Age of Swords

This was an awesome book. It was great reading high fantasy with a female cast in which only the women go on an adventure and leave the men behind

Age of swords is a book of preparation, a preparation for war.

After Age of Myth we are left with a threat of war between Runes and Fhreys. In Age of swords we see our characters planning and finding strategies to go to war.

I find the pace of this installment very slow especially in the first half and I found myself not interested in the characters of Moya and Roan. I found myself dragging off during this read. The second part was more fast-paced and it captured my interest again. I don't react positively to the death of animals, especially if they have a strong bond with characters, though. I cried for the last.. 40 pages or so?! That was torture, my poor feelings -_-
* I will never forget you for that, Michael Sullivan *

But at least I am glad if an author can connect to my feelings and make feel for the characters and the story :)

Overall, a nice installment with a good plot and with solid character development. Right now, I need a break from the series but I am curious to know what Age of War will bring.

3.75 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Author Michael J. Sullivan continues his six-book, 3000-years prior to Riyria, fantasy epic with Age of Swords, a tale of humans attempting to unite their clans and overthrow the god-like Fhrey race. Our main characters must overcome in-fighting, inferior technology, and a bunch of pesky dwarves before they can even think about crossing paths with the Fhrey.

This book starts with a bang, quiets down and then steadily builds to a satisfying conclusion. In typical Michael J. Sullivan fashion, there are plenty of common fantasy tropes at play here, but he utilizes them in a way that is fresh, inviting, and fun. There is something to be said about reading fantasy that gives off a positive vibe, during a time when grimdark is all the rage.

Sullivan greatly expands his character pool, while giving everyone enough to do to justify their presence. Each person is easy to root for and there's a bevy of awesome female characters that steal the show. No worthy adversary ever emerges, and the plot outcomes are fairly predictable, but this is still another enjoyable adventure with a stellar cast.

This is just incredibly boring to me. Sure, I am in a slump and all, so maybe I will try it again later, but right now everything about this is a slog.
The Fhrey chapters especially; just so much boring ass political exposition. Talking and talking, about this law and that ruler and I want to claw my eyes out.

There was also a scene where they invent the wheel. Some more developed races are present and they start going super into it, axles, metals, greasing, etc. and the whole scene made me kind of annoyed. Let me guess, the girl who “invented the wheel” is going to race through the technological advances on her own because she is just so special.

Damn, this is good.
Still a little predictable, but also some unexpected turns.
The magic system got a lot more depth, as did some characters!

Whole book can be summarized to Persephone thinking and saying to others “you guys are dumb, don't do what you are about to do”, and her proceeding to do something dumb and not let others talk her out of it. I'm all for powerful women and stuff, but she's not it. She is incompetent and got into power by accident, thinking she is the only one that can save everyone. Maybe being lucky is her superpower. idk.

The only saving grace is Suri and Minna.

Really enjoyed it. Solid fantasy that had just the right amount of twists and turns and made me surprisingly emotional.

I can't decide if I want to try reading this again. It's an okay book but it could be my mood. Tentatively soft DNFing this for now.
The graphic audio is good though. I do wish it would read the whole book with the added sound effects. But still a good production.

Executive Summary: This book finished stronger for me than it started. Another solid effort by Mr. Sullivan.Audiobook: I first discovered [a:Michael J. Sullivan 2063919 Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433443335p2/2063919.jpg] thanks to an audible daily deal for [b:Theft of Swords 10790290 Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations, #1-2) Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1307959785s/10790290.jpg 15702572]. [a:Tim Gerard Reynolds 4132657 Tim Gerard Reynolds https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1370714999p2/4132657.jpg] was excellent for that book. Ever since audio has been the only way to go for me. I'll never read a book when I could listen to him read it to me instead. Another great job here as expected.Full ReviewI've always enjoyed Mr. Sullivan's writing and this one was no different. I did find the start of this one a bit slow. If anything I'd expect to have had that happen with the first book in a series and not the second. I'm not entirely sure why I felt that way.This one picks up right where the last book left of, but it just felt like there was a bunch of stage setting for what turned out to be the main plot of this book. Once that got going however, it was quite enjoyable.The female characters continue to steal the show for me. Not just the “main” characters like Persephone and Suri, but the “minor” ones like Brin and especially Roan. On the men's side, I find most of them pretty unlikable, especially the elves. Raithe, who I found to be a pretty great character in the first book, annoyed me for much of this book. Thankfully that got better by the end of the book. The best male character continues to be Gifford, though he had a fairly small part for much of the book. I do like the addition of Tesh in this book, and hope he features more in future books.The most intriguing parts for me continue to be wondering what Malcolm's motivations are, and just who the hell is Trilos?This book adds the Dwarves in, and I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that they make things interesting. Anyone who's read Mr. Sullivan's Riyria books will probably have a good idea of his opinions on Dwarves however.Overall this was an enjoyable entry in the series, and I'm already looking forward to [b:Age of War 18052169 Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire, #3) Michael J. Sullivan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1500722524s/18052169.jpg 25336191].

