“It is winter in the Empire of the Wolf, and the town of Eisbrück burns with plague.”
Now, I once again have to admit that Vonvalt was never my favourite character in The Justice of Kings, but following his younger self in these prequel novellas has somehow completely changed the game for me. I absolutely love seeing the slightly less jaded man he was before everything that came later, especially because I find it morbidly compelling to watch him navigate situations where the clash between the law, morality, desire, and sheer survival instinct are all tearing him apart from inside. This time around, he is sent after a ruthless child murderer who has escaped from an insane asylum, only to arrive in a town being ravaged by a deadly plague that the locals believe is the work of demonic witchcraft, so safe to say the stakes are high.
There is honestly quite a lot happening in The Anguished Earth, but Swan’s atmosphere and character work kept me completely grounded. I could practically feel the bite of winter throughout the entire story, and every sharp conversation felt so vivid that I could hear it playing out in my head like a film, which is a level of immersion that I rarely get to experience as someone who’s not a very visual reader. The core mystery also kept me on the edge of my seat, and I loved the way that Swan blended body horror, spiritual horror, and psychological horror to create the most delicious sense of dread. Like, the child murders and plague itself are horrifying, but the paranoia surrounding it is almost worse, and I loved how the mystery played into that growing sense that absolutely nothing in this town was safe or sane.
I do have to admit that I wanted a little more from some of the side characters, mostly because I felt like my man Bressinger did not get much time to shine in The Anguished Earth. See, he finds himself struck down by the plague despite believing he was immune, and while I really loved seeing just how desperate Vonvalt became to save his best friend (which he would never admit out loud), I definitely missed their banter for parts of the story. That said, I was actually very delighted that my animal-shifting babe Resi made another appearance, and now I am begging Swan to write a romance next because the tension, yearning, and emotional turmoil between her and Vonvalt were honestly giving me life.
While I do think this prequel novella works brilliantly as a standalone tale, I would still recommend it more to fans of the series than to newcomers, because I think it hits way harder when you already understand the magic, these people, and what they mean to each other. In any case, The Anguished Earth satisfied my grimdark-loving heart in ways I did not know I needed, and I now swear I will be returning to the Empire of the Wolf before Swan has a chance to publish another novella and make me feel even guiltier about not having done so yet.
Thank you to Grimdark Magazine for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Even though I am a GdM team member, this review is unbiased and all opinions are my own. The Anguished Earth is scheduled for release on October 19th, 2026.