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Age of Swords  By  cover art

Age of Swords

By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
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Publisher's summary

The gods have been proven mortal, and new heroes will arise as the battle continues in the sequel to Age of Myth - from the author of the Riyria Revelations and Riyria Chronicles series.

In Age of Myth, fantasy master Michael J. Sullivan launched listeners on an epic journey of magic and adventure, heroism and betrayal, love and loss. Now the thrilling saga continues as the human uprising is threatened by powerful enemies from without - and bitter rivalries from within.

Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but longstanding enmities dividing the Rhune make it all but impossible to unite against the common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess renders them indistinguishable from gods?

The answer lies across the sea in a faraway land populated by a reclusive and dour race who feel nothing but disdain for both Fhrey and mankind. With time running out, Persephone leads the gifted young seer Suri, the Fhrey sorceress Arion, and a small band of misfits in a desperate search for aid - a quest that will take them into the darkest depths of Elan, where waits an ancient adversary as fearsome as it is deadly.

©2017 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2017 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Age of Swords

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Work-shopped to Death

After really enjoying Age of Myth (4 stars), and of course all the Riyia books, I was very excited when Age of Swords was released. In the authors foreword Sullivan described the book as his favorite work so I was ready for more well developed, interesting characters, appropriate pacing and descriptive prose. Unfortunately, it seems like this book went through 100 revisions so that no thought of any character went unexplored. It was pretty much the definition of work-shopping a good story to death. A few times makes for a solid backstory, but to interrupt action scenes that took hours of multiple backstories to get to only to throw in more irrelevant backstories is really testing the readers will to finish this book! Again, if it was just once or twice I'd understand but it was constant and a major flaw in what could have been a good book

Add in the complete lack of character growth as they make the same mistakes over and over or ask the same questions in every situation, incredibly predictable plot lines, repetitive and dull conversations that don't advance the plot or the characters, abandonment of some of the most interesting characters and, fatally, a very basic plot that could have been thoroughly explored in 1/4 the length, and this book was definitely a disappointment. Oh, and do I need to mention the unrealistic inventions of one of the characters that somehow invents every bit of technology that took actual humans thousands of years to develop in just a few weeks?

Finally, and I can't believe I'm criticizing Tim Reynolds work as it's normally excellent, but a few of the characters he voices extremely slowly to the point where I was thinking "get on with it!" Of course that was also a function of the poor dialogue as I knew exactly what those characters were about to ramble on about as they had rambled about the same thing many times before. Can't blame Reynolds for that but throw in a halting and slow voice for those characters and it was pretty frustrating.

Mr. Sullivan mentions in the foreword that he reads reader reviews. While I'm sure I will be down-voted by many for the unfavorable review, I really hope that Mr. Sullivan or his editors see this and let him get back to the raw style of storytelling that suits him best. A great story needs to have edges and surprises, not every thought needs to be backstoried and not every character needs to go through ten examples of their current paradigm before they blossom into the character they will be.

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58 people found this helpful

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Hard to believe its Sullivan's favorite

I've been a huge fan of all of Sullivan's work thus far, but this book was pretty disappointing.

Things I liked:
1. Bringing the females forward to lead. Loved to see that even if aspects of their character and actions seemed odd.
2. Seeing the beginning of threads from previous series.
3. Really enjoyed the love/hate I developed for the elven prince character.

My issues:
1. Wish he had dreamed up a more believable way for technological progress because it became ludicrous that one 'genius' came up with a new invention at every turn and that a basically illiterate person had invented writing and then was translating ancient dwarven texts within weeks.
2. The main boss battle was so tediously written that I felt compelled to fast forward and by the end I just wanted it to be over.
3. Seemed like snarkiness bled into each character too much so they began to feel a bit homogeneous and seemed really out of character for some and in some situations.

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53 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Bad sequel after a strong start.

My buddy and I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series - strong characters, decent plot evolution, great narration. I have no idea what happend with this sequel, but it'll be the last I'm reading in this series.

The author seemed pandering to folks who like easy, deliberate writing. It seemed to want to appeal to young readers (think tweens or even younger). The story's 'reveals' were too obvious, too cliche. It's as if the author got feedback from a minority of audio book listeners and catered his story writing to the medium, but in a bad way.

It presented (read) like a teleplay of sorts. Some of the goofy tendencies which I disliked in the first book were carried forward and amplified. There were several instances where I groaned out loud it was so cliche and pandering.

**spoiler**

I almost gave up when I got to about the six-hour mark when he decided to have one of his characters invent ... the wheel. Literally, the wheel. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Then it got markedly worse as they then invented archery and writing. I could only shake my head.

