I came into the book drawn by the cover, and stayed for the incredible story that it held within.
While this was my first foray into Swan's work, I have read his other series and can see many of the nods to it in Grave, and would thoroughly recommend reading it to understand the full world behind the book. Cannot wait for more!

Grave Empire is the first book in Richard Swan’s newest trilogy which takes place two centuries after the events of his first trilogy, the Empire of the Wolf. You can take the title of the book quite literally as the main aspect of this story is the investigation of a mysterious plague which is very likely connected to an ancient prophecy which is heralding the end of days. We’re following three POVs in this book:
- Ambassador Renta who is trying to investigate this prophecy
- Captain Peter who keeps having the worst time of his life (honestly, give this poor kid a break)
- von Oldenburg, an eccentric rich old man who plans on making every day the worst day for a lot of people

In Grave Empire geopolitical tension meets mystery meets horror. Richard Swan does a fantastic job of creating an eerie atmosphere. His description of (the plentiful) scenes featuring the supernatural were brilliantly written. Throughout the whole book, he managed to keep a spooky mood which kept you at the edge of your seat, not only because it was creepy but also because the tension and stakes were high in this book from the start. Next to the atmosphere, I enjoyed his character work: all of his characters felt real, they were flawed but their actions and feeling felt relatable (expect maybe one!).
While I enjoyed his world building and the rich history he has created for his world, it was a bit hard to gain a good understanding of the different places and conflicts. I think it overall worked out fine, it wasn‘t necessary to read his other trilogy first, but I was slightly overwhelmed with all the information, especially at the beginning. I wasn‘t bored for any part of this book but with the vast amount of information and things happening at every corner, I sometimes wondered if there was just too much for one book. A lot of the political struggles have or will have a big impact on the continent but since quite a few events took place off page, this was hard to grasp and follow.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I loved the story as a whole and especially the atmosphere Swan created. I‘d rate it 4 stars because while it was a page turner, I was never completely drawn in. I‘m still looking forward to book 2 because the last 100 pages were shocking and I can‘t (neither do I want to) imagine what will happen next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: violence, gore, death, war, torture, body horror, blood, grief, body manipulation

Set in the same world as the earlier ‘Empire of the Wolf’ trilogy, ‘Grave Empire’ returns to the empire of Sova three hundred years later, where all magic and alternate religion has now been outlawed and the world is on the verge of industrial revolution. Renata is the ambassador to a race of merpeople that she has never even seen and who very few believe actually matter. Tired of being mocked by other diplomats, Renata truly believes in the ideals of her mentor, Maruska and wants nothing more than to do her job properly. As the tension between Sova and other nations worsens because of war and a rampaging plague, Renata and Maruska are brought into a world of politics thanks to a terrifying prophecy delivered by two heretic monks- that something called the Great Silence is coming from beyond the veil, silencing ghosts, and the merpeople might be the only ones to understand it thanks to their practise of illegal magics. At the same time, Peter is a rich man but not particularly skilled, granted a role in the army because his family bought it. Sent into the wild depths of the Sovan empire, where people jump at noises in the night, soldiers are discovered torn to shreds and everyone is terrified of demons, Peter is forced to face a new reality when he tries to lead men who don’t respect him. Count von Oldenburg, a senator in the Sovan capital, might represent the people but he is also experimenting with ancient and deadly magics long outlawed. His use of magic spells disaster not just for himself but everyone in the universe, especially because the Great Silence is coming, and with it the end of everything.

‘The Empire of the Wolf’ books are some of the greatest epic fantasy I’ve ever read, and Richard Swan’s ‘Grave Empire’ takes the world of Sova to a brand new, even more violent but brilliant level. I did miss the other characters (especially Helena and Vonvalt) but I took so quickly to Renata, she’s stuck in a terrible position despite her passion and skill, and even Peter- who is initially deeply naive and snobbish- grew on me as he went through all the possible horrors in the fort at the edge of the world. I adored the scenes with the merpeople the most and I hope we see a lot more of them in the future, as well as Renata's partnership with Lyzander.The storyline with von Oldenburg was a mixture of terrifying and thrilling, he was genuinely a horrific person seeking to use ancient magics for himself; the things he does are beyond awful. This author is so incredibly skilled at building a massive but realistic world of conflict, culture, religion and relationships and here everything is wider- from the wars being fought to the push for magic to return (rightfully banned at the end of the last ‘Empire of the Wolf’ book)- while still giving the reader beautiful and complicated characterisation in a deadly but fantastic first part of a new series. I adored the last series, this first book, and I’m so glad to be back in this world of Richard Swan’s.

