The epic conclusion to the Empire of the Wolf trilogy

THE TIME OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND

The Empire of the Wolf is on its knees, but there’s life in the great beast yet.

To save it, Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena must look beyond its borders for allies — to the wolfmen of the southern plains, and the pagan clans in the north. But old grievances run deep, and both factions would benefit from the fall of Sova.

Even these allies might not be enough. Their enemy, the zealot Bartholomew Claver, wields infernal powers bestowed on him by a mysterious demonic patron. If Vonvalt and Helena are to stand against him, they will need friends on both sides of the mortal plane — but such allegiances carry a heavy price.

As the battlelines are drawn in both Sova and the afterlife, the final reckoning draws close. Here, at the beating heart of the Empire, the two-headed wolf will be reborn in a blaze of justice… or crushed beneath the shadow of tyranny. 

In The Trials of Empire, Richard Swan brings his Empire of the Wolf trilogy to a fine conclusion. Complete with political intrigue, bloody and epic battles, and inter-dimensional horrors, I enjoyed this. Fans of the first two books will no doubt be pleased with how the author has brought the story to a close.

Vonvalt and Helena’s quest for allies in their fight against Claver takes them to a number of different locales in this world, expanding readers’ knowledge of the various factions and nations that surround the Empire of the Wolf. As our heroes navigate the various allegiances, plots, and agendas (not to mention hostilities) of this world, they must drawn on everything to convince others that Claver is by far the greatest threat not only to Sova, but pretty much every surrounding nation. Given the existing resentments, not to mention the Sovan empire’s history of attacking and subjugating others, this is no easy task.

Swan has a gift for world-building. Not only has he infused each nation with their own character, style, ideology, and so forth, he’s also done a very good job of remembering to include “third culture” characters — those who have grown up either under the rule of others, or who have just migrated during their lives, picking up quirks and habits from different regions. The magic system is also interesting and well-constructed — in the third book, the characters also learn far more about the nature of their gods and magic (perhaps more than many of them would like to have learned, too). I think it’s safe to say that Swan is a fan of Warhammer (he has written for Black Library), as there are certain things that brought that franchise to mind as I was reading — the nature of this world’s gods, for example, and some inspiration from the Old World was noticeable.

The Trials of Empire has a bit of the Return of the King movie (extended edition) about it, too: that is, what felt like multiple endings… I won’t give anything away, but I did like this. Rather than an abrupt of too-tidy ending, Swan shows how the end of a massive campaign/rebellion is by no means neat. In fact, if it’s as bloody and catastrophic as this one, it would have to take years to clean up. Vonvalt’s place in it is also well-handled. And, speaking of “bloody”: the final confrontation is bloody. This novel has a high body-count.

Aside from some minor momentum/pacing issues, this is a solid conclusion to a trilogy. I’ll certainly be interested in reading Swan’s next book (whatever it happens to be). The Empire of the Wolf trilogy should be on every fantasy fan’s radar.

Recommended.

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Richard Swan’s The Trials of Empire is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America and in the UK, on February 6th, 2024.

Also on CR: Interview with Richard Swan (2022); Reviews of The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith

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Review copy received via NetGalley