Legends of the First Empire discussion

This area is used for people to introduce themselves to others in the group.

Hello, I'm Robin, Michael's wife and helper bee. I'll be hanging abound this group from time to time in case there are any questions I can help with...and to make sure Michael is visiting often to answer questions ;-)

Hello, Michael and Robin, it’s good to hear from you again 🤣. You’re like dear old friends now. I’m Andrew, a fan of all of the works that the Sullivan’s have put together over the years. I can’t wait to meet other fans here, and put this forum to good use.

Hey everybody, I'm Andreas. I recently finished Age of Empyre and am currently waiting patiently for Nolyn to be released.

Hi everyone. Currently reading the Age of Empyre. Feeling if I reached the big final, but luckily still 100 pages to go!

Hello! My name is Anna and I've just finished The Riyria Revelations series and I'm about to start the Age of Myth in a few days. So excited to continue my journey through Elan.

@Andrew - welcome. Glad to have you here.

@Andreas - Haha - I can never keep up with you readers. But I'm glad Nolyn is written, (as is book #2), let's hope book #3 goes just as smoothly as the first two.

@Arnoud - glad to hear you are working your way through the last book. I'm pretty pleased with the way the series ends.

@Anna - wow - the first four people writing in this thread all had names starting with A - that's AMAZING. As a Riyria reader, I suspect you'll find a bunch of Easter eggs as you go through Legends, not to mention, you'll see all the lies I told you in Riyria! I hope you enjoy it.

Hello everyone! I'm Amy and I'm an indie author who spends way too much time reading and playing Dungeons & Dragons. I've been a huuuuuuuge fan of Michael's work for years, even though his stories always have a moment or two that make me cry. :)

Hello folks, my name is Anji!! I'm reading my ARC of Age of Empyre. I'm taking my time on reading it because I know that when I've completed it...I'll be in a book depression. Mr. Sullivan, you spoil us!!

Hi everyone, I'm Angie. Reading Age of Empyre now and keeping the tissues close. As soon as I'm done, I'll be doing a full Audible re-listen of all things MJS!

@Amy - welcome and I hope your writing is going well.

@Anji - Glad to hear you have an early copy of Age of Empyre. I'll do my best to keep the stories coming.

@Angie - I love that you are going to do a full listen of everything. I'm sure you'll find a lot of Easter eggs, and discover some things I lied to you about in Riyria. Enjoy!

Hello! I’m Leslie. I have the ebook for Age of Empyre but am waiting to read it in hardcover. My nephew introduced me to the first @Michael series in August, and we’ve been devouring everything since — reading then listening.

Hello everyone,

My name is Deighton and I am a huge fan of all things MS. I am so grateful that my kindle recommended Age of Myth to me last January. It was like opening a door to a new world and at the time had no idea what I was stumbling onto. After reading the first three LotFE (AoL was not out yet) I jumped to Riyria Revelations as well as several chronicles which solidified my love for this encompassing body of work and truly realized how incredible this author is.

I've turned several friends onto MS and none have ever been dissapointed. I am even in the (very long) process of having a MS inspired custom piece of jewelry made which should be ready soon.

Currently in the last third of Empyre(reread AoD) and love what I have read so far. I encourage everyone to spread the word and lets get this truly great author the credit he truly deserves.

Deighton

Hi, Espen here from Norway. Just finished Age of Empyre, and the urge to re-read all of the riyria books have never been stronger. :) Need to refamiliarize myself with all the lies and stories that Michael told there. :)

Hi. Tim here from the UK. I discovered Michael via Hollow World and have now completed every book written by him! Feeling lost until the next one arrives! :)

Hey all; I am Pete, big fan of your writing Michael, as I suspect everyone's here :) I read a LOT of books each year, and what I always loved about your books is how "effortless" they are; I start reading and suddenly 3-4 hours have passed!

