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

This was fantastic. There isn’t another series quite like this one and I have to say it did not disappoint with this edition.

“We have dark deeds ahead of us. If you have not the stomach for it, leave now”

“‘Tis better to die in service of the law than serve a regime that does not uphold it’”

GUYS, I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!!!!

I am forever singing praises for the Empire of the Wolf series and I’ll continue to do so even more after this 3rd and final instalment!

If you are looking for political intrigue, an empire in turmoil, GODLY POWERS? Snarky ‘lawyers’ THIS is the one for you, and even if you are not looking for that I still think this might be the one for you tbh

The Trials of Empire continues right from where we last left Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helene Sedanka and from there we just hit the ground running, I could not stop reading!!!

An unsurprising (and easy) 5⭐️ from me and a solid contender for my book of the year already tbh. I am HEARTBROKEN that this wild ride is over😭 - thanks so much to the publisher for the chance to read this ahead of time, it made my heart happy.

i received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.
A worthy conclusion to the trilogy. I was gripped from the beginning and enjoyed the tales twists and turns. It took a darker turn than I expected but worth every moment spent reading it.

This was an incredible conclusion to a fantastic trilogy. This was such an interesting world full of history, leaving enough mystery that you want more (and I hope we get further stories in this world). I don’t really have anything negative to say about it. The story moves at an incredible pace and the conclusion is worthy of the trilogy

would like to IMMENSELY THANK NetGalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

First off, this is the absolute best fucking thing I have put in my brain since Game of Thrones! Devouring a fantasy series of this caliber, a trilogy at that, is not a thing I can say I've done since I'd discovered GRRM. And I'm not saying there aren't others comparable to ASOIAF. I'm saying that I've Book 1-ed a ton over the years, but it's a rare phenomenon for a series to monopolize my attention past that, and for its duration.

Second, I've a massive crush on Aegraxes. Who can fault me? Look at this book cover. It is unrepentant in its gorgeousness and I can stare at IT forever. The artist, Martina Fačková is doing God's work straight up!

Ok, proviso in place. Let's fkin go!

Sooooo in a mega weird twist, by the end of The Trials of Empire I felt quite sorry for Claver and I absolutely hated Helena. Yeah I said it idgaf.

But as much as I abhorred Helena the High-Horse High-Way, her POV -admittedly from the emo perspective of her 20yo self so it is what it is- made for a visceral, fear inducing, anxiety ridden, tumultuous reading experience. So top marks for immersive storytelling! Swan's characters were all so multi-faceted, layered with depth and masterclass complexity, that I could not help BUT appreciate her courage and perseverance, despite how much she annoyed the fuck out of me. Not to mention the dichotomy of her being just an ordinary, unimportant person who got caught up in someone else's game, only to have a fated thing OF IMPORTANCE thrust upon her to be played out...well that would fuck up the best of us normies!

She made it through though. She got her furbabies in the end, said all her goodbyes and buried all her loves, and lived to narrate the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt's exploits 60 years later. And it was a fucking brilliant one THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED! So I'm graciously rebranding my displeasure as "love-to-hate", because being radically opposed to her perspective for 1550 pages made me love the bastard so much more!

I'm not even going to talk about the unnecessary "romance" fugue that made me wish Helena was a man, and Vonvalt gay, thereby upping the ante on the will-they-won't-they stakes. Because if we're going the romance route, MY scenario would have posed a more riveting and tension filled variation on the emotional drama beyond the spiritual and epic warfare, both in story and post production. The mere idea of a final edit with this waffle level gay romance making it to publication is melting my brain right now. Seriously, can I have THAT story next? I wonder if RS would block my DM?

Regardless, Helena being Helena was like one long episode of reverse psychology, the results of which I can only celebrate because I'm now a forever Vonvalt stan! Because no matter his shades of grey, the man did what he had to do for the good of them all. Sure Helena did some pretty gnarly netherworld traversing that would haunt her for eternity, but you know, choices matter and she'd made hers. I just wish she wasn't such a fucking shrew throughout the series.

