One of the most intriguing and gripping fantasy series, a very exciting ride that kept me on the edge and surprised with the marvellous world building and the ingenious inventive.
This is the last book, the one that ask you to say goodbye to the characters and cause book hangover because you would have liked more.
Well plotted, entertaining, original. Excellent storytelling and character development
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

"The Trials of Empire" is the third and final book in the "Empire of the Wolf" trilogy and, for me, is by far the darkest of the series. It feels like a fitting ending, is definitely satisfying, and is a nice reward for enjoying the previous two books! The writing continues to be of a high standard, and I think most people would find it hard to find fault with the setting, character development, or plot - I know I can't find a single thing I'd like to tweak!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

"The Trials of Empire" by Richard Swan is a thrilling conclusion to an epic trilogy, delivering a gripping tale of power, betrayal, and redemption. The central focus on Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor's Justice, and his relentless pursuit of justice paints a vivid portrait of a complex and morally ambiguous world. As the Empire of the Wolf teeters on the brink of collapse, Vonvalt and his allies embark on a desperate quest for survival, facing formidable supernatural threats and navigating treacherous political landscapes. Throughout the narrative, Swan skillfully weaves together intricate alliances, ancient vendettas, and the looming specter of demonic influence, culminating in a climactic struggle for the fate of the empire. While the pacing may fluctuate at times, the depth of the characters and the richness of the world-building make "The Trials of Empire" a compelling read.

Swan's masterful storytelling invites readers into a world where honour clashes with treachery, and where the boundaries between good and evil blur. The vivid portrayal of the wolfmen of the southern plains, the pagan clans in the north, and the enigmatic zealot Claver infuses the narrative with a sense of vastness and complexity, immersing readers in a richly textured and morally ambiguous universe. In the face of daunting odds and infernal adversaries, the characters' struggles and sacrifices resonate deeply, drawing readers into a web of intrigue and peril. While some segments of the book may unfold at a slower pace, the intricate interplay of alliances and conflicts builds towards a dramatic and satisfying climax. "The Trials of Empire" stands as a formidable testament to Swan's ability to craft a multifaceted and enthralling fantasy world that will captivate fans of the genre and leave them eagerly awaiting his next literary endeavor.

The Trials of Empire is the epic conclusion to the Empire of the Wolf trilogy. I personally enjoyed this trilogy because it felt like a mix between medieval fantasy with a pinch of mystery and horror. And while I enjoyed the first two books a bit more than this one, I still liked to see the way it came to an end.

I felt it was a bit rushed at some points. I got the feeling it was trying to do too much for such little time. The writing is still quite good, and we saw a bit more of characters growth. Perhaps the fact that we didn’t dive any deeper in the holy dimensions means the author left the door open to more stories in this universe.

Overall, this was an amazing fantasy series and I really recommend it as a whole. The gore and horrific situations our main characters were in was amazingly portraited making it a bit darker. I’m not a fan of horror stories but I couldn’t put it down at some points. It was a brilliant series and had a great ending with this book.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit Books—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

The Trials of Empire bestowed readers with a different direction and satisfying ending to Empire of the Wolf trilogy.

“One of the greatest feats of human cognisance is to realise and accept that every being capable of thought has a life as complex as one’s own.”


The time of judgment is at hand. It is time to judge The Trials of Empire and Empire of the Wolf trilogy in its entirety. It is also time to say goodbye to Helena Sedanka and Konrad Vonvalt. I can’t deny it feels bittersweet to part ways with these characters and the world. As some of you might recall, the first two books in Empire of the Wolf trilogy, The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith, are in my list of favorite books of the year when they were released. With the continuing streak of gorgeous cover art illustrated by Martina Fackova and designed by Lauren Panepinto, The Trials of Empire was one of my most anticipated books of this year. And I would be lying if I said I (overall) loved this final installment as much as the previous two books in the trilogy, which has a set high bar of quality for the series itself. But at the same time, I believe this roughly 164,000 words long novel did conclude the Empire of the Wolf trilogy satisfyingly.

“Sometimes we must act outside the bounds of the law to safeguard it. You are right that Claver is a deceitful and wretched man, but you are wrong to say that I am no better than him. I am better than him. I will always be better than him. Claver breaks the law to see that it remains broken; I break it only so that it may be saved. The time for high-minded ideals is gone. We have dark deeds ahead of us. If you have not the stomach for it, leave now.”


