Jonas Kaufman asked Michael J. Sullivan:

I found, no offense intended, Theft of Swords to be a little simplistic and shallow. But I rather enjoyed your writing style and characters. Is your Legends of The First Empire more complex?

Michael J. Sullivan No offense taken. And you'll probably be surprised to learn that it's that way "by design." Why? Well when I wrote the Riyria Revelations I wrote all the books before publishing the first. I had this crazy idea to start simply and then up the stakes and end in a really epic and satisfying way. I wanted each book to be better than the last, which meant (by definition) that the first book is the weakest link. Now, in retrospect...that probably wasn't the best way to go about things. Many people will drop out of the series after Theft of Swords because they don't fine much "there, there." But unlike most stories that front load the early books I wanted to expose the characters backstory, details about the world, and the mysteries being unraveled across the entire narrative. The result, was that people who read all the books discover there is a method to my madness, and those who don't...well I completely understand their impression because they only saw one part of the tapestry.

Is Legends more complex? Not sure how to answer that. It certainly has a more "epic feel": Larger cast, a point in history that is pivotal, higher stakes, a clash of cultures. It also was written 12 years after I wrote Theft of Swords so my hope is (and people seem to agree with this) that my writing ability has improved. My recommendation. Read the extended preview (first five chapters) and if you like that, you'll probably enjoy the rest. But if after 5 chapters you aren't "feeling it" then it's probably not a good fit.

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