Lori
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
The Riyria Revelations and Chronicles have been recommended to me. Since I'm new to these works, should I read one before the other?
Michael J. Sullivan
There are actually many "places to start" Let me go through them with you.
Theft of Swords - is book #1 and #2 of the Riyria Revelations this was the first book I published and it's where many people start. It starts out with a "simple tale" about two rogues who are framed for the murder of a king and by the time the series ends stakes have ramped up and gone "epic" such that their deeds may very well change the course of history.
The Crown Tower - is book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles which is a "prequel" series to the Riyria Revelations. These four books were written because people missed Royce and Hadrian so much after they finished the Riyria Revelations that I provided some more stories with the pair. At the start of Theft of Swords (mentioned above), the pair had already been together for 10 years so the first two books of this series explain how the pair met and how they started their thieves-for-hire enterprise. For people who like reading chronologically - this would be a better place to start than Theft of Swords. But personally, I prefer reading the Riyria tales in order of publication: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter)
If you want to try out my writing style to see if it's to your liking, then The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is a good place to start. Yes, it's technically the 4th book in the Riyria Chronicles, but books #3 and #4 of that series are written as standalone tales similar to a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie such that you can read that book without prior knowledge from the others.
So, as you can see there are plenty of options. The good news is I've heard from people who have read them in several different orders and the response I hear back most often is, "The way I did it was the RIGHT way" even though the people saying that started with different books! In other words, all of the "starting points" seem to work to one degree or another. So start at the book that seems to match your reading preference best after reading the descriptions above.
I do hope you'll enjoy them no matter where you begin - and please let me know which route you decided on.
Theft of Swords - is book #1 and #2 of the Riyria Revelations this was the first book I published and it's where many people start. It starts out with a "simple tale" about two rogues who are framed for the murder of a king and by the time the series ends stakes have ramped up and gone "epic" such that their deeds may very well change the course of history.
The Crown Tower - is book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles which is a "prequel" series to the Riyria Revelations. These four books were written because people missed Royce and Hadrian so much after they finished the Riyria Revelations that I provided some more stories with the pair. At the start of Theft of Swords (mentioned above), the pair had already been together for 10 years so the first two books of this series explain how the pair met and how they started their thieves-for-hire enterprise. For people who like reading chronologically - this would be a better place to start than Theft of Swords. But personally, I prefer reading the Riyria tales in order of publication: Theft of Swords | Rise of Empire | Heir of Novron | The Crown Tower | The Rose and the Thorn | The Death of Dulgath | The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter)
If you want to try out my writing style to see if it's to your liking, then The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter is a good place to start. Yes, it's technically the 4th book in the Riyria Chronicles, but books #3 and #4 of that series are written as standalone tales similar to a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie such that you can read that book without prior knowledge from the others.
So, as you can see there are plenty of options. The good news is I've heard from people who have read them in several different orders and the response I hear back most often is, "The way I did it was the RIGHT way" even though the people saying that started with different books! In other words, all of the "starting points" seem to work to one degree or another. So start at the book that seems to match your reading preference best after reading the descriptions above.
I do hope you'll enjoy them no matter where you begin - and please let me know which route you decided on.
More Answered Questions
William
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi Michael. Excited for the 6th Book in the First Empire Series to come out soon. I wanted to ask, with the Empire series wrapping up would you ever write a History of Elan/Atlas like "The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern" or "The Compleat Discworld Atlas" to share some of your notes/world-building for the world of Elan?
Sixten Linusson
asked
Michael J. Sullivan:
Hi, Michael. I had a short backstory to this question but it would not fit, so I'll cut to the chase. What is your opinion on a business model like Kickstarter which focuses entirely on publishing? It is an idea I have nurtured for some years now and would very much like to already exist for me to browse.
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Jun 23, 2022 08:37AM · flag