After the intense and explosive ending of The Tyranny of Faith, The Empire of Wolf is on its knees. And it is still not safe from the danger and threats Claver poses. To save the empire, Konrad Vonvalt and Helena Sedanka must venture beyond its border 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. Can they achieve an alliance with these factions? And will they be enough to stop the zealot Bartholomew Claver, who now wields infernal power to destroy his enemies? The final reckoning is here. Konrad Vonvalt and Helena Sedanka must be willing to sacrifice and go through hell to be victorious from their most challenging ordeals yet.

“That was our sacrifice. We compromised our souls so that others could see the world through eyes unclouded by moral failure.”


From that premise, it is not far-fetched to say there were two distinct parts in The Trials of Empire. The first half and the second half. Typical and similar to many other fantasy books, the first half of The Trials of Empire is centered on the main characters going out of their way to form allegiances before the final battle commences. And this is, unfortunately, where I struggled with The Trials of Empire. The first half felt like it tried to do too much as quickly as possible. And in a different direction. One of the best aspects of the first two books was the investigations into a mystery and the discussions on morality and justice. The latter is still, thankfully, evident in the narrative, especially in the second half. I will get into that later. But because The Trials of Empire tried to do too much—without enough development—by shifting the genre into horror fantasy, not to mention the traveling montage and the surprisingly descriptive writing on landscape and setting, the pacing in the first half felt sluggish for me to read. Additionally, Claver is the goal here. You know how in role-playing games, the final boss tends to patiently wait for us gamers to spend hours leveling up and gathering every piece of rare equipment and magic we have to cheese them dead in the final confrontation? This felt like that. The first half is like sidequests before the final storyline truly begins.

“No one is entitled to success. Sometimes the just fail and the unjust triumph. That is why complacency is the most unforgivable of sins.”


This is why I cannot help but feel the Empire of the Wolf trilogy needed another book, not because it did not end powerfully, but because there is a good chance it would improve the many ideas and development in the first half better; bridging it to the second half in a more gradual and organic fashion while strengthening the core of the narrative. It took me a week to read through the first half of The Trials of Empire and one day to read through the second half. Yes, let that sink in. If you know my reading journey by now, then you should know my investment and connection to a book can be measured by how fast I can and am willing to go through a book. An uninteresting or boring one would make me prefer doing something else rather than reading. A working and compelling narrative will absolutely push me to read through a book quicker, no matter how busy I am. And fortunately, that was achieved in the second half of The Trials of Empire as everything came to its inevitable destructive confrontation. I couldn't put down everything that happened in the second half of The Trials of Empire.

“An idea is like a pox: it can persist long after its host has died.”


The Trials of Empire can be surmised as the most action-packed novel of the trilogy. Skirmishes and small battles are spread throughout the book, and The Trials of Empire ends with an incredibly well-written climax sequence. I have mentioned that one of the strengths of Swan as an author is to craft an engaging dialogue and thought-provoking discussions or epigraphs on the nature of good and evil. Systems and laws make civilizations. In that sense, language and interaction, too, are a system. The Trials of Empire circulates around the endless and old unanswerable questions. Is it right to abuse or make an exception to a rigid system to accomplish what we deem virtuous? Is it justice to do bad things for the goodness of the many? Is it necessary to get our hands dirty to keep the citizens clean? There were many quotable passages in the epigraphs and narrative on this topic. But other than these, as proven at the end of The Tyranny of Faith and now The Trials of Empire, Swan is totally capable of delivering a frantic and chaotic action sequence as well. And despite the rough start, the second half of The Trials of Empire provided a rewarding and proper ending to the trilogy, with room for more stories to come in the world.

”It is a difficult thing, to have one’s world burned down. It takes a person of special character to see anything except ashes.”


One last positive factor to mention before I end this review. The entire trilogy is told through narration or memoir of Helena Sedanka, Vonvalt’s protégé. I already felt this was a great storytelling decision since The Justice of Kings, and I stand by this notion even stronger now. It felt bittersweet to say goodbye to Helena, Vonvalt, Radomir, and Heinrich. Heinrich is one of the goodest boys in fantasy, and I refuse to hear any conflicting argument. But beyond that, many aspects of the bonds between Helena and Bressinger, Radomir, Heinrich, and especially Vonvalt could work because everything is told through the intimate perspective of Helena. I have no complaints about Helena's friendship with the supporting characters of the Empire of the Wolf trilogy. But I do not think I am alone in saying I dislike whatever cringe or toxic relationship Helena and Vonvalt have for one another. This was the issue I had with The Tyranny of Faith, but fortunately, seeing the events and their relationship development in The Trials of Empire made their attraction to one another more understandable. It was handled more carefully, and like it or not, I think the resolution of Helena and Vonvalt's story felt poignant. And my god, they (especially Helena) have certainly been plunged into unimaginable ordeals and horrors in the context of the trilogy.

