4.25/5 starsIt’s safe to say now that with each installment, each book in the The Riyria Revelations series consistently gets better and better in quality. The second omnibus in The Riyria Revelations titled Rise of Empire consists of the third book, Nyphron Rising, and the fourth book, The Emerald Storm, of the series. Whether on the first or second read, Rise of Empire is overall a superior collection of novels compared to the previous omnibus: Theft of Swords. Similar to my Theft of Swords re...

I grow to love Royce & Hadrian more and more as I read the books. These two characters are just so wonderful and I feel they fit together nicely as best friends and family. ♥Even when one is mad with the other they just get it done and get over it. =) "You ready?" Royce asked. "For what?""Turn around. Let's go back-to-back and link arms.""You're kidding. We aren't going to do that again, are we?"Hadrian said miserably. "I've been sitting in cold water for hours. I'll cramp.""You know another w...

Re-read with some friends at Buddies Books and Baubles 7/12/192nd read and the book holds up mostly. The 3rd book is more of a political maneuvering plot line and while the set up is great I missed some of the action of the other books. The 4th book though is a swashbuckling adventure and the boys are back at everything they do best. I might drop this half a star to 4.5 stars, but overall great even on a second read.Original Review: Buddies Books & Baubles Buddy read 4/18/16.......the Royce a...

4/5 StarsI really enjoyed reading Rise of Empire, I definitely enjoyed it more then Theft of Swords. This book certainly picked up the pace from book one, seriously interesting things actually happened in this book. The plot was fast paced and stimulating. I believe there was a fair bit of badassery going on. I didn't even notice the weird emotionless POV much this time, like yeah it was obviously still there, but it's more bearable because I've finally warmed up to the characters. This still

3.5* The 2nd volume from The Riyria Revelations is better written, has better world building, the dialogue between Royce and Hadrian is still fun. The plot got a bit static in the middle but I still enjoyed reading most of it. This series is easy and fun ,nothing too artistic but it warms you up inside in its best moments. It has a few flaws but all in all I can't wait to read the follow up. I particularly enjoyed the way Arista character developed, she makes less mistakes than in the first part...

These books remain a good time. There is a delightfully nostalgic mix of fantasy tropes and just enough danger that it doesn’t feel like complete plot armor for the characters, but not so much that I’m constantly stressed. I enjoy the twists and turns this takes, and the sense of familiarity without being predictable.

And I know I keep updating this thread today - but I felt inspired and I also made a much longer review of the series!https://todaysdecameron.wordpress.com...Please let me know your thoughts - and please feel free to suggest any improvements to the review style/blog/any other element! - - -I am so impressed by this story - two great thieves facing a scary (because extremely clever) foe. As you might know, this edition of the book contains two "books" of the story, hence two different plots albei...

I liked the first book a lot, but this book is just phenomenal. I loved the war, the battle scenes were immerssive. I really loved Hadrian in the first book, but it was Arista that blew my mind this book. I saw someone say something about Sullivan being "naively sexist" and I can not disagree hard enough, I love the way he's written Arista. Learning about Hadrians back story was nuts, I'm just getting more attached to this odd couple friendship. I tend to gravitate towards strong friendships wit...

Strictly speaking, I would give the first and the second books 4 1/2 stars; as it is I gave the first book 5 stars, leaving the second with 4. This is much darker book, but still a very enjoyable read. A minor annoyance: there are less interactions between Hadrian and Royce (they are forced to work separately most of the time) which made first book great. Having said that, I still think the book is great, and it makes you want to read the last two novels of the series. If you read and like the f...

4.5 Stars Rise of Empire was a really enjoyable compilation of Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, books 3 and 4 in the Riyria series. After a slow start in book 1 this series has really picked up, featuring two likeable protagonists whose characters and backstories were really fleshed out here, a great cast of supporting characters and lots of exciting adventures. This omnibus continues the trend started in book 2 in developing the depth and scope of what was initially a light-hearted fantasy...

