The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles 1)

I have been reading for pleasure since the early 1980s and I have not been paid or given any incentive for this review. I have confirmed purchase of each of these books on Amazon for my Kindle Paperwhite and I am writing this review for all of the Riyria novels and will post this for each. Please see the authors’ notes for reading order of this series but this review is based on reading in chronological order:The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles)The Rose and the Thorn (The Riyria Chronicles)The Death of Dulgath (The Riyria Chronicles)Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations)Rise of Empire (Riyria Revelations)Heir of Novron (Riyria Revelations)Author Michael J. Sullivan has a gift. After 20 years I have a new favorite series and Michael J. Sullivan has another dedicated reader and fan. This series, and the writing style, takes me back to the old school days of Robert E. Howard in way… Each book stands on its own. It is a very clear story/adventure that starts and concludes in a single volume so it can be read one at a time or binged all at once. The thing that differentiates it is that the series, in its entirety, is also a single epic adventure that starts in The Crown Tower and concludes in Heir of Novron. So taken individually each book is excellent and as a complete epic it more than satisfies. Like others have stated as well I was sad to read the end of it simply knowing that this particular tale was ending while at the same time that ending had enough adventure, emotion, humanity, and twists and turns that I was also happy to read the final pages. As an example the end of Glen Cook’s The Black Company ended poetically and perfectly so too does the story of Riyria.What I took away from this series was a story following the two main characters, Hadrian and Royce, and was about humanity, morality, pain and loss, redemption, family and brotherhood. The two main protagonists and nearly opposite sides of the same coin but that coin is an old tarnished, beaten, and used coin with its faces faded from the wear of life in a medieval fantasy world. There is no typical heroes journey, no larger than life heroics, no immortality of characters that often plagues the genre. These are characters who are nuanced and believable, so much so that some have complained it is not realistic that the two protagonists would be together at all. To any who thought that I say just read on… there is no mystical fate forcing them together or any overused fantasy tropes, there is just strong character design and development, written by an author with a gift for bringing his imagination to the printed page.The author starts the seeds of the story in the first book and nothing is wasted or filler. Small scenes in one book, with characters you may or may not think to ever see again, but can have an impact further down the road. This is like real life. If you help someone on the street or donating to charity, you may just be doing something that will change the world someday. You will meet an excellent cast of secondary and supporting characters who may come and go in the story but while they are there they are real characters and create real moments in time. Whether you see the impact or the characters again I will not say anything to spoil the story but as far as the characters development and the story itself Michael J. Sullivan did not waste your time with stand-in or generic stereotypical filler roles.The individual stories each touched upon different adventures… breaking into an impregnable tower, a high seas adventure, a dungeon crawl, etc, giving each book its own unique feel and never a retread. This works well with the overall storyline for the entire series as well and in the end the payoff is well worth your time and money spent.In regards to reading order, the author suggests publishing order, and I can understand why, but I hate prequels. I do not like knowing where the end is before I read something, so I read in chronological order and I am glad that I did. Seeing the beginning gave me, personally, a better feel for where the characters came from to where they were when the final volume concluded. I am sure these books can be enjoyed either order so use your personal preference when choosing. I cannot rate these books in any kind of order of enjoyment because overall I have come to look at it as one volume or one story. There were no weak books or weak stories to my taste so I will not try to critique it down to arbitrary ratings based on personal preferences… you cannot judge the arts technically… only how they impact you and your enjoyment.Give this series a try if you are looking for something a little different from the glut of current fantasy out there today.

"The Crown Tower" is the first book in 'The Riyria Chronicles' by author Michael J. Sullivan. This Kindle e-book was a 717 Kb download (approx. 377 reading pages) and sold for $8.89 at the time of writing this review. The book also includes a brief excerpt of the second book in the series, "The Rose and the Thorn", due out in Sept, 2013.Spoilers (general theme)This book deals with the first encounters between Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn... a relationship initially filled with suspicion, distrust and a huge amount of animosity.End SpoilersSome Pros and Concerns...The Pros1.) well written and deftly told in the professional style that is readily apparent in all of the books of this series.2.) a nice sense of pace and timing... important pieces of info were released in proper sequence and at intervals that kept the story moving along while maintaining the suspense.3.) map... there is a very good map with markings for topographical features and the names of major places. (See Concerns below)4.) I thought the author did a terrific job in highlighting both Hadrian's and Royce's initial character traits. Hadrian with a degree of youthful naivety and innocence and Royce's uncaring ruthlessness. Two clashing personality traits that were slowly and often painfully softened by the books end.5.) some interesting confrontations between our heroes and several other groups and individuals. These moments are tense, exciting and typical of Michael J. Sullivan skill with prose for action-based scenes.6.) bantering conversation... because this tale documents their initial meetings, it took a while for them to develop their kibitzing style of repartee... a verbal style that was a main feature of their relationship in previous books. This unique camaraderie was one of the main traits that I believe has made these two individuals so popular with readers.7.) several surprising twists and turns that tended to make for an intriguing and unpredictable tale.8.) a satisfactory conclusion for this book with several open threads that will be followed up in the sequel to come.A couple of concerns...1.) the map... unfortunately the map was quite dark on the Kindle reader making smaller print almost illegible... enlarging the map only made the smaller print more indistinct. Really a minor issue and I assume most likely due to the the Kindle formatting process.2.) Gwen's story.... unfortunately I found her story was rather predictable and in all honesty, a little dragged out. As I continued to read her tale, I must admit to skimming many of her chapters. It was an area that left me wondering why the author spent as much time and effort on this section as he did. My main reason for deducting a half a Star from the rating.Impression:Overall, a well written tale featuring the rocky and turbulent beginning of Hadrian's and Royce's partnership. And because of this, the usual bantering conversational style that was the essence of their relationship in the Riyria series, was missing in the first three quarters of this book. Yet despite this absence, this was still a great tale filled with suspense, action and unexpected developments.As it is... 4 1/2 StarsRay [email protected]@ralannicholson