I like strong female characters, but this book was too much and seemed overdone with exemplifying the role/type. We get it, enough already. I'm truly surprised this made it past editors and other readers in this state and was released. Maybe I'm just cynical and jaded, maybe.

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46 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Wrong Genre, should be Nonfiction - Gender Issues

In this book we find that the human society is pre-literate, similar to ancient Greece's Homer bard period and, more disbelievingly, before the invention of the wheel. The society evolves like a Bizarro World facsimile of our own history. Beginning with a goddess being the mightiest mythological deity among the pantheon of gods. Then, the portrayal of all able-bodied males being philandering misogynistic brutes and prone to infanticide. Only two males are depicted in quasi-favorable light, a severely-disabled boy and the god-slayer whose claim to fame is cowardly killing a Fhrey after someone else knocked him down in Book 1. Even with his continued cowardly display of bravery in this book, he is considered the bravest of all the human males.

Regrettably, while I had hoped that the obvious imbalance between male and female humans would become more balanced than what had been written in book 1, it became preposterously worse in this book. All of the major human advances not only took place in less than a year but they were all the work of women, from first historian, to first human scientist/inventor/blacksmith to first human magician, to first king, etc. Sullivan even allowed for a bit of Elvish cultural appropriation with a human woman being the first archer who honed her skills within a few days on a rocky boat trip.

Even with Sullivan's expert writing skills and Reynolds' superb narration abilities, it was not enough to save this book. It was so badly biased that I have decided not to get any follow-on books in the series. In fact, this book series has knocked Sullivan from my top-tier writer's list and I state that with no enjoyment.

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42 people found this helpful

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Issues with Ideology

I have no problem with the idea that women achieving great things but through most if the books their is a constant theme of most men are selfish pigs and women have to fight to be recognized. I love the general story and the writing style and even most of the plot points. Its just hard to get through at times feeling like i'm being preached to.

If you want a strong female character just have one, you don't need to have this side story of all men trying to pull them down and the only "good" men being guilt ridden cowards. Most men in the stories fall into 3 groups. Noble protectors who defend women even at their own expense. Selfish pigs who think women can't do anything and men should be in charge. Love sick puppies who follow women around hoping to be noticed.

While most women are determined, intelligent, kind, and feel like something is holding them back from achieving. It just comes across as the same tired story that is constantly beaten into everyone head.

The issue is strong women don't need help, or encouragement, to achieve and most men don't care if women succeed if they put in the effort. The constant insistence that because someone, somewhere, may hold the idea that women are less than men, so we must repeat over and over that women are strong and can achieve, is just condescending. You might as well say women can only be strong if they have people help them and tell them they can succeed.

That added with the tacit implication that men need to be told that women can be leaders and should help them succeed. Just comes across as the writer thinking all men are bad and all women are good and trying correct a perceived problem that for most men does not exist.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Drags on Predictably.

I was excited for this book. I wanted it to be great, it takes all the predictable paths fantasy books tend to follow. Characters are whiney and shirk responsibilities only to have it thrusted on them anyways. Maybe I'm jaded or I've gone through too many books, I found myself rolling my eyes and just skipping chapters because you could literally tell what it was building up to and listening to the author drag it on just frustrated me. By no means should this mean it's not the book for you, it just wasn't the book for me. Happy reading.

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Not His Best Offering

Any additional comments?

I am an avid Fantasy genre reader. Michael J Sullivan would make my top 3 list. From his very first book I've read/listened with excitement and focused attention, so much a part of the story, invested in the characters. The storylines held me captive and swept me away. I eagerly anticipated this release. Excitement built when the author declared this book his favorite. I struggled to stay focused. My attention wanders. For the first time I found myself "putting the book down" because I got bored. Is it a bad book? No, I just don't think it's the caliber of his others. Michael J Sullivan set a very high bar for himself. I will continue with the series as other books are released because I am a fan of the author and the narrator... and I have experienced the magic they are capable of creating together.

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Technological progression is jarring

I had some real hard times suspending my disbelief of how the fuck no one ever invented a god damn bow and arrow when they have bronze, iron, and husbandry.

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extremely annoying

i liked the first book. enjoyed it thoroughly. but this second installment, even if the author in the preface claims it is his favorite in the series, does not live up.

the pacing is slow to the point of boredom. the main characters who I suppose we are meant see grow? (they don't) are annoying and contrivedly bickering on a level i thought reserved for cheap teen horror. I honestly couldn't care what happened to them, except the mystic.

spoiler - we also see the spontaneous discovery of several technologies and terms. this process is contrived, awkward and forced. did I say awkward? I cringed.

that said, the narration is first class, and at least two loved main characters grow, and are interesting.

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Facepalm

The first book was a little awkward with the random new inventions, but this time it's just unbearable. I can almous smell the gunpowder and industrial revolution coming from the next book.

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