This book is, of course, the second of the prequel novels and does a great job of filling in some gaps of several key characters that will have roles in the Ryria Revelations series. Lots of swashbuckling action surrounded by some nice character-driven plotting. I think one of this author’s great strengths is his sense of pacing. He always manages to get past necessary info dumps quickly (often disguising them in interesting ways so the reader doesn’t even notice) and let the rise and fall of the pace match whatever the reader seems to be craving at the moment. Emotional scenes mixed with highly-charged action sequences as well as poignant, thought-provoking passages results in keeping the pages turning and that feeling of “just one more chapter before I stop even though it’s way past my bedtime”.Yet another very well done fantasy novel by Mr. Sullivan. I’ve now read all of the Riyria novels published so far and will add my voice to the chorus of those who hope for more to be written. As with the first prequel to the Riyria Revelations, I had mixed feelings about this book. There is something about prequels that just rub me the wrong way. It was interesting to see Hilfred's origins etc, but ultimately the book left me wanting. Still, I'll give it 4 stars because I really love Sullivan's writing style and Royce and Hadrian are as lovely as ever (though not NEARLY as integral to the plot as I would have hoped).
Do You like book The Rose And The Thorn (2013)?
Royce and Hadrian's second adventure. Great! Loved the new backstories.
—ahuels
I really hope he continues to write about this great characters.
—Stamped
