Grave Empire by Richard Swan

Book Review

Stephen Frame

Grave Empire treads familiar fantasy territory. Right away, you know what you’re getting. The setting is second world, but very much akin to Napoleonic-era Europe. Musket and gunpowder level of technology. Two warring empires, Sova and Casimir, divided by a religious schism. Into this world are threaded three narrative arcs. The book opens with a lengthy prologue introducing Peter Kleist, a recent officer recruit to the Sovan army, as he travels to his new posting in a remote and contested corner of the empire. The action then switches to the Sovan capital, bringing in Renata Rainer, the deputy ambassador to the Stygion empire; a race of mer-people. Renata is sent on her own mission to uncover more information from the mer-people on a prophecy which heralds the end of the world. Finally, Von Oldenburg is brought in, an old-school aristocrat and practitioner of outlawed magic, who sets out to investigate a mysterious and deadly plague which is afflicting the lands to the north.

So the story goes, alternating between these three characters as they travel the length and breadth of the empire. And there is a lot of travelling. An awful lot. Sometimes covered in more detail than the reader could be excused from thinking is entirely necessary. Coming in at 500 pages, it feels as though Grave Empire doesn’t find its true beginning until around two-thirds of the way through. It’s not that all this lead-in to the main events is dull. It’s workman-like fantasy. There’s enough intrigue and action to keep the pages turning. The world-building is interesting and used to good effect to create tension and conflict in the narrative, particularly the premise of an empire which has outlawed the practice of magic, despite the knowledge that an afterlife exists and is the source of all magic. The character’s are well-drawn, and on the whole, sympathetic, except for Von Oldenberg, who is a nasty piece of work, yet still manages to elicit some connection, in his drive and dedication towards saving the empire from itself (as he sees it). The other main characters, Renata and Peter, share common feelings once thrust into their respective new worlds. Both struggle to conquer fear of failure and lack of confidence in their abilities, though Renata has a stalwart band of allies around her. Peter has to settle for drunk and uncaring soldiers.

Each of this trio follows an arcane thread on their travels, investigating mysterious and magical goings-on. Renata’s quest is central to this, and it is soon revealed the prophecy of the end of the world is far more than empty words. The danger is very real. The investigation becomes a race to find a solution to the impending disaster. As expected, the paths of the three characters begin to converge. How this plays out will likely be revealed in the following books, because this feels like a trilogy in the making.Grave Empire is worth investing your time in, if fantasy leaning towards the more traditional is to your thing. The militaristic and imperialistic setting won’t be to everyone’s taste, and the wolfmen and mer-people promised in the blurb don’t feature to great effect in the story. The setting feels too close to Europe in the 1800s, perhaps leading to it needing a greater sense of wonder about it. There is a whole heap of adventure packed between the covers, though, making up for that lack. Dependable story-telling that delivers on keeping you entertained.