Synopsis
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 . . .
Grave Empire is the first novel in an unmissable new series from Sunday Times bestselling author Richard Swan – a dark flintlock fantasy filled with epic adventure, arcane powers and creeping dread.
Review
If you’ve been a reader of Richard Swan since his fantasy debut, The Justice of Kings, you’ll know his works have been on a steadily more horror-centric trajectory. From the more mystery based and subtle beginnings of The Justice of Kings (if you can call Necromancy and Communication with the dead as subtle), to the bombastic, cosmic Lovecraftian level of the final showdown in The Trials of Empire, each of his books has introduced more monsters, more inter-dimensional horrors, more fear-inducing violence. And if you have loved how each of books has introduced some new level of terror, then you’ll be pleased to know that Grave Empire fully embraces the horror genre, so much so that I’d say this one feels more like a horror novel with fantasy elements, as opposed to the other way around with its predecessor.
Set 200 years after the events of the Empire of the Wolf trilogy (of which you do not have to have read to enjoy this new trilogy), Grave Empire follows three POVs, all of whom are fully unique from each other and largely self-contained. Renata Rainer, arguably our main POV, an ambassador to the merfolk tasked with connecting these vicious people to find answers to the fabled Great Silence. You have Peter, an out of his depth officer in the far flung frontier, facing violent horrors lurking in the jungle. And finally, Count Lamprecht von Oldenburg, an ambitious and ruthless nobleman, who is investigating a strange plague that turns people into mindless entities. All three of these POVs, whilst barely interlinking, are unique in their style. Renata’s plot feels the most fantastical of the lot, and is essentially a quest/travelogue story of a mission, a journey, a destination, but with Swan’s distinct geo-political and darkly magic flavourings. Count von Oldenburg is almost a gothic horror akin to Frankenstein, as we live with a deeply single-minded scientist type character, who finds everything and everyone in his pathway to his ultimate goal (of which is best to find out yourself) to be fully disposable. He’s strangely funny, in his often moustache twirling way, much the same that Nicomo Cosca is in The First Law series. He’s deplorable, but enigmatic and charming too.
Peter’s story, however, is pure horror. This is where Swan goes fully balls to the wall, and everything that could possibly go wrong does, and in disgusting fashion! His story is like a blend of Cannibal Holocaust & Bone Tomahawk, but with a bunch of terrified Napoleonic soldiers all fully at breaking point. From disembodied screams to mutilated ghosts to long, drawn out scenes of uber-brutal ritualistic sacrifices, Peter has a pretty shitty time of it. His scenes are far & aware the most overtly horrific, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the book is sunshine and rainbows.
These three plotlines do feel very separate from one another, with only vague nods to tie them together. But knowing Swan’s previous works, and where the book ends up, I should imagine these threads will collide spectacularly. This isn’t a criticism at all, just merely an observation. It’s clear that this book is its completely own new thing, unshackled from the events of the original trilogy, and also a set up for what’s to come. But at no times does it feel like its just trudging along to justify getting to the good stuff. It’s all gripping, action packed stuff, full of the same intelligent, witty, biting prose that you should expect from Richard Swan. It really feels like that, now unshackled from the constraints of the original trilogy (which was spectacular, and Richard knows I loved these books), he’s gone crazy with it and allowed himself to be bold with his decisions. It’s this book that I feel is a great example of what I am hoping will become a trend in modern fantasy publishing. Throughout the 2010’s we had the rise of Grimdark works and a resurgence of Epic works, and now in the 2020’s we have cosy fantasy & romantasy dominating SFF sales charts. I believe these can all exist in tandem, but I’d love to see more Capital H Horror titles, but wearing a fantasy costume, sharing the big name space. Grave Empire is the example that this offshoot should follow.
I realise I’ve written a lot of words and not really said too much. Essentially, if you are looking for very distinct complying characters, following three storylines that are all different enough to keep the reading experience fresh, and to witness a story and author that really feel like they are paving the way for something new, some new trend, then this book is a must read. I’ve always said that Swan’s work is appointment reading, especially for all his character interactions which I rate up there with Abercrombie in their ability to entertain and also bitterly denounce a real world topic (law and order, political nonsense, philosophy, the wealthy). I also haven’t even mentioned the fact that the world feels real in terms of how it is presented here, the peoples that inhabit it, but also how it has evolved since the original trilogy, which, again whilst not necessary to have read to enjoy this one, knowing how things were and seeing the very logical progression to a Flintlock & Gunpowder style world is so cool. I also have a soft spot for these early Industrial Revolution influenced settings. For whatever reason, muskets and incompetent military leadership, steam powered machines and the subjugation of the working class really gets me hooked!
This is a brilliant beginning to a new horror fantasy trilogy that I really hope catches on, as I’d love to see more overt horror in the fantasy genre. Grave Empire rules, and you need to read it right now!
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