Age of Myth: Book One of The Legends of the First Empire

╰⊰✿Why Should You Give A Book By Michael J Sullivan A Try??? ✿⊱╮You might be saying There are a million good and even great fantasy series out there so what makes this one worthwhile Robin?Well I’ll tell you potential MJS converts a few of the things I love about MJS’s writing in general and this book specifically.① - Even though this is book one of his series the entire series is already written. *gasp*You’re shocked right…..I was too. But this is awesome for a few reasons. You know going in that there is a plan and everything is going to make sense in the long run. You know that there will be little tidbits to catch in book one that will come full circle in book 5/6. And you KNOW that you will make it to the end of the series. You will not be waiting on the author to get his crap together and finish out the last book(s) *cough*Patrick Rothfuss *cough*George RR Martin *cough* because they are done and will be published in a timely manner. For me that is HUGE. Even as much as I love Branson Sanderson (who is a writing machine) his Stormlight Archives series is going to be 10 books long AND he is writing other series in between. If something happens to him I’m totally screwed.② - He is great! He does it all….Fantastic Characters, Foreshadowing, Worldbuilding, Lore, Storytelling, Plot Lines, Humor, Dialogue, Emotions, Buildup, Depth and Delivery. His world and characters are rich and deep and even when you think you know the story….you don’t.③ - There is something for everyone. Sword fighting, mystery, danger, magical battles, plots and sub plots, a smidgen of romance and a story that draws you in and makes you feel like you are there.④ - You don’t have to be completely versed in fantasy to get into the story. I’ve found that fantasy kind of has a learning curve. One does not simply walk into Mordor and you don’t just start with the Wheel of Time, Mazalan or The Stormlight Archives. They are huge and daunting fantasies and more for someone well versed in that genre. I would say that Michael J Sullivan’s books are really for the Beginner and Intermediate level fantasy readers. There is so much going on that the story is enjoyable but you don’t have 100 pages of just traveling to read through to get to nowhere close to where you are going and the cast of characters is a manageable number. Don’t let that fool you Pro Fantasy readers there is a lot in there for you too.⑤ - SURI!!! For this books specifically but really MJS has characters that stay with you. Royce and Hadrian from Riyria will have one of my favorite bromances of all time. Suri I can already tell will be a favorite character for me from any book. But if you don’t read this book you will never meet her and know all the awesome she holds.ஓ The Premise: ஓPerception is everything. Raithe grew up believing in Gods until the day he killed one that is.***“I want to know how long we have before he rises. If I cut off his head, will he stay down longer?”The servant rolled his eyes. “He’s not getting up! You killed him.”“My Tetlin ass! That’s a god. Gods don’t die. They’re immortal.”“Really not so much,” the servant said, and to Raithe’s shock he kicked the god’s body,***The Fhrey are one of the five races and have built themselves to be the greatest of all. So much so that many of the humans think they are gods. Raithe had no idea he could kill one until it happened and set into motion what became the beginning of a war between humankind and the Fhrey that’s history will span the ages.ஓ What Was Awesome: ஓSince this is the start of a series it is an introduction into new characters and new beginnings. That is always really exciting for me when I pick up a new book and immediately know that it has characters I will carry away with me forever.Take Suri for example***Suri had a wolf named Minna. They were the best of friends and roamed the forest together. She had tattoos, was always filthy, afraid of nothing, and could do magic. From the first time I met her, I wanted to be Suri… I still do.***She is wild, innocent and charming. She talks to trees, has a wolf for a sister and grew up in the forest. She is also a mystic and has come to tell the clan that everyone is going to die. I loved every moment she was on page and most of the time she had my giggling at her perception of everyone eles.Persephone was not at all what I expected. Since I’ve read the Riyria Revelations and hear the lore about her I was expecting something different. But that is the point isnt’ it. Three Thousand years is a long time for history to write and rewrite itself and who is to say what is true and what isn’t. I can already tell she is going to be one of those strong women that MJS is great at writing and I can’t wait to see how her story really played out. Something tells me it will be epic to be sure and I think Suri gives us a little hint of that here.***“Do you see the butterfly?” Suri grinned with enthusiasm.“Yes, I see it, but—”“So stunning and delicate; it’s marvelous. No one can see a butterfly and not stop to admire it. I’d love to be one. To go to sleep and wake up a season later with such beautiful wings and the ability to flutter about. That’s the most wonderful sort of magic, don’t you think? To change, to grow, to fly. But…” She paused. “I wonder what the cost would be.” The smile diminished once more. “There’s always a cost when it comes to magic. I suspect there is a great price to go from lowly caterpillar to glorious butterfly.”***And let’s not forget our reluctant hero and god killer Raithe The last thing he wanted to be was a hero. He had simple dreams and wonderful aspirations for a peaceful life. But I think after you kill a god no matter how much you try peace is the last thing you will find in your life. Especially when it seems all the gods are looking for you.While I really like Raithe as a reluctant hero both Suri and Persephone really stole the show character wise. Raithe does get a few great moments most of them involving his new friend Malcolm who seems to get him into a lot of trouble, in the funniest ways possible though.The Galantians Or Fhrey/Elvish warriors.Enter Nyphron a warrior god. Like Persephone he ended up being different than I expected. I’m not sure what to think of him other than I can’t wait to learn more. The same goes for all the Fhrey. Some are warriors, some have magic and some are growers of food. They are as diverse and complex as any culture and there seem to be some mysteries and plots afoot surrounding the new Fane. I am intrigued by the main players in the Fhrey cast and can’t wait to see how their story unfolds as well.There are also a lot of other great characters that have so much potential. We don’t get a lot of time with them but I’m already shipping a certain couple because they could be totally adorable together and I totally love the women in Persephone’s life. Roan the former slave and brilliant inventor, Moya a beauty with a sharp tongue and Brin who it appears will eventually have a book filled with great information since each chapter starts with a quote from the BOOK OF BRIN my favorite being***It was like waiting for the sunrise and a chicken to hatch— if the sun marked the end of the world and the chicken was an all-devouring demon.—THE BOOK OF BRIN***Plus many, many more I wish I had time to list them all. I haven’t even talked about Arion (who might be someone we actually saw in The Riyria Chronicles) a Fhrey with the gift, the mysterious door or Trilos who I have no idea what his game is or how many pieces he is controlling in it.ஓ Overall ஓThis is such a great introductory story. We got to know all the main players. Some better than others and there were quite a few surprises and reveals throughout the story. I have a great beginning understanding of the cultures and the driving force behind the war to come…because a war is brewing but it doesn’t all start in a day.I was left wanting more. More time with Suri and Persephone, more information on the mysterious door and what might be behind it along with who and the heck Trilos is. I wanted much more Nyphron and the Galantians along with Malcolm and Raithe.I can’t wait to see what is in store for us in the next book.Audio Note Tim Gerard Reynolds nailed it and performed the story fantastically as always.

