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Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 704
Published: Nov 2011
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Shelf
Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles—until they are hired to pilfer a famed sword. What appears to be just a simple job finds them framed for the murder of the king and trapped in a conspiracy that uncovers a plot far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.
Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires in order to keep a secret too terrible for the world to know? And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
My thoughts:
I think I would like to start with a damn, damn that I do not have book 2 ready. It was not like it ended with a cliffie, now, it was just that I need to freaking know!It is just the kind of fantasy I like. Quests, kingdoms, baddies and a great cast.Our “heroes” are Royce, a thief and Hadrian, a mercenary. Together they form the band Riyria, and steal their way through life. The chemistry between these two is just great; you can feel that they have been friends for a very long time. They are also so funny together, one wanting one thing, the other one another thing, but they are friends and the trust each other (even if the other one has a stupid plan for instance.) That is truly what is good about this book Royce and Hadrian.
And once more, I just do not feel I can do it justice. It started off ok, then it got better, then it got even better, and I was hooked, and even though I was nowhere near the end I lamented the fact that I did not have book 2 ready (getting it for xmas). The books grabs hold of you and won’t let go. And you do not want it to let go either.
I could say a lot of things, of the banter between them, of the two quests they had, of Myron the monk they met, but I will just say that it had a solid plot. It was originally a 6 book series, and now it is a 3 book series. So this book is about 2 things, but they are connected since everything will lead up to one thing in the end. The world is looking for someone, and then we have an evil church too (they always make good baddies.)
Conclusion:
So yes just read it. I am SO glad Melissa got me to read this book because it was well worth it. My review may not amount to much since my mind is all “want book2!”. But in the end that is all you need to know, it made me want book 2, and I that book is as good as ordered already. I can’t wait to read more.
Cover:
Now this is my kind of hunk ;)
