Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Apr 20, 2016 Daniel Millard rated it liked it

Ever since I came back to Goodreads, I've heard "Riyria!" being shouted wall to wall in various fantasy groups. This, combined with finding a well-loved clearance copy of this book at my local Half Price Bookstore, made my duty clear.

Theft of Swords is at the same time a very familiar and very different sort of book, I have quickly noticed. While it is maligned in some circles for playing things "too safe" with well-established fantasy tropes (dwarves! elves! corrupt clergy! dragons! wizards! k Ever since I came back to Goodreads, I've heard "Riyria!" being shouted wall to wall in various fantasy groups. This, combined with finding a well-loved clearance copy of this book at my local Half Price Bookstore, made my duty clear.

Theft of Swords is at the same time a very familiar and very different sort of book, I have quickly noticed. While it is maligned in some circles for playing things "too safe" with well-established fantasy tropes (dwarves! elves! corrupt clergy! dragons! wizards! kings!), once you get past the fact that all of those parentheticals are indeed included in some incarnation or another, the truth is that Michael Sullivan puts rather a new twist on all of the above. What's more, my reading experience was enhanced not by reading the "Extras" section at the end of the book. Therein, Sullivan explains a great deal of his inspiration and approach to writing. After reading this, I began gradually revising my opinion of the book. What I was first thinking of as "detail-light" fantasy became more attractive as an episodic installment which gradually built drama and layered different plots. I became convinced that this is really what I expect from the Riyria Revelations at the conclusion of book 2 ("Avempartha").

The best characteristics of this first book all revolved around atmosphere. I very much enjoyed the political scheming in both stories, as well as all of the little details (cultural, societal, geographic) that went into the building of the political world. Kingdoms like Melengar and Warric feel like distinct political entities, and while there's been only a little focus upon heraldry, titles, and feudal hierarchy thus far, I expect it to continue. Next, let's re-examine those fantasy tropes that the author "clings to". There's exactly one dwarf. We know almost nothing about him other than that he fills a dwarfly role. The elves are a bit of a mystery, sure, but they're a strange dichotomy of beaten-down second class citizens and yet a malignant threat on the horizon. The Gilarabrywn is not really a "dragon" per se, and its certainly an interesting creature. All in all, Sullivan does a very good job of creating a relatable, believable fantasy world - something very important in my eyes - and also one that doesn't have to dwell on grimness or rot to succeed (also very important). There's very real corruption, danger, and violence, but Sullivan doesn't crutch on overly-graphic depiction to deliver his drama.

So why didn't I like this more? Most specifically, while I'm nibbling around at the details of plot, generally like the world, and am starting to get into the characters, I don't feel like Sullivan has quite "set the hook" in me yet. Part of this I attribute to being an episodic, developmental sort of read, and part due to Sullivan's more straightforward, less detailed narrative approach. There's a level of description missing in Theft of Swords when compared to other writers that I've enjoyed recently (Rothfuss, Sanderson, Erikson, Addison), and I find it leaves some parts of the setting a bit more bare, and some characters less deep. Despite 650 pages, I don't feel I have a strong grasp of Hadrian and Royce's character profiles beyond relatively top-level characteristics and emotions. Adding to this is the dialog, which is occasionally stunningly casual (I distinctly remember the princess of Melengar saying "woulda" or "coulda"), and strangely familiar/comfortable in a way that, while relatable as a 21st century American, seems out of place in this world.

As far as the two separate stories were concerned, I enjoyed "The Crown Conspiracy" pretty much end to end. "Avempartha", on the other hand, had a lot of build time after a strong start. I didn't feel a particular pull to keep reading until the last hundred pages or so.

I enjoyed this well enough to invest in the rest of the series, and I have it on Goodreads authority that both the writing and enjoyment of the story get better as the series goes on. This makes it a no-brainer for followup reading. I am hoping to enjoy following installments even more. ...more

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Jun 19, 2018 Liam rated it really liked it

RiyriaKat, you're not crazy.

A fantastic read, can't wait to read the next book. Hadrian and Royce are very entertaining characters, to say the least, and the supporting cast is pretty stellar too. The writing itself is enjoyable and the world just kept on getting progressively more interesting.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Marin Wyden rated it really liked it

This is easily one of the better fantasy series I've read. The writing style is simple and smooth. There isn't an abundance of detailing what everything looks like, and the plot is one that contains multiple threads that carefully weave into one another. This is also one of the rare books were I reached the ending without noticing.

In fact, the only real point of criticism I have is the inclusion of Elves and Dwarfs in their most stereotypical forms. They don't appear much, but it remains a grati ...more

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Mar 27, 2020 Satyajeet rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, historic-fiction, action-adventure

It’s even some years that I have read such invigorating and fascinating read... Kudos to the writer to come up with such great ideas and plot twists to keep this saga afloat....I give 4/5 stars....

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