Putting Helena aside for a second, all of the other characters were just fantastically realized! Sir Radomir and Severina, Resi, Claver and the denizens of the Edaximae, Jansen and Lady Frost...i mean the list goes on and on...they were all so dynamic and vicious and frantic and well seated in their beingness! all their stories were extraordinary and teeming, alive with function and temerity! The impact of all their common threads aligning, all the worlds coming undone, all the shredding of the establishment, vigour and reason in the face of battle priests wielding bloody violent sorcery, cogs in the volatile razing of Claver's divine reckoning, all of that maelstrom just blew my fucking mind...continuously...the whole way through. Torrid, unspeakable fresh hell every chapter AND I FUCKIN LOVED IT ALL!

This was everything spectacular I could have asked for in a fantasy series, incomparable and special to me beyond measure, and I am desperate for more of this! So YES, the Empire of the Wolf series, as a whole, was a MEGA WIN for me! I am hoping that whatever Richard Swan releases in the future features more of this magnificent and diverse world, because Vonvalt exploring nations across the continent and the world, like the Kyarai and the Qaresh, and joining forces and being his epic self alongside other cool races created by The Cataclysm, like the Kasar wolfmen and the Stygion mermen, is everything I want to read right now, every single day, for the rest of my life!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and can't wait to see what else Richard Swan does. This was a pretty fantastic ending to a trilogy. There are few nit picky things about it that I didn't quite enjoy, but those are all personal preferences rather than objective issues with the book. I wish we had a little more time, as it feels like the books did so much but in so little time. That could just be me wanting a fourth book, though.

Thank you to Orbit for the opportunity to give my thoughts on an ARC.

The Trials of Empire surprised me with how much it was able to pull off. Not only was it the best kind of heart-pounding popcorn fantasy but it took the characters and themes of the previous two books and rounded them out into complete whole. I had my issues with book two of this series, specifically the romance between the two main characters, but that was pretty much repaired in this book with the time that Swan took to address it. The way that Vonvalt and Helena's mental states are woven into this book in general was incredibly well done and adds weight to a book that would otherwise have felt too floaty with how fast it moves. Throw in some truly eldritch horror and you have one of my favorite reads of last year. The chapter "The Slow Evil" is the perfect example of every piece of this novel working together seamlessly.

I do have a couple of issues. The pacing at times is really, almost too fast; especially in the first few and last few chapters. I could have used more set up for some things and more denouement for others. As well, I don't think Swan was able to bring himself to completely condemn Vonvalt for his actions as much as he should have been at the end of this book. Spoilers are an issue, so I can't give details, but it's a small nitpick.

Other than that, The Empire of the Wolf has turned into a favorite trilogy of mine, as would anything that sticks the landing this hard. I highly recommend pick up the final book when it comes out on Feb. 6th or The Justice of Kings if you're just discovering the series.

Thank you to netgalley for this arc I really appreciate it.

This final book in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy left me feeling...... disappointed. I really enjoyed the first book and was fine with the second but this one added way too many elements of magic that were not fully explained and there was a sudden disconnect with the characters and a constant frustration with their actions. Don't get me wrong though, I would read other books by Richard Swan as I like his writing and would like to see what other fantasies he'll write. I just don't think this was particularly strong finale book.

First I'd like to thank Orbit for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

It was a fantastic to finish to a brilliant trilogy.
I loved that the stakes keep getting somehow higher without losing the focus on a small number of characters and storylines.
I felt this book more slow to start and more on the otherworldly side without a complete change of tone, and the conclusion whas satisfying and yet open enough.

I would highly recommend this trilogy

As I sit here, having wrapped up The Trials of Empire less than 15 minutes ago, I find myself sad that my journey with these characters is over.

First of all, I highly encourage fellow readers to check out Richard Swan's website for a summary of books 1 and 2. This is immensely helpful to those who read Tyranny of Faith in early 2023.

The Trials of Empire starts up right after the events of Tyranny of Faith and it's pretty much non stop action throughout the book. I won't lie, this series is full of devastating events and deaths. No character is truly safe from harm.

I'm generally not a fan of book that have strong religious themes, but Swan kept me engaged and at times, at the edge of my seat.