In this continuation of The Legends of the First Empire series, we continue the story of the preparations for the war between human and Fhrey. I won't get more into it to avoid spoilers of the first book.

I am really loving this series. The pacing in the middle chunk of this book was pretty slow, but the beginning and end really made up for it. The main winner of this series so far is the characters. I love every character in these stories. They're all so well thought out, and their relationships are spectacular. The main group of women that goes on the expedition for weaponry are all so unique and strong. The themes throughout are so well presented, and I found myself rooting for every one of these characters. We get to learn more about the magic in this book as well, and it is so interesting. The side plot of the Mirror Leaf politics was a little more boring in my opinion, however it has been set up to seem like it will be important later. I'm hoping that story line pays off.

Overall, this series has been a joy to read. It is an expert blend of traditional fantasy mixed with modern themes that really leaves me feeling great after each book.

TW: ableism, amputation, animal death, blood, death, demons, attempted murder, misogyny, violence, war

Age of Swords continues the action of the first book in the series, Age of Myth. Persephone, now the chief of her clan, must lead her people to safety after their village is destroyed by the Fhrey. Realizing that the Fhrey will no longer leave her people in peace, she must try to unite all the clans if they will have any chance of surviving the impending war.

The girl power in this book is great. I can't say much more about that without revealing spoilers, but the women in this story kick butt and it is terrific. Michael J. Sullivan has further developed characters that were more peripheral in the first book, which enhances the depth of the narrative and the overall world-building. The engaging action draws the reader through the story and leaves you ready for the next installment! Fantasy fans will enjoy this series, especially if they start at the beginning.

A great epic fantasy!

Once again Michael hits it out of the park. While not completely breaking traditional tropes, he still adds enough of a spin that it feels fresh. He also writes some of the best female protagonists that I've read.

I love the arc of telling a prequel story about what eventually becomes legend in the earlier stories of Riyria. It makes me want to reread the Riyria books again with this new perspective. The only down side is having to wait for the next one.

Attempted to Reread in October 2021

DNF - PG 88

Why?

I'm okay with fantasy books that offer me nothing new. Look, I get that everyone (maybe not, everyone, everyone, but you understand the hyperbole) wants to be Tolkien, so everyone writes the same elves, the same dwarves, the same humans. That's fine - even though at the danger of getting my fantasy reader cred revoked, I never liked Tolkien.

But I still don't care about these people. I mean, they have no spark. They're like 90% of the rest of the adult fantasy characters (and why it's so hard to find adult fantasy books I actually like). They're dreary. There's never any fun in this book. (In the series?)

And, for me, I could overlook and forgive most of the little problems I had, if I was at all interested in reading about these people. I'm not. I keep reading this series, hoping that I will find a little of the spark of what made me like Royce and Hadrian, but I don't. These people are all so serious, all so doom and gloom, all so argumentative and dreary and unpleasant and unlikable.

Why force my way through a book I'm not enjoying to read four more books that look to be much the same?

(Side note: I truly think the only reason I claimed to like the first book five stars and this book four stars the first time around was because they're from the same author as my beloved Riyria. I totally understand past me doing this. And it also explains why I never read the third book. I thought it was on me that I didn't love the books (bad timing/bad mood, maybe) so I told myself that I loved them. It's not on me. I just don't like them. It's also quite telling that in my original review of this book, I don't actually mention liking any of the characters.)