I read and give up on a lot of fantasy before finishing the book for a variety of pet peeves, and I can say that this book avoided those. I was happy with the prose, the avoidance of tropes without overcompensating with a bunch of PC/wokeisms, some truly compelling characters, and pacing that varied back and forth nicely from action/conflict to reflection/character-building. I read this book quickly and am already into the second, and that's not a trivial task for an author.Where I found the book "wanting" was that, well, I wanted more, not more text, but more scope. The world is just not particularly big or populated, e.g. it is said at one point that there are 20,000 Frey and 1M humans, and those are both tiny numbers. The longest trip described in the book was about a week long, and that took the character pretty much across the entire map. What is described is reasonably interesting and well-detailed, but there just isn't that much of it. It leaves me feeling incomplete, like I don't care that much about this world because there is so little to it. It's possible I suppose that there's more world out there and we'll get exposed to it in later books, but at this point that isn't even hinted at.I said that the book avoided tropes, but there's an obvious exception, and while it's a bit of a spoiler, it was pretty obvious early in the book: while the various fantasy races use different terms for themselves and each other, in description it is fairly clear that we are dealing with elves, dwarves, and humans. It's a bit clever to hide that at first, but I do think those tropes are worn out by now even if there is a bit of a twist here and there.There was one other thing the author did that some people may like but I didn't really: the societies depicted are primitive technologically, to the point that things such as the wheel and writing do not exist. Personally, I found this kind of tedious, even though it gives the author some room to play around with technological advancement.

Wonderful book and series.

Loved it, just ordered book two.If you read and enjoyed the David Eddings Belgariad series you will love this.There's even about half a chapter from chapter one book two at the back of the book as a teaser for the next book :)

The Age of myth.Es unlibro con una fantasía increíble; muy entretenido, muy variado. Lo único que no me gustó fueron los larguísimos trozos dedicados a seguir el pensamiento de algún personaje. Arion es el ejemplo típico. Me gusta que varios actos heroicos o de valor son llevados a cabo por personajes femeninos.

Michael Sullivan écrit de la Fantasy traditionnelle, avec des elfes, des nains, des géants. C'est toujours assez surprenant à l'époque de la Fantasy moderne plus sophistiquée, mais il sait rendre ses personnages très attachants. Du coup, on se laisse convaincre.L'histoire se passe 3000 ans avant Riyria. Ceux qui ont lu les aventures de Royce et Hadrian vont retrouver pleins de noms devenus légendaires, comme Avempartha ou Nyphron. C'est une lecture très agréable, légère et distrayante.

Conosco l'autore per i suoi libri e sono andata a colpo sicuro.Se cercate un buon fantasy, divertente, con personaggi memorabili e ottimi dialoghi, questo è il libro giusto. Inizia bene e finisce anche meglio, con un colpo di scena che ti fa desiderare leggere il seguito.