Two Reviews for the Price of One!

Age of Myth 

By Michael J. Sullivan

Blurb: Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever.

Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.

Review: 

To begin, the Riyria Revelations series is one of my favorites. Riyria Chronicles is also a lot of fun. I came into Age of Myth with high expectations storywise, and Michael J. Sullivan did not disappoint. He has a knack for witty characters who are flawed yet ultimately good, and his stories keep you on the edge of your seat. 

Age of Myth is no different. We follow Raithe, Persephone, and Suri, all of whom are enjoyable characters who grow, change, and make difficult decisions as the novel progresses, and I enjoyed my time with each of them, especially Suri. I think my favorite character of all was Malcolm, the escaped slave who had that trademark Sullivan dry wit and always popped up with a line that made me chuckle. 

The worldbuilding of the Elan setting continues to grow more and more detailed with each passing book; what seemed like a relatively generic setting in Theft of Swords all those years ago, has come alive as Sullivan has continued.  He’s a better writer now as well, especially in regard to expositional dialogue, which marred some of his earlier work.  

This series is an interesting departure from the world of Royce and Hadrian, as we go back thousands of years before, to the time of Novron, the Christ-like figure who is worshipped in Royce and Hadrian’s time. However, he’s much different here, and not the protagonist. He’s really not likable at all!  I have a feeling this series will show that the myths of Novron from Royce and Hadrian’s time are very different from what actually occurred. 

If I had a complaint about the story, if would be the parts with Ffrey POV characters. Arion has good moments as a character, but I thought her POV parts were less compelling, and I found myself zoning out during the POV sections of the Ffrey leaders. However, when the story follows Raithe, Persephone or Suri, it moves along nicely. 

I will definitely be continuing on!

The Knight Revenant by Adam Holcombe: 

I picked up this free short story and devoured it in one sitting. Gam Gam is one of my favorite characters, and Sir Gibblet was the high point of A Necromancer Called Gam Gam, so I was super excited for this one. I loved getting to see how Gam Gam and Sir Gibblet met, and there was a surprising amount of emotion in this one! Highly recommended! Also, if you haven’t read the first book in the Realm of Gam Gam, you need to do so immediately!