Book Review: Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS...THE ELVES HAVE CROSSED THE NIDWALDEN. TWO THIEVES WILL DECIDE THE FUTURE.

NOTE: This review is totally spoiler-free. So fear not readers if you've not yet read the other volumes in the series, this review won't spoil anything.

 

I talk, and write a lot. I have always been known as the person in my family who rarely shuts up. So you can imagine what it takes to make me speechless.

This morning when I read the final page of PERCEPLIQUIS (6th and last novel of the Riyria Revelations) by Michael J. Sullivan I was speechless. I’ve actually taken most of the afternoon to let the tale I read to sink in, but I also didn’t want to let too much time pass before I wrote up my review, and so here we are.

As I went into reading this novel I had some trepidation, as is the norm for the final book in a series, about reading it. Would it live up to the books that had come before it? Would it meet my expectations? Would it all be worth it?

I am very happy to report that PERCEPLIQUIS was even better than my expectations. It is an absolute triumph in every sense of the word. All the groundwork that Michael had laid down in the previous volumes, some of which was decidedly subtle, comes to full fruition here. And again, as I have discovered is the norm with Michael’s work, there is not a stone out of place within the narrative. Every sentence has a purpose. He has not lost the lovingly detailed, yet simple, easy prose that so defined the first book, and though the story grew and became part of a much, much larger world, this is still a very character-driven novel. In fact, PERCEPLIQUIS may in fact be the MOST intimate of all six books.

This book really does have it all. If you were wondering on what sorts of levels it delivers...there are twists, turns, revelations, sweeping action, emotions, history, heroics, and certainly devious villainy.

I found myself immediately drawn back into the story and the world of Elan. The very first thing you will notice about this book is how visceral and realistic a lot of the chapters are. They jump off the page at you and grab you by the collar pulling you along. There are sections that are about as harrowing as it gets. A few moments actually had me with sweaty palms as the tension and danger mounted. The pace flies along as fast as the fastest of the series has ever done. What is even more interesting about that is PERCEPLIQUIS is actually enormous! Clocking in at a whopping 550-ish pages, it is certainly the largest of the six books and funnily enough not a page here is wasted. Where some other fantasy novels can suffer from a bit of bloat, once again Sullivan sidesteps that pitfall and shows me that every word belongs on the page, and of course before I knew it I’d been reading for hours and had devoured half the book!

The characters we have grown to love in this series are all evenly spread out in the narrative, and judiciously handled throughout to be honest. It really was like visiting with old friends. I also wanted to note that the assembly of most of these characters together really felt like The Avengers to me. We have had books that have concentrated on each of these people in really individual and direct ways, where we have delved into their personalities and seen a lot of what makes them tick. Well here Michael gets to break out the action figures and display them together. So all these people who all have very distinct and excellent personalities are assembled into a moving organism of awesome. I mean watching Mauvin interact with Hadrian, or Magnus interacting with Degan Gaunt, or even simply Alric and Arista together again was a total treat. Everyone gets to come out and play, but moreover everyone gets to be part of the larger tapestry in some way. That said, it should be noted that there is growth on display here as well, no one stagnates and everyone continues to get deeper and develop more layers as the novel progresses. Myron is one example of growth in the series that’s kind of unparalleled. He begins his story in THE CROWN CONSPIRACY as a very meek, survivor monk who loves learning and books but is fairly unworldly otherwise. By the time we get to PERCEPLIQUIS he has grown, but not in the way you might think. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by his (and others) character growth, even in the final novel of the series.

Emotions. Okay, I am not a suck by any stretch. I’m the type of guy who holds tears back in a gruff manly way, gritting my teeth and forcing myself not to cry while the tears well up and make me glossy-eyed. Well, I am not afraid to admit that Michael pulls no punches in the book and I had *ahem* manly tears at least two times, sobbed uncontrollably once, and even one moment where I found tears springing out on my cheeks and I had no idea they were coming on beforehand. If you recall my comments about Myron and the Tree in THE CROWN CONSPIRACY and how beautiful a moment I thought that was...well Michael has outdone himself and there is a moment in PERCEPLIQUIS that is probably the loveliest thing he’s put on paper so far. It is without a doubt a master storyteller moment, and one that utterly gutted me to my core emotionally. It’s not often, like I said above, to make me speechless but this book did it. I simply closed the book and sat there for a few minutes just letting it all sink in.

