The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles #1)

I am a huge fan of Michael J. Sullivan and his Riyria crew. The Riyria Revelations saga was a great read, and one of my favorite fantasy series.

So, how does that translate back to the prequel? Pretty good, actually. It was great to read about Hadrian and Royce again, and get the details of the origins of their intrepid partnership. All of the same items were present – easy to read story, humor, adventure, and intrigue.

But, that being said, I thought something was missing. Maybe it was that I was already familiar with the basics of the origin story due to references in Revelations. It may also be due to the fact that I read Revelations a number of years ago, and therefore had forgotten some of the side characters, which means I missed many of the easter eggs and references from Chronicles that would make much more sense if the world and characters were more fresh in my mind.

There were a few parts of the story that I thought were a bit implausible, and a bit too convenient, but I can’t go into details because I don’t want to spoil anything. And finally, it felt to me like Chronicles was a bit more juvenile – more swearing, and a bit darker descriptions and circumstances in the sexuality category as well.

But, like I said, still a great story, and still worth your time.

—————
I noticed Amazon and Goodreads have a slightly different meanings to their 5-point scale. I thought it was odd to have a different rating for the same book on two different sites, so I came up with my own scale below. For the record, it is fairly close to Amazon’s scale, but allows me to be consistent between the two sites.

5 – Fantastic. Life-altering. Maybe only 25 in a lifetime.
4 – Very good.
3 – Worth your time.
2 – Not very good.
1 – Atrocious.

I was a little worried to read this prequel. I totally LoVeD Hadrian and Royce in the Riyria Revelations and it is a completed series. Did I really want to go back to their beginnings to see how it all started??? And the answer is.

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESSSSSS!!!!!!

MJS is not that author who couldnt figure out what to write next and so decided hey Ill write more books in the same world because $$$. Nope not at all, he wrote it because his wife fell in love with another man.

***Its the classic story of a husband whose wife falls for another mana more dashing and charming gent. It sounds tragic, but this tale is a bit different because the love affair is between a real woman and a fictional man. My wifelets call her Robin (because thats her name)has developed an infatuation for Hadrian Blackwater. Im not sure how I feel about enabling my wifes relationship with another man, but at least I know this guy is trustworthy ***

As soon as I read that in the dedication I KNEW that MJS was not just pumping out more books for the sake of $$$ but definitely for the love of the world, the characters and his wife. After that I just relaxed and had a great time with it.

Can you read this first???

Yes, there arent any spoilers for the future series. BUT.that said I will say that I really liked catching the little hints and cameos of characters that we get to know better later on. My personal recommendation is to read The Riyria Revelations first and then move on to these.

But wont I be a little bored since I already kind of know what happens from Riyria Revelations?

I was also a little worried about that. The answer is a resounding NOyou will not be bored at all. There are so many great things in this. One of the first things I was really excited about is that we get a Gwen PoV and it is fantastic.

***Why did we leave Calis? Why did you give me a northern name? And most importantly, Why does it mean so much to you for us to go to this mythical place called Medford? Stubbornly her mother had refused to answer, except to say that God had told her to go. When Gwen asked which god, her mother had replied, The one who walks as a man.***

The second thing is that Royce and Hadrian are just starting out and you can see how completely different they are from each other. Hadrian is pretty naive and trustingwhile Royce well he was raised by wolves so trust isnt something he understands at all.

***You have any friends?
One.
Arcadius?
No.
Where is this friend?
No idea.
When was the last time you saw him?
When he framed me for murder and sent me to prison.
I dont think you understand the meaning of the word friend.
And I think you live in a fairy-tale world where words have consistent meanings***

I really enjoyed this getting to know each other part of their relationship. You can see the threads of the bromance that it will become but you can also see the rocky road they will travel to get there.

This story went so fast for me and I couldnt wait to get to some of the moments I knew had to be coming because of the snippets we were told in Riyria Revelations.

As MJS said he could write one book covering a year in Harian and Royces life leading up to Riyria Revelations which is 12 books. You know what. I WOULD READ THEM ALL if they are even close to as good as this one.

This was a really great way to get myself back into the world of Elan. I don’t think I realized how much I missed this world and the characters. Hadrian and Royce were so easy to get back in touch with. I will say the plot was just a little, I don’t know non-existent. I mean the title pf the book was The Crown Tower and that aspect o the book was maybe the last 100ish pages or so.

I did still really enjoy seeing how Hadrian and Royce first met and even getting to see Gwen start up Medford Place. Michael J. Sullivan, you can just tell he really knows what he is doing when it comes to this world and character. I mean this prequel series cam out after the original series, so you as a reader if you read the first already have an idea of how the story is going to go. Sullivan though makes the journey feel new and fresh even with knowing the outcome.

Really excited to be back with Hadrian and Royce and looking forward to seeing where the story goes in The Rose and the Thorn. I know there are more books in this series but I believe these 2 can be read more back to back and that is what I am here for. I mean according to Sullivan this prequel series is still ongoing and we don’t know when we are getting the next book.

This book begins my love affair with Michael J. Sullivan’s writing. Strong female characters. Engrossing plots. Friendships, quests, elves, dwarves, wizards, swords, unlikely heroes in a thief and an ex-mercenary. The series tackles social issues, civil issues, political issues, religious issues, but it doesn’t feel heavy. Instead it pulls you in and before you know it you’ve finished the book, not noticing the time, and possibly in trouble for not getting things done or really tired the next day from lack of sleep. Ordinary people stepping out to help others even when it puts them in danger.

So this book is part of the newer series but chronologically it comes before the earlier series The Riyria Revelations. I’ve read the series in chronological order rather than publication order. For me this worked out fine. The author recommends publication order.

I received an eARC from netgalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. (less)

The jacket blurb from Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly describe the arrival of a ‘master storyteller’ who writes about ‘hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights and faithful friendship’ and believe me when I tell you that by page 216 – where I’ve reached at the time of writing – this could hardly be further from the truth. The escapes have been leisurely and uneventful, nobody has so much as raised a sword in anger and the two central characters hate each other. Oh, somebody did receive a hot pie in the face around page 200.
If you like long, descriptive passages and endless dialogue which, by the way, is repetitive and does little to move things along, then this may well be the book for you. Otherwise, I’d leave it. I’m going to plod on to the end mainly because I’ve bought it and I’ve invested some time in getting through it this far, but I am confident that nothing much will change by the end, I won’t care anyway and I won’t be seeking out the next thrilling installment !
If I’m wrong, I’ll write another review to that effect, I promise.

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