Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Rise of Empire: By Michael Sullivan



RISE OF EMPIRE

SUMMARY
Royce and Hadrian have been called upon to aid the struggling kingdom of Melengar as it alone stands in defiance against the newly formed empire. As war approaches a desperate gamble behind enemy lines is their only chance at forming an alliance with the Nationalists to the south.

But Royce has plans of his own and uses this opportunity to discover if an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, Royce must unravel Hadrian's hidden past. What he discovers will lead them to the end of the known world on a journey rife with treachery and intrigue.

And so continues the second tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

REVIEW

Rise of Empire was amazing .

While the first two books (found in Theft of Swords) were fantastic books, they felt much more like stand alones that happened to contain the same group of characters. Now in books 3 and 4 of the series, Sullivan turns this fantastic series into a continuous series.

Readers finally learn more about the heir, we are introduced to new characters that play huge new roles (such as Modina, Amilia, Merrick and Wyatt). And older characters get to play bigger and more important storylines (especially Arista and Saulder).

That said my favorite new aspect of the books is the introduction to Royce and Hadrian’s pasts. Readers will get to visit the towns these two each grew up from, discover the source of Hadrian’s amazing fighting skills, and even see who put Royce in prison. Each of the two characters are much more flushed out, and we really get to see what makes each of them tick. They are tested in ways we never saw in the previous two books and I have to say they will be tested further in the last installments.

Of course I also loved Arista’s growth and discovery. Arista goes from becoming a smart yet pampered princess to something altogether more. She becomes a real character that readers will sympathize with. Fans of the series will root for as she defies the odds and feel sorrow for as the people in her life die around her. Through Arista readers are also finally introduced to magic. As her powers grow, so does her importance in the story, and lets just say she’s darn important by the end of book 4.

Of course while that’s all well and good, other things to keep in mind are that this book is chalk full of great action scenes, as Hadrian and Royce battle everything from mythical monsters, to religious soldiers, to goblins. All in all this book is fantastic. Sullivan has created quality characters who deepen the story, filled it with non-stop action, and thrown in a good deal of mystery and deception, to the degree that readers themselves wont know what will happen next. All in all a great book and I can’t wait for the last in the series.

RATING
9 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: December 14, 2011

Price: $14.99

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Theft of Swords: By Michael Sullivan

THEFT OF SWORDS

SUMMARY

THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY CHOSE POORLY.

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles--until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.

Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires in order to keep a secret too terrible for the world to know?

REVIEW

Sullivan’s Theft of Swords is absolutely fantastic. Its characters are humorous and robust, its plot dynamic, and its writing just plain well written. In fact if you’re looking for comparisons Theft of Swords reminded me of an interesting combination of Simon R. Green’s Hawk and Fisher series (with the mystery fantasy element with a witty back and forth between the protagonists) and Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series (with is strong band of characters and dynamic plot full of twists.)

Of course while I enjoyed the book, my favorite aspect of it had to be the characters. They were well written, and as readers go through books one and two (both are contained in Theft of Swords) readers will really get a feeling for Royce and Hadrian. Obviously these two are my favorite characters (especially Hadrian). They are humorous, honorable (yet still maintain the fact that they are thieves for hire), and relatable characters. Not only that but Sullivan has created rich back stories for them that he’s slowly revealing in order to impress upon the readers the importance of each these dynamic character’s histories.

That said, I also very much enjoy Esra (I didn’t like him in book one, but he grew on me by book two and feel like he could present some interesting situations in the rest of the series), the Pickering boys (they’re talented strong willed good natured boys who add a nice element to the story), and Myron (the lovable and hilarious monk.)

All in all this book is filled with pretty much constant action, it’s got great characters, and is just plain fun to read. I can’t wait for the next book in the series, and am happy that Orbit is planning to release them in consecutive months. All in all there’s a reason this book was a Kindle Best Seller before it was published by Orbit.


RATING
9 out of 10

INFO
Publisher: Orbit

Published: November 23, 2011

Price: $14.99