"We must make time to indulge our desires. Our humanity. We are not automata. Even in Südenburg, as severe a place as you can exist within the Empire– or rather, without it– we made time for levity, for music and humour, for carnality. A life without these things is no life at all.”


As it stands, despite my initial disconnection with the first half of The Trials of Empire, Swan has successfully transformed Empire of the Wolf trilogy into one of the strongest trilogies recently published. I highly recommend the entire trilogy to fantasy readers looking for a page-turning fantasy series that dives deep into the themes of justice and morality. The series started as a fantasy novel with minimal fantastical components, and for better or worse, depending on each reader, the emergence of the fantastical element in world-building constantly escalated. I have no idea what Swan has in store next, but I definitely will read more books by the author. As the pages of Helena Sedanka’s memoir are closed, it is time for me to move on to other series while I wait for Swan’s newest book.

“There will never be an answer that satisfies you. If our lives are inherently meaningless, then what matters is our actions and how they affect others. There is no world in which everyone lives a life free of suffering and untimely death. All we can do is be the best people we can be.



Series Review:

The Justice of Kings: 4.5/5 stars
The Tyranny of Faith: 4.5/5 stars
The Trials of Empire: 3.5/5 stars

Empire of the Wolf: 12.5/15 stars

You can pre-order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

Such a great conclusion to a consistently great series!

Every book has been different in tone but equally great!

Mixed feelings about this installment as well, not gonna lie. While I can't say I regret reading this series, I've had many issues with it. I'm hoping the authors future books will be more balanced, cause there were some great ideas here!
Ultimately, I think the biggest problem with this installment is that there was just too many elements introduced or expanded upon here. It was so much I just ended up having a hard time caring about anything, and ultimately it fell flat and left me bored. Which is a shame, cause I loved how dark and more influenced by horror this installment was!! Horror and fantasy mix so well, and it was done well here!
I will also say, I am actually satisfied with how Helena and Vonvalts relationship ended. Did I like that a romance was introduced at all? No. I think their relationship could've been explored in a more familial direction and had more of an impact - by going the romantic route, I just ended up dreading reading scenes between them, which made it hard because their relationship is so central to the whole series! Still, could've been worse.

Ultimately, this was a series with many good and interesting ideas, but that sadly got too bogged down with too many elements and a very uneven pace.

It is a very solid and satisfying conclusion to this trilogy. Just like the two predecessors, this novel is full of high stakes and action-packed scenes. The battle scenes especially are descriptive and graphic, which is something that I enjoyed. And the characters’ evolution is quite interesting to read about. Throughout the two previous books, I struggled to appreciate the narrator, Helena. And I won’t say I appreciate her now, but I don’t dislike her as much as I did. Konrad is even more of an anti-hero in this third novel, but I can understand some of his motivations. As for the ending, it is gratifying and just as well-written as the rest of the series is.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Trials of Empire is the conclusion to the Empire of the Wolf trilogy, and was probably my most anticipated read of the year. The first two books are among my all time favourites - I would say this is my least liked out of them, but that's not to say it wasn't brilliant in its own way.
This instalment definitely ups the horror vibes and fantasy horror is a new favourite sub genre.
Swan's writing is engrossing, and well able to create atmosphere and tension - I felt like I was holding my breath for most of the book.
I appreciate and mostly enjoyed the exploration of morals and themes of justice etc but maybe do wish certain things were slightly different in the end!
I loved my time with these characters, and seeing their journey. The world was so interesting and the writing and prose were excellent. Vonvalt is one of the most memorable characters I have read about.
I would rate this closer to a 4.5 , but I think I need more time to truly process the end of this series and may increase it upon reread.
Thank you to the publishers & NetGalley for an eARC copy of this book!

This was a book of two halves for me - Literally, in that the first half dragged but the second half reminded me why I enjoy this series.

At first I was a little worried I wouldn't remember what was going on, but I quickly got back into the world again. I think it helps that the writing is easy to follow (i mean that in a good way, we don't fall into the trap that a lot of fantasy tomes do) and the characters remain interesting, especially the ever changing relationship between Helena and Vonvalt.

I think the first half of the book was just a bit repetitive - And I actually understand why, they're trying to bring about the climax of the trilogy in which they want to defeat the villain. But it just got a bit confusing with where we were and who we were with. It didn't feel like the rest of the books in the series because we were focused purely on like, magic, and travelling.