Sabe quando acaba uma série que você adorou e fica aquela saudade dos personagens ?!Estava assim quando me deparei com uma nova série dos Ryria com histórias independentes da dupla Hadrian e Royce 12 anos antes dos acontecimentos da série original.Graças à esposa do autor que é fã do Hadrian hah, hah, hah ... ele resolveu escrever novas aventuras retratando o passado da dupla, veja que a gente acaba tomando spoiller a todo momento pois sabemos o que ocorrerá no futuro, mas o autor sabe como envolver o leitor, é hilário como o prof. Arcadium tenta de todo jeito juntar os dois que no início se odeiam, Hadrian todo ingênuo, bonzinho, que acredita que todo mundo é do bem e Royce que prefere matar todo mundo para não deixar testemunhas.Bom falar que o ritmo do livro é intenso, como é uma história curta (+ 400 páginas kkkk ) é uma montanha russa e quando quase no fim Royce acha que Hadrian o abandonou, ele percebe como é bom ter um amigo como ele, tem uma cena que Royce chora e para ele é quase que uma heresia este fato.Bem, recomendo aos fãs da dupla e como o próprio autor relata, pode-se ler esta série antes de "The Ryria Revelations", então novos leitores deveriam dar uma chance para uma das melhores duplas já escritas, ever.

I am a Micheal Sullivan fan and this series delivers perfectly. Love the characters.

This was so enjoyable! 😂It's better to read these books in publishing order as Chronicles makes more sense after revelations. It was nice to see how Hadrian and Royce became friends even though they hated each other in the beginning ☺️This book also shows how they met Gwen. It was an awesome story and so hilarious.

'The Crown Tower' ist das erste aus einer Reihe von eigentlich in sich abgeschlossenen Büchern, die auf das Universum aufbauen, das Michael J. Sullivan mit den Riyria-Revelations geschaffen hat. Obwohl sie zeitlich vor der dreibändigen Serie spielen (die bei Klett Cotta gerade aufgesplittet auf 6 Bände erscheint), erzielt man trotzdem das größte Lesevergnügen, wenn man sie danach liest.Das Buch dreht sich um die beiden Meisterdiebe Royce und Hadrian, die ihr Leben mit der Ausführung schwieriger Aufträge bestreiten, die meist damit zu tun haben, dass jemand dringend etwas entwendet oder zurückgebracht haben möchte.In The Crown Tower wird die Geschichte erzählt, wie die beiden äußerst ungleichen Männer zusammenfinden - denn zu Anfang können sie sich auf den Tod nicht ausstehen.Hadrian ist ein Meisterschwertkämpfer, der auszog, um die Welt zu sehen, aber zuerst als Söldner in zig Kriegen, dann als Gladiator in einem fernen Land endete und es müde ist, sein Geld mit dem Töten von Gegnern zu verdienen. Die Nachricht vom Tod seines Vaters bringt ihn zurück in die Heimat - zu einem alten Freund der Familie. Dieser Mann - ein Magier und Professor an der renommiertesten Universität weit und breit - überzeugt Hadrian mit List und Geduld davon, dass er einen Auftrag gemeinsam mit einem anderen Mann durchführen müsste - die Beschaffung eines Buchs aus einem unbezwingbaren Turm. Hadrian ist im Herzen ein vertrauensseliger und liebenswürdiger Mensch mit starken moralischen Prinzipien.Ganz anders als Royce, mit dem er sich zusammentun soll. Royce ist in der Gosse aufgewachsen, war früher Assassine und hasst die Welt. Er misstraut allen und jedem und sieht in jedem nur das Schlimmste.Der gemeinsame Auftrag endet zunächst im Desaster ... doch dann gelingt es Hadrian, Royce vollständig zu überraschen ...'The Crown Tower' ist - wie eigentlich alle Bücher von Michael J. Sullivan - purer Lesegenuss. Spannend, elegant geschrieben mit der richtigen Prise Humor in unerwarteten Momenten und einer schon magischen Chemie zwischen den beiden Hauptfiguren, Royce und Hadrian. Zweifellos eine der besten Neuerscheinungen der letzten Jahre, und unbedingt lesenswert.

Ceux qui ont apprécié les "Riyria revelations" vont aimer ce livre. L'auteur revient quelques années en arrière avec les mêmes héros, et nous découvrons la première rencontre de Royce et Hadrian - voleurs et assassins suprêmement doués - ainsi que leur toute première mission, qui deviendra légendaire. C'est aussi l'histoire de Gwen et le début de son combat pour que les prostituées de Medford puissent travailler et vivre décemment. Le style est simple mais les dialogues sont réjouissants et l'histoire de Fantasy bien rythmée.Même si on peut commencer par ce livre, je recommanderais de lire d'abord les 6 tomes (= les 3 recueils de 2 romans) de histoire principale "Riyria revelations", et ne se plonger qu'ensuite dans "Crown Tower", qui donne un éclairage sur le passé. "Crown Tower" n'est pas indispensable à l'histoire de Royce et d'Hadrian, mais c'est un complément agréable et tout à fait sympathique.