The Crown Conspiricy
Ratings88
Average rating4.1
In The Crown Conspiracy, Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in the murder of the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. Whether you are looking for a single novel, or a multi-book saga, The Crown Conspiracy is the place to begin. It is a heroic fantasy adventure written for a general audience and conceived as a single epic tale. This series is told through six self-contained episodes, each complete in its own right. Across the entire chronicle, mysteries build, characters deepen, and plots thicken, but none of the books end in a disappointing cliffhanger or require you to read a previous book to fully enjoy the one you are on.
Series
Featured Series
6 primary books#1 in The Riyria Revelations
The Riyria Revelations is a 6-book series with 6 released primary works first released in 1996 with contributions by Michael J. Sullivan.
Reviews
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4.25 out of 5 stars – See this review and others here.
Michael J. Sullivan writes some really delightful fantasy stories. Having now finished two of his novels (see my review of Age of Myth) I have a better sense of his overall writing style–charming characters, witty dialogue, swift-moving plots, adventure, humor, wizards, political intrigue, etc. I'll take that combination any day of the week.
Something else I noted in my prior reading of Sullivan was his ability to construct interesting side characters. Myron, the wide-eyed monk, is another instant classic. Similarly, Royce and Hadrian, the novel's protagonists, are a very charismatic duo. Their absence from any scene immediately makes it less compelling.
There is certainly a sense of a “long game” being set up in The Crown Conspiracy that will span the six novels of the series, and I'll certainly be following things through to the end to see how it all unfolds (assuming the books maintain this level of quality).
I really didn't think that the story would live up to the hype but I was wrong. I enjoyed the way that the “bad guy” kept flip-flopping around to be different characters depending on how the on-going events were interpreted. My only complaint would be that I wanted more time with the thieves and I guess having a whole series of books following after will have to satisfy me. (Heh!)
