Grave Empire by Richard SwanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Back Cover Blurb:
Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.
A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.
But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.
Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence.
It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save...
Review:
Richard Swan broke onto the scene in magnificent fashion with his brilliant fantasy trilogy Empire of the Wolf. That series had it all, action, outstanding characterization, tantalizing dark magic, and a story that kept me wanting the next volume as soon as I was finished the previous. So when I found out that Swan had a brand new series, well I really couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy and dive in head first.
Tis new series is set roughly in the same world as Empire of the Wolf, but with all new characters and a considerable amount of time in the future. So you don't necessarily have to have knowledge of that series, but I would highly recommend you read them anyway because they are so damn good and it will provide a little background that will make this one that much more enjoyable. As with EotW, we have a struggle between those loyal to the church who also practice a form of magic, and those loyal to the Empire that wish to eradicate all traces of sorcery and the like. This makes for a wonderful tension and struggle and the line between who are the good guys and bad guys is often blurred.
One of the main aspects that I love about this book was how deliciously dark it is. I'm a huge fan of dark fantasy and all of Swan's books seem to scratch that itch quite effectively. The darkness is never gratuitous though, it is done to set the backdrop, the worldbuilding, and the entire tone of the circumstances that these characters find themselves in. I've heard Richard Swan compared to Joe Abercrombie and I would say yes to a point but I believe he's more comparable to say a Brian McClellan. Yet at the same time he's his own writer and the stories he weave are entirely original and shouldn't be diminished by any other author comparison.
I loved this book from first page to last and I came away as I always do, being entirely angry (not your fault Mr. Swan) that I don't have the next book to immediately continue with this story. Swan leaves you breathless at the end of every book, this one is no exception. My advice to every fantasy reader is just pick up all of this guy's books and read them. The journey is always worth it and the impact is real and emotional.
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