I recieved an ARC copy of the book from Orbit Books and Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. The Justice of Kings was such a stellar debut novel in 2022 it actually made it into my Top Ten reads of that year. When The Tyranny of Faith made its way into my hands I immediatley jumped back into this rich world of law and order, conspiracies, magic, and betrayals. You will be happy to know that this sequel does indeed surpass its predecessor in every way imaginable. The ending sequence I did not see coming and Richard Swan sure knows how to set the stage for an epic concluding volume on the horizon. This will be a spoiler free review but I will be discussing events from the previous novel.
Sir Konrad Vonvalt is an Emperors justice roaming the land with his allies, enforcing the laws and stopping enemies of the throne from causing harm. After the battle of Galen’s Vale, Sir Konrad is summoned back to the capital of Sova as the authority of the magistratum seems to be shrinking. Whispers of rebellion and secret alliances are running wild in Sova and the Emperor has no choice put to thrown down the hammer on those who will cause him and his family to look weak. Sir Konrad is tasked with weeding out the weak minded and traitors in the Senate and even other Justices. All while this is going on, Konrad is infected by a foreign illness that no medication or healer can seem to remedy and Helena is constantly worried for the effects on Konrad both physically and mentally are starting to mount. When the Emperors grandson turns up missing, Sir Konrads’ crew sets off to the Southern lands of the Empire to find the missing Prince and smacked right in the middle of this is Bartholomew Claver and his templar knights. What the author has in store I dare you to guess because I sure as hell could not do it.
The Tyranny of Faith is a sequel that delves more into the history and magical part of the world. Much more so than in Justice of Kings. Several chapters will be spent diving into the histories of the Empire, its orders, hidden texts containing forbidden and lost magic, and that is just scratching the surface. The further along we go into the story, the more Helena begins to unravel the layers hidden within the Empire and believe me when I tell you that it smells foul. I wouldn’t say that this sequel has more action than Justice of Kings but what I will say is that the chaos is turned up to a 10 out of 10. Plots within plots, betrayals, shocking twists at every turn are all on the table and Richard Swan will shed no tears for the pain and heartbreak you are about to experience. Fans of the debut will eat this novel up in little to no time at all.
This highly anticipated sequel is a mastery of the epic fantasy genre and we still have one more novel to go in this trilogy. We may not yet know how the story is going to end but I can already tell that no punches are going to be pulled and the mind bending scenes will keep on coming. If you haven’t picked up this series yet then you are missing out on a one of a kind series which is taking the genre by storm.
Cheers!
Under The Radar SFF Books 