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celestialjeu'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This was well done and an interesting fantasy for a few reasons. It's part police procedural, part political intrigue, part gore fest.
It's a book where the narrator is not the protagonist, though Hellena might grow into that role in the later books. The story is about Vonvalt, a kind of romano-germanic Judge Dredd with some low-magic whose authority and morality are tested by those who would remake the empire in their image.
Another interesting aspect is that this is a battle to maintain law and civilization that's under threat from religious fundamentalists, rather than the usual over throw of an evil emperor shtick. So it's very much in conversation with modern events in the West.
It's also a female narrator written by a man, and I'll give this an 7/8 out of 10 on that front. Don't know if I should add or remove points for the reverse fridging of her love interest, a romantic connection that felt flat and forced in any case.
It's a book where the narrator is not the protagonist, though Hellena might grow into that role in the later books. The story is about Vonvalt, a kind of romano-germanic Judge Dredd with some low-magic whose authority and morality are tested by those who would remake the empire in their image.
Another interesting aspect is that this is a battle to maintain law and civilization that's under threat from religious fundamentalists, rather than the usual over throw of an evil emperor shtick. So it's very much in conversation with modern events in the West.
It's also a female narrator written by a man, and I'll give this an 7/8 out of 10 on that front. Don't know if I should add or remove points for the reverse fridging of her love interest, a romantic connection that felt flat and forced in any case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.25
Context:
I borrowed The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan from my library through the Libby App.
Review:
The Justice of Kings worked for me, due in large part to the refreshingly unique way Swan frames the novel. The obvious choice would have been to follow Vonvalt’s perspective, but instead, the book follows the retrospective POV of his clerk, nineteen-year-old Helena. This choice would have been disastrous if he had used Helena merely as a device through which to focus on Vonvalt; however, in my opinion, her character is well-written and adds considerable texture to the story. Helena is a realistic example of what would happen if you follow a nineteen-year-old clerk in a fantasy novel rather than the stereotypical protagonist with “main character syndrome.” She’s smart and eager to please, but also self-centered, moody, and occasionally rash. She makes a lot of mistakes due to her youth and inexperience. She’s limited by her gender, emotional vulnerability, and social position, but she also demonstrates agency and initiative. I also liked that she responded to situations of danger and violence with a realistic level of terror and horror; it's not often that we get to read about a protagonist who panics instead of automatically acting like a hero. While I can understand why some might consider her character to be sexist, Helena reminds me of myself when I was a nineteen-year-old girl—especially in how she confuses the overwhelming awe, affection, and dependency she feels toward the older male figures in her life for potential romantic feelings. Her whirlwind romance with the first attractive boy she befriends made sense to me in the context of her upbringing and situation.
Helena is a fascinating character in her own right, but her perspective allows us to gain a unique understanding of those around her, particularly Vonvalt. The depth of love and admiration she has for him—despite an intimate knowledge of his flaws—provides new layers to his character development as he faces a new world in which his nearly overwhelming power is suddenly threatened. Through her eyes, the themes of justice and power that this book explores gain added meaning.
Beyond the wonderfully crafted character development, Swan demonstrates competent worldbuilding and plot development in The Justice of Kings. The magic system is limited, and the world is not as expansive as some epic fantasy series, but Swan smartly focuses on building a strong story instead of throwing a large number of names, places, and exposition at the reader. As the plot gradually builds to a gripping crescendo, Swan opens the door for greater worldbuilding and plot development in future books. Overall, The Justice of Kings impressed me, and I plan on picking up the second book soon.
The Run-Down:
You will probably like The Justice of Kings if . . .
· You want to read a story with well-written characters and a gripping plot
· You like medieval-inspired fantasy
· You want to read a fantasy story through the lines of a non-traditional protagonist
You might not like The Justice of Kings if . . .
· You are not in the mood for a very dark and violent book
· You don’t want to read a book from the perspective of a moody teenage girl
· You want to read a fantasy story with epic, colorful worldbuilding
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, and Rape
mosreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Violence
fran's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Excrement, Alcoholism, Death, Body horror, Child death, Medical content, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, and Sexism
ta_jenks7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Murder, and Religious bigotry
_qwert's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Death, Genocide, Torture, Slavery, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, War, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Racism
blacksphinx's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, War, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Vomit, Torture, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Child death
foxwish's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Starts out as a murder mystery, which quickly becomes an empire ending threat. Justice Konrad is a very mysterious character and as the story is told from the POV of his apprentice/clerk Helena as an older woman we get to see his character shift and what seems to be the start of a moral decline from an outside POV. Helena herself is very dull and a victim of insta-love unfortunately, she has no idea what she wants in life, her streetrat orphan background is barely relevant to her character, and for some reason older Helena stands by her insta-love as her "first true love". Sir Radomir develops into a wonderfully charismatic character by the end of the book and the climax makes for a compelling start to this trilogy. I will be reading the sequel and hoping for better characterisation for Helena.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Cultural appropriation, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Child death
andra_mihaela_s's review
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.25 stars!
Sooo..we have here a great epic fantasy debut like no other I have read before!
