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rosebee00's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
beans15's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sueodd's review against another edition
4.0
I admit that I had trouble finishing this, but I'm going to give it 4 stars because it's so much better than books that earn 3 stars from me.
The first part - Nyphron Rising - was where I had trouble. Hadrian spent too much of it moping, drinking, and questioning his life. Hadrian is kind of my "knight in shining armor", a bright counterpoint to Royce's darkness. Seeing him turn to copious drinking didn't sit well with me. Thankfully the story picked up again in the second part - The Emerald Storm.
This book introduced us to Amelia, a lowly servant who is plucked out of the kitchen and assigned the task of helping the Empress (Thrace, now known as Modina). Poor Thrace is basically catatonic after all that happened, and is confined to a squalid dungeon. Amelia really stole the show, especially in the first part of this book. We are also introduced to Nimbus, who provides some comic relief as he joins with Amelia to assist Modina.
Arista does some interesting things throughout, but it gets to the point where she's almost too perfect. Is there anything she can't do? She eventually gets into serious trouble, but even though we're left wondering her fate I have no doubts anything bad will happen to her. That's a flaw in the plot, in my opinion. Her story is just too obvious to me.
The second part takes us on an adventure to a different land. Hadrian perks up, and he and Royce join a ship's crew to try to figure out the Empire's next move. We learn a lot more about Hadrian's past, which helps answer my questions about how he ended up with Royce.
I'm disappointed that the book ended in a cliffhanger. But I was going to read the third book even if everything had been wrapped up nicely, so I can forgive that.
The first part - Nyphron Rising - was where I had trouble. Hadrian spent too much of it moping, drinking, and questioning his life. Hadrian is kind of my "knight in shining armor", a bright counterpoint to Royce's darkness. Seeing him turn to copious drinking didn't sit well with me. Thankfully the story picked up again in the second part - The Emerald Storm.
This book introduced us to Amelia, a lowly servant who is plucked out of the kitchen and assigned the task of helping the Empress (Thrace, now known as Modina). Poor Thrace is basically catatonic after all that happened, and is confined to a squalid dungeon. Amelia really stole the show, especially in the first part of this book. We are also introduced to Nimbus, who provides some comic relief as he joins with Amelia to assist Modina.
Arista does some interesting things throughout, but it gets to the point where she's almost too perfect. Is there anything she can't do? She eventually gets into serious trouble, but even though we're left wondering her fate I have no doubts anything bad will happen to her. That's a flaw in the plot, in my opinion. Her story is just too obvious to me.
The second part takes us on an adventure to a different land. Hadrian perks up, and he and Royce join a ship's crew to try to figure out the Empire's next move. We learn a lot more about Hadrian's past, which helps answer my questions about how he ended up with Royce.
I'm disappointed that the book ended in a cliffhanger. But I was going to read the third book even if everything had been wrapped up nicely, so I can forgive that.
teaandlibri's review against another edition
4.0
When we last left off our heroes we perhaps had some peace and quiet with hints of perhaps trouble on the horizon. When we enter here it appears that it's more: war is on the horizon. Here in this middle entry we see a young woman being used as a figurehead for nobles in power, another falling from royalty (relatively in a willing manner) to grow as a character plus find out a bit more about our protagonists Royce and Hadrian, who I thought seemed curiously "blank" as not very fleshed out in the first omnibus.
There is reason for that and I continued to enjoy the adventures of the Riyria. We've got palace intrigue, swashbuckling (seriously) plus old friends and fiends making appearances and the inevitable death and murder and war.
As you can see, I still liked it a lot. I think the book still suffers a bit regarding the middle book syndrome and sometimes it felt like filler. Not a big fan of battles and fights and I thought there was a bit more of that here. Some of it is necessary for the story but it's not something I care for. There are some descriptions of death and violence and discussions of rape so while this isn't super bloody or gore or detailed it's definitely here. There is a character who is suicidal (it seems) or at least seems to fantasize quite a bit about it. Just as a heads up.
Overall, though, I'd still recommend it and am glad I can actually agree with the average Goodreads and Amazon ratings. I'm off to finish the final entry to see how it all ties together.
There is reason for that and I continued to enjoy the adventures of the Riyria. We've got palace intrigue, swashbuckling (seriously) plus old friends and fiends making appearances and the inevitable death and murder and war.
As you can see, I still liked it a lot. I think the book still suffers a bit regarding the middle book syndrome and sometimes it felt like filler. Not a big fan of battles and fights and I thought there was a bit more of that here. Some of it is necessary for the story but it's not something I care for. There are some descriptions of death and violence and discussions of rape so while this isn't super bloody or gore or detailed it's definitely here. There is a character who is suicidal (it seems) or at least seems to fantasize quite a bit about it. Just as a heads up.