It’s been far too long since I’ve read an epic fantasy with a world as wholly unique and refreshing as this one.

I was suckered in by the mere mention of epic fantasy with gun-slinging and mermaids all-in-one. What I did not expect to find was a highly complex steampunk eldritch borderline-horror fantasy complete with armoured sharks, zombie armies, and automaton demons.

It felt like every chapter introduced us to some new aspect of this world but it never felt overwhelming. Magic, histories, and characters all were woven in like they had been there all along and the world felt all the more believable for it. The sheer amount of detail made it a bit dense to begin with while I tried to wrap my head around everything but once I got my teeth sunk into it I was fully invested in this world and these characters.

I am impatiently awaiting the sequel.

Richard Swan’s previous series, Empire of the Wolf (especially books 2 and 3) is among my favorites. While I’ve enjoyed A Justice of Kings, it wasn’t my favorite- but the next books got better and better. And if we can expect the same in case of this series, we have an amazing ride ahead of us!

The action takes place around 200 years after Empire of the Wolf. It has three POVs in it, and it hooked me from the very beginning. First of all, I don’t seek out horror, I usually only stumble upon it if It’s woven into a fantasy story, and in case of Grave Empire, it started hitting hard in that regard pretty early on. Yes, reading it during the nights wasn’t my best decision. 😀

This series is called The Great Silence- which is a prophecy in this world that heralds the end of days. With the different POVs we see uncanny things happen in various places of the Empire while the characters try to understand what exactly is going on. I don’t necessarily want to say more about the plot- as usual, I feel it’s best to go in blind. But I definitely appreciated how the answers were uncovered. The atmosphere was definitely there, I did feel quite uneasy while reading, and while I didn’t enjoy all of the characters (which was definitely intentional), I’ve gotten invested in all of their stories.

Now I’ll admit, I’ve felt like the middle of the book was better than the ending, but first of all, my mental health was not the best when I was finishing the book, and second of all, if I can go by how the previous trilogy was structured, Grave Empire probably can be treated as a long prologue and way crazier things will happen in the next books.

My rating is 4,5 stars, rounded up to 5, and I can’t wait to continue the series!

The comp titles (might I add, amazing ones):
✨The Age of Madness by Joe Abercrombie
✨The Age of Uprising by R. S. Ford

I was excited to receive this ARC and took my time in reading as it deserved that attention. We are back in the Sovan Empire but 200 years on from the events in the Empire of the Wolf trilogy. After the reformation that closed the previous books the Sovan Empire has banned arcane arts except in certain critical areas, and industrialisation has moved the Empire on. The Empire now has one acknowledged religion of Nema Victoria, however practitioners of the arcane plus worshipers of alternate religions can still be found.
The book moves between the experience of three characters - Peter Kliest, Renata Rainer and Count Lamprecht von Oldenberg, All are on or thrust into a journey into discovery of the doom which is approaching them as part of the Great Silence.
Peter is a young officer, sent from the comforts of Sova to the outer reaches of the Eastern edge of the Empire. He has been sent to a remote Fort in a dank, oppressive forest where unknown monsters lurk, The sapping atmosphere of horror and doom is palpable from the authors writing and flashes me back to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is that creeping feeling of madness and the unknown.
Renata is an ambassador to the Stygion (Mer people) but this is not a highly regarded posting as interaction with the Mer Men is limited and of no to little financial value to the Empire. The arrival of two rebel monks with tales of losing touch with the afterlife however set her and her mentor on a journey to the Wolfmen and Mer Men to confirm that these two spiritual centres have also sensed this threat to the world.
Count von Oldenberg is fascinated with the arcane and combines his banned studies with scientific progression to explore the aethyr. He is a ruthless individual and his drive to discover the root of the mind rot that is spreading through the known world towards the Empire lead him to horrific acts.
This was an immersive reading experience with the tension and horror ratcheting up notch by notch. If you like your fantasy dark then this is the book for you, plus the writing is fabulous.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC, all views are my own.

This delivers on its title! It is grand, it is epic, it tense and it is dark.... Fantasy meets mystery meets horror. Sign me up!

Grave Empire is wonderful, unique fantasy. You want an epic world full of mermen, dark magic and grand wars? You also want a world with an intimate high-scale mission, characters caught out of their depth and tense mysteries? You will find all of the aforementioned here.

Richard Swan is brilliant at quickly crafting characters and investing you in their stories. Whether I love them, hate them or follow somewhere in the middle, I always feel the weight of their story. Their actions really feel like they have consequences, and that raises the tension so much. This style works perfectly with the spider web of mysteried and dark secrets entangled in Grave Empire. You slowly collect the breadcrumbs as the suspense builds to an epic climax. I cannot wait to see the repercussions in book 2.

