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prynne31's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was well-written. Just not sure I'm the target audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Torture, Colonisation, Confinement, Classism, Child death, Animal death, Medical trauma, Grief, Excrement, and Death of parent
Necromancyazrah786's review against another edition
4.0
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, death, animal death, child death, war, torture, grief, confinement, sexual assault/rape, adult language
--
A compelling introduction to a new fantasy trilogy that has the feel of medieval Sherlock Holmes with added magic and necromancy.
The Justice of Kings revolves around Sir Konrad Vonvalt, one of the Justices of the Emperor - the primary law enforcements of the Sovan Empire, and in the same fashion that Dr Watson recounts the adventures of the great detective, one of Justice Vonvalt’s companion’s – his apprentice and clerk Helena Sedanka – is the narrator here.
Vonvalt, along with his companions – Helena and his fellow veteran and taskman Dubine Bressinger – is traversing the Empire providing judgement and justice. Justices all have a power where they can use their voice to compel people into speaking the truth as well as other distinctive abilities. Upon their travels they are drawn into the murder case of a noblewoman in the village of Galen Vale, which leads them on a trail to a far larger conspiracy that not only undermines his authority but is a threat to the empire itself.
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, death, animal death, child death, war, torture, grief, confinement, sexual assault/rape, adult language
--
A compelling introduction to a new fantasy trilogy that has the feel of medieval Sherlock Holmes with added magic and necromancy.
The Justice of Kings revolves around Sir Konrad Vonvalt, one of the Justices of the Emperor - the primary law enforcements of the Sovan Empire, and in the same fashion that Dr Watson recounts the adventures of the great detective, one of Justice Vonvalt’s companion’s – his apprentice and clerk Helena Sedanka – is the narrator here.
Vonvalt, along with his companions – Helena and his fellow veteran and taskman Dubine Bressinger – is traversing the Empire providing judgement and justice. Justices all have a power where they can use their voice to compel people into speaking the truth as well as other distinctive abilities. Upon their travels they are drawn into the murder case of a noblewoman in the village of Galen Vale, which leads them on a trail to a far larger conspiracy that not only undermines his authority but is a threat to the empire itself.
"Empire are built and maintained with words. Swords are a mere precedent to the quill."
I thought Helena as choice of narrator worked really well to begin fleshing out the world and history that Swan has created at the right pace, as well as keep you intrigued about what is to come. As a recount of her past and adolescence, the narrative has an air of naivety to it which made the exploration of morality and the development of the various characters through her all the more interesting too.
Vonvalt, whilst being downright frustrating at times with his very resolute, “stick to your guns” attitude had a very gripping character arc and his relationship with Helena was a solid representation of master and apprentice. Though I’ve got to say the dynamic between all of the trio at the heart of the book was really well written and what I loved the most.
"Few things in this life can be guaranteed with greater certainty than the incredible contrivances men will go to to generate money from nothing at all."
The magic and lore is fascinating but this first instalment seems to only touch on the surface of it all. We predominantly get an insight into the power of necromancy as it is Vonvalt’s particular specialisation and it was really interesting to see it used within the murder investigation. As you can be expected this did mean that the storyline was at times very dark.
All in all I think this was a great debut. The slowly unravelling mystery plot is effectively woven around the worldbuilding, the political scheming and journey of the key players but as the true conflicts come to head it becomes clear that this book is setting the stage for a much larger story. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Final Rating – 4/5 Star
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Torture, Grief, Rape, Animal death, and Sexual assault
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, War, Blood, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Violence
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