The Trials of Empire

By: Richard Swan

Narrated by: Lucy Patterson

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

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

©2024 Richard Swan (P)2024 Orbit

Thoroughly enjoyed

I really enjoyed this trilogy, start to finish. An intelligent, chilling, mature…chilling and curiously relevant tale superbly told by way of Lucy Paterson’s inimitable narration. Well worth the parchment it was scratched upon.

4.5/5 stars!

Helena, continuing to come into her own, is again seen coming out of Sir Vonvault’s shadow, acquiring relevance and significance in the story. The reader sees first hand her coming of age, her growth, the kind of person she is becoming. Her true character shines through. Vonvault remains a grey character till the very end. It is challenging for the reader to characterize him as good or bad. I kept waiting for the ending to elevate certain characters in a certain way but it went in a different direction. I like the way it ended even though it was different from my expectations. It is better that it defied expectations. I think I can try to classify its genre now. Grim dark- absolutely! Horror and supernatural on the MainStage- you bet!

Mediocre ending

Mildly disappointing. This was medieval horror that was a bit too much gore for my tastes. The story took some interesting turns. Overall just a mediocre ending to the trilogy to be honest.

A Lot More Supernatural Than Books 1-2

The series took a much more supernatural bend as it progressed, and unfortunately that was always the part of the series I liked the least. It might not bother you at all, and that’s well and good.

The 3rd act of the book felt rushed, and much of the plot was explained quickly by monologuing or info dumping, and it all dealt with supernatural or divine beings. The last act that dealt with tying loose ends, and dealt with human problems and human solutions, was much more enjoyable to me. Outside of that gripe, it was a solid read. I liked it, I just liked a good deal less than the first two books which very quickly entered my “top 10 books of the last few years” list. It would be unfair to rate it harshly, as my biggest complaint boils down to “it wasn’t as good as it’s predecessors that i deeply adore.”

The Characters

4.5⭐️
WGB Score: 95/100

This will be my top new Soulslike recommendation the next time someone asks me.

Will compile all of my comments from discord and make a review out of it but wow that was grim and dark and satisfying and metal AF!

one of the best narrators ever.

this whole series is so good and one I will definitely re read again every year.

The great decline

A jumble of esoteric dreamscapes and eldritch horrors overshadowing the foundations of what made this series remarkable. Bloated with magical hallucinations, demons, monsters, and prophetic beings of tripe caricatures reminiscent of the oft repeated battle of ultimate good versus inherent evil. The final chapters manage to regain some of the legal, moral nuances that were the driving conflicts of earlier entries, but it was done too little too late to right this series that will unfortunately no longer be a frequently recommended gem of modern fantasy.

Excellent series. Author checks all the boxes and is a master of his craft

I felt very content with his conclusion of the trilogy. I did however find his take on the afterlife to be a very grim view of the supernatural. It of course gives gravitas to the danger of the antagonists of the story, but I do wish he could of given the reader a little greater glimpse into the possibility of a brighter option that could happen with right action and thinking. A sense of heaven and a path that offers hope and love and spiritual growth that was missed by the antagonist due to their choice of pursuing power. I think that is the one thing I felt was missing from this excellent book when I finished it. I think he did an admirable job of showing the value of a well defined system of laws and procedures and their importance in a society. Had he fleshed out the values and flaws of a religious institution just a little more this would have improved the story just that much more. I don’t mean to be critical. This story did a great job and was quite thought provoking for me. The narrator is top notch, the author is a master story teller. And I will certainly be looking forward to reading more from him in the future.