I am a slow reader. Always have been. But! But I am a persistent reader. So, I tend to go through books slower than my friends, but I read more in a given year because I’m constantly reading. Slow and steady wins the race. I average a 400 page book every two weeks. Occasionally, though, a book comes along that grabs my attention, and the pages fly by. This recently happened with The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan. The ARC that Orbit Books provided is 411 pages long, and I finished it within a week. And that includes a day where I wasn’t able to read at all. When I received the book from Orbit, I wanted to check out the writing. I had planned to read only the first chapter, but I couldn’t put it down. The world was immersive; the characters were compelling; and the mystery kept unraveling new and more interesting layers. Before I knew it, I had read around 50 pages and missed my bedtime. The Justice of Kings is a book that will keep you saying, “Just one more page, just one more chapter…”
Disclaimer: The publisher provided an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
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TL;DR
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan features a medieval version of Judge Dredd with necromancy. There’s great world building, depth of character, and an engaging plot. I’ll be rereading this one soon for sure. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
The first book in a fantasy trilogy where action, intrigue and magic collide, The Justice of Kings introduces an unforgettable protagonist destined to become a fantasy icon: Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice, who is a detective, judge and executioner all in one. But these are dangerous times to be a Justice . . .
No man is above the law.
The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest, rife with rebels, heretics and powerful patricians who would challenge the power of the imperial throne.
Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is
the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers and skill as a swordsman. In this he is aided by Helena Sedanka, his clerk and protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the empire.
When the pair investigate the murder of a provincial aristocrat, they unearth a conspiracy that stretches to the very top of Imperial society. As the stakes rise and become ever more personal, Vonvalt must make a choice: will he abandon the laws he’s sworn to uphold in order to protect the empire?
Review: The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
Sir Konrad Vonvalt travels the empire as a Justice, which means he’s judge, jury, and executioner. He’s sort of a medieval equivalent of Judge Dredd with a wee bit of necromancy thrown in to season. He is accompanied by a scribe, Helena Sedanka, and a taskman, Dubine Bressinger. The Justice of Kings opens with Vonvalt, crew, and a priest, Patria Bartholomew Claver, traveling to a small town investigating rumors of a witch. It is in this village that Vonvalt uses some of the fabled magical powers of a Justice through his use of the Emperor’s Voice. The group find villagers, a lord, and a lady practicing an outlawed religion. Patria Claver, who is ordained in the official, legal religion of the empire, demands the nobles and villagers be put to death. Vonvalt thinks this is too harsh a punishment. Considering that the official religion co-opted parts of this illegal religion, Vonvalt decides to fine the villagers and nobles. The priest leaves in anger, but Vonvalt and crew have made an enemy. As a running theme with Vonvalt, he underestimates the effects this will have later. With his duty done in the village, they travel to a port city where they will investigate a murder. The victim turns out to be a noble lady of some standing within the city. As Vonvalt and crew investigate, they find mysteries and plots that strike at the very heart of the empire.
The Justice of Kings is a first person, epic fantasy. Helena chronicles her time with Justice Vonvalt. She is writing about her past, and as such, she injects hints of the horrors to come. We learn that Vonvalt is tutoring Helena and wishes her to become a Justice, but she’s unsure if that’s what she wants. The tension between these two add an extra layer to the book that, at first, didn’t do much for me, but as the book progressed, this tension set the stage for seeing the Justice in a new light. The blurb on the back of the book says that The Justice of Kings introduces “an unforgettable protagonist.” I think this is true, but is it Vonvalt or Helena?
