Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations) [Kindle Edition]

Michael J. Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

***#1 AMAZON BEST SELLER: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, & Men's Adventure***

They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.
There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are running for their lives when they're framed for the death of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy that goes beyond the overthrow of a tiny kingdom, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery before it's too late.

When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.

BOOKS IN THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS

• Theft of Swords (contains: The Crown Conspiracy & Avempartha)
• Rise of Empire   (contains: Nyphron Rising & The Emerald Storm)
• Heir of Novron   (contains: Wintertide & Percepliquis)

BOOKS IN THE RIYRIA CHRONICLES

• The Crown Tower (coming Aug 2013)
• The Rose and the Thorn (coming Sep 2013)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights, and faithful friendship complete the formula for good old-fashioned escapist fun." -- Publishers Weekly

"This epic fantasy showcases the arrival of a master storyteller." -- Library Journal

"A whirlwind of twists, earth-shattering surprises and deadly betrayal." -- Literary Magic

"Mr. Sullivan continues to impress. In Royce and Hadrian he has created some of the best characters the genre has seen in some time, and in Avempartha he shows that he knows what to do with them. These books should be in every bookstore and I really hope that they are someday." -- Speculative Fiction Junkie

"In the space of two years, Michael Sullivan has moved from a small press debut author who was featured in one of my first "Indie Spotlight Reviews" to a "name" in the fantasy field." -- Fantasy Book Critic

Review

Praise for the Riyria Revelations:

"Mr. Sullivan continues to impress. In Royce and Hadrian he has created some of the best characters the genre has seen in some time, and in Avempartha he shows that he knows what to do with them. These books should be in every bookstore and I really hope that they are someday." --- Speculative Fiction Junkie

"A whirlwind of twists, earth-shattering surprises and deadly betrayal." --- Literary Magic

"Hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights, and faithful friendship complete the formula for good old-fashioned escapist fun."

(Publishers Weekly )

"This epic fantasy showcases the arrival of a master storyteller." (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 1021 KB
• Print Length: 694 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 035650106X
• Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (November 23, 2011)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004XWBUKK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,393 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Men's Adventure
  • #24 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy > Historical
  • #33 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

166 of 191 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but lacks depth. November 20, 2011

By A. Whitehead TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Hadrian and Royce are partners in crime, a mercenary and thief who make a living working for the various nobles who rule over the lands of Avryn but spend most of their time feuding with one another. One particular job ends with Hadrian and Royce being arrested and charged with regicide. Determined to prove their innocence and take revenge on those who framed them, they set out on a quest that could change the fate of Avryn and the whole world.

Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Revelations series is already a proven success, with both small press and self-published editions of the books selling well. Orbit have picked up the series and recast the original six books as three omnibuses, bringing them to a wider audience. Whilst this laudably rewards the author's success, it also raises the stakes: standing out from the crowd in self-publishing is one thing, but how does Sullivan's work stack up compared to the current fantasy heavyweights?

The answer is...okay, actually. Sullivan's ambition with this series was to create a series that in a way beat against the current trend for adult, edgy, violent and explicit fantasy novels in favour of something more straightforward or 'classic'. Something that evoked the spirit of say Eddings or Brooks without being as dire. Sullivan lists Harry Potter as an inspiration, particularly the way it welded together accessibility and a classic structure with darker elements (such as major character deaths), and that's certainly a reasonable ambition.

Theft of Swords (which combines the first two novels in the series, The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha) is a fast-paced, straightforward read with a fast-moving plot and easy-to-read writing.... Sullivan's risk in aping the simpler form of fantasy fiction is that he might skirt towards blandness, and this is certainly a problem in the book. He has a fairly blank prose style which is effortless to read, but also somewhat forgettable. His skills with characterisation are somewhat stronger, but still not as great as might be wished. Particularly odd is that his central characters of Hadrian and Royce are not very well-developed at all, and many of the secondary characters are more interesting and better-drawn. The central duo do get a bit more fleshed out towards the end of the second half of the book and we also get a possible reason for why Sullivan had to hold back on certain revelations about them, but it is a bit of a challenge to read a book where the two heroes are so (apparently) shallow.