But once we got to the second half, we were back in familiar territory. This series is at it's best when they get into the politics and the role of a justice and what that means within the current climate. The discussions around what can be done and what should be done for 'the greater good' and the characters reactions to it. I totally understand the direction the characters took, but I would take even a bit more explanation of what Helena went on to do. Overall it was a satisfying end to the series and it couldn't really have ended any other way.

The Empire of the Wolf series is solidly one of the best fantasy series I’ve read in recent years and its finale, The Trials of Empire, only cements that view further in my mind. There are very few series where I rate every book 5 stars — this is easily one of them.

In recognition that this is the final book in a series and, for the avoidance of spoilers, I’ll only write as generally as I can about it, so you might as well just consider this a review for the entire three books. After all, much of what I have to say about this individual book holds true for the previous two as well.

I think what stands out about the series is just how meticulous the worldbuilding is in every aspect and how much of the detail makes it onto the page (without resorting to infodumps). It is, to put it tritely, a world that leaps off the page, one which you might almost feel yourself to be stepping into every time you open up the book. Everywhere in the Empire comes to life under Richard Swan’s pen, and that’s what makes the series so so good. Of course the plot and characters have to do their bit to absorb you, but the worldbuilding here is another facet to all that as well.

Speaking of the plot, I have found that, in these books, it’s often quite slowburning but it’s clearly been planned down to the minutest of details. It’s not slowburning in the way where you think nothing’s happening, because plenty is. So much is at times, without you even being quite aware of it until the consequences become apparent. This is not a book or series where you might just tune out for a while and you can jump back into the plot as though you’d never left it. It’s one where you have to pay close attention and let the plot captivate you. And that’s something I found easy in all parts of this series. From page one of book one, I was sucked in and from there, the result (5 stars across the board) was merely a formality.

Last but not least, the characters. It’s always great when you can look back at a series and see how characters have grown and developed and it’s no different here. I made a prediction after book one, that we would see a corruption arc for Vonvalt and I think that was partly borne out, but in two different ways: one in the erosion of his views of justice as being infallible, and two in Helena’s views of him as the perfect, unbiased judge. Those two things come to a fascinating head in this book, clashing at various points, but it’s still Helena who can bring Vonvalt back from the edge by the end. (Although I am forever grateful the hints at a romantic relationship came to nothing. Sorry I didn’t trust you more, Richard Swan!)

Anyway, all I can really say to conclude this one is that you have to read this series. You have to. If you don’t, you’ll truly be missing out on one of the best series of the past few years, nay even the decade!

Wonderful ending of a magnificent trilogy. A must read of the recent years fantasy world! I would recommend it to everyone!

The Trials of Empire is a satisfying conclusion to what has been one of my most enjoyed trilogies in a long time. Events scaled up exponentially from provincial village investigations in book one all the way up to battling eldritch gods and demons at the end.

Richard Swan is an incredibly talented author who can make characters just talking in a room or delivering long speeches every bit as captivating as epic battles or monster encounters. Throughout are the themes of justice and what unlawful actions are deemed justifiable in the cause of an outcome for the greater good. Who would have thought courtroom drama could work so well in a fantasy setting!

I was glad to see that the horror elements from the previous books were really ramped up in The Trials of Empire and Swan really went for it with vivid depictions of otherworldly horrors crossing over the dimensions along with some graphic body horror and visceral close quarters combat.

Something which I don't see enough of in Fantasy is stories set in a period where magic is becoming less relevant and potentially about to leave for good and be replaced by technological advances and gunpowder. This trilogy hints towards this shift and it would be fascinating to see Swan return to this world at a slightly later period in more of a 'flintlock fantasy' setting in the future.

My only slight gripes with the series have been the handling of the romantic relationship between two principle characters, although this was thankfully better managed in this book, and we also did not get enough page time for Claver - this amazing character stole every scene he was in previously but he took more of a back seat here in favour of the bigger threats which became present.

Nevertheless, this trilogy was superb throughout and Swan is a breath of fresh air into the fantasy genre, I highly anticipate anything that he will write in the future!

Many thanks to Little Brown Book group and NetGalley for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review. The Trials of Empire will be published on 8th February 2024

This book brings The Empire of the Wolf trilogy to an end. I really enjoyed the first two books of this series, they both mixed medieval epic fantasy with mystery and a bit of horror. It was a great mix to me. Unfortunately, I think Trials of Empire did not live up to these first two installments for several reasons.

Trials of Empire simply tries to do too much with too little time. This third book tries to scale upwards at a staggering rate; we are no longer following a few people trying to stop a conspiracy to change the empire, now we are dealing with ancient, eldritch cosmic beings with insane scope and power. It's not undoable, and it's not as if it fails utterly, but it ramps up so steeply that I was left with whiplash. In the shuffle of all this, the characters and their internal dilemma's are largely lost in the shuffle. True, Helena does have a few terse conversations with Vonvalt and co, but mostly, they all spend this book reacting to insane shit happening and who can blame them?

