Book Review: Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2)Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s somewhat embarrassing to admit that I had ample opportunities to read this book when it was in two parts, independently published – and failed to do so until it was bought up by Orbit and reprinted.

That was a mistake.

Originally published separately, readers can see the divide between the events and repercussions of the first book (Crown Conspiracy) that lead into the second book (Avempartha), and how together they form the chapters of a much larger tapestry. Sullivan sites the story arcs of Babylon 5 as one of his inspirations, and in reading the novel you can see that play out as he gives the reader a simple, straightforward collection of fantasy tropes building up our expectations that this story is going in one direction, only to flip it at the climax and offer a resolution that both fits the story so far, and yet defies what we anticipated.

The curious thing about Sullivan’s book is that he uses light strokes to paint a picture. He doesn’t labor over info dumping, choosing instead to give us a who’s who and a what’s what at the start of the book, and a few short dumps initially to fill in the gaps. Nor does he rely on the shock that grittier fantasy authors have brought us lately; this book is very much a homage o the simple, well written adventure story. While its most basic elements are a variation of the quest and heist motifs, there are deeper motivations at play than just greed. The real strength in Sullivan’s writing, though, is in his dialog, the repertoire and voice of his characters making them distinct enough to stand out from the backdrop. No, not all of the characters are well rounded personas with depth, but the characters with whom the story revolves live and breathe in the mind’s eye even after you set the book down.

Theft of Swords is not high literature, with flowing, flowery passages evoking a deep sense of wonder. What it is is wonderfully entertaining. Case in point, I sat down and read the last 40% of the book in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy, especially if you enjoy the “lighter” side such as a Brandon Sanderson or Daniel Abraham novel, you will enjoy this.

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This review and others can also be found at the Fantasy Book Addict

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