Other issues can be found in the worldbuilding, particularly the existence of apparently substantial kingdoms with walled cities in them that are only about 20 miles wide. Sullivan aims for some consistency here - a couple of hundred soldiers forms a large army in this world, presumably because populations are correspondingly tiny - but it's still a bit odd. On the racial front, things are fairly traditional: dwarves are geniuses for stonecarving whilst elves are long-lived, pointy-eared types. The only dwarf we meet is a grubby villain, whilst the elves are (in this first book anyway) kept firmly off-screen and are the enemies of humanity, but these are minor (and not particularly unprecedented) twists to the established formula. Naturally, the main storyline also revolves around prophecies, chosen ones whose arrival will signify the end of the world and so on, and it won't take a genius to guess who the chosen one is going to be.

The principle problem with the book is its very predictability. At first, reading an epic fantasy without blood spraying over people's faces every five seconds or two mandatory graphic (and usually badly-written) sex scenes per book is a refreshing change of pace, and feels like a valid direction to take at this time. However, the book's embracing of classic tropes without doing much (or, at times, anything) to subvert or challenge them eventually gets dull. Brandon Sanderson, for example, is also writing classic epic fantasy but remembers to put in plenty of interesting twists: a post-magic-apocalypse setting, a Wild West angle and, of course, lots of original magic systems. These flourishes are absent from Sullivan's debut work.

Theft of Swords (***) is an easy, relaxing read but also one that lacks depth or originality. It's fun enough to warrant reading on (and the series rep has it improving massively as it continues), but I do wonder if publishing these stories as 650-page omnibuses rather than their original 320-page, bite-sized chunks was a mistake. A fun popcorn read, but ultimately not much more. Read more ›

56 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story! November 10, 2011

By James R. Barnes

Format:Paperback

This is definitely at the top of my list of favorite books. I loved this story, and very much look forward to the next in the series. It seems as if lately everyone is trying to write darker, brooding books, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I was happy find something a little more like the stories that got me into reading when I was younger. A great story with characters you want to get to know and a well executed plot that keeps you engaged. It was definitely well thought out and well written. It is a rich world with great characters (good and bad) and stories without being too complex to follow. Great for all ages.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced excellent fantasy November 10, 2011

By Kimberly

Format:Paperback

I absolutely loved this book.

Hadrian and Royce battle for the greater good in the midst of intrigue, false promises, action, adventure, and love. They know what it means to walk a careful line between competing interests, and before the end of the book I knew that they were two of my most favorite fantasy characters ever.

The world of the Riyria Revelations is well imagined and the backdrop for the sudden plot twists is sweeping and inspiring. I couldn't put this book down, and didn't want it to end. A great story, start to finish.

When I could part with the book, I loaned it to my 75-year-old mother, who loved it. She decided that Hadrian was her favorite name. Shortly thereafter, I loaned it to my 13-year-old grandson, and he LOVED IT! He liked different characters and different parts of the story, but the very idea that we could read a book through the generations and all delight in the story was absolutely something to celebrate.

If you love fantasy, you will not be disappointed with this excellent offering by Michael Sullivan. Do yourself a favor. Read it.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatly Written November 10, 2011

By mohawkguy28

Format:Paperback

Theft of Swords is one of the best written stories that I have read. The book captivated my interest from the first chapter. Michael Sullivan has created characters that I have come to love and despise (depending on who they were). Most times I caught myself laughing or biting my nails. My family must have thought that I was crazy because I have never really done any of that while reading, out loud anyway. I was so completely caught up in the story, that I did finished it before I was even ready. I look forward to re-reading this book and the two more to come. Only a few books have captivated me like this one and I have to say, "Move over Stephen King. I have found my new favorite author."

