Megan Middlebrooks
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi! What is the recommended reading order for your books? I've been eyeing them for a while, but I decided to read (well, at least start) them in 2021! Sorry if I missed this answer, there's so many questions!
Michael J. Sullivan
Hey Megan, thanks for writing - and no worries...there are a lot of questions - and I love answering them for people. There are actually many "places to start" Let me go through them with you.
Theft of Swords - is book #1 and #2 of the Riyria Revelations this was the first book I published and it's where many people start. It starts out with a "simple tale" about two rogues who are framed for the murder of a king and by the time the series ends stakes have ramped up and gone "epic" such that their deeds may very well change the course of history.
The Crown Tower - is book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles which is a "prequel" series to the Riyria Revelations. These four books were written because people missed Royce and Hadrian so much after they finished the Riyria Revelations that I provided some more stories with the pair. At the start of Theft of Swords (mentioned above), the pair had already been together for 10 years so the first two books of this series explain how the pair met and how they started their thieves-for-hire enterprise. For people who like reading chronologically - this would be a better place to start than Theft of Swords. But personally, I prefer reading the Riyria tales in order of publication: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter)
Age of Myth is the first book in the Legends of the First Empire series and it is based in the same world as the Riyria tales, but it takes place 3,000 years in the past. It's really not a "prequel" because there is a whole different cast of characters, and it explores a very different time in history. For instance, in Legends, magic is pretty common among the race known as the Fhrey, but in Riyria magic is practically non-existent. Unlike Riyria it is epic from page one as the events happened during a watershed moment in history. It also has a much larger cast of characters than Riyria does. So if you like "small intimate" stories - Riyria might be to your liking, but if you like large epics with big casts, then Legends might be the best place to start.
All told, there are 16 books based in Elan and that's daunting to some. So I'll give you one last recommendation. If you want to try out my writing style to see if it's to your liking, then The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is a good place to start. Yes, it's technically the 4th book in the Riyria Chronicles, but books #3 and #4 of that series are written as standalone tales similar to a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie such that you can read that book without prior knowledge from the others.
So, as you can see there are plenty of options. The good news is I've heard from people who have read them in several different orders and the response I hear back most often is, "The way I did it was the RIGHT way" even though the people saying that started with different books! In other words, all of the "starting points" seem to work to one degree or another. So start at the book that seems to match your reading preference best after reading the descriptions above.
I do hope you'll enjoy them no matter where you begin - and please let me know what you decided!
Theft of Swords - is book #1 and #2 of the Riyria Revelations this was the first book I published and it's where many people start. It starts out with a "simple tale" about two rogues who are framed for the murder of a king and by the time the series ends stakes have ramped up and gone "epic" such that their deeds may very well change the course of history.
The Crown Tower - is book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles which is a "prequel" series to the Riyria Revelations. These four books were written because people missed Royce and Hadrian so much after they finished the Riyria Revelations that I provided some more stories with the pair. At the start of Theft of Swords (mentioned above), the pair had already been together for 10 years so the first two books of this series explain how the pair met and how they started their thieves-for-hire enterprise. For people who like reading chronologically - this would be a better place to start than Theft of Swords. But personally, I prefer reading the Riyria tales in order of publication: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter)
Age of Myth is the first book in the Legends of the First Empire series and it is based in the same world as the Riyria tales, but it takes place 3,000 years in the past. It's really not a "prequel" because there is a whole different cast of characters, and it explores a very different time in history. For instance, in Legends, magic is pretty common among the race known as the Fhrey, but in Riyria magic is practically non-existent. Unlike Riyria it is epic from page one as the events happened during a watershed moment in history. It also has a much larger cast of characters than Riyria does. So if you like "small intimate" stories - Riyria might be to your liking, but if you like large epics with big casts, then Legends might be the best place to start.
All told, there are 16 books based in Elan and that's daunting to some. So I'll give you one last recommendation. If you want to try out my writing style to see if it's to your liking, then The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is a good place to start. Yes, it's technically the 4th book in the Riyria Chronicles, but books #3 and #4 of that series are written as standalone tales similar to a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie such that you can read that book without prior knowledge from the others.
So, as you can see there are plenty of options. The good news is I've heard from people who have read them in several different orders and the response I hear back most often is, "The way I did it was the RIGHT way" even though the people saying that started with different books! In other words, all of the "starting points" seem to work to one degree or another. So start at the book that seems to match your reading preference best after reading the descriptions above.
I do hope you'll enjoy them no matter where you begin - and please let me know what you decided!
More Answered Questions
nima
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
A lot of writers think of writing as a job or a chore. I often wonder why they would write fiction if they thought of it as a job. There are other actual jobs that involve writing that they could take up because, in my opinion, when you write fiction, there's a lot more that goes into it than mere words. Do you think of it as a job as well? What would your opinion be on the same?
Pam
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hey Michael. I don't know what it is about summer that makes me miss Hadrian so much but that's usually when I'm ready to read him again. You know I agree with your wife about Hadrian!! When is the next Riyria book coming out? I'm itching for something I didn't know about him!! P.S. I've told you how much I think you ROCK but it's worth mentioning again!! I want to live in Elan!! Your biggest fan, Pam
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