Richard Swan – Carol's Notebook

Author: Richard Swan

Richard was born in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. He spent most of his early life on Royal Air Force bases in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and attended St Peter’s School in York as a boarder. He studied law at the University of Manchester, and spent most of the following ten years as a lawyer specialising in multi-million pound commercial disputes.

Between 2015 and 2018, Richard self-published THE ART OF WAR trilogy, a sequence of epic military space operas, as well as a number of prequels, novellas and short stories.

Richard’s traditionally-published debut fantasy trilogy, THE EMPIRE OF THE WOLF, sold to Orbit Books in a pre-empt in August 2020, for a six-figure sum. The first instalment, THE JUSTICE OF KINGS, was released in February 2022, with the second volume, THE TYRANNY OF FAITH released in February 2023. The final volume, THE TRIALS OF EMPIRE, was released in February 2024. He has also sold short stories to Grimdark Magazine and Black Library.

Richard currently lives with his wife and two small boys in Sydney, Australia.

The Justice of Kings is a compelling mix of fantasy, mystery and legal thriller. The novel follows Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an itinerant Justice of the Empire of the Wolf. His job, and life's purpose, is to fairly uphold the empire's laws and mete out justice as appropriate. He is accompanied by his taskman and friend, former soldier Dubine Bressinger, and his clerk, Helena Sedanka, a 19 year old woman who was essentially rescued by Vonvalt from a life on the streets. The three travel to Galen’s Vale where Vonvalt takes on an investigation into the murder of a noblewoman, but the case has Empire-wide ramifications. The story is told through the first-person perspective of Helena. We’re hearing, since I listened to the audiobook, Helena’s recounting of the past, which worked well. It showed us Vonvalt's actions and his reasoning as he discusses things with Helena, but also lets us know that he's not infallible, that Helena can't always agree with him. Vonvalt protects...