4.25⭐

The story is that of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor's Justice, as told by his protégé Helena Sedanka. Justices have been functioning as investigators, judges, and executioners in one person, wielding magic that helps them in such a task. However, as civilization progresses and new institutions are established, their power is starting to be called into question. After Vonvalt and Helena come back from traveling the edges of the civilization, they soon discover that something is disturbing the fragile foundations of the newly expanded empire, and their new case might be directly tied to it.

The main focus of the first book is an investigation of a crime and the mystery surrounding it. It helps showcase the powers and methods of Justices as well as their standing in society. The whole story is definitely a big setup for the rest of the series yet, we already get some payoffs and twists in this first book.

I really enjoyed the dark setting which is especially compounded by the magic. All justices are able to use Emperor’s Voice to compel the suspect to speak the truth, albeit with certain limitations that force them to still employ the usual investigative methods. Each Justice then has another power or powers in their repertoire and in Vonvalt's case it's necromancy. I really liked the way this power was presented and how it tied up into the overarching story.

As for the characters, the story is told by Helena Sedanka, Vonvalt's apprentice. She is 19 years old in the story but the narration is done by her aged and wiser self, which I think worked brilliantly. The young Helena is a very believable character with a young age's naivety, rashness, and rebelliousness. She can definitely come off as irritating sometimes but having the old Helena's voice acknowledge her behaviour made quite a difference. It's like we can feel more for the character because we get to know her both as young and as old. This narration also drops occasional foreshadowing but it's rare and well-timed so that it doesn't break the suspense but rather enriches it. While for the most part, the focus of the story is on Vonvalt I really enjoyed the moments she had a chance to shine and make her contributions, big or small. She grows a lot as a character through the story, yet there is still space left for her to grow in the sequels.

Vonvalt is someone we only see through Helena's and others' eyes so his real character is something left uncertain. He is presented as the epitome of Justice, always following the law perfectly and expecting everyone to uphold it in the same way. Yet, already from the beginning, there are few instances where he operates within the law but allows for different interpretations when it's for the sake of being reasonable and helping people out.

There are also very well-developed side characters with their own stories and moralities as well as the villains. The main villain might be a bit of a cliché type but it remains to be seen how he is handled.

Lastly, despite the very dark tones of the book, there was a surprising amount of humor too.

I really enjoyed this book and I have high hopes for the rest of the series. ( )

Vonvalt and his crew needs therapy after all this tbh....
This book was really weird in an enjoyable way and the action scenes were well written, and the final battle floored me tho because there was so much going on.

I need to read the next book immediately..... ( )

This was a surprising favorite of mine for 2023. I had heard mixed reviews on this, but was looking for something new to read and saw that the kindle version happened to be on sale and I had some credits...so I thought I'd give it a try. Boy was I pleasantly pleased. This was a easy, quick read with just enough fantasy for the fantasy lovers, a nice mystery for the mystery fans and some thrilling action scenes that kept the pace moving. I really can't say enough about this and can't wait to get into the 2nd book. ( )

Never sucked me in. Many characters are forgettable. The book seems to struggle between wanting to be a dark fantasy detective, and having the character be involved in political intrigue. It settles this by constantly interrupting one with the other. ( )

That was a very pleasant surprise. I only picked it up because I liked the hardcover and got it cheap second-hand. It is well-told, enough action, enough gore, enough humor somewhere inbetween, not the straightforward kind but it's not grim or unfunny.

I will continue this series... ( )