D. Vernet
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi Michael, which one of your books can you recommend to read first? I usually do not read fantasy novels, but I was quite thrilled by the way you wrote description of your books. Fascinating language, I would even say hypnotizing—it makes one to read more. Thank you in advance, D.
Michael J. Sullivan
Hey there,
It's not an easy question...although it should be, right? So there are two main set of books in Elan:
* The Riyria Novels (I'm lumping together both Riyra Revelations and Riyria Chronicles)
* Legends of the First Empire (which take place in the same world, but show events that are 3,000 years before the events in Riyria to show the true story about various historical characters that have been mythologized over the years.
Okay, so with that out of the way, here's my suggested starting places
- Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations #1 & #2), this is a logical place to start as it's the first in order of publication. It also is a good deal as you get two full-length novels for the price of one. The downside to this is book #1 was written to be purposefully simplistic (as the story grows across the series) so some people find it "light" but it's that way by design.
- The Crown Tower (Riyria Chronicle #1), this is a logical place to start if you want to read the Riyria book sin chronological order. It shows how Royce and Hadrian met.
- Age of Myth (Legends of the First Empire #1), this is a logical place for people who like multi-cast epics as opposed to Riyria which pretty much centers on two main protagonists. For those who have read Riyria first reading these books later on provide some interesting Revelations in regards to learning the truth about various historical people and events that are discussed in Riyria.
- The Death of Dulgath (Riyria Chronicle #3), this may seem like a weird place to start because it's the 9th Riyria novel and the 3rd in its series, but it's really not so odd given this book was written as a standalone and designed as a good introduction Riyria as a whole.
- The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter (Riyria Chronicle #4), this book is just like DoD in structure. In other words, it's meant to be (a) standalone and (b) able to be read by people who haven't read any other novels of mine.
Whew, that's a lot...hopefully it'll help.
It's not an easy question...although it should be, right? So there are two main set of books in Elan:
* The Riyria Novels (I'm lumping together both Riyra Revelations and Riyria Chronicles)
* Legends of the First Empire (which take place in the same world, but show events that are 3,000 years before the events in Riyria to show the true story about various historical characters that have been mythologized over the years.
Okay, so with that out of the way, here's my suggested starting places
- Theft of Swords (Riyria Revelations #1 & #2), this is a logical place to start as it's the first in order of publication. It also is a good deal as you get two full-length novels for the price of one. The downside to this is book #1 was written to be purposefully simplistic (as the story grows across the series) so some people find it "light" but it's that way by design.
- The Crown Tower (Riyria Chronicle #1), this is a logical place to start if you want to read the Riyria book sin chronological order. It shows how Royce and Hadrian met.
- Age of Myth (Legends of the First Empire #1), this is a logical place for people who like multi-cast epics as opposed to Riyria which pretty much centers on two main protagonists. For those who have read Riyria first reading these books later on provide some interesting Revelations in regards to learning the truth about various historical people and events that are discussed in Riyria.
- The Death of Dulgath (Riyria Chronicle #3), this may seem like a weird place to start because it's the 9th Riyria novel and the 3rd in its series, but it's really not so odd given this book was written as a standalone and designed as a good introduction Riyria as a whole.
- The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter (Riyria Chronicle #4), this book is just like DoD in structure. In other words, it's meant to be (a) standalone and (b) able to be read by people who haven't read any other novels of mine.
Whew, that's a lot...hopefully it'll help.
More Answered Questions
Krista
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi, is 'Theft of Swords' a combination of both 'The Crown Conspiracy' and 'Avempartha'?
Bethany
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi Michael, I was wondering if there was any possibility of more short stories featuring Royce and Hadrian in the vein of The Jester or Professional Integrity? I thoroughly enjoy the full length novels, but sometimes I need a quick fix when I don't have time for a longer read/listen.
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