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pala_untamed's review against another edition
3.25
I enjoyed the light and easy read - rare for fantasy but sometimes welcome. I particularly enjoyed Hadrian and Royce's fun, snarky dynamic - reminds me of the Ranger's Apprentice, actually. The insertion of humour prevents the story from becoming overly heavy. The story had a fair few twists and turns which, I confess, I didn't expect - the 'whodunnit' does keep you guessing.
One thing, though, it doesn't exactly fizz with vibrancy. This first book in particular felt a bit... Bland? Stuffy medieval drama? To be fair, the author acknowledges this style - the back of my copy has an author interview where he says "I attempted a style I had never tried before—invisibility. The idea is to make the story pop off the page and make the writing disappear."
It works, for sure - very digestable, easy to read, pure entertainment - but the book never sparked for me.
One thing, though, it doesn't exactly fizz with vibrancy. This first book in particular felt a bit... Bland? Stuffy medieval drama? To be fair, the author acknowledges this style - the back of my copy has an author interview where he says "I attempted a style I had never tried before—invisibility. The idea is to make the story pop off the page and make the writing disappear."
It works, for sure - very digestable, easy to read, pure entertainment - but the book never sparked for me.
nbucaro15's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely some conveniences and ridiculousness but such a fun time! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. 4.5
gregorysgreen611's review against another edition
3.0
2.75 Shallow characters. Each can be summarized by their singular traits, which really makes it hard to emotionally invest in anything they do. The dialogue and prose have a YA feel to them. Much of the world-building is accomplished through poorly timed info-dumps, describing histories and abilities in ways that simply justify something's existence rather than raising the stakes of the plot or providing arcs for the cast of characters.
kalarb's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
Nothing about it captured my interest. The writing was what I call "list-form," meaning too much telling, not enough showing.
nickyxxx's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, this took me far too long. That’s not due to the book or the author – I love both. This is all on me. But that does mean that my reading process dragged on and on, and so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could’ve, so that may or may not affect my review.
I have to admit I’m not the smartest cookie and dipped my toes in the Riyria universe with the Chronicles. Big mistake. Because I got spoilt. The Chronicles were so amazing and made me cry like a goddamn child at times, and so this book was a slight step down quality-wise. Yes, the plot is great. The characters are great. And there’s never a dull moment with Royce and Hadrian. But it was just not as magical as the Chronicles. Somehow, there just a little less… charm, in this book. I did like the story, but it never really gripped me by the chest and tore my heart out and tossed it across the room, like some of the Chronicles did.
The characters were my main issue with the book. My Goodreads friends who saw me read the Chronicles know that I love love LOVE Royce Melborn. Dark cloak, cranky, secretly a you-know-what, he’s just the perfect main character. And I’ll always regard him superior to Hadrian, even though that might not be what Sullivan intended. But in The Crown Conspiracy, he’s just not as fleshed out as in, say, The Death of Dulgath (which has to be my favourite book in the Chronicles). And it makes sense, a little, because this was the first novel in the Riyria universe, but in my opinion the characters should really have a distinct voice and personality of their own, which was not really the case in The Crown Conspiracy. And since I read the Chronicles first, the character development and arc were, well, not necessarily disappointing, but they did lack a little; and I didn’t often get my omg-hi-I-love-you-daily dose of Royce.
Having said that, I still am very curious after the rest of the Revelations and I’m also intent on reading the rest of the Elan universe. Even though this book wasn’t perfect, I’d still recommend it to every fantasy enthusiast.
I have to admit I’m not the smartest cookie and dipped my toes in the Riyria universe with the Chronicles. Big mistake. Because I got spoilt. The Chronicles were so amazing and made me cry like a goddamn child at times, and so this book was a slight step down quality-wise. Yes, the plot is great. The characters are great. And there’s never a dull moment with Royce and Hadrian. But it was just not as magical as the Chronicles. Somehow, there just a little less… charm, in this book. I did like the story, but it never really gripped me by the chest and tore my heart out and tossed it across the room, like some of the Chronicles did.
