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Richard Swan: The Justice of Kings (Paperback, 2022, Orbit) 4 stars

Review of 'The Justice of Kings' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

3.5 stars

By now I should know better than write long reviews on this bloody app on my phone... I was almost finished with my review, something glitched and it was gone... so let's be quick about this.

"The Justice of Kings" aka Law & Order Middle Ages

Pros:
- this was clearly written by a jurist. I liked how "real" the justice system was
- a true page turner
- original
- Helena and Vonvalt are very shippable

Cons:
- too light on the fantasy
- the digression into a court room drama (thank god it was only for a chapter)
- too low stakes. It's established that Helena lives to be an old woman. No situation that seems hopeless actually is.
- Helena is supposed to have been a tough street urchin but she literally shrieks whenever something is brutal or scary
- characters make dumb decisions in order to move the plot along