The supernatural elements are turned up a notch in this book and it features way more horror than the previous two books did. I will say that I did miss the mystery subplots that were present in The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith. Nevertheless, Swan crafted a great trilogy and has no doubt gained another fan in this corner!

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books for a copy of this ARC.

The tale of Justice Konrad Vonvalt, Helena Sedanka, and company comes to its gripping conclusion as war is fought for the survival of the Empire of the Wolf, while simultaneously fighting for the souls of mankind against immortal Eldritch horrors.

Along with the rest of the Dark Fantasy cognoscenti, I too was floored by the first book in the series The Justice of Kings which followed a more procedural detective and courtroom mystery narrative set in a gritty fantasy setting with plenty of violence and the macabre. We follow the exploits of the Autun Emperor’s Justice Sir Konrad Vonvalt and his retainer Helena Sedanka as they solve a murder mystery in the nobility, with more sinister underpinnings yielding to a larger plot that would shake the very foundations of the Empire. The series is narrated as a nostalgic recounting of events by Helena, now a wizened and emotionally weary veteran. The Justice of Kings felt like a cross between the philosophical etudes underlying occult themes a la True Detective Season 1, and the badass arrogant surety of the judge-jury-executioner of Judge Dredd. An extremely tight narrative with enough legalese jargon to sate the lawyers in the audience, but steeped in classic dark fantasy/grimdark settings, made the first entry in the series a new venture in an ever-crowding space.

The sequel, The Tyranny of Faith continues the narrative structure as a retelling of events by Helena, as they follow the threads from the conclusion of the plot in the first entry, drawing them to Sova, the capital of the Empire of the Wolf. The Tyranny of Faith delves deeper into the larger world-spanning plot, as the antagonist, Bartholomew Claver delves deeper into occult magicks in efforts to take over the Empire and impose his tyranny of faith. This novel moves away from the detective noir style into more classic dark fantasy tropes, yet still manages to keep a finger on the philosophical themes of sticking to judicial principles in a world quickly devolving into violence. Throw in classic palace intrigue, coups in the nobility, and good ol’ fashioned epic fantasy warfare, and you have a sequel worth its weight in salt and blood. Along with the trusty sidekicks, the cheeky, resourceful, and frightfully loyal Bressinger, and the foul-mouthed but ultimately good Sir Radomir, the protagonists are beset by the ever-growing threat of Claver, not only in the mortal world but also in the afterlife. There is plenty of extreme violence, torture, gore, and netherworld horror in this novel as Helena is forced to tackle (mostly run from) forces much larger than what can be imagined by a mere mortal.

A chief focus of The Tyranny of Faith is the relationship between the enigmatic, yet still badass Vonvalt and the naive-but-hardening Helena, as she gets pulled through various harrowing and emotionally crushing ordeals. The novel also delves into the budding feelings Helena develops for her role model, as she wrestles between faith, duty, and love, all while trying to survive in a world where death is only the start of your troubles!

The third and final entry to the Empire of the Wolf trilogy, The Trials of Empire is where all the plotlines merge towards the final showdown between our protagonists and the near-Eldritch demigod, Claver as his megalomania reaches new heights (or rather new depths), and his motivations become clearer as the Greater Evil is finally revealed. The scope and scale of each of the books have constantly escalated, and as we reach the endgame, we are thrown head (and soul) first into various locales of the underworld, each with its own motifs and horrific entities. This is where the reader’s mileage will begin to vary. I truly enjoyed the small-scale of Justice, and could even wall with the expanded plot in Tyranny, but surprisingly felt myself spacing out through the sections where Helena is chucked into the netherworlds ever so often only to be yoinked back to the mortal plane with just enough plot-progressing content to get the folks to the next checkpoint. I found the violent shenanigans in the mortal plane much more interesting, even though they followed a much more formulaic path toward an expected crescendo.

As a side note, every single cover image in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy has been among the best I have ever seen in the dark fantasy space. The composition of a chief character with a grandiose backdrop is truly breathtaking and sets the tone for what readers can expect. The Justice of Kings featured Konrad Vonvalt in front of a fantasy rendition of the blindfolded Lady Justice, and wolves for extra pizzazz; The Tyranny of Faith made an older battle-hardened, but still youthful Helena the center now backed by the religious figurehead of the series, the great antlered deer that symbolizes the fore of good. Continuing the theme, The Trials of Empire features [redacted for spoilers] in front of a badass two-headed snake. The question of the significance of this character and imagery formed a nagging question at the back of my mind through most of the novel, but I was rewarded for my wait, and you will be too!

