Publication
Ridan Publishing (2009), 344 p.
Original publication date
2009-04
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Description
THE SECRET IS IN THE TOWER. THE PROBLEM IS THE BEAST. THE ANSWER IS TWO THIEVES. When a destitute young woman hires Royce and Hadrian to help save her remote village from nocturnal attacks, they are once more drawn into the schemes of the wizard Esrahaddon. While Royce struggles to breech the secrets of an ancient elven tower, Hadrian attempts to rally the villagers to defend themselves against the unseen killer. Once more, what begins with the simple theft of a sword places the two thieves at the center of a firestorm -- but this time the outcome could change the future of Elan. Avempartha is the second of a six book series entitled the Riyria Revelations. This saga is neither a string of sequels nor a lengthy work unnaturally divided. Instead, the Riyria Revelations was conceived as a single epic tale told through six individual episodes. While a book may hint at building mysteries or thickening plots, these threads are not essential to reach a satisfying conclusion to the current episode--which has its own beginning, middle, and end.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Continuing the story, part 2 of 6. Much in the same vein as before, light, fun, fairly well paced, fantasy. Nothing particularly special about it, but nothing badly done either.
Royce and Haradin are hired to steal another sword from a tower. Despite the trouble they got into last time, they still
Everything rolls along in pretty much the expected directions, we learn some more about the history of the world, Royce's personal background, and a few more insinuations about the others. It reads somewhat more smoothly than the previous one, and has a slightly more believable plot. Hopefully an explanation will arise later in the series for the timing of the Church's actions. There has been sufficient scheming to make this plausible.
Entertaining enough.
Royce and Haradin are hired to steal another sword from a tower. Despite the trouble they got into last time, they still
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thought this wasn't too bad a job, until after they'd started it. The tower in question turned out to be an ancient elven fortress right in the middle of a raging torrent of a river. Once upon a time a bridge had existed, but it was long destroyed. It also turns out to be guarded by a magical dragon, which the sword is the only weapon that be used against it. And the Church have - in a massive and unexplained coincidence - decided now is the moment to hold a contest for the honour of killing it. This neatly re-unites all the characters from the previous book, except Myron who gets one mention, with no explanation of where he's gone.Everything rolls along in pretty much the expected directions, we learn some more about the history of the world, Royce's personal background, and a few more insinuations about the others. It reads somewhat more smoothly than the previous one, and has a slightly more believable plot. Hopefully an explanation will arise later in the series for the timing of the Church's actions. There has been sufficient scheming to make this plausible.
Entertaining enough.
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LibraryThing member cweller
When Royce and Hadrian are hired to steal a sword from an elven tower and save a young woman's village, they are once again at the center of conspiracy. Michael Sullivan exceeds his earlier success with his latest installment of the Riyria Conspiracy. This novel will keep you up to late in the
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night trying to finish it. Only to be dismayed once you finally finish and have to wait for his third novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
I have the ARC pdf to review. It was a really good, fun read. It should have been a quick one, but reading a pdf just isn't that easy for me. I can't wait to sit down with the first book & hope the next one is done soon. Yes, I read the 2d book first & still enjoyed it. That's surprising. The
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second book stands just fine alone, makes me want to read the first & the one that comes after it, though. It wrapped up at a good point, in a logical manner, yet I know there's a lot more story to be told. This book does reference the first many times & Michael hands out just enough information so that I don't feel I'm in the dark, but if I had read the first, I wouldn't feel like I was re-reading a lot either. He spaces it out & let's me know what I need to know, as I need to know it. Very well done.It's a medieval setting in a fantasy world. The powerful church is at odds with the nobility in a realistic fashion. The peasants are being squashed by both to some extent, but their importance as a group is recognized, too. Our heroes are specially gifted in logical ways, but not overpoweringly strong, which I liked. The story was just complex enough to provide a lot of tension without being overly complex. There were enough characters, fleshed out well enough, but not too many. Names were pronounceable!!! That's something I really appreciate these days. I had a few issues with the woods & woodworking that is described, but I doubt anyone who isn't really into trees & old-time woodworking would notice it. I understand these were fixed from the ARC version, anyway. Animals were described pretty well. At least no bowman was sticking his bow into the horse's girth, as Jordan did. They weren't ridden as if they were cars, either.It was just a well balanced, fun read. OK, I said it before, but it is worth repeating. This isn't a novel that is heavy on philosophy, but an entertaining read to relax with. Practically perfect! Show Less
LibraryThing member MelHay
When I started reading the book I had thought it was going one direction, but was very pleased when it went a different direction. I had thought in the beginning the book was moving a little slow, but now realize I was getting a lot of character details which I needed to come to my speculations.
