Rise of Empire: Riyria Revelations, Volume 2

Brilliant

First the delivery, No proper reinforcement to protect the book. A bubble rap is not enough to safeguard a hefty book of about 780 pages. No major damages, but lot of chip damage which makes it look somewhat dissatisfying to the eye.4 star rating is for the book. Micheal J. Sullivan has that old school magic to him which makes this one of my favourite Epic Fantasies. Epic fantasy genre is kinda flooded with books reminiscent of each other which makes this genre not unique and grim fantasy is something that can be seen a lot now days in place of epic fantasies. Ryria Revelation doesn't really distinguish itself from the stereotypical epic fantasy norm, but it's not a bad thing as it's written with stunning, captivating storytelling by Michael, it's well paced and not lethargic or boring in any way. Everything is foreshadowed properly and with great care. An enjoyable read, I'll recommended this to anyone who is perhaps a fan of LOTR series or just someone who wants to get into epic fantasy, this is a good and a friendly starting point(read theft of swords first of course).

This series develops slowly but makes you love the characters so much!Audiobook narration: 5/5Plot: 5/5 (Getting better with each book)Characters: 6/5 (Love the characters)--- Major spoilers below ---Book 3: Nyphron Rising- Uhhh what happened in this book, I don't remember much.- Me liking Arista a lot!- Royce and Hadrian imprisoned in a well and bickering 😆- Seriously, I don't remember the plot.Book 4: Empire of Storms- Wherein Hadrian and Royce want to retire, but instead end up on a ship.- Loved the Gwen/Royce/Hadrian dynamic.- So much sea sickness in this. Poor Royce 😂- Hadrian just trying to make Royce feel less sick the whole book.- Royce gets a prophesy like a Greek hero.- Arista gets love interest 1, who promptly dies two chapters later.- Royce and Hadrian and the ship crew fight in an arena and my favorite side character dies!- Hadrian is in love with OMG 🙊- Arista gets love interest 2, who once again dies after 2 chapters.- Hadrian gets to show off his mercenary skills.- Somebody please rescue Thrace!- Best line: "He is dirt. He is pig in dirt." 😂- WTF was that ending 😳Book 4 was the best till now! Funnier and better plot. Little bit of romance too. The only person in these books with a successful romantic life is the prickliest character - Royce 😝 love it!

The characters, details of nature, complex and interesting storytelling at it’s best! I’ve enjoyed all of Sullivan’s works. Love escaping into these creations.

Rise of Empire is an incredible sequel to Theft of Swords. While the latter was a fun, fantasy adventure, Rise of Empire raises the stakes and introduces new characters and plots that turned this low-stakes adventure into an epic tale of underdogs versus a seemingly unstoppable force.The characters of Royce and Hadrian continue to be a delight to read, and even though I enjoyed all the POVs in Rise of Empire, their story was always the one I most looked forward to.It was so satisfying to learn more about their personal histories and see how far they had come over the years, especially since meeting one another. Hadrian’s honor becomes almost Ned Stark-like, creating an interesting tension between him and his best friend. Royce, the ex-assassin, is softened by the love of a woman, but requires a little more growth before he can come to terms with Hadrian’s morality.Amilia is a new POV character to the series, introduced as the personal servant to the newly appointed Empress (no spoilers). I was delighted when it became quickly apparent that this storyline would be one of political intrigue and it did not disappoint! It was a tense, intriguing plot that felt fresh and exciting.Arista returns as a main character in Rise of Empire and she might have the most interesting and satisfying character development of all the returning cast. Her story is one of mystery, uprising, tragic loss, and self-belief. I am excited to see where her character arc will go in the next volume, Heir of Novron.I won’t spoil anything, but within Rise of Empire there is a seafaring plot that came out of nowhere and was incredible! Perhaps the highlight of the novel, this ship-bound adventure will have you anxiously turning to the next page every step of the way.Overall, Rise of Empire outgrows the almost cozy fantasy feel of Theft of Swords and creates a darker atmosphere for the beginnings of what I can only assume will be a truly epic finale in Heir of Novron. It surpasses Theft of Swords for enjoyment for me, and I rated that book 5/5 on Goodreads! Definitely keep on reading this series if you are at all hesitant about opening book two.

A excellent sequel for one of my favorite novels

La fantasía del autor es maravillosa; los personajes son muy interesantes y muy verosímiles. Además me gusta que varios de sus "héroes" son femeninos: Arista, Modina, Gwen. hasta Lenare.

Note: this omnibus consists of the books 3 and 4 of the “Riyria Revelations” fantasy series and is not a good place to start reading, because a lot has already happened and the books need to be read in the intended order. So I'd start with “Theft of Swords”.ReviewThis time, I was a bit torn about how to rate the book, four of five stars, and settled for 4,5 [yeah, the coward's way out, I know]. Because there is a great story, the very well fleshed out characters, both old and new, and courageous decisions about plot twists – yet there were some lengths as well. And some of the POVs just plain annoyed me, since they felt like a pretty boring interruption of the adventurous ones.Again, it's hard to try to summarize the plot without spoiling stuff and with this being an omnibus and all, things get even harder. Nevertheless, I try to tell what I can. The situation of the kingdom of Melengar is dire, since all the other kingdoms are already under the church and the “New Empire's” sway and fight king Alric. Arista, his sister, is not successful as ambassador in her attempts to get any allies. Her brother is frustrated, doesn't want her to pursue their last chance with the nationalists, who are fighting the empire rather successfully. But Arista just commissions Royce and Hadrian to accompany her and on they go on their perilous trip. It's a hard trip for Arista, she learns a lot about the life of the common people and the poor and subsequently, her character develops a lot! And she finally gets the hand on her magic and what she is capable of is astounding. As a mild spoiler, I can tell you that they are partly successful, but not without losses and with things turning out differently than planned.For Royce and Hadrian, there is a lot more background information and some really emotional and gripping scenes add to their depth. Their hilarious communication with the super-dry humor thankfully remains. But make no mistake, there is some foretold impending doom that hovers over their heads and it nearly killed me to read on and on and just wait for the hammer to fall.When the assignment with Arista is finished, there is one last mission they go on together and it brings them to the sea, on board a ship, where most of their part in book 4 takes places. I'm not a fan of the sailing-theme, but I liked it a lot more than the alternative: Arista undercover, where a long time nothing happens and the worst, Amilia. If you remember, the girl Thrace slew the beast at the end of “Theft of Swords” and was therefore made [puppet]-empress to fool the people into submitting under the rule of the alleged heir of Novron. But she is totally traumatized – and gets a “handler”, Amilia. And Amilia is.... well, a maid turned noble, who has not really a clue about the world around her. And sorry, reading what she does and thinks is tedious. I did like the very short moments, when Thrace [now named Modina] got back into reality and shot sentences like bullets. She is cool that way and I wonder, if the regents and the church know what they are in for. Especially when Thrace finally finds a new purpose [which sadly takes a long, long time].What threw me, were the elaborate machinations, one betrayal literally being revealed on the last page and it made me gasp. Then there are the people you [and the protagonists] feel so sure about and then something happens that makes you question it all. The identity of the heir is revealed, but I doubt it's the truth. But that is just me, interpreting a vague dialogue at a secret meeting and thinking about what I learned about Nyphron in “Age of Myth”, the prequel telling how the first empire came to be. Maybe you conclude differently. But as you probably already realized: there are plot-twists that kept me on my toes and the overall story arc gets better and better. So this stays one of the best high fantasy series I know of today, flaws and all.