"There are no honorable causes. There is no good or evil. Evil is only what we call those who oppose us." Four Stars:✰✰✰✰ What everybody kept telling me about these books was so completely right, and I couldn't be happier, because I absolutely loved this second volume of Riyria Revelations. They should make a "Most Improved" award for writers if only so Michael Sullivan could win the award, because where the first volume left me completely unimpressed, this book turned me into a fu

This is an omnibus of books 3 and 4 in the series. The third follows well on the heels of the big battles and what amounts to a civil war with the installment of a puppet on the throne, with our favorite thieves getting caught up in the travail, with the search for the rightful heir on the way in the fourth book, with plenty of hijinks on the high seas to keep things interesting.What did I think about them?They're pretty okay. Granted, I've read a lot of fantasy and a lot of great characters who...

Brilliant.Brilliant plotline. Brilliant pace. Brilliant characters. Brilliant world-building. Brilliant plot twists.Brilliant everything.All hail Master Sullivan! “There are no honorable causes. There is no good or evil. Evil is only what we call those who oppose us.” The New Empire is rising. The Church uses a half-mad fake empress to unite the Realms of Men in the name of Novron. War is raging between the imperial armies and Melengar, the only Avryn kingdom that still resists, while

“What do we do?”“What we always do,” Royce replied, “only better.”This is an omnibus edition which means that it contains two books, Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm. Two books in a dense series mean a whole lot of action, plot-twists, turning points and (un)expected developments. As this is essentially a story-driven tale, there is no point in even trying to give you a teaser what awaits or the essence of what is coming as it would only result in spoilers. There are two basic ways in which

The Littlefingerising of Fantasy plots has now reached pox levels. I shudder to think what the landscape will look like when it will feel like the plague.I'm sorry, but there is too much gristle in this book. It's perfect length should have been 500 pages at most. I'm not immune to the charms of an adventure on a ship, but even GoT book 5, A Dance With Dragons runs rings round this book using Tyrion's little legs.Oh and the only death that caught me unawares was [name redacted]. The rest had Mat...

First book felt like a very long build up. Altough I enjoyed learning about the pasts of Hadrian and Royce immensely and wanted more of it, I've felt impatient time to time. I love to hate having opposing feelings*let the mud wrestling begin*. And vice versa. I adore the term vice versa. it has this making sense while not making sense thing going on with it's meaning and the actual sounding of it. sneakyAlric still seems to be an annoying twat but Arista has come a long way. Actually, if you thi...

Great books read: 1Hours spent cheering for the goodies:2462621Hours spent cheering for the baddies:2462621Monster count: a few adorable goblins.Temples for Hadrian: O (I know, I know, I must be out of my mind :D) “Rise of Empire” contains two books, “Nyphron Rising” and “The Emerald Storm”I read “Theft of Swords” recently, and now after the second installment finished, I can admit for sure that this read was way more better for me than the first one. I had a slight drag problem starting “Nyphr

Feb 2022: Fourth time reading, and the first reread after The Legends of the First Empire.Always so entertaining, always so comforting. I could reread this series again, and again, and again. -----------------------------------Apr 2016: Second reread, with Buddies, Books & Baubles-----------------------------------25 Dec 2015 (audio): Finished reread of Rise of Empire and no surprises here - another upgrade to 5-stars and onto my favourites shelf. Interspersing this reread with the latest preque...

[3.5 stars] I liked it better than the first book, for sure. There were some elements that really grabbed my attention and kept me interested through both books (3 & 4). 3 is my favorite installment to date, but I'm eagerly waiting to have my socks knocked off in the final volume. :)

Another stellar installment in the Riyria Revelations series. I loved every chapter of this book, or should I say both books, as this is a combination of books 3 and 4. Anyway, the way Michael J. Sullivan writes just sucks you right into the world. Forget your surroundings, because you will lose all sense of reality. His descriptions of people, places, and things makes you feel like you are right there with Royce and Hadrian in the middle of the action. Book 3, Nyphron Rising, has the dynamic du...