A review by kmcnay
Age of Empyre by Michael J. Sullivan

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A very conflicted 4.25 here. I was genuinely ready to give this 5 stars. I even said around the 320 page mark that as long as the ending was satisfying, it would be another 5 star read for me. I felt like everything from the series was coming together perfectly and the loose ends I wanted tied up were being tied up, but the last several chapters of the book felt rushed and incomplete to me.

I was a little let down by Brin’s end… or more specifically by The Book of Brin’s end. Could she not have given Trilos the key’s location (real or fake) and used that borrowed time to quickly get her book to safety then kill herself to beat him to the key?  Suri returning to the Glen felt right but again, rushed. Overall, it just felt like we did so well and had this amazing story that got reduced to a total bummer in the last two chapters. It felt like he was trying to tie things back into the Riyria timeline. I wouldn’t be so bothered by this ending, I think, if I had read the Riyria series first, but this turn felt so without warning that I just feel a little let down.

Overall, I have to thank Michael J Sullivan for getting me back into reading again with this series. I hope to one day venture into his other works.