“I just want to say, for the record, as far as Royal protectors go, you’re not very good.”
”It’s my first day,” Royce replied dryly.
”And already I am trapped in a timeless prison. I shudder to think what might have happened if you had a whole week.”
― Michael J. Sullivan, The Crown Conspiracy
The Riyria Revelations, the Crown Conspiracy is the first book in a series by Michael J. Sullivan. It is considered a High Fantasy with the mention of elves and some smaller displays of magic. This book is more focused on the intrigues of nobles, like that of Game of Thrones but follows the story of two people instead of families.
The story follows Royce and Hadrian. One is an orphaned thief with a dark and mysterious past while the other is a good-hearted warrior. They are together, Riyria, a group of thieves known to steal, assassinate and squander intrigues among the nobles. Until one day, when Hadrian met a man desperately needing help. To kind-hearted to refuse, he agreed and the two are to be caught in a conspiracy where they are accused of killing the king. It will lead them to help the soon-to-be-king, Alric Essendon, find out who is conspiring to steal his crown. On the way, they meet a monk, Myron, who is the only survivor of his monastery and a 900-year-old Wizard locked up in a prison filled with secrets hidden from the world.
This story is well written with both traditional writing style and classical style for dialog. It has well-written intrigues filled with known elements such as killing the king, an arrogant prince who will grow to be a ruler, dashing heroes, one is the brooding kind and one is the charming warrior. Fortunately, it isn’t focused on them flirting with women, but they seem to have no troubles in that area.
Though a compelling story, it is far from a unique one. If you are looking for a new experience this one is not the story you are looking for. This tale follows a traditional plot but uses old trope just the right way to make it an interesting story.
There were only three things that I found was negative, at least for me. One was the writer’s tendency to describe the environment all the time no matter if it was necessary or not. It often brought the story to a halt as he decided to describe a random bedroom that could easily be summed up to a common bedroom. Or describing an inn or tavern that simply could be described as such. There is no need to describe every wood and frame to the reader but it might also not be a problem for every reader and just be something that troubles me.
The other thing is also a nitpick, one part of the story is… Long, boring and unnecessary. There is a trial in a courtroom by the end of the book and it is long. Far too long, and it wasn’t needed for the reader to understand what would have happened. I merely wanted it to be over so that the plot could go on.
Then it was the matter of the villain. From the moment the person was introduced I knew this one was the villain. No matter the obvious diversions the writer tried to give me. I knew. Simply because of the obvious villain speech. It was the first time this character spoke, and it was so obvious about this character’s true nature simply by the cliché dialog. It does not take away from the story according to me but if you wanted a mystery then this one might not be for you.
All in all, this was a good story. The only thing that held it back was nitpicking from my part and most of all the traditional tropes often occurring in other fantasy books. It might be more for those who have not read fantasy to the point of being used to them.
I would give it around 7 out of ten if I were to rate in and I would recommend it to those looking for a traditional story with compelling characters.
with kind regards
Senefer
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