⋙ Read The Crown Tower The Riyria Chronicles Michael J Sullivan 9780316243711 Books

The Crown Tower The Riyria Chronicles Michael J Sullivan 9780316243711 Books

Download As PDF : The Crown Tower The Riyria Chronicles Michael J Sullivan 9780316243711 Books

The Crown Tower The Riyria Chronicles Michael J Sullivan 9780316243711 Books

I was a little worried to read this prequel. I totally LoVeD Hadrian and Royce in the Riyria Revelations and it is a completed series. Did I really want to go back to their beginnings to see how it all started??? And the answer is….

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESSSSSS!!!!!!

MJS is not that author who couldn’t figure out what to write next and so decided hey I’ll write more books in the same world because $$$. Nope not at all, he wrote it because his wife fell in love with another man.

***It’s the classic story of a husband whose wife falls for another man—a more dashing and charming gent. It sounds tragic, but this tale is a bit different because the love affair is between a real woman and a fictional man. My wife—let’s call her Robin (because that’s her name)—has developed an infatuation for Hadrian Blackwater. I’m not sure how I feel about enabling my wife’s relationship with another man, but at least I know this guy is trustworthy ***

As soon as I read that in the dedication I KNEW that MJS was not just pumping out more books for the sake of $$$ but definitely for the love of the world, the characters and his wife. After that I just relaxed and had a great time with it.

Can you read this first???

Yes, there aren’t any spoilers for the future series. BUT….that said I will say that I really liked catching the little hints and cameos of characters that we get to know better later on. My personal recommendation is to read The Riyria Revelations first and then move on to these.

But won’t I be a little bored since I already kind of know what happens from Riyria Revelations?

I was also a little worried about that. The answer is a resounding NO…you will not be bored at all. There are so many great things in this. One of the first things I was really excited about is that we get a Gwen PoV and it is fantastic.

***Why did we leave Calis? Why did you give me a northern name? And most importantly, Why does it mean so much to you for us to go to this mythical place called Medford? Stubbornly her mother had refused to answer, except to say that God had told her to go. When Gwen asked which god, her mother had replied, “The one who walks as a man.”***

The second thing is that Royce and Hadrian are just starting out and you can see how completely different they are from each other. Hadrian is pretty naive and trusting…while Royce well he was raised by wolves so trust isn’t something he understands at all.

***“You have any friends?”
“One.”
“Arcadius?”
“No.”
“Where is this friend?”
“No idea.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“When he framed me for murder and sent me to prison.”
“I don’t think you understand the meaning of the word friend.”
“And I think you live in a fairy-tale world where words have consistent meanings…”***

I really enjoyed this getting to know each other part of their relationship. You can see the threads of the bromance that it will become but you can also see the rocky road they will travel to get there.

This story went so fast for me and I couldn’t wait to get to some of the moments I knew had to be coming because of the snippets we were told in Riyria Revelations.

As MJS said he could write one book covering a year in Harian and Royce’s life leading up to Riyria Revelations which is 12 books. You know what…. I WOULD READ THEM ALL if they are even close to as good as this one.


Tags : The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles) [Michael J. Sullivan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>*** 2013 Goodreads Choice Award Finalist in Fantasy ***</b><br /><br /><b>Two men who hate each other. One impossible mission. A legend in the making.</b><br />Hadrian Blackwater,Michael J. Sullivan,The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles),Orbit,031624371X,Adventure fiction,Adventure fiction.,Assassins,Fantasy fiction,Fantasy fiction.,Swordplay,Wizards,AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY,Action & Adventure,Adventure,FICTION Action & Adventure,FICTION Fantasy Epic,FICTION Fantasy Historical,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fantasy - Historical,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction-Fantasy,FictionAction & Adventure,FictionFantasy - Historical,GENERAL,General Adult,Monograph Series, 1st,United States

The Crown Tower The Riyria Chronicles Michael J Sullivan 9780316243711 Books Reviews

I started this series out of chronological order, taking the authors preference of written order. I'm glad I did. It's just so much more enjoyable getting to know the background behind the partnership of Royce and Hadrian. I have laughed and it loud and thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to download the next. This book I would put in the same category of exceptional storytelling as Patrick Rothfuss. It will be a shame when this series ends. Perhaps the author will consider a story of Royce with the elves?
This book begins my love affair with Michael J. Sullivan's writing. Strong female characters. Engrossing plots. Friendships, quests, elves, dwarves, wizards, swords, unlikely heroes in a thief and an ex-mercenary. The series tackles social issues, civil issues, political issues, religious issues, but it doesn't feel heavy. Instead it pulls you in and before you know it you've finished the book, not noticing the time, and possibly in trouble for not getting things done or really tired the next day from lack of sleep. Ordinary people stepping out to help others even when it puts them in danger.