I NEED IT NOW!

5/5 STARS

I hadn't read much of Swann and had not read any of the Empire trilogy but this was a wild ride. The intro of all sorts of creatures in particular the sharks was quite the surprise.

I loved the character development he managed to achieve, I really fell in love with with Renata and her tenacity

It felt like a good mix of typically modern themes in an older setting

DNF 40%
I like this book but I am not in the mood for high fantasy at the moment and haven’t felt the pull to complete it in the last four weeks.
The beginning is hard to follow with the introduction of a mass amount of places and names. Of the three, Renatas story was my favourite.

I feel I will come back to this story one day but the mood reader in me just isn’t feeling it right now.

This is new series by the amazing Swan, set in the same world as the Empire of the Wolf trilogy - a series that breaks moulds and puts fantasy on a whole new plane. This new series, set a few hundred years after the horrific events of the last trilogy. Although set in the same world, it feels like and is written in a way to make it a whole new, fresh take. This series is told through the POV of three, very different new characters, who all face a new and terrifying threat from the realm of the dead. Swan has a masterful way of melding horror and fantasy. The world he created is developed in new and unique ways and as usual, it's almost impossible to put his book down. The pacing is perfect, I don't normally like long chapters but they worked so well with this. Certainly one of my favourite reads of the year!
This is a must for all fantasy addicts. I genuinely loved the book and the dark twists and eagerly await the next instalment in the series.
Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing an arc in return for an honest review.

Absolutely 0 surprises that I LOVED this, like at this point I am pretty sure I'd just go feral over Richard Swan's shopping list - HE IS THAT GOOD OKAY.

Grave Empire is set in the same universe as the Empire of the Wolf trilogy (which I HIGHLY praise...If you haven't read it yet - go, go go!!!) however, set a few hundreds years after. We follow 3 very different POVs - Renata, von Oldenburg and Peter and through these characters we get to see and experience very different views of what Sova has become and what it is spiralling towards as all 3 characters missions converge in someway throughout.

I wont say much about the plot itself as honestly, just experience it for yourself - it's the perfect fantasy cosmic horror story of my dreams and I think people are going to LOVE it. NOTE: I will say you do not need to have read the prior trilogy before going into this, there are some nods to the outcome of Sova and what occurred in Book 3 but not to a large degree so you wouldn't be missing out and equally wouldn't spoil yourself if you wanted to go back to them.

Overall, it's only February and already this is going to be hard to top for my book of the year!

Thanks as always to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC - now, BOOK 2 PLS!!!

what an amazing introduction back into the world of the empire of the wolf! I loved the multiple POVs and the time jump centuries wise as we got to experience the world we already knew in a different way!

In the Great Silence, No one can hear you scream……..



Richard S Swan’s Grave Empire is juicy, delicious, creepy horror done wonderfully right in this trilogy starter set in the same world as the author’s Empire of the Wolf Trilogy - a few centuries moved. I am thankful to Netgalley and Little Brown Group, UK for for sending me a review copy.


“Blood once turned the wheels of empire, now it is money”

There is just something about horror in books that Richard Swan nails in this book through myriad ways. Through the eyes of Peter, a naive young captain, we see the horror of the unknown at the edge of Sovan civilisation. Peter is immediately thrust into an atmosphere of extreme dread and conflict. While the conflict seems mortal in nature between 2 warring neighbouring countries, the dread that Peter and the inhabitants of the fort experience is decidedly not mortal and intensely morbid. The epistolary capture of Peter’s dread makes for a compelling read and infuses an immense sense of tension in the first half of the book. The die is further cast when Peter has to lead a mission into the wild and Peter’s journey is harrowing and horrifying. This is the creeping monster horror that drives the narrative for Peter


“We can threaten to shoot our enemies, but it is much cheaper to pay them”

A bored deputy ambassador, Renata provides the second PoV to the happenings of the empire and the nature of the conflict she is tasked to find out about. Sent on a mission by the Empress, Renata along with the ambassador have to approach the mysterious mermen to figure out the nature of magic. The horror that unfolds in this case is related to the greater machinations of the empire and the cost of wilful ignorance. Renata’s journey from academic ambassadorship to the harsh ground reality of practicing it puts her quite through the wringer as she comes face to face with the nature of the horror of the afterlife. The impending horror of the unknown on a large scale is what propels this narrative

“Indeed, in and amongst his frantic excitement, he did not think to ask why”

However, no monster or otherworldly horror can compete with the horror emanating from the minds of men. Von Oldenburg, a dabbler of the forbidden arcane, hears about all these horrors and only sees an opportunity to make money and amass power. He tries to harness these abominations into an entirely different kind of horror. Oldernburg’s standing as a senator and a count allows him to abuse his power willy-nilly even as he gets increasingly desperate in search of forbidden knowledge. This brand of horror makes for compelling yet uncomfortable reading as Oldenburg gets increasingly depraved in his quest

“Most of these old castles were either ruins or had been transformed into stately homes; Zetland, however, bucked the trends in that it was both a ruin and a home.”

