Grave Empire by Richard Swan

Sova is the centre of a powerful empire whose greedy merchants live off the exploitation of the land and sea and they vie with their Casimir neighbours for colonial power. The New East is one such disputed area where Peter Kleist has been posted after his father purchased him a commission in the elite Sovan Army. Fort Ingomar turns out to be as far from the pomp and ceremony of Sova as it is possible to be, and there is something seriously wrong there. The diplomatic offices of the empire are in Sova city, centres of power and luxury. Renata Rainer is attached to Ambassador Didacus Maruska and their Stygion embassy is in a rarely visited basement. The Stygions are a race of Mermen, living under the sea, and the embassy is much ridiculed by more mainstream diplomats. Sovans have long banned the use of magicks, except for the guild of engineers who are trained in its practical uses, but pagan beings to the north and some more extreme Neman sects still practice the arcane art of communing with the dead and news starts to filter through that all is not well in the spirit world, and that the prophecy of the Great Silence might be unfolding alongside a plague that is spreading throughout the north. The Stygions are known to maintain contact with the spirit world and a diplomatic mission is mounted to consult with them about the problem, a difficult task given the animosity on both sides and war in the lands they need to traverse to get to the Door to the Sea. The third thread to the story is that of Count von Oldenberg in his lands to the north. He has made a study of arcane practices with the help of a witch, Yelena, (who seems able to channel magical energy though sex) and has accumulated many arcane objects to channel magick. He is interested in the plague as it is bad for business, but as he learns more he becomes obsessed with the idea that he can use this leaking of power from the spirit world to enthrall others and bend them to his will.

Maps at the beginning are useful in tracking the many characters on their journeys and the author keeps control of the complex narrative, though at times the reader must trust that all will fall into place eventually. There is plenty of action, with battles, torture, zombies, aethereal screaming, or even worse, an all-pervasive sense of dread and unnatural silence, and I did start to care about some of the characters. I really liked the quotes at the beginning of each chapter purporting to be from various philosophers, military and diplomatic policy makers. This story is about beings half wolf, or fish or cat but it has reverberations about our world and our selfish priorities while great existential threats are ignored. This is the first in a new trilogy, I haven't read the previous one, Empire of the Wolf and while this does stand alone I am now curious to go back and read more.

Themes: Fantasy, War, Morality, Death and afterlife.

Sue Speck