Em
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Just finished the Legends of the First Empire series and loved it! I am planning on reading your older series which I understand takes place later in the same universe. Question: is there a difference between the "Riyria Chronicles" and "Riyria Revelations"? I'm a little confused about which book is first in that series or even how many books there are. Thanks in advance! ~Emily
Michael J. Sullivan
Hey, Emily, thanks for asking. So here's the deal. I have three series:
* The Riyria Revelations (written first and the books that are the farthest out on the timeline). This COMPLETED series consists of six books told through three two-book omnibus volumes: Theft of Swords (contains The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha) | Rise of Empire (contains Nyphron Rising and the Emerald Storm ) Heir of Novron (contains Wintertide & Percepliquis).
* The Riyria Chronicles (written second and the books occur 10 years BEFORE the events of the Riyria Chronicles). The titles in this series are The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter. This series contains largely "standalone" titles. It was written because after finishing the Riyria Revelations, many readers (and my wife) wanted more adventures with two of their favorite characters (Royce and Hadrian). This series is "ONGOING" because I don't want the pair to overstay their welcome. To that end, I write a book, release it, and if people want more, I'll do another. There is a 5th book planned (Drumindor), but I don't have a release date for it yet - probably sometime in 2022. The first book of Chronicles starts 10 years BEFORE the events in Riyria and shows how the pair initially met and started their partnership.
* Legends of the First Empire are the books you already know about. To fill in others, this is a 6-book COMPLETED series that takes place 3,000 years before the events in the Riyria tales.
While the books can be read in any order, I suggest reading Riyria in "order of publication" which would consist of 10 books total (sold through 7 volumes). The order would be Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter.
Why that order? Well, there are several reasons. (1) Revelations is a good value as you get two books for the price of one. (2) It's the way in which I wanted to introduce you to the characters. Since I wrote all six books before publishing the first, I built the characters (and the mysteries of the series) in layers. In other words, I dole out little clues across the entire series rather than "frontloading" everything in book #1. For this reason, many people find the first book "a little simplistic" but that's by design. I wanted each book to get better than the last and end in a really powerful way. I think I accomplished that, but it was probably a stupid way to construct the series as it makes the "weakest link" the first book. (3) When you read Chronicles after Riyria you'll discover little "winks and nods" that I put in the books for "people in the know."
Now, all that said, if you are are a person that is impartial to reading in "chronological order" than you can certainly read in this order: The Crown Tower | The Rose and Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter | Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron. Many people have - and they contend this is the "best order" but even more people have read in order of publication and equally decry that "their choice" was the better one.
I do hope you'll give Riyria a try. If you liked Legends, I predict you'll enjoy those books as well.
* The Riyria Revelations (written first and the books that are the farthest out on the timeline). This COMPLETED series consists of six books told through three two-book omnibus volumes: Theft of Swords (contains The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha) | Rise of Empire (contains Nyphron Rising and the Emerald Storm ) Heir of Novron (contains Wintertide & Percepliquis).
* The Riyria Chronicles (written second and the books occur 10 years BEFORE the events of the Riyria Chronicles). The titles in this series are The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter. This series contains largely "standalone" titles. It was written because after finishing the Riyria Revelations, many readers (and my wife) wanted more adventures with two of their favorite characters (Royce and Hadrian). This series is "ONGOING" because I don't want the pair to overstay their welcome. To that end, I write a book, release it, and if people want more, I'll do another. There is a 5th book planned (Drumindor), but I don't have a release date for it yet - probably sometime in 2022. The first book of Chronicles starts 10 years BEFORE the events in Riyria and shows how the pair initially met and started their partnership.
* Legends of the First Empire are the books you already know about. To fill in others, this is a 6-book COMPLETED series that takes place 3,000 years before the events in the Riyria tales.
While the books can be read in any order, I suggest reading Riyria in "order of publication" which would consist of 10 books total (sold through 7 volumes). The order would be Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter.
Why that order? Well, there are several reasons. (1) Revelations is a good value as you get two books for the price of one. (2) It's the way in which I wanted to introduce you to the characters. Since I wrote all six books before publishing the first, I built the characters (and the mysteries of the series) in layers. In other words, I dole out little clues across the entire series rather than "frontloading" everything in book #1. For this reason, many people find the first book "a little simplistic" but that's by design. I wanted each book to get better than the last and end in a really powerful way. I think I accomplished that, but it was probably a stupid way to construct the series as it makes the "weakest link" the first book. (3) When you read Chronicles after Riyria you'll discover little "winks and nods" that I put in the books for "people in the know."
Now, all that said, if you are are a person that is impartial to reading in "chronological order" than you can certainly read in this order: The Crown Tower | The Rose and Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter | Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron. Many people have - and they contend this is the "best order" but even more people have read in order of publication and equally decry that "their choice" was the better one.
I do hope you'll give Riyria a try. If you liked Legends, I predict you'll enjoy those books as well.
More Answered Questions
Matt
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
I have read in interviews that you wrote 10 novels before you started working on Riyria. I'm curious to know if you have any intentions to ever publish those works, or if they will remain unread by the public as you develop new worlds to work in? BTW, what happened to the 'stache? It changed your look from "scholarly and somewhat British" to more of a "guy next door" vibe. :)
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more