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  • Grave Empire

Grave Empire

The Great Silence #1 / 3 ✓
by Richard Swan
Grave Empire (The Great Silence #1) by Richard Swan
Unrated

From critically acclaimed author Richard Swan, Grave Empire begins the epic tale of an empire on the verge of industrial revolution, where sorcery and arcane practices are outlawed – and where an ancient prophecy threatens the coming end of days.

Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.

A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.

But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse.

Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence.

It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save...

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FantasyEpic FantasyHigh Fantasy
Release date: February 4, 2025

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Richard Swan

Richard Swan

Before turning to fiction, Richard Swan spent years navigating the intricacies of the British legal system as a commercial barrister. That legal precision—meticulous, methodical, and relentless—now pulses through his dark, politically charged fantasy epics. Readers often come to his Empire of the Wolf trilogy expecting swordfights and magic; they stay for the crumbling empires, courtroom intrigue, and the slow-burn unravelling of truth in a world where justice is as fragile as memory.

Read more ...

Born in North Yorkshire, Swan grew up surrounded by the stark beauty of the English countryside—an early lesson in the contrast between stillness and storm that now echoes in his writing. His storytelling draws heavily from his legal background, but it also leans into the moral gray areas often left untouched by traditional high fantasy. In Swan’s world, heroes are not destined; they are made, broken, and sometimes lost entirely.

His breakout novel, The Justice of Kings, was a quiet revolution in the fantasy genre—a sharp, philosophical debut that placed a legal investigator at the heart of an empire's fall. With its brooding tone, introspective narration, and moral complexity, the book carved out a niche between grimdark and classic epic fantasy. It’s less about the clash of armies and more about the erosion of ideals, making it a compelling read for fans of authors like Joe Abercrombie and C.J. Sansom.

Themes of authority, power, and faith run deep through his work, often explored through characters who are painfully aware of their own fallibility. Swan doesn’t write for escapism; he writes to ask uncomfortable questions—and to let those questions linger long after the final chapter.

Now residing in London with his family, Richard Swan continues to expand his imagined worlds, building stories that challenge genre boundaries and reader expectations alike. With a voice that blends legal precision and philosophical weight, his novels stand as stark, intelligent reflections on the cost of power in every form it takes.

The Great Silence

Trilogy.

The Great Silence consists of two books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Grave Empire (The Great Silence #1)
Unrated
Steel Gods (The Great Silence #2)
⧗ 8.50 / 2
Blood Dynasty (The Great Silence #3)
⧗ 8.50 / 2


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