The books tell a complete story in themselves so could be read alone. But, to get the full epic feel of the books and what the series is truely driving at I would read them in order from book one, The Crown Conspiracy. I had thoughts on the characters and of the under laying epic story. Some of these have been answered and some suspicion has been added.
You meet up with the characters you started to get to know in The Crown Conspiracy; Royce, Hadrian, Princess Arista, King Alric, Mauvin Pickering, Fanen Pickering, and even a few other characters ~ some were a hope of mine to see again and some were a surprise.
I enjoyed the humor in the book, the characters sarcasm and jokes with each other. Although, I do have to say reading the first book will help in seeing the humor and irony in the jokes.
So, after being framed to take blame for the murder of the King then clearing your name, what would you do? Go looking for the man who sent you in on the fake mission in the first place and have your revenge... right? That is where Royce and Hadrian are. The book starts when they find this man a few winters after book one. While in Colnora you start to get some history on Royce and Hadrian, to learn more of these characters. Also, while in Colnora there is a beautiful young farm girl, Thrace, throwing their names around looking for them. Royce and Hadrian find her being robbed and passing out from lack of food. Royce and Hadrian save her to find that she wants to hire them for a job. A difficult job of breaking into a locked tower to steal a sword.
You maybe asking how a poor, innocent farm girl would know to ask for them here in this city, in which they are not welcome. Well, Esrahaddon is back and guiding people around again.
The cover of this book is a very good depiction of a scene in the book. If you look closely you may see the beast in which is the center of why Thrace has come looking for Royce and Hadrian. But unknown to Thrace there is much, much more going on here than to her visible eye. You are going to have to read the book to see where it will lead you.
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These details help me in trying to figure out the bigger picture with the lingering thoughts I have in the end of the book. In all these details are worth it and needed in the end.The books tell a complete story in themselves so could be read alone. But, to get the full epic feel of the books and what the series is truely driving at I would read them in order from book one, The Crown Conspiracy. I had thoughts on the characters and of the under laying epic story. Some of these have been answered and some suspicion has been added.
You meet up with the characters you started to get to know in The Crown Conspiracy; Royce, Hadrian, Princess Arista, King Alric, Mauvin Pickering, Fanen Pickering, and even a few other characters ~ some were a hope of mine to see again and some were a surprise.
I enjoyed the humor in the book, the characters sarcasm and jokes with each other. Although, I do have to say reading the first book will help in seeing the humor and irony in the jokes.
So, after being framed to take blame for the murder of the King then clearing your name, what would you do? Go looking for the man who sent you in on the fake mission in the first place and have your revenge... right? That is where Royce and Hadrian are. The book starts when they find this man a few winters after book one. While in Colnora you start to get some history on Royce and Hadrian, to learn more of these characters. Also, while in Colnora there is a beautiful young farm girl, Thrace, throwing their names around looking for them. Royce and Hadrian find her being robbed and passing out from lack of food. Royce and Hadrian save her to find that she wants to hire them for a job. A difficult job of breaking into a locked tower to steal a sword.
You maybe asking how a poor, innocent farm girl would know to ask for them here in this city, in which they are not welcome. Well, Esrahaddon is back and guiding people around again.
The cover of this book is a very good depiction of a scene in the book. If you look closely you may see the beast in which is the center of why Thrace has come looking for Royce and Hadrian. But unknown to Thrace there is much, much more going on here than to her visible eye. You are going to have to read the book to see where it will lead you.
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LibraryThing member creighley
The continuing saga of Royce and Hadrian, professional thieves, measures up to the first saga, The Crown Conspiracy. Just a good read!
LibraryThing member cameling
2nd in the Riyria Revelations. The village of Dahlgren is being terrorized by a winged beast who attacks in the night, killing the villages, sometimes whole families at a time. Royce and Hadrian are sought out by a desperate young woman who hires them to save her father from certain death. But
The characters are much better developed in this 2nd book compared to the first and this is shaping up to be a fantasy series worth following.
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things are not what they seem. Esrahaddon the wizard, rescued after a 900 year imprisonment, having lost his hands, appears to have sought refuge in this village waiting for their arrival. In the meantime, the Church has been keeping an eye on Arista through her maid, Bernice and Bishop Saulder. Is she being used as a pawn by the Church to search out Esrahaddon, or was the Church responsible for the death of her father?The characters are much better developed in this 2nd book compared to the first and this is shaping up to be a fantasy series worth following.
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LibraryThing member TheLostEntwife
The thing I love most about Sullivan's writing is how accessible he makes the fantasy genre for those who may not have a lot of experience reading it. I'll admit, sometimes it's hard to find your way into the world, figure out the magic system and wrap your imagination around fantastic things ...
