Theft of Swords
is the first omnibus in Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations, containing books one and two of six novels,
namely: The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha. The books follow the story
of a pair of thieves, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater. Royce is the true
thief – small, wiry and fast. He’s quick witted, sly and knows his way around a
knife. Hadrian is a former soldier – he’s the muscle in Riyria, but by no means
lacking in brains. If Royce knows a thing or two about knives, Hadrian knows
everything there is to know about swords and fighting any number of foes.
Together, they’re known as Riyria – a name famous across the world of Elan.
The Crown Conspiracy follows Riyria as they take on a job that seems too good to be true; a
little too neat and tidy. They’re right. It’s not long before they’re framed
for the murder of the king and sentenced to death. But through a seemingly
unlikely bout of good fortune, they find themselves instead on a quest,
involving a wizard, a monk and the heir to the throne.
Reading my above description
of The Crown Conspiracy suggests that
this is a stereotypical, swords and sworcery, thieves-prowling-in-hooded-cloaks
type fantasy, full of old tropes and a clunky, almost-hackneyed plot.
It is.
And yet…
Something about Sullivan’s
writing style made me chew through this book in a few hours. It’s exciting,
funny, and surprisingly well developed. Yes, the plot is very basic and nothing
out of the ordinary, but Sullivan always layers a sense that something much
bigger is on the horizon. The world is fraying at the edges, and this typical fantasy
quest-plot is used almost deliberately as a device to show us this world. To
show us that this is barely scratching the surface.
It also helps that in Royce
and Hadrian, Sullivan has created a fantastic duo. The whole novel is filled
with strong characters who come into their own much later in the series (I’ve
since finished the Riyria Revelations) but this one is all about meeting Riyria
themselves for the first time, and seeing how they work. They’re the perfect
partnership – both as thieves and as characters for us to enjoy. Hilarious,
touching and devious – this pair are the heart and soul of this book, as they
should be.
The second novel in this
omnibus, Avempartha, takes a
different route from The Crown Conspiracy.
Where The Crown Conspiracy followed
Riyria on a quest across the world of Elan, Avempartha
takes a much smaller setting and yet begins to open up elements of the world.
We see hints at political structures, magic and other races. There are
character revelations galore here and already by the end of Theft of Swords, Sullivan has started to
open up the bigger picture for the series. There is no waiting for answers here
– Sullivan knows exactly where he’s going and isn’t afraid to take the reader
there.
I really enjoyed Theft of Swords. It is at times very
typical fantasy – but Michael Sullivan knows where he’s going at all times.
Each book in the series has its own major plotline, but everything builds
towards a complete series arc, and this is evident from the off.
Plus, it’s just a damned
entertaining story – and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Note: If
you’re still unsure of trying out Theft of Swords, Michael has a short story
set in the world of Riyria available for free on his website. It’s called The
Viscount and the Witch, and provides a nice and fun taster of what to expect
from Royce and Hadrian. Link here.
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