Richard Swan packages these three PoVs and their respective horrors very effectively in what is a tremendously written book. Set in the same world as his previous trilogy, a few centuries removGred, he presents a link to that previous world also - thereby rewarding long-term readers. While the writing is pretty strong, I wouldn't say the same for the pacing of the book. The book starts more strongly than the way it ends and this was an issue I had with the previous series as well. There is a reason for that in my opinion - the blurb of the book calls our Renata to be the main character that we follow. But in reality, her journey wasn't particularly as noteworthy as Peter’s and Oldenburg’s. While Renata’s journey is what we are likely to follow in the upcoming books, it felt a bit like the character did not have as much agency in general. Maybe Renata’s is a slow-burning arc that gets a massive push in the upcoming books - I hope that happens even as I await the next turn of this series

Grave Empire is an intriguing start to a new series set in the same world as Richard Swan’s earlier trilogy. While Empire of the Wolf hinged on law and justice as the pivot to the world, this one is commerce and industry-focused (almost akin to what Abercrombie did with his Age of Madness Trilogy). Swan’s focus on the foreboding horror makes this a rather atmospheric read while the variety of the horror on show makes this an interesting read. While the horror is nothing overt, you can feel the build-up all the way and as things end, it seems all rather bleak for the world. A fascinating, slow burn of a read that chills you in many ways

I did not/will not be finishing this book. I read until 20% and this is unfortunately not for me. I posted a DNF review on storygraph and goodreads without a rating to share my thoughts and will also include them below:

This story is set in the same world as the Empire of the Wolf (The Justice of Kings) but takes place 200 years after that trilogy ends.

This book start out with two POVs and at 17% introduced a third POV.

The first two POVs were distinct and while there was a slow build up, I was really curious for their different plights.

One is a reluctant soldier who finds himself not anywhere near he wanted to be and caught up in a mysterious illness/sickness because curses can't be real, right? Part of his story is told with letters so there's also a few different story telling methods within his chapters.

The second POV is a low-ranked ambassador (politician) who is often is the butt of the joke, but then seemingly real news comes out of nowhere putting her on an diplomatic mission. While trying to leave the city to head out on said mission things start to get tense and shots are literally fired.

This brings us to 17% where the third POV is suddenly introduced and it was this one that really decided this book isn't a fit for me. The character introduced with the third POV became suddenly infected from a seemingly self-inflicted wound and was then cured by a rather odd magical choice which was incredibly ick for me. Specific details can be found in the spoiler tag on storygraph/goodreads.

Overall this book starts out rather dense with information but not in a bad way, but one that required some time to sit with and really get into the story. The third POV entered during a high-action point in the beginning and felt a bit rushed into things compared to the pace of the previous POVs. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it was a little bit jarring and then how that POV continued was even more jarring.

I definitely wasn't enjoying this book enough to go out on such a weird limb with the magical choice that occurred around 20% and I don't think I'll be revisiting it.

This is the second book I didn't finish by Richard Swan, the first being The Justice of Kings, so I think it is safe to say his writing style is not a match for me. I really wanted to give this one a try as the premise sounded incredibly intriguing and I think the cultural, religious and political conflicts he's created in his books (both Justice of Kings and the start of this one) are really intriguing, but his delivery and writing style is not for me.

Grave Empire is the first book in the Great Silence series. It melds the genres of fantasy and horror together really well. The plot is compelling throughout, although I did find one of the three perspective slightly less engaging. The characters are well written and their development throughout the book is really well done. I definitely recommend checking this book out.

This was an okay read for me. Richard Swan is undeniably a talented writer, but just like with Empire of the Wolf, something about this book didn’t quite click—and I can’t pinpoint exactly why.
The pacing and world-building in Grave Empire felt uneven. At times, it was like stacking bricks on flimsy cardboard—moments of great action punctuated long stretches of overly descriptive prose. The balance just wasn’t quite there.
Throughout the book, I struggled to find a character I truly connected with. Unfortunately, most of them felt somewhat tepid, which made it harder to stay invested. Additionally, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the book could have been trimmed down by a chunk. There were multiple dialogue scenes that stretched on for pages, delivering only small bits of new information, and many travel-heavy chapters that felt a bit too much.
Despite my mixed feelings, the plot has me intrigued enough that I might give the sequel a try.

