The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

Publisher – Orbit

Published – Out Now

Price – £8.99 paperback £4.99 Kindle eBook

NO MAN IS ABOVE THE LAW

The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the imperial throne.

Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his clerk and protégé, orphaned by the wars that forged the empire.

When the pair investigate the murder of a provincial aristocrat, they unearth a conspiracy that stretches to the very top of imperial society. As the stakes rise and become ever more personal, Vonvalt and Helena must make a choice: will they abandon the laws they've sworn to uphold in order to protect the empire?

Introducing an unforgettable protagonist destined to become a fantasy icon, The Justice of Kings is an unmissable debut where action, intrigue and magic collide.

Our concept of Justice is inherently flexible in genre. We tend to badge it like concepts such as honour a natural pure concept – the evildoer will be vanquished by a hero. Authors such as Terry Pratchett explored the intricacies of Justice and its complex relationship with society in the City Watch tales of Discworld.  We also have the idea of Justice being blind and problematic as can be seen in various 200AD strips. Justice is nice to think about but perhaps like a sausage not fun to see how its really made. In Richard Swan’s interesting fantasy novel, The Justice of Kings we meet a judge part of a huge network of an Empire who finds their own idea of justice is at odds with other powerful forces in their world. It provides an intriguing tale but has a few issues getting in the way of making the tale soar in its first instalment in the series.

Sir Konrad Vonvalt is a Justice of the Empire of the Wolf. He travels with his team to investigate, prosecute, judge and sometimes execute when needed. He can command the truth to come from your mouth and sometimes the dead to tell the truth and he’s pretty good with a sword when needed. But the Empire is changing a new religion is gaining power and seeks what they see as the Justice’s pagan magic for themselves. The new rich middle classes too seek more power and influence in a land that has seen war too often but now feels ripe for expansion. Vonvalt finds his authority questioned first by a rebellious underling traveling with him and then a murder investigation where clearly no one wants the truth found out. Vonvalt will find himself pushed out of his comfort zone and find that being a Justice is not quite the cloak of invincibility it once was.

Overall, I enjoyed this story because Swan is for the most part trying to do something different. This is a tale exploring how Justice means both a sense of the right thing being done and that it represents the State and by definition the people in charge. For Vonvalt’s relatively simple worldview he serves as all Justices do the Emperor, but he’s not considered that that title and those the Emperor values can change. For Vonvalt the Empire is a blessing – he’s fought in dirty wars; he has seen the chaos and aftermath it creates so for him upholding the law to the maximum degree is key, but he does appreciate that an Empire requires some sense of mercy. Early on he punishes lightly some people that for us would be classed as pagan workers to one of his colleague’s outrage. For Vonvalt you must accept an Empire needs balance between its factions to keep it together. What this story explores if how some factions decide that is no longer enough and seek more power and influence for themselves. We have Vonvalt who is always impressive in his own right and scenes suddenly fining himself not just up against skilled opponents but more amorphous forces of wealth and power that don’t play by the rule of law. How do you beat that? For Vonvalt he tries his hardest to follow the steps an investigator can use but is that going to be enough and if he steps outside the law is that going to change him. Its an intriguing moral angle to a story I enjoyed being explored.

To achieve this effect, we have the tale told in flashback by Vonvalt’s apprentice Helena. Who acts almost like a steward Vonvalt alongside the older and more roguish Bressinger they are Vonnvalts hands and ears. Supporting their Justice’s work. Helena though tells us that Vonvalt is quite key to how this Empire ends. It is quite old school format of the adventure tale as memoir of a much olde rperson. It allows swan to paint scenes with a tinge of foreboding that certain acts are dooming everyone. It also allows us to contrast the young Helena’s view of Vonvalt almost like a quasi-parent who while overbearing at time is rarely wrong and then older Helena starting to see the flaws in Vonvalt that this adventure will fracture further. I quite enjoyed that dissonance it gives the tale texture.

In structure this tale is almost more a fantasy murder mystery but then Swan builds on it bringing in other factions and a quiet remote town is actually shown to be reflecting the tensions of the wider empire. Justices are losing their power and starting not to be feared; people can attempt to take their lives now and this quasi central European like empire is a flimsier and more dangerous place changing quickly. We get the small group undermined by various people and bigger forces. We have escape, demons and ghosts, deceptions and betrayals to tease out for as well as the small matter of a murder to solve. Lots going on and it keeps us entertained throughout and clearly opens up the wider plot of the series.

There are though some stranger choices that did plunge me out of the story. Helena we are told is a survivor of a terrible warzone and survived into her teenage years by her wits and even tried to steal from Vonvalt…and yet she is often portrayed more as someone who has never seen the darker side of life. Hiding her face from violence; occasionally screaming and it never felt true to who we were told Helen was – she is in many ways an old-school fantasy heroine and I’d thought that had passed a few years ago. Alongside that it is curiously in 2023 a little light on female characters with agency who are not victims. Now you can have a patriarchal society, but I’d still expect more women in a variety of roles from servants to noblewomen and yet most of the time the main characters are men. It’s the flaw I’d see in the older tales this story almost reflects. Now it is flagged that the initial location for this story is remote and a little old-fashioned and we do see other Justices can be women, so I’m interested to see if this issue is deliberate to the story or more a little carelessness in worldbuilding. I do though think if this was deliberate it could have been a bit more nuanced.

The Justice of Kings is ultimately very interesting. Its central character is enigmatic and flawed but hard to take your eyes off when he takes the stage. At the same time the bigger storyline is full of unusual themes and angles we do not tend to see in your usual fantasy series and I’m very curious to see how this develops further. Despite the issues that I had with elements of the story I am keen to see what happens next so stay tuned to hear back soon. Worth a look.