Review: The Trials of Empire by Richard Swan

Blurb:

The third novel in Richard Swan's acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy triumphantly concludes 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. 

Also by Richard Swan:

The Empire of the Wolf
The Justice of Kings
The Tyranny of Faith
The Trials of Empire 

Review:

The Trials of Empire is an interesting beast. Richard Swan’s Empire of the Wolf series had effectively begun as Law & Order: Fantasy Justice Unit, which made it an incredibly unique read. The second book continued this but threw in some splashes of horror, but this final book of the trilogy takes an abrupt turn and cranks the horror up to eleven, and while this is still well-written and enjoyable, with memorable characters and fantastic prose, The Trials of Empire feels like two disparate stories that could have benefited from being split into two books.

With Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena Sedanka on the run and the Empire of the Wolf threatening to fall, the pair seek alliances with two historical enemies dedicated to seeing Sova collapse. But as they negotiate among these two groups, demonic horrors are set upon the mortal plane by the zealot Bartholomew Claver. In order to combat Claver’s otherworldly power, Vonvalt and Helena must not only convince Sova’s enemies to put aside their grievances, but also seek allies beyond the mortal plane. These allegiances will cost dearly, but these prices must be carried, or else the Empire is doomed to fall.

This is a book of two halves. The Trials of Empire begins at a rapid pace as Vonvalt and Helena gather their allies to mount their counteroffensive against Claver’s otherworldly threats. While this is an important part of the book, with allegiances being negotiated and past enmities being confronted and put aside, this part of the book felt incredibly rushed, and as a result, it failed to grasp my attention as well as the second half would later do. There’s action and horrors abound here, but for a section that is crucial to setting up the climax, it felt underdeveloped, especially as the book takes a sharp left turn into horror fantasy territory, abandoning the legal thriller aspects that made the first two volumes stand out. This shift is fine in a vacuum, but it altogether felt a very abrupt change and could have done well with more space to work with.

Which is a shame because the second half of The Trials of Empire is absolutely electric, as the political and legal drama returns to the forefront, and we get right back into Swan’s bread-and-butter. The action, character work, and plot are all excellent in the second half—and especially the trial scene that brings back all the good Law & Order vibes—all of which enabled The Trials of Empire to stick the landing. Ultimately, this would have worked better as two books, because the first half had so much under the hood that would have benefited from being more. There’s a great plotline there, had it been given the space to properly develop.

That said, Swan’s character work and prose remains a strength throughout the book. Helena Sedanka is a top-tier character as far as recent fantasy is concerned, and her arc, not only through this book but across the whole series, is excellent. Her complicated relationship with Vonvalt, while at times toxic, is well-realized, and her interactions with all the supporting cast helped to elevate everyone. Swan nails the prose by making us feel everything Helena is experiencing, from the moments of high drama to the claustrophobic horrors. The fact that the frame story is that this story is Helena’s memoir written far later in life, strikes even harder that she is having to relive this shit while putting it to paper. Powerful stuff.

On the whole, the Empire of the Wolf trilogy is certainly one well worth the read. While The Trials of Empire didn’t hit the same highs as the first two books, it is still a good conclusion that ends the series well. And whatever Richard Swan comes up with next, I am fully there for it.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go sit on the couch and watch a Law & Order marathon while thinking, “This would go a lot faster if the guy would just scream at the dude until he confesses all his crimes.”