Hadrian and Royce are back after a dashing adventure in The Crown Conspiracy, and this time they are aiding a seemingly helpless young woman to save her village from disaster. There's a healthy dose of politics, world-building (this world is enormous!) and adventure which is what I'm coming to expect from Sullivan's writings. Although this is the second book in the series, it easily stands on its own two feet and the reader can dive into the story without any worries about missing anything.
I do have one complaint about Avempartha, however. It seemed like the first half of the book was all politics and maneuvering of characters - which admittedly is a bit necessary, but can be a little, well, wearying. I had a rough time keeping my eyes open through that first half.. but then things picked up and I was well rewarded for persevering through it all.
I do recommend these books if you are looking at getting into the fantasy genre. They are fun and easy to get into.
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but that's not the case in these Riyia stories.Hadrian and Royce are back after a dashing adventure in The Crown Conspiracy, and this time they are aiding a seemingly helpless young woman to save her village from disaster. There's a healthy dose of politics, world-building (this world is enormous!) and adventure which is what I'm coming to expect from Sullivan's writings. Although this is the second book in the series, it easily stands on its own two feet and the reader can dive into the story without any worries about missing anything.
I do have one complaint about Avempartha, however. It seemed like the first half of the book was all politics and maneuvering of characters - which admittedly is a bit necessary, but can be a little, well, wearying. I had a rough time keeping my eyes open through that first half.. but then things picked up and I was well rewarded for persevering through it all.
I do recommend these books if you are looking at getting into the fantasy genre. They are fun and easy to get into.
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LibraryThing member Jenn.S
A real page turner I never wanted to put down. I love his writing style and the depth of the characters. Nothing extra tossed in for filler. Believable and very well written. It left me yearning for more.
LibraryThing member Narilka
Royce and Hadrian's adventures continue in Avempartha, the second book in Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Revelations series. These two should seriously consider not taking jobs to steal swords. They never go to plan.
A desperate young woman hires Royce and Hadrian to save her village from a monster
I admit I'm a little sad I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book. The first half of the story lays a lot of groundwork that involves the thing I disliked most in the first book: villains monologuing. It was necessary set up for what ends up happening and I have no idea how if I was a writer I'd change it. It's just not my favorite way to tell a story.
Once the story gets back to Hadrian, Royce and their current problem to solve, it is a lot more enjoyable. It also goes on a more serious tone as Hadrian stays in the village to help them organize better defense against the nightly raids while Royce works on the problem of getting into the tower. In this case having read Legends made things fairly easy to guess as I already had the background information the characters lacked and some of the historical information was a repeat. That repetition wasn't all bad though I can see how the long time between stories has changed things. Such an interesting concept. There is plenty of action and I didn't see the resolution to the monster working out in the way it ended up. I truly feel bad for Thrace as she's going to have to live with the repercussions of that. It was also great to have my suspicions about Royce confirmed.
Spoilers for Legends! I'm starting to suspect that Esrahaddon isMalcolm though I'm still on the fence. He sells only being 900 years old quite well. I also haven't figured out why he let his hands be cut off since I'm pretty sure Malcolm could've prevented it if he didn't want it which is also making me doubt. Hopefully this will be revealed by the end of the series. I love how the author is keeping me guessing.
Those quibbles aside, this was an enjoyable read. We will see where the plots the Church ofNyphron Novron has set in progress goes next as I'm sure it's going to interfere with Royce and Hadrian's future adventures.
A desperate young woman hires Royce and Hadrian to save her village from a monster
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that kills villagers every night. The catch? No one has actually seen the creature, only the destruction it leaves behind, and the beast can only be slain by a sword that is locked in a tower - a tower has no obvious way to get inside.I admit I'm a little sad I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book. The first half of the story lays a lot of groundwork that involves the thing I disliked most in the first book: villains monologuing. It was necessary set up for what ends up happening and I have no idea how if I was a writer I'd change it. It's just not my favorite way to tell a story.
Once the story gets back to Hadrian, Royce and their current problem to solve, it is a lot more enjoyable. It also goes on a more serious tone as Hadrian stays in the village to help them organize better defense against the nightly raids while Royce works on the problem of getting into the tower. In this case having read Legends made things fairly easy to guess as I already had the background information the characters lacked and some of the historical information was a repeat. That repetition wasn't all bad though I can see how the long time between stories has changed things. Such an interesting concept. There is plenty of action and I didn't see the resolution to the monster working out in the way it ended up. I truly feel bad for Thrace as she's going to have to live with the repercussions of that. It was also great to have my suspicions about Royce confirmed.
Spoilers for Legends! I'm starting to suspect that Esrahaddon is
Those quibbles aside, this was an enjoyable read. We will see where the plots the Church of
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Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780979621116