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admiralfrancis's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
anne_marie_samp's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
raki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
brendalovesbooks's review
4.0
Why I read it: kept hearing that it was good
The Plot: Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out…and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. It seems like stories about thieves are really big in fantasy right now. I've seen them all over the place. I like the concepts here, though, where they're doing jobs for nobles, and once the story gets going, it's for sure not your typical thief book.
The Characters: I liked the characters, but don't feel we really got to know any of them particularly well. There were a lot of varied characters, and that kept things interesting. Of our two main characters, I definitely liked Hadrian better.
The Setting: This is a pretty typical fantasy world, but the author does a good job of setting it up and making it real, although there are times when he goes a little too far and it takes the reader out of the story.
A Sample of the Writing:
Archibald Ballentyne held the world in his hands, conveniently contained within fifteen stolen letters. Each parchment was penned with meticulous care in a fine, elegant script. He could tell the writer believed that the words were profound and that their meaning conveyed a beautiful truth. Archibald felt the writing was drivel, yet he agreed with the author that they held a value beyond measure. He took a sip of brandy, closed his eyes, and smiled.
Who Should Read This? Fantasy fans who are looking for a good new series.
Final Thoughts: I like that this book was fairly short, and although it's a series, the book itself was pretty self-contained. No crazy cliffhangers here, and that's a huge plus for me. I like reading series, but I also like to not be left hanging, especially when I have no idea when I'll be able to get to the next book. I really wish my library carried these--to get this one, they had to do inter-library loan with a library in another state. I guess I'll have to do that for every book. But the writing was good enough to go through a bit of extra work to read this series, and since I read recently on another blog that the series has been picked up by Orbit, maybe the library will finally decide to get them.
Grade: B
Cover Thoughts: The cover is awfully boring, and if I were browsing a bookstore, this would definitely not catch my eye.
The Plot: Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out…and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. It seems like stories about thieves are really big in fantasy right now. I've seen them all over the place. I like the concepts here, though, where they're doing jobs for nobles, and once the story gets going, it's for sure not your typical thief book.
The Characters: I liked the characters, but don't feel we really got to know any of them particularly well. There were a lot of varied characters, and that kept things interesting. Of our two main characters, I definitely liked Hadrian better.
The Setting: This is a pretty typical fantasy world, but the author does a good job of setting it up and making it real, although there are times when he goes a little too far and it takes the reader out of the story.
A Sample of the Writing:
Archibald Ballentyne held the world in his hands, conveniently contained within fifteen stolen letters. Each parchment was penned with meticulous care in a fine, elegant script. He could tell the writer believed that the words were profound and that their meaning conveyed a beautiful truth. Archibald felt the writing was drivel, yet he agreed with the author that they held a value beyond measure. He took a sip of brandy, closed his eyes, and smiled.
Who Should Read This? Fantasy fans who are looking for a good new series.
Final Thoughts: I like that this book was fairly short, and although it's a series, the book itself was pretty self-contained. No crazy cliffhangers here, and that's a huge plus for me. I like reading series, but I also like to not be left hanging, especially when I have no idea when I'll be able to get to the next book. I really wish my library carried these--to get this one, they had to do inter-library loan with a library in another state. I guess I'll have to do that for every book. But the writing was good enough to go through a bit of extra work to read this series, and since I read recently on another blog that the series has been picked up by Orbit, maybe the library will finally decide to get them.
Grade: B
Cover Thoughts: The cover is awfully boring, and if I were browsing a bookstore, this would definitely not catch my eye.
bedwinnjamin's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A fun book. Very classic high fantasy story, but unique that it doesn't tie in to any other intellectual property. The groups of characters and their interactions are very fun and lifelike. Two well equipped stories in this omnibus book, the world feels like it's waking up as the author shows threads that the characters between to pull and unwind. I recommend this, and am glad that I was recommended it as well.
subparcupcake's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to this on audio, and I fear it may have affected my opinion of it. I really wanted to like it, but found that I was underwhelmed. But a lot of that had to do with the reading of it.. The reader just wasn't my cup of tea. I tried hard to separate the story from the reader, but it was hard not to let the story become a little tainted.
Overall it was a nice little story.. But it seemed a little generic to me. Thieves, assassinations, a quest, a mysterious powerful wizard, been there and done that. That said, I'm usually a fan of plots like that. I happen to like a lot of traditional fantasy. But this one just didn't do it for me, for whatever reason.
