Theft of Swords, Vol. 1(Riyria Revelations) (edició 2011)

A fun and exciting read. It was hard to put down and actually get work done. Right after this I went to go get the next one!! ( )

FYI: I read a short story from this world in Unfettered but it's free on Audible. 99 cents at other places or he will send you a free copy if you'd like.

It was great, 4.5*. We get to watch the characters do a quest and it's a bit like choose your own adventure. This can be a standalone, you do not need to be familiar with his world or characters.

Author notes: "I essentially wrote this short as if it were the end of longer work. The climax, if you will, of a longer story. In it, I reference prior events for context which allowed me to take what COULD have been a novel and made it into a short story."
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From a great author blog regarding how the Oribit editions (the compiled sets) differ from the original releases, like The Crown Conspiracy and what he thinks of the different covers between the two:

"This series was published in two different ways (six-book originally self-published and three, two-book omnibus editions). The original versions are out of print (having been replaced by Orbit releases).

This is the first "book" if following publishing order.

Series note: While you can read the books in either publication order (starting with Theft of Swords) or chronologically (starting with The Crown Tower) the author suggest publication order as you are introduced to the characters and world as originally intended. In addition, there are some subtle winks and nods for veterans of Revelations when reading Chronicles. These aren't major plot points just little extras for "those in the know."

tl;dr 2.5 stars It may be a good book to get started reading fantasy because it is so easy to follow and doesn't surprise the reader, but if you are a seasoned sf/f fan, don't bother.

Given the option I actually would have given it a 2.5. I finished the first book, but couldn't force myself to go any farther. Although I enjoyed some of the sarcasm and humor used throughout the book, the lack of character development and world building really put me off this book.

This may sound weird, but the names used for places and people just didn't jibe. This may be because of the weak world building, but the names had no significance within the story and it really bothered me. I was also perpetually bugged by the language used. Some anachronisms like lawyer and having a "pair of brass ones," just took me out of the world. At the same time a character that was meant to sound archaic just comes off like a bad Monty Python sketch. It might have been meant that way? I'm just not sure. I think there was also a nod to the Princess Bride, but again, I wasn't sure. This had me second guessing my reading of the book. Is this meant to be a send up or satire of the genre? If it is it didn't commit enough to that concept.

The one character that is developed comes off as trite and formulaic while the others are just shadows of what they could be. It is possible that they are developed further in the series, but there just wasn't enough interestingness there to keep me reading. I had to push through the first book after 100 pages because the foreshadowing was so heavy that it left no surprises. ( )

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. ( )

I liked this book,it was entertaining to read.The two main characters are best of friends but they were thieves.And this probably did add to the joy I had reading it.They would take any job for pay.

I've read several books about heroes,but these guys were straight up thieves.But who knows by the end of the series they may be heroes. ( )