The Crown Conspiracy (The Riyria Revelations, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Dec 11, 2008 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2009

This was a fun, quick read. I'm happy to know that it's the start of a series and I will meet these characters in future books.
This is a fantasy set in a medieval kingdom. It is filled with political intrigue; a king is murdered. Two thieves are set up to look like the murderers. Soon, to save their lives, they kidnap the new king. The rest of the book involves discovering the true murderer and restoring the king to his throne.
Along the way, several characters are introduced that I expect will ...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Cassandra rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I can tell that 'The Thief' series by Megan Whalen Turner were a big inspiration for the author. Unfortunately, he's not nearly as good as she is. He has all the right tools but the execution just wasn't all there for me. And it was rather predictable.

The character that would have really been a great lead was Royce. But there is hardly anything shared about him. Yes, it's quite clear that there will be big surprises revealed about him in later books. I could probably guess most of them. But you ...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Marian rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-now

Quick enjoyable read, read it on the plane,I never would have found this one without goodreads! I'll be passing it around my family. ...more

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Feb 25, 2009 John rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Through the website Goodreads, I have once again received a review copy of a book, in this case The Crown Conspiracy by Michael James Sullivan, and not only did I get a copy, it was autographed, reading “Welcome to the Adventure,” and that’s actually a pretty good introduction to the book. Fantasy has many sub-genres, and The Crown Conspiracy leans toward what I’d like to call adventure fantasy, and it’s not a genre I tend to favor. I like my fantasy more toward epic, with more depth of characte Through the website Goodreads, I have once again received a review copy of a book, in this case The Crown Conspiracy by Michael James Sullivan, and not only did I get a copy, it was autographed, reading “Welcome to the Adventure,” and that’s actually a pretty good introduction to the book. Fantasy has many sub-genres, and The Crown Conspiracy leans toward what I’d like to call adventure fantasy, and it’s not a genre I tend to favor. I like my fantasy more toward epic, with more depth of character and intricacy of plot.

That said, Sullivan spins a fair yarn in the tale of two elite thieves, Royce Melborn, the second-story man, and Hadrian Blackwater, the brawn of the operation, who find themselves framed for the murder of the king. To save themselves from execution, they are forced to kidnap and protect the crown prince in an attempt to clear their names and unravel a plot against the crown.

It sounds complicated, but it’s really not, unless in subsequent books we find out that we don’t know what we think we know. Although Sullivan wraps the plot up pretty neatly by the end, he clearly has in mind a larger story arc to be developed over future novels. However, this novel’s plot felt just a bit too straightforward and, frankly, easy. I never had any doubt that all the characters we were intended to care about would come out on top by the end, and that faith was justified. The action moved forward with great speed but without much complication. On the whole, it felt like watching a pretty good television series: it was entertaining, with an engaging enough plot, snappy dialog, and characters I could enjoy spending time with… but it didn’t have the depth that I want from a novel. I have no doubt there’s a market for this kind of fantasy, and Sullivan delivers for this readership, but I’m not really that readership, though I might have been half a lifetime ago.

There was one part I feel compelled to criticize that’s not simply an issue of genre. The dialog and narration have a modern tone (no problem with that—it can be done well and Sullivan does do it well), but at one point we encounter a character who, for reasons I won’t go into, has been out of circulation for a thousand years or so. Sullivan has him speak in an archaic style reminiscent of Shakespeare… except that he’s gotten it wrong. I’ve read enough Shakespeare to know when verbs have been conjugated incorrectly or the wrong pronoun forms are used, and they were. It probably didn’t bother anyone to whom Shakespeare sounds one step removed from gibberish, but it drove me nuts. A good editor should have caught something like that, and since this character seems likely to recur later in the series, I hope that gets straightened out. In the overall scheme of things, this was minor and quickly passed over, and Sullivan showed me enough that I’m planning to read the second book, which comes out in April (but I’ve got an early electronic review copy, and I'll get to it over Spring Break!). ...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Jennifer Provost rated it really liked it

This was the best kind of book - I thought I had it completely figured out after the first chapter and was utterly wrong! The pace is good, the writer has a good feel for dialogue, and the plot flows. I would have preferred a longer book, but I understand there's a few more in the series. All in all, it was quite enjoyable. ...more

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