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A few heists gone awry (and thank goodness for it!) December 21, 2011

By E. Ambrose VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

It should be noted that some of the first fantasy stories I ever read fell quite solidly into the sword and sorcery sub-genre. I remember liking them and then starting to move towards other things. Anyway, it's been a while since I found a sword and sorcery story I truly delighted in reading and Theft of Swords reminded me of everything I love about the sub-genre.

The book is about two partners in crime, Hadrian and Royce, as they get hired to pull a couple of heists involving swords (hence the title). Both start off simply enough but as such things are wont to do in fantasy novels, events go all Murphy's Law on them. It's really more like two novellas set one after the other with an ongoing plot linking them loosely together.

Usually the biggest pitfall I have with sword and sorcery is the main characters. This was not the case for this book. There was no brooding over Royce's and Hadrian's pasts (which was refreshing). Little tidbits and hints about their pasts were noted without dragging the pace of the story down or distracting me with some tale of woe. There were one line acknowledgements where I could look back at that character's actions up until that point and go "yup I suspected that, but thank you for confirming it" without interrupting the story one whit.

I loved the social dynamic between the two of them and how opposite Hadrian and Royce were by nature and by trait, but how little true antagonism there was between them. I found myself very happy with the ribbing of who's got a soft spot for what, the "if we listened to me, we wouldn't be in this mess" reiterations and of course the ever entertaining "Well we could just kill the twit" spiel.... Call me a shallow dunce, but I was actually happy with how both of these guys accepted each other and how they broke problems down into things they could deal with. Since they were so stable with each other, one could appreciate the degree of instability that every other character seemed to go through during the course of each of the novellas. This is not to say that the main characters are static as much as the changes in them are not dramatized as much as everyone else's (with one teeny tiny exception related to the overarching plot between the stories). I thought that appropriate since everyone else seemed to be dealing with much more dire personal and political problems through the stories. While this could have been problematic, instead Royce and Hadrian served as a stabilizing force in the stories.

The other characters with more going on within the stories consist namely of Alric the new king of Melengar, his sister Arista and Thrace, a peasant girl in the second novella. Both Alric and Arista seemed fairly typical as far as they went. Much of their individual antics seemed more to set up situations to see Royce and Hadrian react to them than to garner characterization for them individually. Among the more minor characters, I felt that Thrace was better detailed and will probably end up being more interesting than either of the hereditary royalty as this series progresses.

So far the villains are obvious with a few exceptions. However, I am happy to report that the conspiracy seems to require the Evil Overlord's Handbook as required reading for all of its ranking members. That is to say, that those in charge of making plans and carrying them out were generally smart and wily enough to not get caught at it and make it appear as if they had been wrong/mistaken/forced into whatever action they had gotten caught at. It made for a better villain and put it a little more on the reader to define exactly who are the bigger jerks between the two sides of the big Imperial conspiracy.

If there's one place where this book stumbled, it was in the world building. It wasn't that there were elves and dwarves and dragons so typical of the sword and sorcery sub-genre. It was more that I hard time trying to figure out why there was a rift between the Imperialists and the Royalists when it seemed more reasonable to guess that any of the kings would quite happily support an imperial agenda... provided they were the ones wearing an imperial coronet after all was said and done. I also thought that the boundaries and differences between kingdoms (at least the ones that were actually visited by the characters) were minute overall, more like city-states or really big fiefdoms rather than anything so expansive as a kingdom. I did appreciate how "other" the elves ended up being. I kind of wish that the dwarves had a different other-ness illustrated to the same degree, particularly since the story has a dwarf character pop up a few times, but no true elves have any face time whatsoever. Fortunately I didn't pay all that much attention to a lot of that because I had Royce and Hadrian escapades to laugh over instead, except as the politics intersected with their lives.