Looking forward to more of your writing after Empyre, you have us spoiled.

ps. I named my cat Minna a year ago; I could tell she's very wise from the start :)

Greetings, my name is Will, and I have been a fan of the Legends Series and Riyria books since the first Legends book came out. I read the first legends book and instantly popped over and sped through Riyria. I am primarily an audiobook reader first and foremost, and I found the series through Tim Gerrard Reynolds because he is one of my favorite narrators, and I now list Michael J Sullivan in my top 3 favorite authors.

I have read Age of Empyre, but I know I miss things when I read an E-Book, so I am waiting for my Audible pre-order to come in to read it "for real" in my world.

I can't wait to speak to all of you.

Good morning everyone. I'm Chris from Austin, TX. I'm caught up with all of MJS's books set in Elan through Age of Death. I've been a participant in the Kickstarters since The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter, and I've been encouraging others to join them because I enjoy each installment so much. I'm hesitating to read the ebook version of Age of Empyre, which is why I haven't started it yet. I want the hardcover instead! But I'm being patient and reading through Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles while I wait. It's very cute.

Have a good weekend and stay safe♥️

Ello-Ello
Happy to be here among such distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Been a fan of MJS for years and have read all of his works. Technically....I have had them read to me by one of the best narrators to ever draw breath, Tim Gerard Reynolds. Have loved every word in this series and am anxious for the final book. Just typing that makes me a touch sad that it's the end of the series. I'm hopeful that there are more stories heading our way though after Legends wraps up! (*wink wink* Michael & Robin)

Hey everyone. Mike here. First time posting. Been reading/listening to Michael's works since a friend first recommended Theft of Swords. I'm primarily a audio listener. Long commute and I travel a lot. But I did read Age of Empyre ; just finished a few nights ago. What a goodread. Now just need to decide where to go until The Rise and the Fall is released. Probably listen to Age of Empyre when it is released next week by Audible. Then as Espen said maybe revisit Riyria and the little white lies told there :)

Hi I'm Rohan from India. I was introduced to Sullivan through Riyria Revelations which I started in October and then proceeded to read all the available books and short stories written by him by the end of the same month. I feel both happy and sad being such a latecomer to the party because I did not have to wait for the release of most of the books but at the same time I can't believe I had missed such an amazing author till October last year. After finishing Legends, which, btw I found to be brilliant, I can't wait for Drumindor and the next series in line!

Hello everyone! I'm Jasmine from Canada. I am a huge Sullifan and can hardly wait to read Age of Empyre! The first read is always special so I haven't even looked at the ebook as I patiently wait for the hardcover. My online library recommended Age of Myth and I have been hooked ever since! In conversations with friends and family, I refer to Michael as "my favourite author" or even simply "my author." :) I only joined Goodreads so I could vote for his books and join his groups.

Hi, I am Doug from US. As with everyone here, I am a huge fan of Michael's books. I have not yet read Age of Empyre, but am looking forward to starting soon. I do want give a big shout out to Tim Gerard Reynolds! After reading each book I always listen to the audio book. Tim always finds a way to bring the book to life in ways that reading alone does not achieve. Thanks to Tim for his work. Also, big thank you to Michael and Robin for all they do to let us share in this adventure.

Hello! My name is Sonja and I am from the US. I have read most of the books by MJS and am halfway through Age of Empyre . So glad to see there's some ways to discuss and connect while we wait for the next set.

Hi, I am Kristy and have loved every book I have read and listened to by MJS!! Thank you Robin for insisting that there was more we needed to know about Riyria. <3 Very grateful!! I am in the middle of Age of Death and have to admit I am slowing down simply because I don't want it to end! Thank you for creating this community. I love how Tim complements your incredible story telling. Seriously my favorite reader.

I’m Damien, from Seattle. I have read everything MJS has published to date, except Hallow World. I have read all the books twice and then have them all in my Audible account and listed at least twice. I even have my son addicted to the series. He is using my Audible account and is reading/listening in Chronological order. I am excited to get other fan views an insights that I might have missed and have a place to talk about the books.