This book achieves something most series set out to do, but some never reach. It uses what has come before as the blocks with which to finish the story, but it also finishes it as strongly as possible. PERCEPLIQUIS is an absolutely breathtaking triumph of a book. It will make you cheer, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will make you happy. Michael J. Sullivan’s work is a gift to the fantasy genre. PERCEPLIQUIS proves that to me in spades, as it is a clever, thought-provoking, wonderfully classical novel. It lifts you up and allows you to deftly drift along above it watching the narrative unfold below you, but it also dips you down into the thick of things for long intervals during which you’ll be hard pressed to find anything more intimate or heartfelt. Sullivan has done it here; he’s created a series that will be looked upon as a classic that will stand proudly on reader’s shelves for ages to come next to contemporaries like J.K. Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, and Jim Butcher. It will certainly do so on my shelf.

When I started the series I was super excited about it, but the fact that is has brought me here to this place where I feel like I now have a gaping hole in my chest where the series was, I didn’t expect that. I have only felt this way twice before (once with the final HARRY POTTER and once with the final Steven Erikson MALAZAN novel) and both times I found it hard to accept that the story was done. Thankfully, I will happily re-read this story down the line. It is one that I am positive I will get even more out of on re-reads, and it will be nice to visit again with old friends.

They sometimes say that a series has ended on a high note, and I think that phrase would definitely apply here. But of course with Riyria Michael has ended it on a high note that is sounded from a golden horn on a crisp, winter’s day. Its music carries across forests and villages, passing by curls of woodsmoke, tall intricate elvish towers, huge majestic mountains and coursing crystal waters.

In every sense of the word, fantasy.

So I’ve reached the end of the series and I’m really quite sad now that there is no more to look forward to. I hope that Michael continues to write for years to come as I truly believe he is a master of his craft, and an author that should be treasured.

Thanks Michael.

Note: This book will be published VIA Orbit within the final omnibus THE HEIR OF NOVRON on January 31st, 2012 in the US, CAN and the 26th in the UK

Author Spotlight: Michael J. Sullivan (Riyria Revelations)

 Since starting to blog last year in late September Chris and I have come across many and varied people in all aspects of the industry. I don’t know if it was something we were expecting, but it was certainly welcome. We sometimes hear from publishers, authors, and of course other bloggers. As far as the publishers/authors, I doubt anyone in the past year has made a larger impact on me personally than Michael J. Sullivan (author of the Riyria Revelations) and his wife Robin Sullivan who served as his publisher (VIA their imprint RIDAN) and also as his publicist (a job she excels at).

When I first read THE CROWN CONSPIRACY, a book I knew next to nothing about it (a few scattered bits of praise), so it’s probably fair to say I was very surprised and impressed. That’s probably too light a phrase, since I gushed about how much I enjoyed the book in my subsequent review. I mention this because I felt so strongly about my enjoyment of the book that I wrote an email to Michael basically thanking him for such a wonderful story that swept me away as if I was a kid all over again. Well, he was kind enough to write me back, graciously thanked me for my email and for my review. I honestly felt like a teeny, tiny fish emailing a giant and he was not only kind, but also made me feel like I had contributed, and that makes me endlessly happy. Well of course I immediately ordered the other four books that were out (the 6^th book, PERCEPLIQUIS, was not yet out) and devoured them pretty much one after the other. I’m not afraid to say that I covet my copies of the RIDAN-published RIYRIA REVELATIONS and they sit on my shelf next to other books that are magical to me. In fact THE CROWN CONSPIRACY won my “2010 Best Read Award” if that tells you anything.

After championing Sullivan on the forums I frequent, reading and reviewing the other four books, (Reviews: AVEMPARTHA, NYPHRON RISING, THE EMERALD STORM, and WINTERTIDE), and settling in to await the 6^th book, a funny thing happened. Sullivan’s series got picked up by a major publisher. Orbit decided to republish the existing books (and the 6th as-yet-unpublished book) in 3 two-volume omnibuses with new cover art. This was huge news to me. An author I really enjoyed and thought deserved high recognition was actually getting recognized in a big way!

