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.

I went into The Justice of Kings blind, it really was a case of judging the book by the cover. Thankfully the book is just as amazing as I'd hoped. This is wonderful, dark fantasy debut novel.

Justice Vonvalt travels around the Empire, visiting the various towns and cities to ensure that all the citizens are adhering to the new religion and to deal with disputes or crimes. Along with Helena, his clerk and Bressinger, his guard, he is drawn into solving the murder of an important lady and inadvertently is brought into matters that could affect the whole order and could bring about the fall of the Empire.

I really enjoyed the way Swan was able to fuse together political and religious intrigue with a murder mystery, thriller theme and blend it all in a dark magical world. This made the book so different to others I've read recently and after a bit of a slow start, I found this book to be the definition of a 'page turner' and kept finding myself muttering 'just one more chapter' in the early hours of the morning! The world building was unique and I enjoyed how we came to learn about how the Justice was able to use the Emperor's voice and other leant gifts in order to ensure justice is served. The story really got going in the second part of the book. The pacing was strong and the battle scenes were hugely realistic and raw. I loved seeing it all through the eyes of Helena.

The cast of characters are well written and rendered. The story is narrated through the eyes of 19 year old Helena, former orphan and the clerk to Justice Vonvalt. I thought she was a brilliant narrator, if at times a bit angsty, though that could be down to her age. My favourite character was Bressinger. I wish we'd had more of him in this book! There's a whole host of fantastic characters, both good and evil and I always enjoy a story with an unstable religious zealot!

The Justice of Kings is a phenomenally strong start to this series. It reminded me a bit of The Pariah by Antony Ryan with the way the story is narrated. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this series progresses. Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an Arc in return for an honest review. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I really loved the storyline to The Justice of Kings and the characters. It took a while to understand who was who at the beginning as the story went straight in with not much of a build up. I loved the time and setting it was in too.

Totally addictive. A truly riveting tale about law, war, morality and justice. Brilliantly plotted, with a crisp pace and constant surprises. Lures you in until you can’t escape. Nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

So, I had a complicated relationship with this book.

The Justice of Kings is of a mixture of detective work (which reminded me of a poor retelling of Sherlock Holmes) with low, but dark fantasy settings. The story is centred around a murder case in a medieval-style European-inspired fantasy world.

We follow a company of three main characters; Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt, his apprentice-clerk Helena Sedenka and Vonvalt’s assistant (friend) Dubine Bressinger. The book is being told as a memoir from already aged Helena, as recount of what already had happened.

At the beginning of a story, reader is thrown right into an investigation of a mysterious murder of a noblewoman. As Justice with his companions starts to investigate the murder, Vonvalt starts to unravel a conspiracy that could end the empire.

The idea of the story was intriguing and interesting enough. Quality of writing was good, but I needed a lot of time to get used to this type of writing as it was quite different from other fantasy books. Lots of times, I found myself trying to figure out what a particular word meant (thank god for kindle English dictionary) and lots of times sentences felt so long to me, that I lost track of the meaning of it altogether. (Eventually, got use to this sort of writing).

However, it took me so long get into this story. Literally, I was forcing myself to read through the first half of the book. I didn’t get invested in the characters, the murder mystery felt nothing different from any other murder mysteries, and everything felt so distant to me.

Around the second half of it, things started to change. We get temporarily distracted from murder case, and honestly, that’s where to me it got a little bit more interesting. There were politics involved, conspiracy, a little bit of magic, battle. And this is the reason I’m giving this book 3 stars instead of 2.

Talking about characters, I enjoyed Helena’s perspective. In a story, she is a naive, young woman, who is not quite so sure of what she wants to do with her life. The other main character, however, Sir Justice was not my favourite one at all. I did not enjoy how Vonvalt slowly abandoned his morals and only focused on revenge.

Oddly, I really did enjoy reading about Dubine Bressinger the most. Sadly, towards the end of the book, he was abandoned by the author and you don’t get to know much about him towards the end, as story evolves.

I get it why this book would appeal to many readers, and there are so many great reviews and ratings. I believe, The Justice of Kings will find many fans. However, it wasn’t for me and I don’t think I’ll continue following the story.

