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The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
Nov. 6th, 2023 02:17 pmThe Justice of Kings
3/5. Secondary world fantasy in which a woman recounts, from the perspective of later life, her teenaged apprenticeship to a king’s justice, and the political and empire-destroying events they stumble into.
Eh, not for me. This is competent political fantasy, but the focus on a woman spending this whole book chronicling a man’s journey, particularly when there are, generously,.75 other female characters in the whole book, did not land well. Also, the story here is of dissolution – the empire is going to come apart in some way, presumably, and its slow decline is mirrored in the justice himself, who becomes increasingly lawless in his attempts to uphold the system of laws he cherishes. Heard that song a thousand times before, and at least other people put more women in it.
Content notes: A lot of violence, lovingly described.
3/5. Secondary world fantasy in which a woman recounts, from the perspective of later life, her teenaged apprenticeship to a king’s justice, and the political and empire-destroying events they stumble into.
Eh, not for me. This is competent political fantasy, but the focus on a woman spending this whole book chronicling a man’s journey, particularly when there are, generously,.75 other female characters in the whole book, did not land well. Also, the story here is of dissolution – the empire is going to come apart in some way, presumably, and its slow decline is mirrored in the justice himself, who becomes increasingly lawless in his attempts to uphold the system of laws he cherishes. Heard that song a thousand times before, and at least other people put more women in it.
Content notes: A lot of violence, lovingly described.
