The Riyria Chronicles has been one of the masterpieces by Michael J. Sullivan; the writer has woven the series with apt details and links that prove themselves of great worth. This is the first book of the epic that further lead towards books like The Rose and the Thorn and inform us about the momentous happening between the realms. Good thing about Sullivan’s work is that the characters are so much pure in emotions that you forget for some time that you are listening to a fantasy that does not exist in real life.
The series joins a warrior with a thief because both of them need each other and their skills in order to accomplish one common goal. Though Hadrian Blackwater the legendary warrior and the assassin with a deceptive nature Royce Melborn have nothing in common at all still they manage to coexist. There is no sense of friendship or affection between the two but still they are ready to give their life for one another because they need one another. It is the need that joins the two and then they start knowing one another in a way that brings out some similar things in the personalities.
Finally they plan to breach the walls of the Crown Tower that could make them legends and they would be remembered for centuries to come if they survive.
Tim Gerard Reynolds’ narration was an important aspect of this book because a powerful narrator was needed for the opening of this epic series and Tim was no doubt the best option available. There is a special grandeur in Tim’s voice that was due for such an ancient tale.
