The Record of Judgement
(2026)(The fifth book in the Griwaldy Chronicles series)
A novel by Lynn Nodima
In the Empire, power isn’t always loud—but it is always recorded.
Captain Regina Griwaldy has survived the Empire’s political machinery by refusing to play it recklessly. She leads with discipline, restraint, and precision—and she keeps her crew safe by knowing when to speak, when to stay silent, and when to leave nothing open to interpretation.But when authority tightens into control, Regina is drawn into a system where procedure becomes punishment and tradition is used as leverage. In courtrooms and councils alike, the most dangerous weapon isn’t force—it’s documentation. A single line in the record can outlive the truth. A single delay can become a sentence.
With every accusation carrying a hidden agenda and every decision carrying consequences beyond her command, Regina must navigate escalating pressure without giving her enemies the satisfaction of seeing her break. She can concede. She can challenge. Or she can do what the Empire fears most—create a record that cannot be twisted.
Because in this pat of the Empire, the most dangerous verdict is the one that gets written down.
The Griwaldy Chronicles continues with Book Five: The Record of Judgement, a political science fiction novella filled with institutional tension, high-stakes judgment, and the quiet power of survival.
Author's Note
This installment of The Griwaldy Chronicles leans into a quieter kind of tension—one built on records, restraint, and the cost of choosing principle when spectacle would be easier. Regina’s world isn’t governed by loud villains or dramatic speeches, but by institutions, perception, and the careful ways power protects itself.This story is about aftermath. Not the kind that follows explosions or victories, but the quieter kind—the reckoning that comes when decisions can no longer be deferred, reframed, or softened by distance. In The Record of Judgement, I wanted to explore what happens after lines are drawn and records are made, when responsibility no longer belongs to a single captain or council, but to everyone who must live with the consequences.
Throughout The Griwaldy Chronicles, Regina Griwaldy has been defined less by power than by restraint. She does not act to be admired, and she does not decide in order to be right. She decides because someone must. This book examines what that kind of authority demands in return—what it costs to hold a line once the universe has acknowledged that it exists.
Genre: Science Fiction
Used availability for Lynn Nodima's The Record of Judgement