Rise of Empire: Riyria Revelations, Volume 2 Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B0081UHI4C | Format: EPUB
Rise of Empire: Riyria Revelations, Volume 2 Description
Best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan's mesmerizing Riyria Revelations series has found a welcome home with fans of magic, clashing swords, and daring heroes. This second volume finds Royce and Hadrian on a quest to enlist the southern Nationalists to aid the ever-weakening kingdom of Melengar. Royce suspects an ancient wizard is manipulating them all, but to find the truth he'll have to decipher Hadrian's past-a past Hadrian wants to keep secret.
Rise of Empire contains Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, books 3 and 4 of Riyria Revelations.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 26 hours and 26 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Audible.com Release Date: May 7, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B0081UHI4C
Rise of Empire is amazing .
While the first two books (found in Theft of Swords) were fantastic books, they felt much more like stand alones that happened to contain the same group of characters. Now in books 3 and 4 of the series, Sullivan turns this fantastic series into a continuous series.
Readers finally learn more about the heir, we are introduced to new characters that play huge new roles (such as Modina, Amilia, Merrick and Wyatt). And older characters get to play bigger and more important storylines (especially Arista and Saulder).
That said my favorite new aspect of the books is the introduction to Royce and Hadrian's pasts. Readers will get to visit the towns these two each grew up from, discover the source of Hadrian's amazing fighting skills, and even see who put Royce in prison. Each of the two characters are much more flushed out, and we really get to see what makes each of them tick. They are tested in ways we never saw in the previous two books and I have to say they will be tested further in the last installments.
Of course I also loved Arista's growth and discovery. Arista goes from becoming a smart yet pampered princess to something altogether more. She becomes a real character that readers will sympathize with. Fans of the series will root for as she defies the odds and feel sorrow for as the people in her life die around her. Through Arista readers are also finally introduced to magic. As her powers grow, so does her importance in the story, and lets just say she's darn important by the end of book 4.
Of course while that's all well and good, other things to keep in mind are that this book is chalk full of great action scenes, as Hadrian and Royce battle everything from mythical monsters, to religious soldiers, to goblins.
Michael Sullivan's Rise of Empire is a compelling story. It resumes after about a year has passed from its prequel's finish, Theft of Swords. Business has been good for the Riyria; the assassins are now professionally employed by the new King Alric. However, foreboding is a constant taste in the air. The new empire is absorbing the entire land, threatening to assimilate Alric's tiny kingdom Melengar. His sister Arista is failing as ambassador to form any alliances willing to withstand the young empress. Yet the vivacious and sacrificial Thrace from the previous adventure who slew the monster and became empress is recognizable to no one. Catatonic with grief and abuse, she is a pawn of the archbishop who uses her name to further his own insatiable desire for power. On the smaller scale, Hadrian is dissatisfied with life, feeling like he should be doing something worthwhile. Royce knows Hadrian's true destiny yet, for ambivalent feelings, cannot bring himself to share it with his friend. Princess Arista is herself feeling like a failure at life, and when her brother decides to replace her as ambassador with a man, she steals away from the castle, enlists the Riyria for one last job, and sets out on a harrowing adventure to find help for her kingdom.
The book is an absolutely thrilling read. The complexity of the plot is mind-blowing, a mixture of castle intrigue and court politics, barbarian threats, relationship secrets, self-interests, and manipulated PR. The characters are a kaleidoscope of vibrant personalities; the quirky friendship between Royce and Hadrian especially is entertaining and endearing and gives the reader time to catch a breath after all the heart-stopping adventure.
Rise of Empire: Riyria Revelations, Volume 2 Preview
Link
Please Wait...