Faults aside, I really enjoyed Theft of Swords and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment. Read more ›

More About the Author

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend's house, Michael inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night and a shot rang out. He was just eight years old at the time. But the desire to fill the blank page and see what doors the typewriter keys would unlock wouldn't let him go. For ten years Michael developed his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck...just to name a few. During that time he wrote twelve novels, and after finding no traction in publishing, he quit and vowed never to write creatively again.

Michael discovered that never is a very long time, and he ended his hiatus from writing after a decade. The itch returned when he decided to create a series of books for his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who was struggling in school due to dyslexia.

Michael is one of the few authors who have successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big six. He has been named to io9's Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors list as well as making #6 on EMG's 25 Self Published Authors to Watch. As of January 2013, he has sold more than 250,000 books, been translated to 14 languages, and has had books appear on more than 65 "best of" or "most anticipated" lists including:

* 2013 Audie Award Finalist for Theft of Swords
* Fantasy Book Review's top 6 (non-hyped) Anticipated Reads of 2013
* Fantasy Faction's Top 10 Anticipated Reads of 2013
* goodreads Choice Award Nominees for Fantasy in 2010 and 2012
* Audible's 2012 5-star The Best of Everything List
* Library Journal's 2011 Best Books for Fantasy/Sci-Fi
* Barnes & Noble Blog's Best Fantasy Releases of 2011
* Fantasy Book Critic's #1 Indie Fantasy for 2010

Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages and has several projects under development: Antithesis (modern fantasy) and The First Empire Series (traditional fantasy).

THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS (Omnibus Editions)
* Theft of Swords: contains The Crown Tower & Avempartha
* Rise of Empire: contains Nyphron Rising & The Emerald Storm
* Heir of Novron: contains Wintertide & Percepliquis

THE RIYRIA CHRONICLES
* The Crown Tower: coming Aug 6, 2013
* The Rose and the Thorn: coming Sep 17, 2013

STANDALONE NOVELS
* Hollow World: coming Jan 20, 2014
* Antithesis: release date to be determined
* Burden to the Earth: release date to b determined

ORIGINAL BOOKS OF THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS (out of print)
* The Crown Conspiracy
* Avempartha
* Nyphron Rising
* The Emerald Storm
* Wintertide
* Percepliquis

SHORT STORIES
* The Viscount and the Witch (Riyria Chronicles #1.5)
* Greener Grass (time-travel science fiction)

ANTHOLOGIES
* Triumph Over Tragedy (Traditions)
* The End - Visions of Apocalypse (Burning Alexandria)
* The Fantasy Faction Anthology (Autumn Mists) Mar 2013
* Unfettered (The Jester) May 2013

AWARDS & ACCOLADES
The Crown Tower (coming Aug 2013)
* 2013 Fantasy Book Review's Six (non-hyped) Most Anticipated Books
* 2013 Fantasy Faction's Top 10 Most Anticipated Books
* 2013 Ranting Dragon's 50 Fantasy and Sci-Fi Novels to Look Forward
* 2013 BestFantasyBooks.com's Most Anticipated Fantasy Reads
* 2013 Angels of Retribution's Most Anticipated Releases
* 2013 A Fantasy Reader's Eager Meter Nominee
* 2013 Draumr Kopa Fantasy Book Blog Waiting on Wednesday

The Riyria Revelations
* 2013 Rule The Waves Top 10 Tuesdays
* 2012 Confessions of an Avid Reader Top 12 (#2)
* 2009 Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews Top 10 Books