I feel like I messed up by not joining earlier. I could have been with all the other A's.

I listen to everything on audible. Real books are great but more often than not I get to read treasures like Go Dog Go or Walter the Farting Dog. I listen while I work. It's like adding an extra hundred hours or so back into my life.

Right now I'm finishing The Knife's Edge while I wait on Age of Empyre. Ten guesses how I ended up checking out that series.

I'm finish

Hi everyone! I'm Holly. I started reading the books back when Audible was telling me I might enjoy a new book that was up for pre-order - Age of Myth. Having listened to several books narrated by Tim (most notably Red Rising) I figured I would give pick it up. I had put listening/reading it on hold until I read all the previously published works - I am a stickler for reading things in publication order. I have been hooked ever since!

I finished Age of Empyre a couple weeks ago and decided I needed to re-read Revelations right away. I am currently on Percepliquis. It has been quite fun re-reading the 'original' works with my new found historical knowledge!

I'm not sure why my previous post ended in I'm finish. I'm not and I'm not sure what it was supposed to say.

Hi everyone, Nate here from Stow, MA USA. I still miss Minna.

Hi all! I'm Yolanda from San Diego area and have read everything MJS has published (except Age of Death & Empyre). I'm debating re-reading from the beginning to refresh!

We have a beer club membership locally under Royce Melborn that Michael and Robin are welcome to enjoy if they're ever in the area *cheers*

Hi y'all! (Yes, I'm a southerner.) I'm Beverly. Some close friends call me Bev. I am a LONG time fan of Michael's, and almost as long a beta/gamma reader for him.

Being a big fan of his work sometimes makes it difficult to be objective so I like to read the feedback of other readers and compare my beta reading impressions with their likes and dislikes of the finished story.

Hello my name is MC from Northern California. I have been a huge fan of Michael J. Sullivan since I stumbled across Avempartha as an Amazon freebie. It has been a joy to read more about that tower ten years later. Keep the great stories coming Michael!

Damien wrote: "I’m Damien, from Seattle. I have read everything MJS has published to date, except Hallow World. I have read all the books twice and then have them all in my Audible account and listed at least twi..."

@Damien - I waited a few years after "finding" Michael to read Hollow World as well. I honestly don't know why I waited since I had devoured everything once I discovered the Dulgath Kickstarter. [Side note, while waiting for the Kickstarter to fulfill, I was already addicted from his samples and had to ILL the books from several different libraries. After going through all that, I made sure my library has every book Michael has published in print.] I won't spoil Hollow World for you, but it was definitely just as enjoyable, and I hope Michael does a sequel soon. He did use a different narrator, but he does a great job, and it works to have a different voice for a different genre.

Hello Everyone. I am Brian and I live in the Seattle area. My wife and I are huge fans of Michael Sullivan. Royce and Hadrian have to go up there with the best characters of all time. I am just about to start Age of Myth on a buddy read over at FBR group. I am excited and happy to be here and I hope everyone is healthy during this crazy time.

Hi All, I'm Doris from Phoenix.. my daughter got me started on these books and have enjoyed all of Royce & Hadrian's adventures. Great fan of Michael Sullivan and can't get enough of Royce and Hadrian ;-)

Hi. Joanne from Sydney Australia. I’ve been reading since the first Riyria Revelations novels were published individually. I’ve re-read numerous time and now after finishing Age of Empyre, I’ve gone back to the Riyria Chronicles and plan to read (once again) all the way through to Percepliquis. I’m excited to see a place keeper for Drumindor, the 5th Chronicle. How long will we have to wait? I’m reading The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter right now. Would love to go straight into Drumindor next. of course if it’s still a long way off I’ll just go straight into Revelations :)

@Leslie - welcome - and please tell your nephew that we appreciate him turning you onto the books, and tell him we said hello the next time you see him.