I couldn't stop turning the pages!

I knew I had to pick up this book when I read the premise. My favourite parts of fantasy books are always the political manoeuvring, strategising, characters and themes. Although I enjoy an epic battle scene occasionally, I am more interested in the conflict behind the battle! The Justice of Kings barely has any battle scenes but was still able to get my heart racing!

The Justice of Kings follows Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor's Justice, as he is investigating a murder of a noblewoman. As Vonvalt starts to investigate the murder, Vonvalt starts to unravel a conspiracy that could see the end of the empire.

While Vonvalt is the main character in The Justice of Kings, the story is told through the point of view of Helena Sedenka, his clerk. As the reader is reading Helena's recount of what happened, the reader knows that Helena survives the events as she is an old lady telling the tale. Having the story told through Helena's eyes worked incredibly well!

While The Justice of Kings initially feels like a fantasy/thriller book, the story gradually integrates other fantasy elements, such as magic, lore and battle scenes. I found the story to be utterly compelling! Richard Swann is able to get the reader intrigued in the murder early on. Moreover, the tension slowly increases throughout the story leading to a memorable climax. I was impressed by Swann's ability to craft a complex story, with many different threads intertwining, while simultaneously helping the reader follow and understand the story.

Swan's character work also deserves high praise! Vonvalt is an utterly compelling and complex character. It was fascinating to observe how Vonvalt slowly changes throughout the story. The other two main characters, Helena and Bressinger, are exciting and engaging. I loved following this trio as they slowly unpacked this conspiracy.

The Justice of Kings ' commentary on law and traditions makes The Justice of Kings stand out. This story demonstrates that values and ideals can only survive if people see a reason to believe in them. If a large group rejects a nation's principles, the government will fall. The Justice of Kings also made me realise the importance of not taking essential ideals, such as human rights, for granted.

So who is this book for? If you enjoy commentary on ideals and values, first-person stories, compelling characters and a thriller/fantasy story, then you should pick up this book! The Justice of Kings is an impressive debut, and I can't wait for the sequel to be published

A special thanks to Orbit Books for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

An intriguing, complex and immersive page-turner.

I absolutely loved this book; the main protagonist, Helena, a Justices' Clerk, is a head-strong and immediately likable young woman. We follow her as she accompanies Justice Vonvalt and his assistant Bressinger, from investigating the murder of a Lord's wife to a much wider conspiracy and I was completely invested throughout. The religious fanaticism we see developing throughout easily draws parallels with the Templars of old, and the flaws and moral ambiguity of the side characters makes it all the more believable.

This was one of those books where I got to the last page and was gutted that I had finished it - I can't wait for the sequel!

Review
I was excited to be approved for this free copy of this fantasy with a touch of a murder mystery (The Justice of Kingsby Richard Swan) for a free unbiased opinion.
This was an interesting book -the main character Lord Vonvalt is not the point of view character, in fact, we have no direct view of his thoughts or motives. Everything we know about Lord Vonvalt is filtered mainly through the first-person narrator Helena, his apprentice clerk, or through the reactions of the people around him as he is affected by the events around him.
Helena, herself, was an interesting character and she changes along with Vonvalt as the story progresses.
There is an underlying mystery which I enjoyed more than the religious and political aspects of the book. But all the various plot strands converge together towards the end. There is plenty of action, gore, intrigue as expected and a touch of romance as well. I liked the foreshadowing Helena lays out throughout the book and which also sets up the events for the next book- and it sounds like Lord Vonvalt plays a major part.
Lord Vonvalt starts off as the typical hero of any fantasy, but he becomes increasingly grey as the story progresses and it will interesting how this plays out in the next two books. In fact it is Lord Vonvalt and his descent from being a noble hero that makes this book stand out from the others.

4.5/5 stars!

The story is so captivating and page-turner. Vonvalt's characterization is full of power and command. Reading this new book by Richard Swan gave an astounding fresh take on political machinations and especially the court justice aspect.

I love court justice stories, especially watching these types of shows kindled the fire in me to know and uphold morals and despise injustices within society.

Vonvalt stands as a moral compass in which people should revere and fear the law.

Can't wait for the next sequel!