Reviews - The Crown Tower | The StoryGraph

691 reviews for:

The Crown Tower

Michael J. Sullivan

4.22 AVERAGE

liicu's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

brittney_tyler's review against another edition

4.0

Star Rating: 4 stars
Date: 5/14/24 – 5/19/24

Note: This may be the 1st book in the Riyria Chronicles series but it does exist in a world with multiple series and a potential of spoilers so this will not be an in-depth review.

If you follow my reviews, then you know that I happened across Age of Myth on my local library bookshelves and picked it up and learned that Sullivan had a lot of other books. Since I loved Age of Myth so much and had already started reading in chronological order, I decided to stick to that, and as a result, have only just now got to The Crown Tower, book 1 in the Riyria Chronicles series. This series features Sullivan’s most famous characters, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater and chronicles the story of how they met and their very first adventures together.

My favorite thing about this book was the one thing that I can’t talk about and that is the nods to other series that I’ve read in this world. Sullivan wrote the Riyria series years before he wrote the books that I found first so you wouldn’t think that would be many connections but since Sullivan writes his books in bulk, he is able to put connections in places that you wouldn’t think they could be. If you are a reader that likes interconnected worlds with amazing characters that you can latch on to, then this may be the series for you, and it is also a good stepping-stone series for more complex ones in this genre.

As I mentioned up above, one of the things Sullivan does best in not only this series, but all his books, is have characters that you can latch on to and root for. I will admit neither Royce nor Hadrian are my favorite characters of his, at least not yet, but I did really enjoy them, and their banter was incredibly funny. I also really liked the other storyline that we got in this book, and I especially like how they collided at the end. I really hope we get more from these characters in later books.

Finally, this book had the themes that I have come to expect from Sullivan- themes of how knowledge should be available for all, how religion can become less of a guiding force providing comfort and more a controlling one forcing individuals to conform to unattainable standards of supposed holiness, conceptualization of abstract ideas and how they can appear different for every individual and every situation, how chaos is the ultimate of any world or story, and how much can we effect our fate or is it totally predetermined. I really like how with the addition of each new character and series, Sullivan deepens his exploration of these ideas and adds new layers. As I am a major themes reader, this kind of deep, nuanced exploration is my favorite thing to discover in a book/series and will rocket a series much higher on my TBR than it would be otherwise.

If the things mentioned above are things that you look for in your reads, then this may be a series you should consider picking up. I know I will be picking the next book, The Rose and the Thorn, on my next trip to the library. 4 stars and a solid opener to a new series in a well-loved world!!!!!!!!!

lukehoop's review against another edition

5.0

This book works as a great starting point into this world. Self-contained story with a super fast plot. You get little snippets and clues to the giant world that Sullivan has created but this is mostly a very focused action story that anyone would enjoy. The first third of the book that bounced between the barge mystery and the origin of Gwen was amazing. I've been sleeping on these Chronicles books for a while and I'm glad I finally read one.

marie_thereadingotter's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I love this world. Sullivan writes some of my favorite characters in all fantasy. Seeing where Royce and Hadrian started, and how much they hated each other compared to what close brother-like friends they were at the start of Theft of Swords is almost endearing. It makes sense they'd feel the way did before they got to know each other. Even in Revelations they had different views on things, Royce is far more cynical than Hadrian is. But it gives them a good balance of character. Even knowing they made it out of their dire situation, I was excited to read how they got there.

I was also ecstatic that Gwen was a main POV in this book. She was always a character I wanted to know more about in Revelations. I knew based on how Sullivan writes other female characters that there had to be more to her than was initially revealed. I just love her character, and hope she's in more books in this series.

I do also hope to learn more about Arcadius. I know he's not Turin, but I've heard whispers that there are context clues that he's Trilos. But I'm not certain about that based on what happens to Arcadius in Revelations. This does add to the loose ends that have yet to be fully tied up from the other books in this world.

The mission itself, of stealing the book is pretty cut and dry. The subtle humor in this series is what I feel like a lot of authors try to do but aren't good at. The humor is my kind of humor though, a little dry and sarcastic.

This book (the series too) really should be read after reading Revelations, even though these events take place before. I'm glad that I had changed my plan to read things in chronological order. I don't think things would've had the same impact had I read them that way. Maybe on a re-read I'll read them in that order.

I already have the sequel to this book from the library so I'm going to start that one right away. I hope/want to buy all the books in this world.

sanaastoria's review against another edition

3.0

[3.5 Stars] This was a really fun read! I didn't know quite what to expect going into this story, but what I did get I absolutely adored and now want more. I'm not sure if this was the best place to start when it comes to Ririya books because I think I would have legitimately enjoyed this more if I had read their bigger story first. It was a fun simple story though! It is pretty straightforward, and the fantasy elements aren't super pronounced. Also, the pacing wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it anyway! I can't wait to read the Revelations series!

almasry's review

4.0

adventurous lighthearted

birdjay's review against another edition

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the Riyria Revelations when I read those books. Michael J. Sullivan is a master of the popcorn fantasy genre. It's not a high stakes kind of world. It isn't grimdark, but it isn't overly fluffy, either. You want to feel cozy while reading about knights, assassins, wizards and magic? Riyria is where you want to be. Hadrian is my favorite of the main two. Hired muscle with a heart of gold. Sort of.

Anyway -- if you're looking for something you don't have to exude too much brain power on? Read the Riyria books. Enjoyable, easy-to-read fantasy.