Two stars for now (keep in mind two stars means I thought it was "ok", it's not as bad as it sounds), although I'd like to someday go back and actually read it to see if I like it more in print. I am planning on continuing on in the series, but no more audio for me.
Overall it was a nice little story.. But it seemed a little generic to me. Thieves, assassinations, a quest, a mysterious powerful wizard, been there and done that. That said, I'm usually a fan of plots like that. I happen to like a lot of traditional fantasy. But this one just didn't do it for me, for whatever reason.
Two stars for now (keep in mind two stars means I thought it was "ok", it's not as bad as it sounds), although I'd like to someday go back and actually read it to see if I like it more in print. I am planning on continuing on in the series, but no more audio for me.
vespertillio's review
5.0
4.5 really enjoyed this. Looking forward to the next book.
I read/listened to this book again almost immediately after finishing it the first time. This is very rare to me and means I enjoyed it even more than I initially thought. Now on to the second instalment!
I read/listened to this book again almost immediately after finishing it the first time. This is very rare to me and means I enjoyed it even more than I initially thought. Now on to the second instalment!
andrewdixon1000's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
songwind's review
4.0
This was an enjoyable fantasy adventure that I never would have encountered if I was not a user here on GoodReads.
The book centers around a pair of self-named thieves (though mercenary trouble-shooters might be a better description) who are framed for the murder of the king of the realm. Their only recourse is to accept the aid of the crown princess, who knew of the plot to kill her father and further knows that the two criminals are scapegoats. The kidnap the new king to protect him from the conspirators, and embark upon a journey that sees them tangled up in politics and struggles ancient and new.
The characters are likable and not too heavily steeped in fantasy cliche. The local power structure is nicely complex, which creates a believable political and historical landscape.
There are a few points that disappointed me, but for the most part they are minor. Esrahaddon's dialogue, for instance, was quite clumsy. Verb and subject agreement in the archaic form was haphazard, as was Esrahaddon's mastery of modern idiom. (Quite aside from the fact that after 1000 years, a living language's descendants are practically a whole new language rather than a different dialect.) The timeline for the burning of the Wind abbey was too rushed. 2 days after a fire big enough to burn everything in an abbey not made of stone, without the benefit of modern firefighting techniques, the site would still be too hot to walk around in, much less find things. There were a few more that stuck out to me at the time, but were not important enough to remain in my memory in any detail. All in all, though, these were minor quibbles and more than made up for by the rest of the book.
Hadrian and Royce remind me somewhat forcefully of another pair of thieves whose adventures I enjoy - Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser. The friends from Crown Conspiracy are considerably more moral and prone to acts of kindness than Lankmar's famous pair.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. In particular, I look forward to seeing what Sullivan does with the wizard Esrahaddon, the earl of Chadwick, and the monk Myron.
The book centers around a pair of self-named thieves (though mercenary trouble-shooters might be a better description) who are framed for the murder of the king of the realm. Their only recourse is to accept the aid of the crown princess, who knew of the plot to kill her father and further knows that the two criminals are scapegoats. The kidnap the new king to protect him from the conspirators, and embark upon a journey that sees them tangled up in politics and struggles ancient and new.
The characters are likable and not too heavily steeped in fantasy cliche. The local power structure is nicely complex, which creates a believable political and historical landscape.
There are a few points that disappointed me, but for the most part they are minor. Esrahaddon's dialogue, for instance, was quite clumsy. Verb and subject agreement in the archaic form was haphazard, as was Esrahaddon's mastery of modern idiom. (Quite aside from the fact that after 1000 years, a living language's descendants are practically a whole new language rather than a different dialect.) The timeline for the burning of the Wind abbey was too rushed. 2 days after a fire big enough to burn everything in an abbey not made of stone, without the benefit of modern firefighting techniques, the site would still be too hot to walk around in, much less find things. There were a few more that stuck out to me at the time, but were not important enough to remain in my memory in any detail. All in all, though, these were minor quibbles and more than made up for by the rest of the book.
Hadrian and Royce remind me somewhat forcefully of another pair of thieves whose adventures I enjoy - Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser. The friends from Crown Conspiracy are considerably more moral and prone to acts of kindness than Lankmar's famous pair.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. In particular, I look forward to seeing what Sullivan does with the wizard Esrahaddon, the earl of Chadwick, and the monk Myron.