The Anguished Earth (An Empire of the Wolf Novella), by Richard Swan
The Book
Synopsis:
It is winter in the Empire of the Wolf, and the town of Eisbrück burns with plague.
Whilst physicians struggle to contain the pox, the atmosphere thickens with recrimination and rumour: talk of inauspicious constellations, and a demonic witch filling the streets with bodies and black magick.
Amongst the chaos, Sir Konrad Vonvalt must recover a dangerous fugitive—a child murderer who has escaped from Blackmarsh Insane Asylum.
But with winter’s bite closing and plague spreading like wildfire, finding the killer may be the least of his problems…
My Review
It has been a superb year to be a Swanstinople citizen: we had the start of a new sci-fi series that I personally loved, the second book in the Great Silence trilogy (so more of Sova) and to conclude the year, we have a new novella that allows us to follow a new Vonvalt's case; a perfect excuse to return to that blend of grimdark, horror, fantasy and mystery that is so characteristic of Vonvalt's books. Let me tell you, Richard Swan never disappoints.
On this occasion, Sir Konrad Vonvalt will be forced to travel to the city of Eisbrück, in order to capture a dangerous fugitive that has escaped from an Insane Asylum; a city under the threat of a smallpox plague, making finding the killer even more deadly than anticipated. Vonvalt and his companions must move carefully in a city that is a powder keg waiting for a spark to explode.
As in the previous novella (don't worry, those novellas can be read as a standalone primer to the world), we have another opportunity to take an insight at the sharp mind of Vonvalt, how he works on his cases; however, in this occasion, the arcane parts of the setting gain importance in the mystery's resolution, giving that rather particular taste you can expect from the Empire of the Wolf. Despite being a brief novella, there's space to develop most of the relationships between the characters, something worthy of mention.
The atmosphere is well built, slowly diving deeper into the layers of the mystery, embracing the metaphysical while going over the witchcraft accusations; that bond between the spiritual and the physical world contributes to it.
Said that, even if this is a prequel, I would recommend reading the novels and the novella in before diving into this one, as it presupposes a certain level of knowledge of the world.
Said that, The Anguished Earth is another enjoyable entry in the Empire of the Wolf series, that perfect blend between mystery and grimdark that is so characteristic of Swan's writing. A fine addition to the Richard Swan's collection!
The Author/s
Richard Swan
Richard Swan is a critically acclaimed British genre writer. His debut fantasy novel, The Justice of Kings, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into eight languages.
His other work includes the Art of War and Great Silence trilogies, as well as short fiction for Black Library and Grimdark Magazine.Richard is a qualified lawyer, and before writing full time spent ten years litigating multimillion pound commercial disputes in London. He currently lives in Winchester with his wife and three young sons.