The Crown Tower (Riyria Chronicles #1)

The Crown Tower

Riyria Chronicles #1

Author: Michael Sullivan

4 of 5 Stars

I was in the middle of making dinner and sitting down to write this review when I received an alarm call and had to go. So if this a tad bit disjointed, that “might” explain it.

So, I LOVED Revelations. The whole series. It was a nice light, engaging fantasy without that “epic” weight dragging in the middle of my stomach. I liked Royce and Hadrian. Their characters, their interactions [with others and each other], their adventure.

But considering how Revelations ended, I didn’t want “After the Story” stories. So when I heard there were going to be more stories, I was feeling very mixed. Then it was revealed that all stories would be prequels and suddenly, God’s on His throne and All’s Right with the World.

So I went into this book with pretty high expectations. And I’m glad to say that I was not disappointed.

It was quite the story, seeing how Royce and Hadrian came together. Not at all like how I was expecting or even thought of. In Revelations we don’t really see just how messed up Royce was, or how hopeless Hadrian was. We see them together, as a team. This book shows them as the separate individuals that they used to be.

In essence, this is the raw material that Revelations was forged from.

Seeing more of Gwen was nice too. I felt like she was a barely there character in Revelations, so to see her here, fleshed out, made her much more “real”.

After reading this book, now I’m looking forward to The Rose and the Thorn even more.