I grow to love Royce & Hadrian more and more as I read the books. These two characters are just so wonderful and I feel they fit together nicely as best friends and family. ♥Even when one is mad with the other they just get it done and get over it. =)"You ready?" Royce asked. "For what?""Turn around. Let's go back-to-back and link arms.""You're kidding. We aren't going to do that again, are we?"Hadrian said miserably. "I've been sitting in cold water for hours. I'll cramp.""You know anothe [...]

Brilliant.Brilliant plotline. Brilliant pace. Brilliant characters. Brilliant world-building. Brilliant plot twists.Brilliant everything.All hail Master Sullivan!“There are no honorable causes. There is no good or evil. Evil is only what we call those who oppose us.”The New Empire is rising. The Church uses a half-mad fake empress to unite the Realms of Men in the name of Novron. War is raging between the imperial armies and Melengar, the only Avryn kingdom that still resists, while the Nati [...]

It’s safe to say now that with each installment, each book in the series certainly gets better in its quality consistently. The 2nd omnibus in Riyria Revelations titled Rise of Empire consists of book 3, Nyphron Rising and book 4, The Emerald Storm and it's a superior omnibus by far compared to the previous omnibus, Theft of Swords. Like my Theft of Swords review, I’ll start my review after showing you another beautiful book cover done right by Marc Simonetti and a beautiful fanart of a scen [...]

4/5 StarsI really enjoyed reading Rise of Empire, I definitely enjoyed it more then Theft of Swords. This book certainly picked up the pace from book one, seriously interesting things actually happened in this book. The plot was fast paced and stimulating. I believe there was a fair bit of badassery going on. I didn't even notice the weird emotionless POV much this time, like yeah it was obviously still there,but it's more bearable because I've finally warmed up to the characters. This still isn [...]

Rise of Empire is the second omnibus volume of the Riyria Revelations, which consists of book three, Nyphron Rising, and book four, The Emerald Storm. Again, Hadrian and Royce set off on another job, which leads to a downward spiral of events. Old and new enemies are greedily lurking in the shadows, and the Imperial Army is gaining more influence with Queen Modina on the throne. One thing leads to another for our two heroes, and I bet they both wish to retire now. Hopefully, everything works out [...]

Buddies Books & Baubles Buddy read 4/18/16e Royce and Hadrian bromance continues.“There are no honorable causes. There is no good or evil. Evil is only what we call those who oppose us.”Michael J Sullivan (MJS): Do you like adventures?Me: Yes….I do like a tale with a good adventure or quest in it.(MJS): Do you like a broken hero who doesn’t really want to be the hero?Me: Of course that is one of my favorite tropes…the not so good, good guy.(MJS): What about betrayals, double-crosse [...]

And I know I keep updating this thread today - but I felt inspired and I also made a much longer review of the series!todaysdecameron.wordpressPlease let me know your thoughts - and please feel free to suggest any improvements to the review style/blog/any other element! - - -I am so impressed by this story - two great thieves facing a scary (because extremely clever) foe. As you might know, this edition of the book contains two "books" of the story, hence two different plots albeit they continue [...]

First book felt like a very long build up. Altough I enjoyed learning about the pasts of Hadrian and Royce immensely and wanted more of it, I've felt impatient time to time. I love to hate having opposing feelings*let the mud wrestling begin*. And vice versa. I adore the term vice versa. it has this making sense while not making sense thing going on with it's meaning and the actual sounding of it. sneakyAlric still seems to be an annoying twat but Arista has come a long way. Actually, if you thi [...]

Great books read: 1Hours spent cheering for the goodies:2462621Hours spent cheering for the baddies:2462621Monster count: a few adorable goblins.Temples for Hadrian: O (I know, I know, I must be out of my mind :D)“Rise of Empire” contains two books, “Nyphron Rising” and “The Emerald Storm”I read “Theft of Swords” recently, and now after the second installment finished, I can admit for sure that this read was way more better for me than the first one. I had a slight drag problem s [...]

****** Full review finally posted ******Actual rating : Somewhere between 4.25 and 4.5Beware this review contains some spoilers from Theft of Swords.Rise of Empire was definitely the turning point for me, where I finally saw all the potential of the series and so I knew from the first chapters that this would be a favorite series after all !Just like Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire includes two books: Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm. So, again, this review will be divided into two parts. Fa [...]

[3.5 stars] I liked it better than the first book, for sure. There were some elements that really grabbed my attention and kept me interested through both books (3 & 4). 3 is my favorite installment to date, but I'm eagerly waiting to have my socks knocked off in the final volume. :)

I liked the first book a lot, but this book is just phenomenal. I loved the war, the battle scenes were immerssive. I really loved Hadrian in the first book, but it was Arista that blew my mind this book. I saw someone say something about Sullivan being "naively sexist" and I can not disagree hard enough, I love the way he's written Arista. Learning about Hadrians back story was nuts, I'm just getting more attached to this odd couple friendship. I tend to gravitate towards strong friendships wit [...]

"There are no honorable causes. There is no good or evil. Evil is only what we call those who oppose us."Four Stars:✰✰✰✰What everybody kept telling me about these books was so completely right, and I couldn't be happier, because I absolutely loved this second volume of Riyria Revelations. They should make a "Most Improved" award for writers if only so Michael Sullivan could win the award, because where the first volume left me completely unimpressed, this book turned me into a fully comm [...]

This series just keeps getting better and better.Our heroes are once again thrown in two great adventures. The first one, "Nyphron Rising" was fast paced, action packed, exciting and fun as the previous instalments, and the second, "The Emerald Storm" was a bit different. Although it contained the fast pace and excitement, this adventure had a bit darker tone which I didn't expect but I liked it very much. The story as a whole was great, I liked the way it progressed, but most of all, I liked th [...]

