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A review by katep27
Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan
4.0
4-4.5/5stars
Alright, so, I SERIOUSLY do not understand why more people aren't reading these books because everyone talks constantly about thieves, assassins and pirates being AWESOME - and this book has all three!
Compared to the first volume, this book improved a ton with characterization, character voices and the overall writing and flow - which in turn made it much more enjoyable in that sense than the first volume. Although, these stories that we followed in the two books in this volume were not nearly as captivating and exciting as the first two.
I loved learning more about Royce and the character deaths that happened were incredibly shocking and the parts with Royce and Hadrian and Esrahaddon were incredibly fast paced and fun to read - but other parts, such as with Saldur and Modina and Arista, I found myself groaning at having to read a mostly just skimming through.
In the first story we mostly follow Arista who has decided to take over the city of Ratibor with the help of our thief duo. Overall this story I liked the least, and really didn't keep my attention. I found the romance with Arista very forced, and the Modina/Thrace chapters SO boring. But we did learn a LOT more about Royce and Hadrian as well as the myth with the heir and the guardian and what exactly happened.
The second story picked up a LOT and totally redeemed the previous one. Royce and Hadrian are off on a mission to retrieve a horn they believe will be necessary for the heir of novron. They are put aboard a ship, and so enters the pirates! This story really reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean and was extremely fast paced and fun to read. The only problem with Royce and Hadrian's story was just how many characters there were - sometimes it got a little confusing knowing who was who and who was on what side and who was good or bad, etc. The Modina chapters got a little more interesting, but Arista sorta fell really hard for me. I thought she was a good character in the first volume, and she was okay in the first book of this bind up, and her powers are very cool, but as this book went on I found myself liking her less and less - and then that whole death at the end just made me totally rolling my eyes at Michael J Sullivan.
Overall this volume was incredibly entertaining, just like the previous one, and I'm impressed at how much Sullivan has improved in his writing and storytelling! I will definitely be picking up the third volume very soon, but I will probably take a small break from this world before doing so.
Alright, so, I SERIOUSLY do not understand why more people aren't reading these books because everyone talks constantly about thieves, assassins and pirates being AWESOME - and this book has all three!
Compared to the first volume, this book improved a ton with characterization, character voices and the overall writing and flow - which in turn made it much more enjoyable in that sense than the first volume. Although, these stories that we followed in the two books in this volume were not nearly as captivating and exciting as the first two.
I loved learning more about Royce and the character deaths that happened were incredibly shocking and the parts with Royce and Hadrian and Esrahaddon were incredibly fast paced and fun to read - but other parts, such as with Saldur and Modina and Arista, I found myself groaning at having to read a mostly just skimming through.
In the first story we mostly follow Arista who has decided to take over the city of Ratibor with the help of our thief duo. Overall this story I liked the least, and really didn't keep my attention. I found the romance with Arista very forced, and the Modina/Thrace chapters SO boring. But we did learn a LOT more about Royce and Hadrian as well as the myth with the heir and the guardian and what exactly happened.
The second story picked up a LOT and totally redeemed the previous one. Royce and Hadrian are off on a mission to retrieve a horn they believe will be necessary for the heir of novron. They are put aboard a ship, and so enters the pirates! This story really reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean and was extremely fast paced and fun to read. The only problem with Royce and Hadrian's story was just how many characters there were - sometimes it got a little confusing knowing who was who and who was on what side and who was good or bad, etc. The Modina chapters got a little more interesting, but Arista sorta fell really hard for me. I thought she was a good character in the first volume, and she was okay in the first book of this bind up, and her powers are very cool, but as this book went on I found myself liking her less and less - and then that whole death at the end just made me totally rolling my eyes at Michael J Sullivan.
Overall this volume was incredibly entertaining, just like the previous one, and I'm impressed at how much Sullivan has improved in his writing and storytelling! I will definitely be picking up the third volume very soon, but I will probably take a small break from this world before doing so.