Rise of Empire

Riyria Revelations, Volume 2

By: Michael J. Sullivan

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Length: 26 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan’s mesmerizing Riyria Revelations series has found a welcome home with fans of magic, clashing swords, and daring heroes. This second volume finds Royce and Hadrian on a quest to enlist the southern Nationalists to aid the ever-weakening kingdom of Melengar. Royce suspects an ancient wizard is manipulating them all, but to find the truth he’ll have to decipher Hadrian’s past—a past Hadrian wants to keep secret.

Rise of Empire contains Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, books 3 and 4 of Riyria Revelations.

©2011 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2012 Recorded Books

Great

Really enjoy the story telling and narrator. Looking forward to the next one in the series.

Cannot stop listening

A lot of people seem to have issues with the protagonists, I love them. You probably will too.

I downloaded Rise of Empire halfway through Theft of Swords....and as soon as I submit this, I will hit play on The Heir

Fantastic book!

A fun book that I can’t get enough of. I’m excited to start the next one!

Wow

Not bad at all!! I’ve listened to the first two in just a week. Strontium.

Outstanding

Everything about this is was fantastic. I loved the the story and characters and narration!

Great continuation of the first book. Tons of fun!

This book picks up after a year or so after the end of first book where Church has found a lost leader and started to form an Empire.

Our combo of elvish assassin and burly fighter find themselves working for the king of Melengar as spies that book start to focus a lot more on the politics and intrigue. I enjoyed this portion of the book that author does not let the narrative get dull with endless chatter. Some of the characters are cunning yet funny.

Scope of the story is larger, and yet book almost manage to move as fast as the previous book (though there were few moments which I thought were kind of a drag).

Author provides a lot more depth to the characters of Royce and Hadrian. Back stories of Royce and Hadrian is been flushed out which is masterfully integral to the over all story.

There are twists in this book which caught me by surprised. Arista's development as person and as an practitioner of the 'art' continues, and it is a fun ride.

Sense of humor between two thieves is still fresh and fun.

Narrator did a great job, and book is really a fun listen. This audio series is turning into one of my favorite. This book has setup nicely for the last in series for which I cant wait!

I highly recommend this book and series.

Solid Middle Books of the Series

Although Volume 2 of the Ryria Revelations contains two books, Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, I still felt how I usually feel after reading the middle book of a good trilogy - unsatisfied with how things are left off and ready for more.

Royce and Hadrian continue their adventures and do some digging into their pasts, while Arista sets off on her own and faces some serious challenges. Each of the characters is flushed out some and the bigger picture continues to come into focus. For me, The Emerald Storm was a bit of a tangent and did not advance the main storyline as much as I would have hoped, but any story involving Royce and Hadrian is entertaining so I'm not complaining.

Tim Gerard Reynolds does his normal excellent job bringing the characters to life and at this point I could not imagine anyone else voicing them. So if you enjoyed Volume 1 there is no reason to hesitate on picking this one up, just keep in mind that the story doesn't end here and you will have to pick up Volume 3 as well.

Better than the first.

Would you listen to Rise of Empire again? Why?

Yes, I would. I'll probably listen to it again after the year prequels come out. It's just great story, with great narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. I listen at work, so it only took a few days anyway.

Any additional comments?

If you've read the first book, and found it lacking in certain areas, listen to this anyway. Much better and leaves toy ready for the third. Highly recommended. I put Michael J Sullivan up there with the likes of Patrick Rothfuss, and Brandon Sanderson.

Gave up sleep to listen

I downloaded this the same day I finished the first book in the Riyria series and am still quite happy with the story. I've known the answer to the "big mystery" since about a quarter of the way through the first book (at least I think I do - still have to finish the series, obviously) but I still feel an incredible sense of suspense listening to these books. It's a fine balance for an author to strike between revealing enough hints about where the story is going, but still keeping his readers guessing what will happen moment to moment. It's so much fun to read something where the big story arc is clear, but all the little details are so unexpected.

Also, this has to have one of the most understated but sweetest love stories I've read in a long time. It's perfect.

I didn't give it 5 stars because the ending was not satisfying. It annoyed me a little that the book was so long and still nothing was resolved. But I suppose that's why there is a third book... which I've already started listening to.

The Plot Thickens

Here the story does began to expand. Here we learn of the ancient plottings of those to control the empire and the counter-plots of those trying to preserve the freedom of mankind, albeit at great personal, and moral, expense. This sounds very epic but this book tells the story in a very personal way. The characters at the center of all this action are very engaging. This is a strongly plotted novel and can be enjoyed purely in this fashion. It is a bonus that the characters are so entertaining. Royce and Hadrian are two lovable rogues who are starting to develop a conscience.

Tim Gerard Reynolds again delivers a great rendering of this text into my ears. He relates the dialog with style and aplomb; much more than a straight reading. He is not afraid to add emotion to his voice when it will enhance the text.