@Deighton - glad to have you here, and thanks for spreading the word to others. It's because of people like you that the series has it's legs.

@Espen- oh I hope you do re-read Riyria, not only will you see the lies, but probably a few Easter eggs as well ;-)

@Tim - glad to have you here. Always good to see a Hollow World reader, and I'm glad it hooked you on the other books - it's usually the other way around!

@Pete - welcome! I love that you have a cat named Minna! I'm sure she is very wise.

@Will - greetings to you! I'm so glad you enjoy TGR's narration. He did a great job with Age of Empyre - which I'm sure you'll be seeing for yourself in just a few days. It was challenging to do the recording during stay-in-place orders but he still finished it on schedule!

@Chris - glad you joined us. I can't wait for the hardcovers to come off the press. We should be getting the dust jackets for them on Tuesday which will be exciting. Won't be long now! Thanks, too, for participating in the Kickstarters. Cutting out the retailer keeps so much more money with us - so we really appreciate you going that route.

@Jason - thanks for joining us, and I concur about the greatness that is TGR! Yes, there are more books on the way. Robin has started her alpha read of Book #1 of the Rise and the Fall (Nolyn) and so far she has only VERY minor comments. I'm hoping to start the last book of that series in the not too distant future.

@Mike - I'm glad you have my stories and Tim to keep you busy during a long commute. Once shelter-in-place orders are over Robin and I are hoping to take a long trip west with our teardrop camper. The plan is to start at the beginning and listen to all the books in publication order - should be fun!

@Rohan - wow you've come from a long way! I'm always amazed to find people reading my books from other countries. Wow, you read fast! I'm glad you are looking forward to the next series and Drumindor. It's been a while since I've traveled with Royce and Hadrian, and I'm excited to get back into the saddle with the pair.

@Jasmine - I'm honored to be your favorite! I always knew Canadians had good taste! I'm glad to have you join us.

@Doug - welcome and thank you - both for the Kickstarter support and for your love of TGR. While they are a lot of work, we LOVE doing the Kickstarters. It's so much more personal and I love that everyone gets excited about being part of the process.

@Sonja - welcome to the group! You can thank Roboin for this group - she's always coming up with such good ideas!

@Kristy - thanks for joining us. And yeah, I think everyone should experience the wonder that is TGR's narration. I'm sure Robin will see your comment when she's on next. Right now she is working on the "recap" for Age of Death.

@Damien - welcome to the group. I'm so glad you and your son are enjoying the books together. As for Hollow World -- yeah, it's different than a lot of my stuff, but also very much "me." If you do give it a try, let me know what you think.

@Audrey - wow, you are so lucky to be able to listen to audiobooks while you work. Definitely a great way to multitask. Glad to hear you are listening to Matthew's book. The fans really came out in an amazing way to finish up that project right. And you can never get enough Tim Gerard Reynolds.

@Holly - I can't wait until Robin and I start our "re-reading" (actually listening) during our trip west. I mean I know all the lies I told, but I think it's going to be fun seeing Riyria now that everything in Legends has been revealed. It's funny because my daughter REALLY hates a particular aspect in the Riyria books telling of the gods, and as it turned out, that thing never happened! I think she'll be happy when she finds out that was a lie. (She's dyslexic so she' waiting for the audiobook). We're glad we got you hooked and thanks for joining us here.

@Nate - It's a great testament when a character I write is missed by people. Have you read Pile of Bones? It's a little short with Suri an Minna and if you've not read it, I'll send it your way so you can have more time with her.

@Yolanda - you won't have to twist my arm to get me to try a new beer! Thanks for joining us.

@Bev!! So glad to see you here. I often wonder - do you ever get confused when the final book turns out slightly different than the beta copy? I remember one particular story where someone who died turned out not to - and I often wonder if the beta readers of that book get confused about whether the person is alive or dead ;-)

@MC - woah...that Avempartha freebie as a LONG TIME ago. You truly are a long-time fan. BTW, that was a brilliant move on Robin's part because it got a lot of people to buy book #1 to get the 2nd book freebie. I'm glad it got you to try the books and welcome to the group!