Overall, though, I'd still recommend it and am glad I can actually agree with the average Goodreads and Amazon ratings. I'm off to finish the final entry to see how it all ties together.
potroast42's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
matzkat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
escan's review against another edition
5.0
theft of swords is a perfectly solid, uncomplicated read in just about every way, from its prose to its plot to its setting: there’s nothing particularly gimmicky about it. i ultimately enjoyed it on the strength of its characters, obviously hadrian and royce in particular. for me, at least, rise of empire was just a way better book. it was really, really fucking good.
i loved the fact that both hadrian and royce get deconstructed. hadrian gets to move beyond “happy-go-lucky and talented with a sword” to “cheerful and principled but suffering under the weight of his own deeds”, which makes him a lot more interesting and also, uh, i want to hug him. royce’s character development is pretty clearly referenced even within the story (i will NEVER be over hadrian and gwen's conversation about him) and i just think it’s really damn cool that instead of simply going he’s a tortured brooding assassin with a dark past and a whole host of issues which he deals with by killing people and stealing things, sullivan lets royce, yeah, be naturally cynical and suspicious and selfish, but also have genuinely meaningful and loving relationships with gwen and hadrian, and take steps to try and become more than a product of his past.
(also, gwen and royce are just... the fact that gwen’s fine with “sharing” royce with hadrian, the fact that royce is so fiercely sure that gwen is as valuable as any other woman in the world despite - or because of - her job, the fact that he genuinely really wants to just settle down with her and raise a family, the fact that he never mocks her fears or insecurities or dreams... they’re so good i love them so much)
i don’t actually remember what i was going to say next because i got sidetracked thinking abt gwen and royce but also! arista! i think her whole storyline with realising exactly how privileged she is in many ways but also still having to fight harder for anything she wants to achieve because she’s a woman is really interesting (although there were a few moments with the gender thing that did have me rolling my eyes a bit, like when she declared she never wanted to see/wear her corset again - that’s a pretty tired declaration of female independence, and kind of a dumb one considering that corsets usually served some of the same functions as a modern bra and were only super uncomfortable if you tight-laced them!).
the worst bit of it by far was the whole “we need to escape from the savage natives in the jungle”, which i think was just written without thinking too deeply about the implications of that particular trope rather than with any malicious intent, but was still pretty uncomfortable for me.
also, is it just me or is it somehow a thing for part of a fantasy novel to be set at sea?
i loved the fact that both hadrian and royce get deconstructed. hadrian gets to move beyond “happy-go-lucky and talented with a sword” to “cheerful and principled but suffering under the weight of his own deeds”, which makes him a lot more interesting and also, uh, i want to hug him. royce’s character development is pretty clearly referenced even within the story (i will NEVER be over hadrian and gwen's conversation about him) and i just think it’s really damn cool that instead of simply going he’s a tortured brooding assassin with a dark past and a whole host of issues which he deals with by killing people and stealing things, sullivan lets royce, yeah, be naturally cynical and suspicious and selfish, but also have genuinely meaningful and loving relationships with gwen and hadrian, and take steps to try and become more than a product of his past.
(also, gwen and royce are just... the fact that gwen’s fine with “sharing” royce with hadrian, the fact that royce is so fiercely sure that gwen is as valuable as any other woman in the world despite - or because of - her job, the fact that he genuinely really wants to just settle down with her and raise a family, the fact that he never mocks her fears or insecurities or dreams... they’re so good i love them so much)
i don’t actually remember what i was going to say next because i got sidetracked thinking abt gwen and royce but also! arista! i think her whole storyline with realising exactly how privileged she is in many ways but also still having to fight harder for anything she wants to achieve because she’s a woman is really interesting (although there were a few moments with the gender thing that did have me rolling my eyes a bit, like when she declared she never wanted to see/wear her corset again - that’s a pretty tired declaration of female independence, and kind of a dumb one considering that corsets usually served some of the same functions as a modern bra and were only super uncomfortable if you tight-laced them!).
the worst bit of it by far was the whole “we need to escape from the savage natives in the jungle”, which i think was just written without thinking too deeply about the implications of that particular trope rather than with any malicious intent, but was still pretty uncomfortable for me.
also, is it just me or is it somehow a thing for part of a fantasy novel to be set at sea?
mneiger's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fitzsbeloved's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this was a lot more of a “it’s not you, it’s me” situation, but I kind of struggled to get through this one. I love the characters, but I really couldn’t be damned with the plot.