We follow Sir. Konrad Vonvalt- a Justice in the name of the Imperial Magistratum, his clerk, Helena Sedanka, and his faithful ally and taskman, Dubine Bressinger, as they travel the vast Sovan Empire with the sole purpose of delivering justice where and when is needed.
CW: murder, torture, religious bigotry, attempted assault, graphic description of battles, abuse, sexual violence, genocide, confinement, cultural appropriation
This book was a surprise for me, as it was completely different than what I expected! Instead of an action-packed fantasy with lots of politics, I was greeted by a slow, deliberate narrative where the central aspect was the law, the murder mystery that sparkled the whole chain of events that we are told lead to the fall/ the reorganisation of the whole Empire as Helena tells as in her account of her past.
We follow a first-person narrative focused on Vonvalt and what it entails to be a Justice in this world. We have lots of world-builing regarding the affairs of the state, law, religion and politics, coupled with mentions of the wars the Empire lead in the not so distant past for furthering his objectives.
As we are in Helena's memories, be prepared to follow a nineteen-year old girl who doesn't know what she wants and how to relate to her current feelings on what is happening around her.
She is grateful for the chance offered to her, but warry of actually doing what Vonvalt does in the future, she is very good at what she does, but she doesn't think this is what she wants for herself, and, obviously, as per age, she is easily distracted and uncertain about anything and everything.
As I mentioned before, we have a book centered around law, the state and religion, so if you want to read something addressing the importance of keeping separate these institutions with a little magic(really loved the particular way in which Justices uses magic ^^) and a fantasy setting...please read this book! ^^
This book won't be for everyone; you need a little patience and a desire to delve into the legalities of solving a murder mystery from the perspective of the law, not the usual protagonists that just forces it's way into the investigation.
After 150pages ( I know its a lot to ask from many :( ) I was completely hooked in both the religious aspect revolving about the village of Rill, as the mystery ongoing in the Galen's Vale. Helena's perspective felt refreshing and kept me very interested in what Vonvalt will do next!
I gave this book a little over 4 stars mainly due to its strong worldbuilding and unique (to me) themes; the character development, although not bad by any means, it was noticeably less in focus.
By the end of the book, we had great events, some tragic moments, while others where quite amazing (loved 2 particular scenes when Vonvalt used his status to enact what justice means to him) and even battles with high stakes to complete the amazing portrait of this world; Vonvalt evolved in a certain way and I cannot wait to read what comes next in the "Empire of the Wolf" trilogy!
Hope I stirred your interest!
Enjoy
Sooo..we have here a great epic fantasy debut like no other I have read before!
We follow Sir. Konrad Vonvalt- a Justice in the name of the Imperial Magistratum, his clerk, Helena Sedanka, and his faithful ally and taskman, Dubine Bressinger, as they travel the vast Sovan Empire with the sole purpose of delivering justice where and when is needed.
CW: murder, torture, religious bigotry, attempted assault, graphic description of battles, abuse, sexual violence, genocide, confinement, cultural appropriation
This book was a surprise for me, as it was completely different than what I expected! Instead of an action-packed fantasy with lots of politics, I was greeted by a slow, deliberate narrative where the central aspect was the law, the murder mystery that sparkled the whole chain of events that we are told lead to the fall/ the reorganisation of the whole Empire as Helena tells as in her account of her past.
We follow a first-person narrative focused on Vonvalt and what it entails to be a Justice in this world. We have lots of world-builing regarding the affairs of the state, law, religion and politics, coupled with mentions of the wars the Empire lead in the not so distant past for furthering his objectives.
As we are in Helena's memories, be prepared to follow a nineteen-year old girl who doesn't know what she wants and how to relate to her current feelings on what is happening around her.
She is grateful for the chance offered to her, but warry of actually doing what Vonvalt does in the future, she is very good at what she does, but she doesn't think this is what she wants for herself, and, obviously, as per age, she is easily distracted and uncertain about anything and everything.
As I mentioned before, we have a book centered around law, the state and religion, so if you want to read something addressing the importance of keeping separate these institutions with a little magic(really loved the particular way in which Justices uses magic ^^) and a fantasy setting...please read this book! ^^
This book won't be for everyone; you need a little patience and a desire to delve into the legalities of solving a murder mystery from the perspective of the law, not the usual protagonists that just forces it's way into the investigation.
After 150pages ( I know its a lot to ask from many :( ) I was completely hooked in both the religious aspect revolving about the village of Rill, as the mystery ongoing in the Galen's Vale. Helena's perspective felt refreshing and kept me very interested in what Vonvalt will do next!
I gave this book a little over 4 stars mainly due to its strong worldbuilding and unique (to me) themes; the character development, although not bad by any means, it was noticeably less in focus.
By the end of the book, we had great events, some tragic moments, while others where quite amazing (loved 2 particular scenes when Vonvalt used his status to enact what justice means to him) and even battles with high stakes to complete the amazing portrait of this world; Vonvalt evolved in a certain way and I cannot wait to read what comes next in the "Empire of the Wolf" trilogy!
Hope I stirred your interest!
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Genocide, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: War