The Rose and the Thorn

Executive Summary: Another solid entry into the Riyria series, albeit a bit more predictable for those who've read Riyria Revelations first. Despite that, this should be another enjoyable time for Riyria fans.Audio book: Mr. Reynolds really makes this the only way to do the Riyria series for me. I hope that if/when Mr. Sullivan does more Riyria books, they make sure to hire Mr. Reynolds to do the audio again. No particular characters of note this time, but another enjoyable performance.Full ReviewWith [b:The Crown Tower 16043804 The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles #1) Michael J. Sullivan https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375570227s/16043804.jpg 21821161], I was convinced it's better to read Riyria Revelations first. With this entry I'm a bit torn.The major plot points were immediately apparent to me fairly early on. Why? Well I had heard about them before as background during the Revelations series. There are some major details that will likely escape readers starting with Chronicles first, or at best be unconfirmed suspicions that won't be confirmed until they read Revelations however. This adds some depth to the story that might otherwise be missing.So how does a “predictable” book get a 4 star rating? Well I really love Mr. Sullivan's characters for one, and it's great to get to spend more time with them. Not only are Royce, Hadrian and Gwen back, but we get to see Arista, Aldric and the Pickerings as kids in this one. Not to mention everyone's “favorite” grandfatherly character, Bishop Saldor.Mr. Sullivan once again promotes a minor character from the original series to a POV in the prequel series. This time it's Hillfred, who himself is a boy just on the verge of becoming a palace guard. That detail alone should give veteran Riyria readers an idea of many of the major plot points of this book.Like [b:The Crown Tower 16043804 The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles #1) Michael J. Sullivan https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375570227s/16043804.jpg 21821161], we get a much darker Royce who hasn't been tempered by 15 years in Hadrian's company. Maybe it's my grimdark fandom that leads me to somehow enjoy this version of Royce even more than I did during Revelations. Still this book is far from the grit and gruesomeness of Abercrombie or Martin, despite possibly being the darkest book of the series.A problem with prequels is you know when something bad happening is inevitable, because it already has. You can only sit back and wait for it.Like [b:The Crown Tower 16043804 The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles #1) Michael J. Sullivan https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375570227s/16043804.jpg 21821161], Mr. Sullivan does a good job of taking background information from his first series and flushing it out into a full story making for an enjoyable ride even if the destination is already known. He avoids major spoilers with clever dialogue that will have Revelations readers shaking their heads knowingly that first time readers will likely miss completely.I for one hope that he will continue writing these Riyria stories as I'm already sad to have burned through all 8 stories so quickly.

I really enjoyed this one but mainly for the supporting cast more than Hadrian and Royce. Gwen's story as a prostitute and rising above the ashes was fun. But my favorite was Hilfred who is hopelessly in love with the princess and is becoming a castle guard. Great storytelling and it makes me want to reread Ryria Revelations because I think I just wasn't in the right headspace to enjoy them all.

So that's a wrap with the back story. This one is less about Riyria and more about the a plot which our friends happen to blunder into but its still worth reading. The narrative is a tad too slow in the middle and it took some effort to finish it off. All in all worth reading for a fan of the series and avoidable for the rest