@Jennifer - thanks for the up-vote for Hollow World. And I do want to write a sequel to that. The narrator we used is actually a good friend of Tim's and he is the one who recommended Jonathan. Because of the very "Mid-west" nature of HW we needed someone with the right accent and Jonathan did a great job.

@Brian - welcome to the group. I think you will definitely find some new characters to love in Legends. It was a big risk departing from Royce and Hadrian when writing the new series, but now that we have come to the end, I do think that there are many people to love in these books. I hope you find that to be so.

@Doris - Thanks for joining us - we want to get out your way in the near future - there are a lot of birds in Arizona that aren't on the east coast! Here's hoping that will one-day be a possibility

@Joanne - wow Australia, another visitor from distant shores - thanks for coming. And, oh my, you are a long-time reader. As for how long to wait for Drumindor -- I'm not sure yet. I want to have it written before I set a release date and so far I've only outlined it. I think you'll have to jump into Revelations for now.

Hello all, Kevin from Pittsburgh. My wife Karen and I really enjoy all of your books. I have finished them all, but we can't talk about the last 2 yet as she is waiting for the audio books. I couldn't wait had to read the books, but she really likes the narration.
I thoroughly enjoyed the books and can't wait for the next grouping. My only problem is that I pour through the new books quickly and then look around saying "I want more". Keep up the good work Michael really enjoy your writings.

Hello peeps!
Jason Murdock from Denver Colorado! Your books have been a godsend! I stumbled upon Age of Myth a couple years ago, and stopped. I immediately started from the top with Riyria Revelations to meet Hadrian and Royce. Fell in love with them and read the Chronicles second. I was holding of on the Age of Empyre series as long as I could! I immediately fell in love with Raithe! Still my favorite character. I'm acutally pretty bummed that it's done. I have loved journeying through the world of Elan with you. The underworld was so fascinating. And getting to meet all the gods was awesome!

Hello all. I am Joanna from Maxbass, ND. I have been entranced by Michael's books for quite a while now. I discovered them by the free audio book of "The Jester" and was hook for good.

Michael wrote: "@Bev!! So glad to see you here. I often wonder - do you ever get confused when the final book turns out slightly different than the beta copy? I remember one particular story where someone who died turned out not to - and I often wonder if the beta readers of that book get confused about whether the person is alive or dead ;-)..."

LOL! Was it DoD?

Just want to say Hi from Vienna, Austria and let you all know, how much I enjoyed the posts, comments and thoughts I‘ve just gone through here. Brought me new ideas and made my evening!

Proud to be a Sullifan :-)

Hello, Ali from Sydney, Australia here.

Just finished Age of Empyre and feel a little sad! I read the Riyria Revelations years ago and it remains my absolute favourite fantasy series. I've put many people on to it and no one is ever disappointed. I loved reading LoTFE, nothing better than getting a history lesson on lore you already like and (think) you know!

Currently between books 4 and 5 of the Wheel of Time series but planning to re-read Riyria Revelations when I'm done and hoping Drumindor will be out by then :)

Hi, my name is Gabe. I’ve been a Sullifan since 2012. I’ve read just about every book Mike has published and spend a great evening chatting Michael and Robin up at their beautiful (not an exaggeration) home in Virginia. I’ll be wrapping up “Age of Empyre” today. I’ve loved this series and backed each Kickstarter... often racing to see if I can be one of the first 10 backers (not an easy task).

I’m looking forward to reading all of your posts on this series and sharing my own thoughts.