Multi pov, flintlock fantasy that was a lot darker than I was expecting. The horror elements bordered on my tolerance levels but were masterfully written. The sense and tone of dark foreboding throughout this story was both uncomfortable and addictive. Loved the unusual spin on the afterlife! Epically and intelligently written, this was dark and compelling and left me a little bit disturbed. 😂
Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

I spent most of February suffering the flu and in the haze and confusion and brief moments I could open my eyes I turned to Grave Empire. My first Swan novel and absolutely not my last, I'm currently waiting for the physical copy to arrive show I can show it to people and proudly announce that I've read it. Grave Empire is everything I it said on tin "- a dark flintlock fantasy filled with epic adventure, arcane powers and creeping dread".

Swan takes care with the worldbuilding and explanations and so despite not reading the Empire of The Wolf Trilogy, I do not feel I was disadvantaged in anyway when reading Grave Empire first, as this book is set two hundred years after the events of the EotW Trilogy. I enjoyed this so much, my favourite character was Renata hands down. I also enjoyed the underwater world, it felt like being a kid again and watching Atlantis for the first time, Swan evoked the same wonder and curiosity in me now as Disney did then. But I also felt for poor Peter, the guy was going through it but also I would to if I was him.

Overall, I really loved this book, it was the only joy I had in this flu ridden two week hell hole I was in. I can't wait to read the next instalment and I'm very grateful to Orbit for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit and Richard Swan for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, for letting me read an early copy.
Grave Empire starts with a good amount of worldbuilding through the eyes of three POVs. Unfortunately I did not really click with all three of them but read on for the world and the different races.
Some choices made in the world-building, brought me out of my enjoyment. The first 50% were not so intriguing to me but i am glad i pushed through.
After around 50-60% the action starts, which is quite nicely done. There are some small horror elements interwoven in the story which i quite liked. The second half of the book was much more enjoyable. I loved the merfolk parts. Also the world above water became very interesting. Revelations were quite intriguing and the book ended with a great cliffhanger.

“Our plans, Majesty?”
“Your plans, Ambassador, to save the world.”

I'm a huge fan of the Empire of the Wolf trilogy, so of course I had to read Grave Empire, which is set in the same world, but a few centuries later.

I'm happy to report that this book is just as good as that series, and that I loved every single chaotic moment of it.

We went so much deeper into the world and its inhabitants, it's no wonder my favourite parts had to do with mer and cat people, they were just so fascinating.

It started off a bit slow, but in no time the pacing picked up and I had a hard time putting the book down.

Out of three PoVs we got, Peter's was my favourite, because the poor guy couldn't catch a break. It seemed like EVERYTHING was out to get him, and I loved following him from the get go. His PoV also had the most horror elements.

Then there's Renata, my second favourite, who got the chance to shine when she finally met the mer people. I loooooved exploring the underwater world so much, and the sharks??? STOP THAT'S SO CUTE!! Where can one learn Selachomancy? Asking for me.

Despite not being as skilled as Maruska (cue Maruška by Šaban Bajramović), she stepped up to the task and did an amazing job, if you ask me. I can't wait to see where her character will go in the next books.

And von Oldenburg...I didn't like him, for reasons that will become obvious when you read the book, but I did enjoy following his PoV all the same (good part of the reason is Yelena), just not as much as the other two.

Mr Swan's writing has been perfect from his very first book, and yet he still finds ways to improve. Grave Empire reflects this, being the smoothest story yet. I have a feeling that readers who are new to this world will have no trouble following anything, because it's crystal clear from the start.

With that said, you should read the first trilogy so you can enjoy the little Easter eggs we got, and because it's one of my favourites (seriously, read it).

I'm in awe at how "new" Richard Swan made the world seem, it's not just "oh it's been 200 years", you can actually SEE the changes, not just world wise, but character wise as well, the way they behave etc.

Speaking of, I'm glad to see even more Slavic names and places popping up, keep it up Mr Swan, you have my seal of approval.

I have to mention the uniqueness of the plot, it perfectly ties into what happened before, while still being something new and creative (afterlife going silent, what could be causing it? Dun dun dun).

The ending made me a bit mad, but in a good way, like what do you mean there are no more pages to flip and I have to wait till the next book is released?? It was an interesting place to end the story, that's for sure.

Reading this book was such an amazing experience, I can't wait to return to this world again and again.

*Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*