The characters were my main issue with the book. My Goodreads friends who saw me read the Chronicles know that I love love LOVE Royce Melborn. Dark cloak, cranky, secretly a you-know-what, he’s just the perfect main character. And I’ll always regard him superior to Hadrian, even though that might not be what Sullivan intended. But in The Crown Conspiracy, he’s just not as fleshed out as in, say, The Death of Dulgath (which has to be my favourite book in the Chronicles). And it makes sense, a little, because this was the first novel in the Riyria universe, but in my opinion the characters should really have a distinct voice and personality of their own, which was not really the case in The Crown Conspiracy. And since I read the Chronicles first, the character development and arc were, well, not necessarily disappointing, but they did lack a little; and I didn’t often get my omg-hi-I-love-you-daily dose of Royce.
Having said that, I still am very curious after the rest of the Revelations and I’m also intent on reading the rest of the Elan universe. Even though this book wasn’t perfect, I’d still recommend it to every fantasy enthusiast.
elliespn's review against another edition
4.0
Nicht gerade die komplexesten Charaktere aber ich habe sie doch lieb gewonnen. Außerdem war das Buch furchtbar unterhaltsam und hat sich selbst nicht allzu ernst genommen, was ich sehr angenehm fand.
roaminhohmann's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Fast-paced, fun.
I wish we got to know the Riyria lads more…my favorite character was Myron.
Fast-paced, fun.
I wish we got to know the Riyria lads more…my favorite character was Myron.
aejohnson621's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wryn12's review against another edition
The styling of the characters was hard for me; I craved more depth but did not get that from these two. They were so funny and witty, but that wasn't enough to carry me over.
ela_35's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this book, but there were moments when I would have rather seen the characters interacting with each other than descriptions of the settings and the history behind them.
I was really interested in the dynamic between the two thieves and the book didn’t disappoint. Hadrian and Royce work as a team on jobs and I really liked their relationship. They were loyal to each other and there were some funny moments with their interactions, although I would have wanted to see more.
The plot is that Hadrian and Royce are framed for killing the king but manage to escape with the help of someone who demands that they do something in return for them. The favour means that a lot of things happen, and I liked seeing how Hadrian and Royce figured things out.
I liked the other characters too, like Alric, although I wanted to see more of the characters interactions when they were travelling. I thought that Myron was interesting to read about too, but he’s not a big part of the book.
While this book is about humans, there are other creatures mentioned. I would be interested in finding out more about dwarves and especially the elves.
While this series isn’t a priority read, I wouldn’t be opposed to continuing. My main problem was that the proportion of descriptions and history of the lands compared to the amount of conversations wasn’t for me. However, I would be interested in learning more about Hadrian and Royce –is Hadrian somehow magical because of his sword fighting skills or has he just been trained well? Royce is a private person and I’m curious what he’s hiding – I think he could have some elf blood in him.
I was really interested in the dynamic between the two thieves and the book didn’t disappoint. Hadrian and Royce work as a team on jobs and I really liked their relationship. They were loyal to each other and there were some funny moments with their interactions, although I would have wanted to see more.
The plot is that Hadrian and Royce are framed for killing the king but manage to escape with the help of someone who demands that they do something in return for them. The favour means that a lot of things happen, and I liked seeing how Hadrian and Royce figured things out.
I liked the other characters too, like Alric, although I wanted to see more of the characters interactions when they were travelling. I thought that Myron was interesting to read about too, but he’s not a big part of the book.
While this book is about humans, there are other creatures mentioned. I would be interested in finding out more about dwarves and especially the elves.
While this series isn’t a priority read, I wouldn’t be opposed to continuing. My main problem was that the proportion of descriptions and history of the lands compared to the amount of conversations wasn’t for me. However, I would be interested in learning more about Hadrian and Royce –