Hello Fellow Journeyers,
We're wrapping up the second book of The Riyria Revelations. As it was published as one book, this will be the review of Rise of Empire with Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm as one complete story. While it may be redundant, I personally enjoy dissecting the differences.
What's the story about: Rise of Empire picks up where Theft of Swords left off with plenty of questions. But Rise of Empire is primarily a book of (bear with me here) two parts. The beginning is made up of a quest tale in Nyphron Rising as Hadrian and Royce are tasked with finding a possible solution to the inevitable war that's coming to Melengar. The second half revolves around a quest mission to find a man responsible for a lot more than it appears.
Like I've stated in my review of Nyphron Rising, the biggest new addition in Rise of Empire was the character work that Sullivan started implementing in Hadrian and Royce in the first half of the book. This was so welcomed! Hadrian's backstory and future as the guardian of the heir and Royce's history of being a thief are explored to greater effect and it really does make the story feel more complete character-wise. It really showcases that Sullivan evolved as he wrote the stories and it's for the best.
By story four, it's pretty difficult to find things to review that isn't standard fair. Sullivan is a mostly consistent author, which is actually quite satisfying because so many authors can lose their way or get caught up with side plots. Instead, Sullivan dutifully tells the story in a meaningful and familiar way. This second chapter takes quite awhile to get going as the overall plot is really building steam as most of Nyphron Rising is spent developing this series plot that is taking center stage. It's less focused on a one-off job like the previous entry was. That being said, the main mission of Nyphron Rising is a lot of fun and comes to a satisfying and tantalizing conclusion.
Once The Emerald Storm begins, it's quickly off to a bang with an unexpected twist that changes the series in a drastic way. Hadrian and Royce have to pick up the pieces of a devastating blow to the rebellion and must track down a mysterious assassin in order to find answers. Unfortunately, after the initial excitement of the beginning, the second half of the book really slows down. A new adventure takes place on the high seas, and Arista's arch develops considerably, but not a lot of important events tend to take place. After the highly impactful Nyphron Rising, the second half of the book seems to have lost some of the tension and pacing.
★★★ 3 Stars - Rise of Empire has a better first half than second half. While Nyphron Rising is fast-paced, begins the character arcs of Hadrian, Royce, and Arista that were direly needed, The Emerald Storm takes a hiatus from the intrigue and fun of developing the characters to rely on heavy side questing of a meandering sort. While the book does not lose it's overall progression from this, much of the enjoyment gets lost along the way. At least it has an ending that is surprising, but it takes to long to get there.
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book; it is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing.
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very worth reading and satisfying; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain crucial areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads. Also, there is no 1.5 Stars because it does not seem to have enough differentiation.