In which we return to the land of The Empire of the Wolf. After the events in Galen’s Vale (as given in the first book of this Epic Fantasy series, The Justice of Kings, reviewed HERE) Justice Konrad Vonvalt, his clerk and protegee Helena Sedanka, his bodyguard taskman Dubine Bressinger and retainer Sir Radomir, the former Sheriff of Galen’s Vale, return from the provinces to the city of Sova.
It has been years since Vonvalt has exercised his powers as the Emperor’s Justice in the Capital city of the Sovan Empire, and things have changed – events that Vonvalt discovered in distant Galen’s Vale are also having their impact here. There are rumours that the Magistratum’s influence is waning and, more worrying for Konrad, rumours that his friend and mentor Nathaniel Kadlec is involved. Templars are rising under the influence of Bartholomew Claver, the villain Konrad and his group met in Galen’s Vale. As Vonvalt is investigating these claims, another event of concern occurs. Kamil, the Emperor’s Grandson, is kidnapped. Vonvalt is given the task of retrieving him by the Emperor and to do this Konrad and his allies must travel south to where Claver and his Templar knights seem to be establishing a stronghold. Vonvalt feels that the two situations may be connected.
From the outset Vonvalt (and to a lesser extent Helena) have a feeling of foreboding, that things are not well and especially do not sit well for Konrad. He is consumed with an illness that seems to be untreatable and yet becomes progressively worse. The reasons for this are shockingly explained later in the book.
My first reaction to the novel was that there was lots of information to assimilate in the first few chapters here as Vonvalt and his crew reach Sova. This is a means of telling us about things we knew of but knew little about previously. We discover more about how the Justice system, of which Vonvalt is one of the most important. Swan’s background of reading law and being a solicitor is clearly of use here.
Although it was hinted at in the first book, here we begin to see Vonvalt in a different light, as a lawgiver and political opponent with connections to the Emperor. In fact, one of the interesting developments in this novel is that in many ways Vonvalt is seen differently by those around him. Even idealistic Helena’s perspective is tempered by what he sees and finds out about Vonvalt here.
In terms of characterisation, the book clearly belongs to Helena. As the narrator she guides us through the story, more knowing than in the first book, still stubbornly idealistic but also occasionally naïve, which is pleasingly engaging. However, being a first-person narrative means that the author has to deal with some tricky manoeuvring in order for Helena to be in the right place for that story and also be able to tell us what happened.
More positively, there’s a nice amount of foreshadowing throughout the book too that I liked, used to create suspense. Towards the end the book takes some interesting turns. Interestingly, much of the major plot elements take place without some of the key characters being present. At times, this also leads to a slightly uneven pace. Some journeys are sped through in a matter of sentences that took pages to cover earlier, but this is so that the plot can focus on the key events in the story it is telling.
To be fair though, as this is the second book of a series you tend to expect a little more. In The Tyranny of Faith the canvas is broader, the story more complex. I felt I knew more about Vonvalt’s world from this novel than I did before, although the book is firmly focussed on characterisation. By comparison the events of The Justice of Kings seem relatively provincial, although as this book shows they will have greater consequences.
In summary, then, as the middle book of a trilogy The Tyranny of Faith does exactly what I hoped it would do – introduce new elements and new situations that broaden my perspective on the world and deepen my understanding of the characters that I am reading about. I was actually pleased to find out that at the end I was not where I expected to be. There were also a few intriguing elements left to be resolved in the third book.
You may be best reading The Justice of Kings first – although you can read this without – but as good as Justice was, The Tyranny of Faith ups its game enormously. Complex political machinations, detailed settings, epic and gory battles, dark magic and flawed characters that you grow to love and care about, these elements allow us to focus on a bigger, bolder and more complex story here. I found it was all you would hope a sophomore novel would be. Recommended.
One last point – the cover by artist Martina Facova restores my own faith in book covers at the moment. It is a work of class that epitomises the novel between its covers.
The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan
Published by Orbit, February 2023
Book 2 of the Empire of the Wolf series
ISBN 978-0356516431
559 pages
Review by Mark Yon