Hello fellow Sullifans - as an avid 47 year SF/Fantasy reader currently residing in Huntsville, AL; I first stumbled across Michael in a rare UK Amazon website offering an Orbit Volume One-Riyria Revelations Hardcover edition in 2014. Tried to no avail to locate the other two story Hardcover volumes, but scavengers had scoured the plains before I arrived in this amazing world. Undeterred, I gobbled up Robin's favorite Riyria Rouges other softcover four stories and wondered if there could be more. And, as if manna poured forth from the sky, what appeared was the pseudo-prequel "Age of xxxx" adventures about 3000 years prior to our hardly adventures on-scene arrival in Elan's world. With the impending Empyre release in a few weeks; we'll have the resolution to a breakneck six-book saga spanning about six years. We now know how Brin's world spanning histories came to be. How a common language spread across multiple races that inhabit this magical land. When/how Avempartha was build and how all those swords came to be in the tower those many dusty years later. So many references that underpin the Riyria adventures came into crystal clear focus in the "Age of xxxx" world that had not know them before. What a treat Michael provides his readers with multiple hidden "Easter eggs" sprinkled liberally as background in the Riyria Revelations and other continuing saga stand-alone stories now explained in his "Age of xxxx" prequels.
Have read widely and Michael ranks with the greatest SF authors - Isaac Asimov, Marion Bradley, Raymond Feist, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Robert Jordan. Believe he leads his contemporary writers - Trudi Canavan, Brian McClellan, John Scalzi, Brent Weeks and Django Wexler. Michael has provided us, his readers / fans with countless immersive hours in a new world liberally populated with deeply written people; struggling to improve theirs / other lives often opposing determined and implacable foes. He has the ability to deftly weave a myriad of individuals in a story that captives, leaving us breathlessly racing to the last page and the often looking at the last back cover seeking more!!! Eagerly awaiting to see if there is another hidden arm that will slide out his many sleeved jacket providing us all with more stories / rabbits stashed in plain sight, filled with captivating characters speed out against the interviewing 3000 year gap while we're all focused on his literary elephant on the pages.
Well-written stories all with my many thanks for hours of pleasure turning the written paper page. With your intimate "personal" crew - Robin and Sarah - without whom we'd be checking our email every 15 minutes hoping for another dribble of your mysterious writing ways - our thanks goes out to their tireless efforts on our behalf. With my utmost regards --- Mrbill

Beverly wrote: "LOL! Was it DoD?"

No, it was The Crown Tower, and the character who was saved was (view spoiler)[Pickles (hide spoiler)]

Kevin wrote: "Hello all, Kevin from Pittsburgh. My wife Karen and I really enjoy all of your books. I have finished them all, but we can't talk about the last 2 yet as she is waiting for the audio books. I couldn't wait had to read the books, but she really likes the narration.
I thoroughly enjoyed the books and can't wait for the next grouping. My only problem is that I pour through the new books quickly and then look around saying "I want more". Keep up the good work Michael really enjoy your writings."

Sounds like a pretty good problem to have, Kevin. Please tell your wife I said hello, and thank her for listening. I'll do my best to keep the books coming.

@Jason - well thank you for your very kind words. I think a lot of people read the books in the order that you did. Thanks for all the amassing support. And no reason to be too bummed. We'll be returning to Elan in The Rise and the Fall books: Nolyn, Farilane, and Esrahaddon. Take a minute to add them to your shelves now and you'll get updates as I'm working on them, and notification when they are ready to buy.

@Joanna - glad to see my evil plan worked! The Jester audiobook was created to hopefully hook people to the stories. It's had more than 251,000 downloads so far.

@Sabine - glad to have you hear. I sooooo want to get to Austria someday. Here's hoping travel will open up again in the not too distant future.

@Alexandria - welcome - and Australia is also high on my list of places to visit - the long plane ride has been the biggest impediment, but I think it'll be well worth it once we can. No need to be sad, we'll start releasing the books of The Rise and the Fall before you know it, not to mention Drumindor has you already pointed out. So you'll be able to dive back in soon. I hope you are enjoying Wheel of Time.

@Gabe - I'm so glad you've been able to visit our little piece of Avrlyn. I can't wait until we can have visitors again.