World Building
In the world of The Justice of Kings, the Empire of the Wolf is an empire of law. This story takes place entirely within the lands of the empire; though, there are hints of lands beyond the empire’s borders. Within the empire, the law applies equally to all of its citizens: noble or common. This is why the Justices were established. They bring law wherever they travel. Though, as with everything, even this is changing. Larger cities now have courthouses, and Justices lose the totality of their legal powers. (Their occult powers still remain.) Instead of a one stop legal shop, the Justices become lawyers, prosecutors to be exact. I really enjoyed this small little aspect because it gives a feeling of lived-in-ness to the world. Change continues, and as political bodies increase in size, the institutions of those bodies change as well. Often, they begin solidify, i.e. become physical places with policies and procedures, and the people that make up those institutions begin to specialize, i.e. become a prosecutor instead of judge and jury. It shows that the world isn’t a static place; it also adds a bit of depth to Vonvalt’s character. His profession is becoming outdated.
Next, it seems like there are three big estates to the Empire: the Order of Justices, the Church, and the Mlyanars. We get bits and pieces about these estates; so, I can’t talk much about them. I am eager to learn more, though. It seems like the empire split these estates with a sort of separation of powers in mind. Part of what we learn is that the Order of Justices guard the secrets of occult powers that once belonged to the church. Likely in the beginning of the empire, these three institutions balanced each other in their pursuit of power. But as shown above, nothing in the Empire of the Wolf is static. Things change, including power balances.
Finally, I’m looking forward to learn more about the mystical, magical powers of this world. The bits we see in The Justice of Kings are phenomenal. What else is the Order keeping secret? What role did the Church have? What exactly happens when Vonvalt communes with the dead? Are there larger, mystical forces driving Patria Claver?
Helena or Vonvalt?
Who is the “unforgettable protagonist?” I’m on team Helena. While she cries too much and can be a bit whiny, I think that she’s a powerful narrator. Also, since we only see Vonvalt through Helena’s memories of him – remember this is her writing from the future – we have to remember that she could be an unreliable narrator. Now, we have no reason to believe this, but the possibility exists. Therefore, are we seeing the real Vonvalt? Or are we seeing the legend that Helena wants to create? Are we seeing the man himself or are we seeing the rosy version of the man who saved Helena from the streets?
But be sure, this story isn’t just Helena chronicling Vonvalt’s adventures. She tells the stories of her adventures with Vonvalt. She records her life and the Justice is a person in, not the focus of it. While I’m going to remember both characters, it’s her adventures that I’ll be remembering.
Rooting for the Empire
In The Justice of Kings Swan clearly states that the Empire of the Wolf grew through bloody conquest. The conflicts of the book are seen as the best outcomes while continuing uphold the status of the empire. The reader roots for the colonizer here. It’s an odd thought as consideration of colonialism and subjugation have become more prominent in the speculative fiction Discourse. Vonvalt trying to maintain the status quo of the empire worked for me here because Swan depicts the human costs of empire-building. While the Empire of the Wolf is nowhere near perfect, it’s better than the alternative pitched in this novel. While it is illegal for the villagers at the beginning of the book to practice their religion, in reality the law, through Justice Vonvalt, ignores it, doing the minimum to comply with statutes. In addition, he gives them ways to seem as if they’re practicing the state religion. Also the state religion stole their practices and just gave it different names. So, it’s not the practice that the empire minds, it’s the connection to their past. While this isn’t great, it’s a better alternative than Patria Claver’s wish to kill all the villagers.
We are given a small piece of the world building. It’s not clear if there exists separatist movements in the colonized territories of the empire. There could be. The Justice of Kings isn’t interested in telling that story. Swan is telling a story about trying to keep flawed but working institutions from being corrupted or replaced by theocratic or authoritarian ones. Though Swan isn’t American, I am, and I couldn’t help but see a reflection of America’s slow drift from democracy towards authoritarianism in this story. So, while I don’t think Swan was talking about America, he has written a book that discusses weighty and timely themes. It’s a book that doesn’t have easy answers to simple questions. The complexity is something that I really appreciated about this book.
Conclusion
Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings starts the Empire of the Wolf series off with a bang. This book drops the reader in mystery and doesn’t let up until the last page. It’s a book that I wanted to reread immediately after finishing the last sentence. I’m ready for book two in the series right now. Highly recommended.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan is available from Orbit Books on February 22nd, 2022.
© PrimmLife.com 2021