Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher: Orbit (1st Edition)
Genre: Fantasy
Book Description:
Publication Date: January 31, 2012
The New Empire intends to mark its victory over the
Nationalists with a bloody celebration. On the high holiday of Wintertide, the
Witch of Melengar will be burned and the Heir of Novron executed. On that same
day the Empress faces a forced marriage, with a fatal accident soon to follow.
The New Empire is confident in the totality of its triumph but there's just one
problem-Royce and Hadrian have finally found the Heir of Novron and they have
their own holiday plans.
And so concludes the final tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
And so concludes the final tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
Review:
I’ve tried to take a little bit of reprieve before I wrote this review,
to allow my emotions time to settle, but after a full two weeks, and reading
another spectacular fantasy series in between, I don’t think they’re going
anywhere. If anything, they’re solidifying,
especially the feelings of sadness. Not
only for the heartache at the loss of some of my favorite characters in this
last part of the saga, but because the series came to an end. It reminds me a lot of how I felt at the end
of Harry Potter. I cried for two days,
but that was after I had invested several years following that particular
journey. With Riyria Revelations, I’ve
only recently discovered it, revealing how strong of an impact it made in such
a short period of time. I hereby induct Michael J. Sullivan into the Evil
Author’s Guild – for his love of killing off much beloved characters.
This series has a brilliant mix
of riotous comedy, wondrous character development, and heart-breaking
resolutions. Sullivan did such an
excellent job of keeping the strongest elements of this story in a good balance,
not allowing one component to overpower the others. As a fellow writer, I understand the difficulty
of such a task. While reading Heir of
Novron, knowing a conclusion waited on the horizon, Sullivan was able to keep
me in the moment, but most all, able to keep my heart and emotions in the
moment in order to break them.
While Hadrian and Royce has cemented themselves into my heart as
strongly as Harry, Ron & Hermione, it’s some of the secondary characters
that helped solidify my love for this series: Empress Modina (Thrace Wood), Amilia,
Albert Winslow, Mince, Elbright, Brand, Kine, Gwen DeLancey, Princess Arista, the
Pickerings – all of them, Myron Lananklin, Magnus, Esrahaddon, Wyatt Deminthal,
and Sir Breckton Belstrad. Of course, there are all those bad guys too, but
these are the characters that pilfered my heart. With so many fantasy series filling it pages
with dozens upon dozens of characters, I find many of the main characters get
lost in the melee, but Sullivan did a great job keeping Hadrian and Royce front
and center.
Though I figured out early in the series the identity of the Heir of
Novron, I still enjoyed experiencing every step, clue and adventure that
brought out the revelation. I love the
great mixture of all the elements of fantasy like: new worlds, colorful kingdoms, gods &
goddesses, elves, dwarves, wizards, magical beasts, and everyday medieval
elements like inns, thieves’ guilds and armies (reminding me a lot of the video
game Assassin’s Creed). There’s a
surprise at the ending, something I thought about in the first book, but then became
so absorbed in the other elements of the story, I totally forgot. When it came about in the end, it really made
me smile, and it added such a soft, pleasant touch to the story, especially coming
after some really heart-breaking moments. That was I think the formula that
made this series great – the balance of soft, hard and hilarious moments.
I’m trying to hard not to give away any plot points, it’s difficult,
because it’s those particular points I found so exciting about this series. I
guess all that I’m left with is this last sentiment: I love Michael J. Sullivan’s
imagination. I can’t wait to see what he
comes up with next.
Till next time,
~T.L. Gray
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