I am incredibly let down by this. After loving The Crown Tower, this was such a disappointment to read. I guess Sullivan's writing has just improved a lot, which I really commend him for, but it's left me let down by this. There was just too many words in here that weren't needed. Descriptions were long and repetitive. A lot of it was repetitive and honestly, didn't even need to be included. Like, the trial scene was completely boring because it was just repeating what we already know for a dozen or so pages, and the inclusion of the lawyer made it too modern, so it became a bit unbelievable to me. A lot of the perspective switches didn't need to be included as well. The reader doesn't have to know everything. I love being kept in the dark! I don't want to know what every character is doing/thinking about a certain event. The scene at the end of the first book could've been a lot more exciting if it'd been streamlined. Instead, we've got a whole heap of explanations that the reader honestly doesn't need - Sullivan could've waited until afterwards to SHOW what he told the reader in the many unnecessary info dumps.The prequels also focused a lot on the actual characters, and I was REALLY looking forward to seeing their characters explored more in depth in these novels. But no. That didn't happen. The Rose and the Thorn left off with Hadrian feeling completely hollow inside, yet in this novel he becomes a 2D character. I get that that's because Sullivan wrote this one first, but I think if I started at this story I wouldn't have minded, because I wouldn't have known what I was missing! I really badly wanted to know about the past experiences that were so horrible Hadrian refused to even think about them. I wanted to know more about Royce and his growing up. Royce's characterisation was completely flat as well, compared to the prequel. He came across as nowhere near as dangerous and awesome as before. He made a few remarks that showed he didn't value life, but his snarky cynical comments were gone!I don't think I will read the rest of these books, which is incredibly upsetting. I really respect Sullivan as an author. His authors note at the beginning of The Crown Tower included his email so he can communicate with readers, which I love! And I think its great that he's had such success in all methods of publishing. I'll probably read a story if its in the Chronicles, but I'm done with the Revelations. When I first started reading this book I was at a point where I did not know what type of book I should read next. I was finding my selection of books I had been reading very narrow. The books were either about sorcery, magic, vampires, witches, werewolves or druids or some combination of all of them. Don't get me wrong, I love these types of books but I felt I was limiting myself. IT has been a while but there was one book series I read that I really liked because it felt like the style of writing but it did not have any magic or otherworldly stories. That was the book series the Rangers apprentice. Not a single person in that series used magic or was anything other than human. It was set back in something like the middle ages and the lead character was a ranger and there were Dukes and knights and kings. I was getting to a point where I needed to read that type of book again but that was getting hard to find. How do you find a story about fantasy/ fiction that does not really have any magic? Then I found this book. This book was was the closest I have come to the Rangers apprentice series. This story follows the exploits of 2 thieves, one a very brave fighter and the other a real sneaky bastard. Despite their chosen profession their is honor in these two lead characters. I read a review that the author placed about his own books to explain about the story. This book is actually 2 stories put together. The author wrote a total of 6 and he wanted to start off very slow and pick up speed. The first book did just that, it started off slow. It was hard at first to know what was going on. The names were hard to pronounce and it was hard to keep track of the kingdoms. The two lead characters were also very mysterious so there was not much that was known about them even at the end of the first book. Because of that we learned more about the supporting characters. This book did have magic and elves and dwarves but they were kind of mentioned in passing. Elves were considered second class citizens and hardly made an appearance in either of the first 2 stories. There was only one person who used magic and he was barely in the story as well. At times I hoped the writer would explain a little more, especially in the first book but then I read his review and new that things would pick up which they did in the second story.
What do You think about Theft Of Swords (2011)?
When I first started reading this book I was at a point where I did not know what type of book I should read next. I was finding my selection of books I had been reading very narrow. The books were either about sorcery, magic, vampires, witches, werewolves or druids or some combination of all of them. Don't get me wrong, I love these types of books but I felt I was limiting myself. IT has been a while but there was one book series I read that I really liked because it felt like the style of writing but it did not have any magic or otherworldly stories. That was the book series the Rangers apprentice. Not a single person in that series used magic or was anything other than human. It was set back in something like the middle ages and the lead character was a ranger and there were Dukes and knights and kings. I was getting to a point where I needed to read that type of book again but that was getting hard to find. How do you find a story about fantasy/ fiction that does not really have any magic? Then I found this book. This book was was the closest I have come to the Rangers apprentice series. This story follows the exploits of 2 thieves, one a very brave fighter and the other a real sneaky bastard. Despite their chosen profession their is honor in these two lead characters. I read a review that the author placed about his own books to explain about the story. This book is actually 2 stories put together. The author wrote a total of 6 and he wanted to start off very slow and pick up speed. The first book did just that, it started off slow. It was hard at first to know what was going on. The names were hard to pronounce and it was hard to keep track of the kingdoms. The two lead characters were also very mysterious so there was not much that was known about them even at the end of the first book. Because of that we learned more about the supporting characters. This book did have magic and elves and dwarves but they were kind of mentioned in passing. Elves were considered second class citizens and hardly made an appearance in either of the first 2 stories. There was only one person who used magic and he was barely in the story as well. At times I hoped the writer would explain a little more, especially in the first book but then I read his review and new that things would pick up which they did in the second story.
—tcme0512
THE GOOD AND THE BADThe good:My wife was the one who encouraged me to read this series. I was a huge fan of the Belgariad and Malloreon series by David Eddings and the Riyria Revelations is definitely a series that can keep pace. I would recommend this series to anyone who is looking for something that is not very challenging and is just fun to read. The character development is some of the best I have come across; you will end up cheering for the main characters throughout the series. After completing the series I was immediately left with wanting more. The bad:I found that you can order signed copies of the books from Michael J. Sullivans website and so I decided to order some for myself. I went to the website and placed my order and received a notification from PayPal that my account had been charged and so now I just needed to wait for my signed books. I wanted and waited and waited. A month had passed and still no books. I tried to contact the company who was handling the transaction and no response. Finally I gave up and called up PayPal and had them refund my money. I still have not heard from the company and now I will not have signed copies of this incredible series...I guess I could give my copies to my two year old and have her scribble something in the inside cover and pretend that it is a signature but I will always know that it isn't.Mr. Sullivan, if you're reading this review...I would still love to purchase signed copies of your works. You are a gifted author and I would love to support you in your efforts. If there is a way to get copies signed please let us all know! Thanks!
—Jay
Reads like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign write up.
—syedka01
