the wrestle for power between justice and religion. On top of this, the underlying mantra of the Justices is that no person is above the law – this does beg the question of who keeps the Justices in check though doesn’t it – it also makes them solely responsible for deciding upon guilt and, as is displayed by Vonvalt himself, this can sometimes be with varying degrees of severity. Imagine the blood letting if you wake up with a sore head courtesy of a skinful the night before!

Thirdly, I really enjoyed the characters. Vonvalt is a character who believes adamantly in the law and the work of the Justices. He has unshaking faith in the system in place to maintain law and order and trusts implicitly in the power he is granted to keep things in check. There’s a certain naivety in his demeanour that belies the life he has led and that feeds into the story. Helena herself is troubled by doubts. She is starting to harbour doubts that the roaming lifestyle will ultimately work for her. She’s torn because although the life can provide wealth and a certain level of comfort it prevents the ability to put down roots or create meaningful relationships. The other character who travels with Vonvalt and Helena is a man called Bressinger. This character wasn’t quite as well developed as the other two and although we do learn a little of his backstory he felt more like a reasonable addition to the group, almost a chaperone, an extra pair of hands and some brute strength to throw into the mix whenever needed. I liked Bressinger but would like more involvement from him in future instalments.

I loved the fantasy aspects to this which mainly come in the form of the arcane abilities wielded by the Justice. The ‘Voice’ is one such element. Think of a person who can compel you, not so much by the persuasion or reasonableness of their argument but by the use of a power so strong that when they employ it, it breaks down any mental barriers. Justices also use necromancy and can talk with the dead – this is a very creepy power and quite dangerous. What really won me over with all these abilities (and there are more than I’ve mentioned here) is that they all come with a price. The user is mentally and physically exhausted, there is also the possibility of people being forewarned and more mentally prepared in terms of the ‘voice’. It places restrictions on their use and means that ensures there is no quick fix when things turn dire.

On top of this I really enjoyed the style of writing. The places are easily imagined and there’s enough detail to capture the time, place and people without unnecessary embellishments. It is immediately apparent that the empire is still relatively new, many people still worship the old Gods and the struggle for power between the ruler, the church and the peacekeepers is very apparent.

In terms of criticisms. I don’t really have any to be honest. As I mentioned above I was initially surprised that Vonvalt was not telling the story himself and I had a quick blip of resentment thinking that I might have enjoyed this more if there was perhaps a dual perspective. But, a dual perspective doesn’t work with this style and not only did I quickly form an attachment to Helena and her way with words but I felt it give us an outside perspective on Vonvalt himself. Also, I wouldn’t particularly say that this is a story that moves with indecent haste – and yet in spite of this it didn’t feel like a slow read for me – go figure.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see what happens next. Certainly this resolves in such a way to promise much more intrigue in the next instalment (not a cliffhanger, to be clear).

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Apparently, it took me a bit more than 3 weeks to read The Justice of Kings and if that’s not a testament to how much my reading slowed down recently, I don’t know what is. And I can’t even blame the book (or its length), because when I did read it, it was a page-turner. But alas, a new job and my newfound addiction to Downton Abbey got in the way of finishing Richard Swan‘s debut novel in a timely manner.

I mainly picked The Justice of Kings up because I knew it was partly inspired by CJ Sansom‘s Shardlake series for which I have great affection. And yes, I’m easy to please. It also didn’t hurt that authors whose works I admire and who tend to have similar tastes to mine were talking about this debut novel with high regard. Maybe because of all this I already had high expectations unknowingly, or maybe it was just the timing, but I didn’t love this book as much as others seem to. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it, but I left slightly underwhelmed at the end.

What is the book about? Sir Konrad Vonvalt is a Justice – something like a judge, a prosecutor, and an executioner rolled into one person – who travels around the empire with his companions, Helena (his apprentice and scribe) and Dubine (his task man) to bring the law to everywhere equally. He also has powers only Justices have – the Voice of the Emperor which they can use to compel people to tell the truth and one that’s somewhat unique to every Justice, which in Vonvalt’s case is necromancy. He is fair but firm, and rarely loses his cool, but once someone crosses a line he deems uncrossable, he knows no bounds to bring that person to justice. As events progress, we start to see a change in him as the world he knows crumbles into nothingness around him.

Encountering a village that never really converted to the official religion – Nema’s Creed – and kept practicing Draedism, sets off events none of them seen coming. But as it turns out, this was just the spark that needed to set off the barrel full of gunpowder they’ve been sitting on for a long time. Although now that I think on it, gunpowder is not something they’ve known in this book… Anyway. Religion and politics go hand in hand and things escalate quickly. What a surprise.

The Justice of Kings is a first in a series, which also means it has a lot of setting up to do. It took me a while to wrap my head around the names and the different factions in the power struggle behind the scenes. In the beginning, I was not sure why it was necessary to introduce us to this fairly early on, which resulted in pushing the murder mystery plotline into the backseat. In hindsight, I understand the decision as this was necessary to build up for the later books. And I have to admit, this was done pretty well. But my underwhelmed feeling comes from the fact that I expected the murder mystery to be more of the heart of this book, rather than a convenient backdrop for the said buildup. Which, for me, also resulted in not really getting to know any of the characters, let alone building a connection with them. It also didn’t help that the main MC was not the narrator of the events, which wouldn’t have been a problem if it didn’t strengthen the feeling of distance. Also, I think I wanted the mystery to be more of a mystery than it really was.

Look, I know that so far I didn’t make The Justice of Kings sound promising, but hear me out. This book is good, even though I’m not 100% sure yet if it’s my kind of good. Whenever I got around to sit down and read I got sucked in. I wanted to know what happened next. I kept turning the pages like I’ve never read a book before. I might not warmed up to Vonvalt or Helena (the first-person narrator) but I still could appreciate the scope of the story, the easy-to-read (and understand!) prose of Swan, and the amount of detail he worked into the book. It’s pretty clear he has a great understanding of how justice systems work and has a passion for it to boot. An interesting aspect of the book is that Helena writes down this story as an old woman, but it actually features her younger self, so we get this double perspective on Vonvalt and everything that transpired. This gives us an insight into how Helena and Vonvalt’s pretty rocky relationship works and how this formed Helena herself in later life. Will she learn from Vonvalt’s mistakes? Time will tell.

The Justice of Kings is part mystery, part political drama, and part epic fantasy. Swan smartly navigates between the three parts, as events build up to bring us confrontations on a much higher level in the next book. I, for one, am curious where the road takes Vonvalt and company next.