4.5 Stars Rise of Empire was a really enjoyable compilation of Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, books 3 and 4 in the Riyria series. After a slow start in book 1 this series has really picked up, featuring two likeable protagonists whose characters and backstories were really fleshed out here, a great cast of supporting characters and lots of exciting adventures. This omnibus continues the trend started in book 2 in developing the depth and scope of what was initially a light-hearted fantasy [...]

Another stellar installment in the Riyria Revelations series. I loved every chapter of this book, or should I say both books, as this is a combination of books 3 and 4. Anyway, the way Michael J. Sullivan writes just sucks you right into the world. Forget your surroundings, because you will lose all sense of reality. His descriptions of people, places, and things makes you feel like you are right there with Royce and Hadrian in the middle of the action.Book 3, Nyphron Rising, has the dynamic duo [...]

This is an omnibus of books 3 and 4 in the series. The third follows well on the heels of the big battles and what amounts to a civil war with the installment of a puppet on the throne, with our favorite thieves getting caught up in the travail, with the search for the rightful heir on the way in the fourth book, with plenty of hijinks on the high seas to keep things interesting.What did I think about them?They're pretty okay. Granted, I've read a lot of fantasy and a lot of great characters who [...]

Strictly speaking, I would give the first and the second books 4 1/2 stars; as it is I gave the first book 5 stars, leaving the second with 4. This is much darker book, but still a very enjoyable read. A minor annoyance: there are less interactions between Hadrian and Royce (they are forced to work separately most of the time) which made first book great. Having said that, I still think the book is great, and it makes you want to read the last two novels of the series. If you read and like the f [...]

Full review now posted!Original review can be found at Booknest.What a way to end the year!Theft of Swords was the first book I started in 2017. Between all of the new books and authors I stumbled across and became obsessed with, the rest of Riyria somehow got lost in the mix. But I’m so happy to be ending my reading year on such a high note; the wait feels worth it.I loved Theft of Swords because it was fun and engaging and harkened back to some of the foundations of the fantasy genre. I love [...]

Apr 2016: Reread with the fabulous Buddies Books & Baubles-------------------------------------25 Dec 2015 (audio): Finished reread of Rise of Empire and no surprises here - another upgrade to 5-stars and onto my favourites shelf. Interspersing this reread with the latest prequel, The Death of Dulgath, highlights how well Michael developed the personalities of Hadrian and Royce at the onset of Riyria and after 12 years of friendship/partnership. -------------------------------------May 2015 [...]

In February last year I finished The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, second book in The Wheel of Time series, determined I will never again pick up anything by this author to read. I acknowledged that it was most imaginative worldbuilding and most detailed magic system, with sufficiently good enough prose, but there were these bits and pieces in his writing that were so irritating I couldn’t stand a second anymore reading those books.Of course six months later I picked it up again. And honestly I [...]

Buddy read with Desinka and Gavin4 STARSJust like the first book, Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire is two novels in one: Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm. Where the first two novels of the first Omnibus could survive as stand alone stories, tied together with similar backdroppings and continuing elements, Rise of Empire has moved deep into the connecting plot.In Nyphron Rising, the newly formed Empire, which the Nyphron Church is running in all but name, would like to annex Melengar. Thrace, [...]

Mozda nece biti fer poredjene ali ovo mi dodje kao The Empire Strikes Back. Prve dve knjige su se fino zavrsile na srecnoj noti dok ove dve. ne bas.Odlicno napisano sa zabavnim likovima punih humora na nivou buddy cop filmova. Glavni likovi vole da se raspravljaju ali kada treba 100 posto su jedan za drugom. Isto tako i ostali likovi su odlicno razradjeni. Ne samo po motivima ili slicno nego se svako ponasa kako bi ocekivao od nekoga. Negativci jesu pokvareni ali su i izuzetno pametni. I prikaza [...]

Wow!!!! There are no words to express my feelings right now! The book is absolutely a must read!!!!I will definitely read it again. Please do yourself a favor and read it (the whole series)!!!

This was an omnibus containing both Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm. Nyphron RisingThis was a fast paced and exciting read. Royce and Hadrian were at their witty best as they accompanied Arista on a diplomatic mission to seek allies against the Imperialists. I felt Arista really grew and developed into a strong character over the course of this story. We had a new POV character in the form Amelia. She was the companion of the new Empress Modina. Her storyline was pretty interesting. Rating [...]

Update: April 2016 readSometimes you worry that a series you remember as fantasy perfection on your first read will not live up to the memory of it in your mind. With Riyria you would be correct. It isbetterthan what you remember.Insert elvish word for five here stars.Original reviewReally like this series. No-nonsense, fun fantasy with great characters. As soon as you're done with this one, you will want to read the next. And that's exactly what I am going to do right now.

Well I definitely seem to be having a differing opinion on this series than most people. For me this one didn't impress me as much as the first one did. I still inhaled it and it was certainly very good. But I don't feel like it was better than Theft of Swords. Perhaps it was because I knew what to expect? Whilst all the stories are different, the reader has faith that Royce and Hadrian will find a clever way to get out of almost any impossible situation. I am glad that the side characters don't [...]

Re-reading this series is a treat. I will never get over the optimist/pessimist tag team relationship. Heartfelt, fun, and full of fantastical politics, I totally recommend it.

Rise of Empire Usually I write reviews on books. This time I am writing an author review. Not sure if this is normal, but then I have never been one to be "normal."I am picky about authors I will continue to read over and over. It seems often the case that an author will hold my attention in the beginning, and then lose it as a series progresses. Not the case with Michael J. Sullivan.He has a knack of befriending his readers not only through his characters, but also through personal contact with [...]

Woo, this book was amazing!! I loved the characters and world and plot and it was just awesome! Highly recommend!