Original Review

This book killed me, resurrected me and then killed me again. (Quite possibly killed my brain too, so don't expect much of a review.) I don't know the last time I went through a gamut of emotions while reading a single book like I did with this one.

I do want to make special note of a couple things I specifically like. The world building is spectacular. The way magic is handled is reasonable and definitely not overpowered. There are costs. Also, the advancement - or, lack thereof - of human technology: most fantasy settings never deal with how the humans discovered writing or iron or invented the wheel or the arrow. While sometimes I think the leaps are a little quick (but, then again, I've never invented anything and I'm pretty sure Roan would be considered a genius by modern standards) it's really fun to read about. Then there is the strength that all the women exhibit in a time/setting that is, at it's core, rather sexist. I mean, just seeing the way Moya and Persephone are willing to stand up and be, truthfully, more awesome than ANY of the men is nice. (And it's also nice that the setting is sexist but the book certainly ISN'T.)

The story picks up shortly after the ending of Age of Myth. The Fhrey decide to deal harshly with the humans but are undecided as to whether a full-scale war is necessary. A good portion of Mawyndulë's storyline follows his attempt to navigate the politics of the

A good portion of Mawyndulë's storyline follows his attempt to navigate the politics of the Fhrey. He's driven by his desire to be taken seriously by his elders and hurt the Rhune for killing his mentor. Meanwhile, the humans struggle to determine who should be the ruler of all ten clans, since they realize they need to be united against the Fhrey if they are going to survive. The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the

Meanwhile, the humans struggle to determine who should be the ruler of all ten clans, since they realize they need to be united against the Fhrey if they are going to survive. The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the

The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the Fhrey. In a desperate gamble, Persephone leads a small band of her trusted companions across the sea to the home of the Dhirg (dwarves) in search of stronger weapons.

After finishing the book, there's a slight sense of “that was it?” when it comes to the plot. Age of Swords relies more on exploring the core characters and the world. Given that the next book in the series is named Age of War, one of the main goals of this installment was to make sure all the pieces were in place.

The previous book seemed to center around Persphone, Raithe, Suri, and Arion. All of these characters still play a major role in this book, but we get to explore Mawyndulë, Brin, Roan, and Gilford in far more detail than we saw before. Sullivan manages to make Mawyndulë simultaneously infuriating beyond belief and somehow sympathetic. We finally get to see Brin start working towards what will eventually become the Book of Brin. Roan and Gilford are beautifully written. Roan continues to struggle to connect with people around her, despite her brilliant mind. Gilford is heartbreakingly adorable and one of the most enjoyable characters in the series.

We finally get to see Brin start working towards what will eventually become the Book of Brin. Roan and Gilford are beautifully written. Roan continues to struggle to connect with people around her, despite her brilliant mind. Gilford is heartbreakingly adorable and one of the most enjoyable characters in the series.

There are also new characters introduced, most notably three dwarves. Unfortunately, they fell a little flat for me. I got the feeling they could have been complex, intriguing characters if they only got more page time, but what you actually get to see is a bit one-dimensional.

The story is roughly divided into three plot lines: the Fhrey, the ten clans, and Persephone's journey to the dwarves. As you might expect given the title of the book, Persephone's plot line gets the most attention. I thought it was the most interesting though, since it answered questions from the original Riyria series, explored the world of the dwarves for the first time in any Michael J. Sullivan book, and had the most action.

The other plot lines were interesting but much slower. While necessary to advance the overarching story of the series–the conflict between Rhune and Fhrey–there were parts that felt like a drag. I found myself wishing that we'd get back to Persephone's storyline. However, that's not to say that these were boring. Far from it. I just preferred the “adventure” storyline more.

Overall, I had a ton of fun reading this book. It wasn't without its flaws, but I couldn't put it down. Sullivan delivered a solid book–not that that should surprise anyone by now–and it left me eager to pick up the sequel.

For those of you who enjoy audiobooks, Tim Gerard Reynolds once again delivered a stellar performance. Age of Swords was even dedicated to Tim, which I thought was a nice touch.