Heir of Novon / Wintertide & Percepliquis
* 2012 SFWorld's Top 10 Favorite Books (Percepliquis)
* 2012 goodreads Choice Award Nominee (Percepliquis)
* 2012 Audible's August Customer Favorites (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Bookworm Blues Top 10 (#4) (Percepliquis)
* 2012 Founding Field's Best Books (Percepliquis)
* 2012 Angels of Retribution's Best of the Best Part 1 (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Patrick's Book Awards (#10) (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Bane of King's Best Novels of First Half of 2012 (Percepliquis)
* 2012 GoddessCarlie Top 5: #2 (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 MathiasCavanaugh Top 10 Books (#4) (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Angels of Retribution's Reading Award for February ( Percepliquis)
* 2012 Fantasy Book Critic's Top 5 Anticipated Releases for Q1 (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Civilian Reader's 6 Most Anticipated Reads for January (Heir of Novron)
* 2012 Staffer's Review's Books I Most Want to Read in Early 2012 (Heir of Novron)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic #1 Indie Fantasy (Wintertide)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top 25 Novels (Wintertide)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic: Cindy's Anticipated Reads List (Wintertide)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top Independent Novels (Wintertide)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top 5 Novels of Second Half of 2010 (Wintertide)

Rise of Empire / Nyphron Rising & The Emerald Storm
* 2012 Mathias Cavanaugh Top 10 Books (#3) (Rise of Empire)
* 2012 Timothy C. Ward Top 10 Reads (#8) (Rise of Empire)
* 2012 Patrick's Book Awards (#9) (Rise of Empire)
* 2011 Civilian Reader's 6 Most Anticipated Reads for Dec (Rise of Empire)
* 2010 goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic #1 Indie Fantasy (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top 25 Novels for (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic: Cindy's Anticipated Reads List (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top Independent Novels (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Fantasy Book Critic Top 12 Novels as of First Quarter (The Emerald Storm)
* 2010 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist (Nyphron Rising)

Theft of Swords / The Crown Conspiracy Avempartha
* 2013 Audie Award Finalist (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 Audible's 5-star The Best of Everything (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 Audible's Best of 2012 Editor's Picks (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 Audible's 5-star Sci-fi & Fantasy (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 WordTipping Top 3 Favorite Reads (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 Angels of Retribution's Best of the Best Part 2 (Theft of Swords - audio)
* 2012 MathiasCavanaugh Top 10 Books (#7) (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 BattleHymns Books of the Year: Honorable Mention (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 AudioBookaneers Favorite Listens, Runner up (Theft of Swords)
* 2012 Patrick's Book Awards (#10) (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Library Journal's Best Books for Fantasy/Sci-Fi (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Civilian Reader's 5 Most Anticipated Reads for Nov (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Black Gate Noteworthy Fantasy Debuts (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Library Journal's Fantasy/Sci-Fi Debut For September (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Dribble of Ink's Favorite Novels (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Drying Ink's Best Epic Fantasy (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Graeme's Fantasy Book Review Favourite (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Only the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy's Top 10 (#2) (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Best Fantasy Releases by Barnes and Noble Blog (Theft of Swords)
* 2011 Lost Entwive's Top Ten Underrated Books (The Crown Conspiracy)
* 2010 Iceberg Ink Award Best Read (Avempartha)
* 2010 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist (Avempartha)
* 2010 Only the Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Top 10 Read (The Crown Conspiracy)
* 2010 Bookworm Blues Overall Best Reads of 2010 (Avempartha)
* 2009 Winner of Book Spot Central's Fantasy Tournament of Books (Avempartha)
* 2009 Speculative Fiction Junkie's Top 5 Close Contender(The Crown Conspiracy)
* 2009 National Indie Book Award Finalist (The Crown Conspiracy)
* 2008 ReaderViews Annual Literary Award Finalist (The Crown Conspiracy)
* 2007 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist (The Crown Conspiracy)

CONTACT INFORMATION
Riyria Blog: www.riyria.com
Hollow World Blog: www.hollowworldnovel.wordpress.com
First Empire Series Blog: www.firstempireseries.com
Twitter: @author_sullivan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/riyria & www.facebook.com/michael.james.sullivan

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#21 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#41 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#65 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#73 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#21 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#41 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#65 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#73 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy