Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Tyranny of Faith

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The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan

7 reviews

odunayo_y's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

4.0

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aspiringwriter77's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Shoutout to the 2 to Ramble podcast for their excellent rating system.

Full Review:

Overall Enjoyment: 3.5 Stars (Good)

Emotional Impact: 3/5
This book really hit at the end, with many emotional ups and downs so close together that they almost were simultaneous emotions.

For example, after both Bressinger and Vonvalt go down, there are these two very intense emotional grieving scenes, only for both of them to “wake up” whoch only makes Beessinger’s true death hit harder.

However, there were definitely parts in this book that just didn’t hit for me personally, so I give it 3 stars for emotional impact.

Thought Provoking: 2.5/5
There was a big theme about the fallibility of the letter of the law and those who enforce it when it comes in conflict with personal ideas of justice. This theme just didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. However, this theme isn’t the main focus of the book, so really, it doesn’t detract much from the enjoyment of the book.

Characters: 3.75/5
The characters in this book are really good.

Vonvalt especially had this really interesting arc where you see him slowly become less and less focused on the letter of the law, and more focused on justice as he feels like it and stopping Claver, going so dar as to kill someone for a crime he never would have killed someone for in the first book. Helena’s character also takes a big step in this book, and the conflict and relationship between her and Vonvalt was really interesting.

Plot: 2.75/5:
I was disappointed by the first 50-60 percent of the plot of this book.

What I was expecting when I opened the book was Vonvalt and Helena, in Sova, dealing with all the various conflicts and conspiracies waiting for then in Sova. What I really wanted was a political intrigue novel, where Vonvalt returns to begin breaking down the political situation between the Mlyanars and the Emperor. And after the first part of the book, where Vonvalt becomes the Master of the Magistratum, and purge the Order of all spies, I was really excited. And then, the book gets sidetracked by a goose chase. And a pretty wild one at that. I believe that besides for setting up the ending, the whole t for Prince Kamil situation was utterly pointless and frankly very boring.

However, the ending really pulled the plot through, and the twists at the end saved this book and made me want to read the next book.

Worldbuilding: 3.5/5

Overall, I didn’t think much of the worldbuilding in the overworld, although I do think that Sova and Keraq were interesting to read about. The afterlife, however, was the star of the show. All the places described in the afterlife were all really unique in their own way, and perfectly amplified the story’s overall dark tone.

Prose: 3/5:
I think the prose was okay, with the action and emotional scenes being written very well. However there were a bunch of difficult words that kind of slowed the reading down quite a bit, especially near the end where the plot was supposed to be going faster.

Conclusion: This was a good book. It was definitely a step down from the first book, but it held up enough to intrigue me in reading the third book, but I am probably going to wait on continuing the series for now. A solid 3.5 rating for a good book.

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godfrina's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Talk about explosive finish.

I admit the first 40% or so were a bit slower going for me - the prose is just as magnificent as book 1, mind you - it's very political and scheming at first.
However, at about the 50% mark it's one bang after another and I finished the latter half in a single sitting.

I might be delusional but I still hope for some happiness for Vonvalt and Helena.

I love how absolutely everybody is morally grey to say the least and has personal hardships/relationships to overcome or come to terms with all the while an insane plotting of a coup is going on (

I do kind of pat myself on the shoulder to have at least thought of the possibility of who might be actually pulling strings while first introduced to the character fairly early on. Well done me :)

). Sidenote: I love the german-esque names and countries in this world! I've never really come across a fantasy world like it.

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atalea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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azrah786's review against another edition

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4.25

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, body horror, murder, death, child death, suicide, war, torture, alcoholism, grief, confinement, kidnapping, illness
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Super engaging with an exceptionally crafted plot, The Tyranny of Faith is a great follow up to The Justice of Kings!

Following the Battle at Galen’s Vale this sequel, again through the voice of Helena Sedanka, has us following Sir Konrad Vonvalt and his retainers as they travel to the capital Sova in order to root out the treason and whispers of rebellion that are circling the heart of the Empire. Tensions are high with all the political turmoil as well as the threat from a certain zealous Patria who is still at large. However, when the Emperor’s grandson is kidnapped the Emperor’s justice and co get reluctantly pulled in to help find him. Though they’re not totally convinced this new mystery is unrelated to the wider chaos and darkness that is brewing.

I made the choice not to reread book 1 before diving back into this series (Richard Swan has a great recap on his website though which really helped there) but the writing immediately eases you into the medieval setting and story again anyways.

Helena as a narrator is just as compelling as she was originally though her character reads as slightly more mature here and it really feels like Swan has come into his own with this story. There is still that sense of foresight in her recount that though is frustrating at times as she continually alludes that things aren’t going to go as planned, also keeps you glued to closely following the twisty narrative and action all the same.

What I loved the most was the expansion of the worldbuilding. In book 1 it was clear that Swan was just touching on the surface of the magic and lore but here it is all built on fantastically, I was particularly blown away with all the new details on the necromancy side of things that we get to see. We also get more of an insight into the intricacies of the central political system of the world and I really enjoyed the continued exploration on the themes of morality and following the letter of the law vs the spirit of the law.

Furthermore, the central group of characters in the book are such a joy to follow, as I have mentioned previously I really love their collective dynamic. It was really great to see a little more into their backstories and see their relationships develop and strengthen with everything that was transpiring around them.

The only thing I am starting to not really like were certain insinuations when it came to the relationship between Helena and Vonvalt. I really enjoyed the master/apprenticeship dynamic that was introduced between the two of them in Justice and Helena’s younger perspective having traces of adoration at first made sense. The way the situation seems to be developing though is starting to feel a little unnecessary and awkward..

That aside I did enjoy this sequel and am looking forward to seeing what happens next!
Final Rating 4.25/5 Stars

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prynne31's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Solid installment. IMO did not suffer significantly from middle book syndrome. Pacing is slow in some parts, but that seems to be author's style.

Note: a lot of missing words. Needed a last editing run.

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grimdark_dad's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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