Yet facing down these threats to the throne will have to wait, for the Emperor’s grandson has been kidnapped – and Vonvalt is charged with rescuing the missing prince. His quest will lead him – and his allies Helena, Bressinger and Sir Radomir – to the southern frontier, where they will once again face the puritanical fury of Bartholomew Claver and his templar knights – and a dark power far more terrifying than they could have imagined.
Oh, this is weird. This is my second review in a row of a Book Two where the first book in the series wound up on my Favorite Reads of the Year list! Last time it was THE CRADLE OF ICE, but today it’s THE TYRANNY OF FAITH, the second book in Richard Swan’s dark fantasy trilogy, EMPIRE OF THE WOLF.
Once again, Martina Fačková has delivered a stunning piece of artwork for the cover of this book. Oof. She’s fully captured Helena Sedanka in all her moody, badass glory & I just couldn’t love this cover any more.
The first book, THE JUSTICE OF KINGS was for sure one of my favorites from 2022…I just devoured that book & loved the vibe of the story. It was dark, occasionally almost bleak…but also interspersed with lots of droll humor, and almost a coziness stemming from the friendships between the characters. Like, yes there is necromancy and all manner of creepy shit happening, but also there’s just a great sense of camaraderie, of building incredibly strong friendships. It’s frequently laced with really scathing humor, but the core group of characters have 100% captured my heart, as they’ve captured each other’s.
Helena, Vonvalt, and Bressinger make for the city of Sova, tasked with rooting out corruption in the Magistratum. They’ve also absorbed Sir Radomir into their small fellowship, and he’s a great addition to the group. Helena has grown extremely close with both Radomir & Bressinger, which helps to offset a lot of the tension that’s built into the relationship between her and Vonvalt.
There’s a lot of events that contrive to pull Vonvalt away from what he sees as his main purpose: eliminating the threat of Bartholomew Claver & his religious fanaticism. There’s even a politically-motivated kidnapping that Vonvalt & co. are investigating, but everywhere Vonvalt turns, all signs seem to point to Claver.
On top of all the political intrigue, backstabbing & betrayals, dungeons, corpses & necromancy, Vonvalt has fallen quite ill. Gravely ill, really. Which takes him out of a lot of the action, and further centers Helena.
There’s an element to this book (both books, actually) that are…not my favorite aspect, and I feel like it’s worth mentioning. There’s this…vague romantic/sexual tension between Helena & Vonvalt that I have just never all-the-way bought into. In THE JUSTICE OF KINGS, Helena developed an outside love interest, but that’s not the case in THE TYRANNY OF FAITH. And yeah, I don’t know…there’s something about the whole thing that just feels off to me, and I can’t tell if that’s the way I’m supposed to feel, as intended by the author. Or if I’m just too locked into the “master & apprentice” vibe between Vonvalt & Helena, and anything else just feels…really fucking strange. Maybe it’s just me, I’m not really sure. I am profoundly curious about how this storyline will play out in the third book. It’s really not something that super impacts my overall enjoyment of these books, but I thought I’d mention it.
ALL THAT SAID! I really loved THE TYRANNY OF FAITH a whole lot, and dang…I’ve gotten this far into the review without mentioning the fact that this book…broke me? Like emotionally fucked me up, completely. Had me sobbing. A full mess. Movies & shows make me cry all the time, but for one reason or another, books…not so much. But, oof…this one really hit me hard.
It’s the vibe of these books that I find perfect. The first two books in EMPIRE OF THE WOLF really hover around several genres, and the overall effect is so captivating. Of course it’s a fantasy series, but you’re also dipping your toes into the horror & thriller genres with these books too.
This is shaping up to be an unmissable fantasy trilogy! These books are dark, violent, and occasionally gory af! But Richard Swan is a master at balance, and the darker/spookier elements of this story are always balanced with a lot of heart & humor…I can’t wait for book three!!
Massive thanks to Orbit for sending a copy of THE TYRANNY OF FAITH my way!
Grimdark Dad 