So this book is part of the newer series but chronologically it comes before the earlier series The Riyria Revelations. I've read the series in chronological order rather than publication order. For me this worked out fine. The author recommends publication order.

I received an eARC from netgalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. (less)
I am a huge fan of Michael J. Sullivan and his Riyria crew. The Riyria Revelations saga was a great read, and one of my favorite fantasy series.

So, how does that translate back to the prequel? Pretty good, actually. It was great to read about Hadrian and Royce again, and get the details of the origins of their intrepid partnership. All of the same items were present - easy to read story, humor, adventure, and intrigue.

But, that being said, I thought something was missing. Maybe it was that I was already familiar with the basics of the origin story due to references in Revelations. It may also be due to the fact that I read Revelations a number of years ago, and therefore had forgotten some of the side characters, which means I missed many of the easter eggs and references from Chronicles that would make much more sense if the world and characters were more fresh in my mind.

There were a few parts of the story that I thought were a bit implausible, and a bit too convenient, but I can't go into details because I don't want to spoil anything. And finally, it felt to me like Chronicles was a bit more juvenile - more swearing, and a bit darker descriptions and circumstances in the sexuality category as well.

But, like I said, still a great story, and still worth your time.

---------------
I noticed and Goodreads have a slightly different meanings to their 5-point scale. I thought it was odd to have a different rating for the same book on two different sites, so I came up with my own scale below. For the record, it is fairly close to 's scale, but allows me to be consistent between the two sites.

5 - Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 25 in a lifetime.
4 - Very good.
3 - Worth your time.
2 - Not very good.
1 - Atrocious.
I was a little worried to read this prequel. I totally LoVeD Hadrian and Royce in the Riyria Revelations and it is a completed series. Did I really want to go back to their beginnings to see how it all started??? And the answer is….

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESSSSSS!!!!!!

MJS is not that author who couldn’t figure out what to write next and so decided hey I’ll write more books in the same world because $$$. Nope not at all, he wrote it because his wife fell in love with another man.

***It’s the classic story of a husband whose wife falls for another man—a more dashing and charming gent. It sounds tragic, but this tale is a bit different because the love affair is between a real woman and a fictional man. My wife—let’s call her Robin (because that’s her name)—has developed an infatuation for Hadrian Blackwater. I’m not sure how I feel about enabling my wife’s relationship with another man, but at least I know this guy is trustworthy ***

As soon as I read that in the dedication I KNEW that MJS was not just pumping out more books for the sake of $$$ but definitely for the love of the world, the characters and his wife. After that I just relaxed and had a great time with it.

Can you read this first???

Yes, there aren’t any spoilers for the future series. BUT….that said I will say that I really liked catching the little hints and cameos of characters that we get to know better later on. My personal recommendation is to read The Riyria Revelations first and then move on to these.

But won’t I be a little bored since I already kind of know what happens from Riyria Revelations?

I was also a little worried about that. The answer is a resounding NO…you will not be bored at all. There are so many great things in this. One of the first things I was really excited about is that we get a Gwen PoV and it is fantastic.

***Why did we leave Calis? Why did you give me a northern name? And most importantly, Why does it mean so much to you for us to go to this mythical place called Medford? Stubbornly her mother had refused to answer, except to say that God had told her to go. When Gwen asked which god, her mother had replied, “The one who walks as a man.”***

The second thing is that Royce and Hadrian are just starting out and you can see how completely different they are from each other. Hadrian is pretty naive and trusting…while Royce well he was raised by wolves so trust isn’t something he understands at all.

***“You have any friends?”
“One.”
“Arcadius?”
“No.”
“Where is this friend?”
“No idea.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“When he framed me for murder and sent me to prison.”
“I don’t think you understand the meaning of the word friend.”
“And I think you live in a fairy-tale world where words have consistent meanings…”***

I really enjoyed this getting to know each other part of their relationship. You can see the threads of the bromance that it will become but you can also see the rocky road they will travel to get there.

This story went so fast for me and I couldn’t wait to get to some of the moments I knew had to be coming because of the snippets we were told in Riyria Revelations.

As MJS said he could write one book covering a year in Harian and Royce’s life leading up to Riyria Revelations which is 12 books. You know what…. I WOULD READ THEM ALL if they are even close to as good as this one.