It's been a while—perhaps N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season or Joe Abercrombie's Age of Madness—that I have walked away from a fantasy novel that had such a searing clarity, control of its narrative, and thorough exploration of its themes. The first volume of this trilogy was a promising tale and this second one built on rock-solid foundations. Legal thriller, action-packed, and eldritch horror aplenty. And so dense a novel. Ever chapter briskly expands the story and the single POV allows for a feeling of tightness in a tale with a large scope.

The prose, characters, and worldbuilding are absolutely top notch. Perhaps the only major flaw was the romance which did not have the same brilliance. Fortunately it's not too much in the way of the larger stories, of an empire teetering on the brink of great change...