So this post is to let everyone know that the new omnibuses are on their way from Orbit and you can actually pre-order them now. The dates are as follows:

THEFT OF SWORDS (THE CROWN CONSPIRACY, AVEMPARTHA) – November 23^rd 2011 in the USA and Canada, November 3^rd 2011 in the UK (Available for pre-order in Canada, USA, UK)

RISE OF EMPIRE (NYPHRON RISING, THE EMERALD STORM) – December 14^th 2011 in the USA and Canada, December 1^st 2011 in the UK (Available for pre-order in  Canada, USA, UK)

HEIR OF NOVRON (WINTERTIDE, PERCEPLIQUIS) – January 31^st 2012 in the USA and Canada, January 26^th 2011 in the UK (Available for pre-order in Canada, USA, UK)

All of our readers who haven’t heard of the author, and even those who have would be doing themselves a huge favour if they got out there and picked up these books. It’s an absolutely fantastic series and each consecutive volume has made me an even bigger fan. Sullivan, at heart, is a master storyteller. That is the best praise I can give. His series makes me want to sit by a crackling fire in the wee hours, warm cup of hot chocolate in hand, carefully and completely devouring his tales. If someone who grew up with HARRY POTTER wanted something to read that is as magical, I’d point them right at RIYRIA in a heartbeat.

 When I first bought the books I ordered the first two from Amazon (and then the third, fourth and fifth from the RIDAN site) since when I searched for them at the Canadian Chapters/Indigo site they weren’t physically available in Canada. Therefore, it’s really quite nice to go to Chapters/Indigo now and see the Orbit versions pop up for pre-order in my search.

Lastly, I ought to point out that Michael has also written a short story in the Riyria world called THE VISCOUNT & THE WITCH (taking place 11 years before the first book) which is available as an eBook from Amazon (USA & Canada, and UK), it is available now and is getting some pretty solid reviews.

If you want to keep up to date on the series and future projects you can check out Michael’s Official Riyria site, Robin’s blog and you can LIKE their Facebook page here as well.

Book Review: Avempartha by Michael J. Sullivan

When a destitute young woman hires two thieves to help save her remote village from nocturnal attacks, they are drawn into the schemes of the wizard Esrahaddon. While Royce struggles to breach the secrets of an ancient elven tower, Hadrian attempts to rally the villagers to defend themselves against the unseen killer. What begins with the simple theft of a sword places the two thieves at the center of a firestorm--that could change the future of Elan.

...and number two went even faster than number one.

So, after sitting down and penning my review of the first amazing book in Michael J. Sullivan’s “Riyria Revelations” series, THE CROWN CONSPIRACY, last night I sat down with the second book AVEMPARTHA and read about 40 pages non-stop. Sadly, I didn’t get into a super late night/early morning reading session this time, but this is only due to my girlfriend having returned home from the trip she was on and wanting me to get some actual sleep....and I caved. Haha!

At any rate, I woke up with one solitary purpose in mind, one which I am sure you can guess at. So, aside from stepping out for lunch with a good friend, I set about devouring this second book in the series. I simply had no idea that I would read the bloody thing all afternoon and evening until I finished it. I did. So here we are...probably a little later than it was last night and I am writing another review. Happily so in fact!

I purposely have tried to avoid spoilers in this review as I want anyone to go into it fresh so I won’t talk about a lot of the plot, sufficed to say it is another cracker and I was reading it like I stole it and someone was coming to take it away and I was time constrained.

This book, if it is at all possible, is even better than the first. Why? You might ask me. Well, I have a few reasons for making such a bold statement. Firstly, let’s equate the difference between the first book and this one. I want to use a horse analogy here, so bear with me. The first and second books are both riding the same horse, just with different saddles. This second volume, the characters (for the most part) have already been established, so now the author can get down to the brass tacks of a little more worldbuilding. We get much more of politics and religion within the world of Elan, not to mention more about the history of the world and even more about certain characters back stories, and ALL of it is interesting and readable. What is decidedly nice though is that even though I know there is quite a lot of information being shared, it’s not everything. Reading this book was like having a fireside conversation with one of its enigmatic characters, Esrahaddon, as he certainly gives you the truth but he doesn’t give you all of it, not yet anyways. Always leave them wanting more is one of the sayings about great storytellers, and Sullivan accomplishes this like a pro.