The most striking part of The Trials of Empire was the trials that beset Vonvalt and Helena (now joined by the warrior templar Severine von Osterlen and Sir Radomir) as they wrestle with their deteriorating morality in a world set by unabashed violence on small and cosmic scales.

“Is it ever possible? To achieve good by doing only good? Could we have stopped evil by adhering to all of our rules, our systems. Are we evil for using evil methods?”

This quote from one of Helena’s rants, as she challenges Vonvalts use of “extra” judiciary measures to deal with the escalating threat, forms the central theme of the novel (and the series). We follow Helena's internal monologs as she helplessly faces the downfall of the icon that Sir Konrad was to her, as he is forced to compromise his moral stoicism and steadfast stricture to procedure as he gets increasingly violent to deal with an increasingly violent world. I wish Swan delved deeper into this philosophical morass a bit more, but it would indeed slow down the pacing of the central narrative.

Unfortunately, I was a tad disappointed by the seemingly milquetoast conclusion to the main plotline as war is fought between the forces of good and evil as Claver’s occult forces finally attack Sova, while Helena is thrust into the afterlife to challenge Claver’s Higher Evil master. It was a predictable, yet reasonably satisfying conclusion, yet I felt a tad bit… cheated?! I fully admit that I am so warped by my grimdark sensibilities wherein there is no victory, no peace, no salvation for any character in my stories, that a stereotypical victory feels very passe.

Still, The Trials of Empire is a fitting end to a masterful trilogy, and I eagerly await any project Richard Swan undertakes in the future. He has quickly climbed into my list of must-read authors in the dark fantasy and grimdark fantasy space.

“Beware the tyrant — he clothes himself in the armour of ignorance. Tyranny loves apathy but it fears a sword in the hand of a good man”

Richard Swan is that good man.

Endings are hard, especially with overlapping story lines that have to sync up at the end. Swan does a great job with a satisfactory ending.

A fantastic conclusion to this trilogy! This last installment of this series was really well done in wrapping up all of the different storylines and I was really content and happy with where the characters ended up. Moreover, it was enjoyable to experience the different the tones of the three books were from each other as the series progressed. We started out in book one with a fantasy legal thriller/mystery and in book three, it turned into a darker horror fantasy with the world building expanding more than anything I thought possible when I began this series.

Each installment was incredible and masterfully moved the story along to this epic conclusion. While I did not necessarily enjoy the romantic teeter-tottering between Helena and Vonvalt everything else was near perfect in this concluding book in my opinion. I enjoyed the various hard-hitting themes explored, such as good vs evil and what makes a person “good”.

Overall, I would highly recommend this series since it brings so much fresh takes to the fantasy genre and is unlike anything I have read before. I know for a fact that this story will be sticking with me for a long time. Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in which I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

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 dark and emotional end to an absolutely epic trilogy.

I've loved this series since book one. I ARC read books two and three and it's been one of the greatest pleasures of my reading journey.

We rejoin Helena as she struggles to end the war not in her kingdom, but within herself. The character development in this novel is top notch. No character was spared in their growth and struggle. Sir Konrad also had an amazing character arc through the book.

This book was much much darker and gorey than the previous two. I think that lent a lot of ambiance and emotion to the overall plot. We meet new and very interesting characters, while catching up with some old. Helena is so amazing as a character.

I will definitely be buying more works by this author.

In the final part of the trilogy we continue with our narrator Helena as she and Sir Vonvalt are up against a fanatical Claver, who will do anything to fulfull his beliefs.

The characters in these three books were wonderfully constructed. In the beginning I feared that Helena was going to be a maiden needing cared for, but by the third book she is the only one who can truly stand up to the deeply flawed, but well intentioned Vonvalt. The story questions what is right and what is true justice and where do those lines cross and how easy it is to stray from what is right and what is believed right.

