The Tyranny of Faith

i felt countless visceral urges to pause reading so i could catch my breath. only to turn to the next page and have my jaw drop. again.

this is a world that gets bigger and bigger, darker and darker, and more deliciously horrifying (and devastating). putting this book down was an impossible feat.

i will say though that the first 60% of the book reads quite slow but the end makes up for it by a mile. also, helena and vonvalt's relationship still bothers me as it did in the first book.

4.5*

Fantastic fantasy political thriller with a side of detective story and a liberal splash of Eldritch horror.

4.5 stars

A great book two. Only knock would be a middle section that kind of felt like filler at the time of reading but the ending really ramped up the pace and wrapped everything up nicely.

One of the best sequels I've ever read.

Upon reflection, upgraded from 4.5 to a full 5 stars. I really, really, really liked this book!

Excellent follow up to the Justice of Kings. This series has been a great mixture of fantasy, legal drama, politics, and the philosphy of how an empire conducts justice. Can't wait for the final book of this trilogy!

A great follow up!

Richard Swan. Bless you. I loved Justice of Kings. The Tyranny of Faith was a blast of a sequel. I love this world, the magic/supernatural elements, characters and mystery. Here's to book 3

After loving the first book in the series, this was one of my most anticipated books of 2023. I wish I could say that I loved it, but I found the first 75% of the book to be slow, and not in a good way. I enjoy the setting up of a story and character development, but this seemed more like “filler” and wasn't that interesting. There was also a shift in this book to more supernatural elements which just took me out of the story. I was interested in the people here.

The last 25% off the book got back on track with more action, conflict, mystery, and character development which were all the reasons why I loved the first book so much.

I will read the next one, but this one was a dip in the series for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Really enjoyed this follow up to Justice of Kings! Helena, Vonvalt, and co get even deeper characterization and the political situation and magic is greatly expanded here. The magic is insane...very eldritch horror style, and some of it was genuinely frightening.

The middle of this book deals with a sub plot that made my interest wane, but Swan makes this plot matter for the end and the last third of this book is explosive and addicting. The villain in this series is such a great one, even if he is pretty one note. Just a guy you love to hate.

I will say though, my least favorite part of this series continues to be anything romance related. Several bizarre choices are made here that I wish weren't. And I think Vonvalt and Helena's characters sometimes suffered from lack of communication, which is especially frustrating because in book one they communicated well. Still, these were minor issues for me.

9/10