The Justice of Kings (Empire of the Wolf #1) [December 3, 2023]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I think 2 is Helena (view spoiler)[ embracing Justicehood, and 3 is Claver close to success at conquering the world? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Ooh, nice ideas...

[Felina]

Chapter 22 (view spoiler)[ I’m so sad for Mathis and his father. (hide spoiler)]

[Felina]

I just finished this. Wow. Very good book. And to think I almost decided to not do this one because I was behind on my BR’s. Looking forward to the next one!

[Nirkatze]

So glad you joined us Felina! Grats on the finish! (view spoiler)[Ah yeah... Matas's death was a cruel one, and especially on his father, with already so much tragedy in his life... (hide spoiler)]

[Chris]

Nirkatze wrote: "Up to chapter 9 now, seeing those things Iain mentioned--the foreshadowing bits ("ah, if only I'd known at the time" etc) are making me think about what other books I've read with that narrative st..."

Read a bunch last night, but still only up to this post in the dicussion lol...

[Nirkatze]

Eh, I know that feeling...

[Rob]

Finished this morning. Loved it. Probably one of my favorites of the year (and a close thing at that). Pacing was excellent, enjoyed the Holmesian/Name of the Rose parallels.

Cover(view spoiler)[I'd be shocked if this weren't Helena on the cover and wonder if the cover of book 3 might be the Emperor's heir? Or maybe almost looks like a religious figure/christ-like?. I'm also wondering about the three animal images behind each of the thrones of the covers. Angelic/Classic Justice images, A stag, Snake/hydra type thing. (hide spoiler)]

Going forward:

Vonvalt (view spoiler)[Already alluded to him becoming more violent, law-bending, vengeful, etc in the epilogue. My instant knee-jerk reaction is Sir Radomir being an ardent supporter of this method, Brenzinger becoming more reluctant and siding with Helena perhaps? And as for her, at 19, one would think she'd still have the most character development the least of which is insisting they train her a lot more in sword work and perhaps going down the path of becoming a justice before the end of the book. I hoping for more political intrigue and maneuverings in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Grats on the finish, Rob! Definitely one of my favorites this year as well. Really looking forward to picking up the next one in a little over a week.

One thing about the cover for book 3--I peeked at the book blurb (view spoiler)[and it says something about having to go to another country for help to save their own, which makes me wonder if maybe the symbolism might be for this "other country"? Just one more possibility to throw out there! (hide spoiler)]

Interesting theories going forward!

[Chris]

Finished, and read the spoiler comments....

A lot to digest and think on, leading up to book 2

[Nirkatze]

Grats on the finish!

[Choko]

I also finished... Those demon magic things scare the heck out of me... I don't personally believe in Heaven or Hell, but I do believe in good and evil and the ways the human mind and soul can bring them into being... The benevolence and malevolence of people never stop to amaze me. We have almost unlimited capacity for both good and evil, and I wish we chose good more often... Books of this type always leave me with unease in my soul... I am interested to see how things progress though...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'd been under the impression you did, since you always write G-d to avoid typing it...

[Choko]

Ooohhhh, I believe in G-d, just not in the widely accepted images of Heaven and Hell... I want to believe in Afterlife, but I think our main purpose is to do our best here, on Earth... None of us knows what follows, so we have to make the best of it right now.

And yes, being Jewish, I never write out the names of G-d, because then I have to respect the object on which the names were written, and will have to bury that object in a proper way once it has outlived its usefulness. I don't plan on doing that with my phone:)))