Princess Arista, who had a smallish part in the first book, becomes a major player in this one and I was certainly glad for it as she is a very strong, level-headed character and a lot of fun to read about. Here’s something interesting I noticed...Arista has traits in common with her brother. It is easy for an author to make characters be siblings, but it is quite another thing to make them seem as if they are siblings by how they are written as characters. Sullivan achieves this and impresses me, yet again, with his deft hand. This brings me to another thing I really enjoyed in this volume, and that is the bringing to the forefront another couple of characters who were small players in the first book, the eldest Pickering Brothers Mauvin and Fanen. These two brothers are so great, both brave to the point of being seemingly fearless and true staunch defenders of the true crown and power in the land, but mostly like our two leads, they are heroes. Fanen is a little more headstrong and wilful, but this is simply because of his familial standing as second born.  Not to be outdone the new characters (mostly the villagers of Dhalgren and Thrace Wood) are just as intriguing and well-written. Thrace herself is indeed everything she needs to be from the get-go. She is both nervous and timid, and yet driven by need and then later on even goes through a transformation and the way she is introduced just makes that transition even more satisfying to read. There is actually a moment with Thrace that is so hauntingly beautiful that it was one of those moments where you think to yourself "Boy, am I ever immersed in this world and these lives" and it's kind of humbling to read something that touches your so.

It also nice to see the villains of the piece have to contend with dissension in their ranks, and plots that may not succeed. As it is tough to see your protagonists heading towards evil plots, it is nice to know that their storyweaver is indeed looking out for them.  Sullivan has these dealt with in unexpected and sometimes even abrupt ways and that was decidedly refreshing to read. So again we have tropes of old school fantasy being used with a few tweaks and turns on the head making for incredible readable pages.

Our two leads, Medford-based thieves Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn, are once again the stars though. They continue to shine with their easy back and forth, their skills in various areas of sneaking, stealing and fighting, and most of all their humanity. These guys are infinitely likable and I challenge anyone not to read about their adventures and not want more.  There is more here about both of their back stories and both have some very interesting things going on there, but of course we don’t know it all....yet.

The author brings forward some great grey areas in this book too. Characters that we once assumed as entirely bad may not have been, and ones we thought as completely good may not have been either. It’s really nice actually and was a surprise in some cases. I still don’t know all of what is going on in this world (which is SO much fun!) and while Sullivan answers a few threads from his multi-book arcs, he opened a bunch more and literally left me salivating for more. 

There are many great moments within these pages. One early on concerning a sign outside a playhouse actually make me chuckle out loud. Another happens when Arista is travelling with the Bishop and her annoying matronly servant Bernice and there is some discussion about cookies. Man, the humour is always so subtle and SUCH a pleasure to read, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Sullivan has a gift. Of course his masterstroke in AVEMPARTHA is the final line which is so perfectly executed at the end of a random conversation that I had to read it twice, jaw hitting the floor with a lovely thunk.

Michael J. Sullivan once again proves to me why I spend hours reading his book and doing not much else on my days off before I start my new job is worth it. AVEMPARTHA is a not only a worthy successor to the first book in the series, it actually improves upon it (a feat I wasn’t sure was possible seeing how much I enjoyed the first one). Now I realize that the first one was like the overture. The orchestra was warming up and now we have sat down and started this story in earnest and I can see threads of the greater plot starting to creak forward and I am again astounded. Beyond that, the author is able to maintain the episodic nature of these stories even here where he is worldbuilding. I found that every time he was worldbuilding, it was done WHILE his characters were pushing the pace forward for the episode itself. The ending itself very nearly explodes off the page. The action is wonderful, the tension is palpable and the prose is once again tight, gorgeous and clean with no unused or un-needed space. 

AVEMPARTHA is a  more-than-worthy follow-up and an opening to a wider world of Elan, one in which I hope to spend many more hours enjoying. All I can do now is be is thankful that I stumbled across this man’s incredible writing and hope that my reviews will lead you all to read the works.  It should also be noted that he is the artist responsible for the gorgeous cover art as well, and I would easily have these pieces in my house on a wall. 

At any rate, I thankfully have the 3^rd book NYPHRON RISING on my desk next to me ready to start (and one more day off....a dangerous combo...haha!) and I ordered signed copies of the 4^th and 5^th books directly from the author Via RIDAN’s website as more of the profits will hopefully go to him and I wholeheartedly support that as I am grateful even to be able to read them.

Oh, and there is a moment early on in the first few pages of this book where the word "Riyria" is explained...and that moment is so pitch-perfect that I got shivers down my arms.

What the hell are you still standing there for? Get out there. Buy these books!