Richard Swan Books In Order

Publication Order of The Art of War Trilogy Books

Chronological Order of The Art of War Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Ascendancy WarShort Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Empire of the Wolf Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Richard Swan is a bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy that is best known for the “Art of War” trilogy.

Swan was born in North Yorkshire and spent many years living in Royal Airforce bases in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire and became obsessed with fighter jets.

In 2010, Richard moved to London and spent about a decade working on multi-million-pound commercial cases as a litigator. He currently makes his home in Sydney, where he lives with Sophie his wonderful wife, and their two sons.
He published “Reclamation” his debut novel and the first of the “Art of War Trilogy” in 2015, and has never looked back since.

Swan got a massive payday when his debut fantasy fiction trilogy was purchased for a six-figure sum by “Orbit Books.” The first novel of the series was “The Justice of the Kings,” which came out in 2022 to much popularity.
When he is not working or penning his novels, he can usually be found spending time with Sophie his wife, and attempting to raise his two sons.

Swan began writing while he was still very young. He was just thirteen when he got started and had about eight long-form manuscripts to his name before he decided to pen one specifically intended for publishing.

Writing was something Richard had done for years as a hobby just like you would play golf or cross stitch. It was always a normal thing for him to have a story she was writing, even with a busy legal practice and a young son to take care of.
Richard can remember the time he began writing in earnest as a kid. His school then came with a computer room that had all manner of desktop computers that the kids could use on their lunch break.

His head was full of “Star Wars,” “Starcraft Halo,” and “Tiberian Sun” and it was from such influences that he began developing an obsession with writing an epic science fiction work.

He intended to pen several works he would call “Kinetica” that were each about seven to eight thousand words apiece.

Following that, he wrote another novel titled “Celestial” alongside a friend soon after followed by “Mindscape” his first proper novel. “Mindscape” was penned while he was in his late teens and was the blueprint for many of his future novels.

Richard Swan got introduced to genre fiction while he was about seven and spent an afternoon in a Winchester public library.

It was on that day that he picked up Monica Hughes’ “Space Trap” and was awestruck by the cover, which features the backdrop of a vivid red sunset with a car being driven down an empty highway by a robot.
It blew his mind as he had never read anything like it. He would then read “The Hobbit” followed by the “Discworld” fiction works that he absolutely loved.

But it was not until he read Eric van Lustbader’s “The Ring of Five Dragons” that his love for the genre was set in stone.

When he started writing, he took inspiration from his job as a litigator, the “Witcher 3” Xbox game, the “Cicero” trilogy by Robert Harris, and a little of the “Ravenor/Eisenhorn” trilogies for seasoning.
He also gets some inspiration from the films, TV, and computer games he plays in addition to the people he meets and places he visits.

“The Justice of Kings” by Richard Swan tells the narrative of Calver the priest, Bressinger a former Legion soldier, and Vonvalt, Helena. The three are on their way to the village of Rill where a Draedist witch makes her home.
The Emperor’s Justice is a man named Sir Vonvalt who has been made investigator, judge, and executioner of any people who violate the law of the Empire.

He can also speak for the Emperor but is still known as a very fair man who will always provide the accused with a chance to right things before he metes out a sentence.
However, Calver the zealot has always clashed with Vonvalt as he believes anybody who practiced outlawed religions deserved the death penalty.

What follows is an interesting quest to Galen’s Vale where Bressinger, Helena, and Vonvalt investigate the murder of a noblewoman.

Told from the perspective of Helean, it is a somber and weary even if sometimes regretful narration.

She writes the story from an outsider’s perspective and from her narration, we can get a nonbiased perspective of Vonvalt aside from his own sense of righteousness.

Richard Swan’s “The Tyranny of Faith” is a work set following the Galen Vale battle.

At the opening of this tale, Sir Rodamir, Bressinger, Helena, and Sir Konrad Vonvalt are heading to the empire’s capital Sova. They have to warn the emperor of the threat posed by Bartholomew Carver.
If he ever gets access to Draedist Arcana, the Magistratum will be made powerless and it may just be the end of the Sovan Empire.

Upon entering the city, they find rumors of rebellion, nobility speaking evil of the Emperor, fanatics swearing of Holy Vengeance, and traitors lurking in the Magistratum.

The Emperor charges Konrad Vonvalt with finding and identifying all traitors that are aligned with Claver. But Vonvalt soon realizes that the man has a lot of power and influence.
A few weeks later, Konrad is called into action when one of the emperor’s family is taken hostage and he has to stop his pursuit of Claver to rescue the man.

But with thickening plots pulling him in all directions and his health waning, things take a terrifying turn.

It is a masterful and richly layered sequel filled with necromancy, political intrigue, philosophy, law, and religion that is both refreshing and familiar.

“The Trials of Empire” by Richard Swan opens with the Empire on its knees, even though there is still some life left in the beast.

To save it, Helena and Sir Konrad Vonvalt need to look beyond the empire for allies. They have to look to the northern reaches for help from pagan clans and on the southern plains for wolfmen.

However, their allies have old grievances even if both would love it if the Sova empire fell. Things are dire since they may not have enough to take on Bartholomew Claver even with allies, as he has some paranormal powers given to him by a dark lord.
If Helena and Vonvalt are to stand any chance against him, they will have to work with friends on either side of the mortal plane, even though this could have some devastating consequences.

It is a magical blend of character exploration and legal intrigue that soon becomes an insane medieval horror fiction work.