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A review by nickyxxx
Het Koningscomplot by Michael J. Sullivan
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.