Swan created a magic system that while played a part in the story, was not used to overwhelm the story. I loved that when it was used it was for very good reasons.

For a conclusion of these books I was not disappointed and without spoiling anything the ending was in my mind perfection.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an arc. I couldn’t get into this one. The book just seemed to change from fantasy to some horror mix and lost what I enjoyed out of the other two books.

I am simply put, flabbergasted by how perfectly Richard Swan executed The Trials of Empire. I don’t know that I’ve ever wholeheartedly given a 5 star rating to every installment in a series as I’ve done with the Empire of the Wolf trilogy. It’s fucking brilliant and I can’t believe it’s not getting more love from the wider reading community. Well, actually with the burgeoning popularity of cozy or romantic fantasy I can, but still! This series is perfection!

The beginning of The Trials of Empire sees Konrad Vonvalt, Helena, and Sir Radomir back in the North, where things first began in The Justice of Kings. The Emperor’s son is dead and his legion destroyed but in the pagan north they find a surprising alliance with the Draedists. Desperate times mean desperate measures. Their journey then takes them south, amongst the Kyarai and then finally to Sova, where they begin preparations to stage a final defense against Claver and his dark forces. This overview paints the plot with the broadest of brushstrokes because to get into the meat of this story would both be spoilery and take a significant amount of time. You may as well just read the book because it’s going to be better written than this review.

The second book, The Tyranny of Faith began to delve deeper into the arcana practiced by both the Justices of the Magisterium, the Draedists, and Bartholomew Claver. We saw everything from demons entering the mortal plane to Helena’s terrifying dives into the various levels of the otherworld and let me tell you, I never knew I needed such an eldritch horror aspect in my fantasy novels. But you know what? It was utterly gripping and added such dark appeal that I couldn’t stop reading. If you loved that aspect in the second book, rest assured, The Trials of Empire takes it to another level. Or should I say, plane? This is like nothing I’ve encountered before and I relished every page, despite how horrible the events and how terrified Helena was of each encounter. I could take some comfort in knowing she obviously survived, because she was the one narrating the tale from the comfort of her old age.

Speaking of Helena… She, Konrad, Radomir, and the various other characters who get a decent amount of page time really make this story so spectacular. Helena’s narrative voice and the epistolary style give a certain uniqueness to the tale overall, but I have to say, I really like the moments where she’s like “oh, and by the way, things only get worse from this point”. I got a very macabre amusement from those. Sir Radomir is a constant, sensible presence and he saves Helena on multiple occasions and steadies her on many more. I feel like he’s not a particularly deep character, but he’s a simple man with a practical worldview and that alone provides a nice foil to Helena and Vonvalt. Konrad Vonvalt is a complicated man and we’ve seen him go from a staunch arbiter of justice in The Justice of Kings to a man who would do anything, including balling up his morals and tossing them away entirely, to defeat Bartholomew Claver. There are numerous conversations between him and Helena where she points out he’s no longer the man who first saved her in Muldau. She’s probably the only one who can call Vonvalt out whose opinion matters to him.

The Trials of Empire is an incredible conclusion to what is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliantly executed fantasy series in the last decade. I do not bestow this proclamation lightly but it is deserving of the praise – each installment has well and truly earned its 5 star rating. This is a delicious blend of mystery, medieval fantasy, and magical horror. The action scenes were visceral and made my heart race with dread for the characters, and the scenes where Helena plunges into the otherworld were thoroughly ghastly and mind bending. I simply cannot recommend this series enough.

It’s time for book three of The Empire of the Wolf trilogy! I’ve really enjoyed these books. It picks up right with the action. The empire is threatened (and so are our main characters), and their enemy is reaching for them on this plane of existence and the next. They have to gather new allies to stop a madman and tyrant from taking the throne- and this guy has a powerful backer from the immortal plane. But our heroes also have friends there who want to help them fight this evil. We get to see parts of the world outside the Empire that we haven’t seen before.

At times it feels like their enemy is insurmountable. It’s a gut-wrenching, difficult fight, building to an epic climax that will determine the fate of the characters, the Empire, and the mortal plane of existence. It’s a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I’m looking forward to what the author comes up with next! It comes out February 6. Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the eARC.