A similar issue adding on is how much is not set up well or at all in the first two books that is now very important. A major element set up in the first two is almost not a factor in this book, and a character that plays a large-ish role in the second book randomly shows up in a chapter of this one out of nowhere, monologues for a few pages, and is then gone. Instead, we get several factions that hitherto were not mentioned. About halfway through the book, we get a giant exposition dump about the afterlife- the place where, until now, we have been dipping into, with some of my favorite scenes in the series. We are told about various factions and hierarchies and who the Big Bad of the series is, who hasn't been mentioned until this point. And then the rest of the novel is about assembling these factions together to beat the hierarchies and Big Bad from the afterlife and the final battle is filled with elements I didn't get enough time with to fully comprehend what I was reading. So my eyes just glazed over. Demons, eldritch, wolf people,blah blah. We also spend way too much time in visions and dreams - including in the big battle! It was an element that felt overdone for what it actually brought to the novel.

I don't feel like the central conflict between the two main characters is resolved in a great way, it's mostly handwaved. I do think the very end is good, and as always, the writing is good. I think this series needed a little less, or more books.

A fantastic finale to the trilogy, told this time from the clerk, Helena's pov. Swan manages the difficult feat of exploring emotive topics such as law and justice within the confines of fantasy without ever preaching or telling the audience what to think. The gruelling journey the characters go on in this volume is often strewn with hardship and gore but never gratuitously. The moving parts in this series are always carefully manoeuvred. The characterisation is excellent. This is truly an outstanding trilogy.

The Trials of Empire is the third and final book in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy. Wow, what an ending to an amazing series! I really like the unique writing style. We follow the events through Helena who is Sir Konrad Vonvalt's clerk. I also like the character growth, especially Helena. In this book, the story picks up where the second book left off. Richard Swan didn't shy away from writing gory and brutal scenes. I wish we get to learn more about holy dimensions and what was going on but it feels like the author left an open door to more stories. I hope one day we learn more about this world. I was also relieved that Heinrich was well in the end. Overall, this was an outstanding fantasy series and I highly recommend it. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

After absolutely devouring the first two books last year, as soon as I saw this title I immediately requested it. The other books had me in a thrall (ha) and this book holds up in a way often the third book in a trilogy does not. Richard Swan has the ability to render concepts so visually and viscerally with his words. Each character grew and developed - for better or for worse. Old characters returned physically while others in spirit for the final showdown, making for an intense experience that had me wishing my train would run slightly more delayed so I could finish the books final chapters in one sitting.

The journey that Helena, Vonvault, Sir Radomir and even Bressinger and Claver over this book is so horrifically wrought. The sheer quantity of gore and horrifying situations that these characters were in really had me at the edge of my seat with no character truly safe.

This was the perfect end to this series with intense legal debates and discussions around what is the law and how does it function is a society without rules and structure. Thank you to the Little Brown Book Group for an Arc.

Dark, intelligent and completely original. Richard swan has written an incredible trilogy which was drawn to a close perfectly and without any complaint. A masterpiece of a final book.

What a book! I really enjoyed it, very intense! It's a good conclusion to Empire of the Wolf and I had a lot of fun reading this series.

A lot happens in this book and we learn a lot about the magic. It was very exciting! I read about 60% of the book in almost one sitting. It's all very realistic, characters' development is very well done.

I was only left curious to know where Helena and Konrad went to live after the events. From glimpses in the books, we know Helena is older when she writes accounts of these events, and I wish we got to learn how her life went on. She hints she knows what happened to Konrad and I wish we learned of that too.

The Trials of Empire is the final book in the Wolf Empire trilogy. I have adored every single page of all three books and it's completely unlike anything I've read before! Written with intelligence, I found myself once again utterly lost in the story of Vonvalt and Helena and their desperate quest to stop the rogue Claver from unleashing horrors on the mortal plane.
This was a stunning end to the series. As with the two previous novels, my heart was close to giving up throughout this book. There was a huge section where I felt I was somehow reading a Heironymus Bosch painting! I generally avoid horror, but although this book is quite dark and horrific in places, I honestly couldn't put it down.
Helena really grows and comes into her own in this book. Vonvalt is a richly flawed yet memorable character. I still have many, many questions but found this a brilliant conclusion to the series.. I don't often get bookhangovers, but I feel I need to take some time to process this finale.
A real must. Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an arc in return for an honest review.