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yorugua1891 's review for:
The Rose and the Thorn
by Michael J. Sullivan
I hope it never ends.
Even though we already know how the story of Royce and Hadrian finishes, the fact that we now have a series of prequels had given us hope. We will likely be able to read about these amazing characters for a few years to come. Sullivan has given us two books already in the Chronicles and has managed to create interesting plots with clear connections to what most of us already read in Revelations. I do have to point out that even though the author says the books can be read in both orders, publication or timeline within the story, I have a marked preference for reading them in order of publication. While I was reading this book I was thinking how I would perceive the story if I had not read Revelations yet, and how this book would have affected my reading of the trilogy. I came to the clear conclusion that starting with the prequel is not the best idea.
In this installment, we get to find out more about the origins on the plot to kill the king of Medford and also about the childhood of Hilfred, who is a pivotal character in revelations. One of the most interesting aspects has to do with the evolving relationship between Royce and Hadrian. Of course, in my case, anything that has to do with Gwen is absolutely mesmerizing, since this is my favorite character in the series. Her role in this book is not as prominent as in the previous one, but she still has an important part in this story.
There are some minor inconsistencies, mainly in what has to do with the personality of some characters (and I am thinking of one in particular). This is not a major drawback, and it is not completely unexpected when the author is constrained in what he can create now given we know a lot of what happens in the future and how the characters behave.
Michael Sullivan has made it pretty clear that he will continue to write books in this prequel series for as long as the readers enjoy them. He can rest assured that at this point in time this reader will continue to read books about Riyria as soon as they come out. This is currently my favorite fantasy series and I will be looking forward to additional installments.
Even though we already know how the story of Royce and Hadrian finishes, the fact that we now have a series of prequels had given us hope. We will likely be able to read about these amazing characters for a few years to come. Sullivan has given us two books already in the Chronicles and has managed to create interesting plots with clear connections to what most of us already read in Revelations. I do have to point out that even though the author says the books can be read in both orders, publication or timeline within the story, I have a marked preference for reading them in order of publication. While I was reading this book I was thinking how I would perceive the story if I had not read Revelations yet, and how this book would have affected my reading of the trilogy. I came to the clear conclusion that starting with the prequel is not the best idea.
In this installment, we get to find out more about the origins on the plot to kill the king of Medford and also about the childhood of Hilfred, who is a pivotal character in revelations. One of the most interesting aspects has to do with the evolving relationship between Royce and Hadrian. Of course, in my case, anything that has to do with Gwen is absolutely mesmerizing, since this is my favorite character in the series. Her role in this book is not as prominent as in the previous one, but she still has an important part in this story.
There are some minor inconsistencies, mainly in what has to do with the personality of some characters (and I am thinking of one in particular). This is not a major drawback, and it is not completely unexpected when the author is constrained in what he can create now given we know a lot of what happens in the future and how the characters behave.
Michael Sullivan has made it pretty clear that he will continue to write books in this prequel series for as long as the readers enjoy them. He can rest assured that at this point in time this reader will continue to read books about Riyria as soon as they come out. This is currently my favorite fantasy series and I will be looking forward to additional installments.