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    Theft of Swords
    Theft of Swords
    Theft of Swords
    Audiobook22 hours

    Theft of Swords

    Written by Michael J. Sullivan

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Acclaimed author Michael J. Sullivan created instant best-sellers with his spellbinding Riyria Revelations series. This first volume introduces Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater, two enterprising thieves who end up running for their lives when they're framed for the death of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy bigger than they can imagine, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery-before it's too late.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 16, 2012
    ISBN9781464029714
    Theft of Swords
    Author

    Michael J. Sullivan

    Michael J. Sullivan is a three-time New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author who has been nominated for nine Goodreads Choice Awards. His first novel, The Crown Conspiracy, was released by Aspirations Media Inc. in October 2008. From 2009 through 2010, he self-published the next five of the six books of The Riyria Revelations, which were later sold and re-released by Hachette Book Group’s Orbit imprint as three two-book omnibus editions: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. Michael’s Riyria Chronicles series (a prequel to Riyria Revelations) has been both traditionally and self-published. The first two books were released by Orbit, and the next two by his own imprint, Riyria Enterprises. A fifth Riyria Chronicle, titled Drumindor, will be self-published in the near future. For Penguin Random House’s Del Rey imprint, Michael has published the first three books of The Legends of the First Empire: Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War. Grim Oak Press distributes the last three books of the series: Age of Legend, Age of Death, and Age of Empyre. Michael has returned to purely self-publishing roots with the release of his most recent series, The Rise and Fall Trilogy. These books are being published in the current schedule: Nolyn (Summer 2021), Farilane (Summer 2022,  and Esrahaddon (Summer 2023). Michael is now writing Drumindor, the fifth book of The Riyria Chronicles. This will return him to the timeline of Royce and Hadrian, two rogues he hasn’t visited with since the release of The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter in 2018.  You can email Michael at michael@michael-j-sullivan.com.

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    Reviews for Theft of Swords

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    • 5/5
      Great
      Amazing
      Great work ? ????
      Out of this world
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful book! And so full of humour, which is rather rare in fantasy.

      I finished it late last night, then immediately went to buy the next sequels.
      It's a great story with a fantastic plot and characters that aren't shallow, but three dimensional.

      We get to know that there is an ancient language, but we aren't regaled with that, so there aren't lots and lots of passages written in that language, just a word or two here and there.

      Tim Gerard Reynolds is the perfect fit for this story. I was again impressed with his narration, it is so beautifully done.
      A friend of mine had written in her review that she couldn't stop listening, and I should have heeded her 'warning', because it was the same here. It's not a book you can fall asleep to, so I spent one sleepless night (I made a lot of progress with my knitting, though :D)
    • 3/5
      I thought this was a fun start to a new series. Hadrian and Royce are a pair of contemporary Fafhrd and Grey Mouser type characters in a well conceived world. I really enjoyed their adventures, misadventures and the general plot. This is a 2 book omnibus of the first 2 books in the Riyria Revelations series, which makes sense as the two of them together call themselves Ryria.
    • 4/5
      Sometimes you just want something that is easy to read and doesn't require a spreadsheet to keep track of who is who. This is very much classic tropes fantasy, easy to read, not many surprises. It is light but very enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      ...I find that my favorite books are the most difficult to review. It is easy to critique a work, but it is so very hard to express how much certain stories or characters affect you.
      ...Theft of Swords and its sequels have quickly become not only one of my favorite series but also some of my all time favorite books. The characters are approachable and easy to love. There are characters that will stick with you for the rest of your life, and for me, Hadrian and Royce will do just that. Sullivan doesn't hit you over the head with an abundance of information about his characters right at the get go. For some, this might make them seem shallow at first, but I promise that if you stick with them you won't regret it. It is actually one of the best parts of the book because it truly makes you feel as if you are getting to know these people. Even while reading the third book, you'll still be learning new things about them.
      ...I know there are some reviewers who do not share my love and definitely not my sentimentality for this story and these characters, but when it comes to fantasy, I am not a demanding consumer. I only need enjoyable characters and an interesting plot. Does it matter if a story similar to this was told before? No, because this particular story was never told before and these particular characters were never before introduced. If you're coming to the fantasy genre looking for completely new concepts and things that have never been done before, buddy you're knocking on the wrong door. Mystical creatures, wizards, rogues, and sword fights are why we're all here, right?
      ...If you enjoy fantasy, love a good underdog story, and are looking for one hell of an adventure then I highly recommend that you grab yourself a copy of Theft of Swords. Actually, while you're getting Theft of Swords go ahead and grab the other two because once you start reading you won't want to stop.
    • 4/5
      Theft of Swords is an omnibus of the first two books of the Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. Sullivan. They chronicle the adventures of Hadrian and Royce, a pair of thieves known for pulling off impossible jobs. This volume is well titled as both stories revolve around stealing swords.First up is The Crown Conspiracy. Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn are a pair of thieves known for pulling off the impossible. Always on the look out for their next job, the duo is hired to retrieve a sword only to find themselves framed for the murder of the king. Thrown in jail and sentenced to death, Royce and Hadrian are out of options when an unlikely opportunity to escape presents itself. The book isn't amazingly deep but it doesn't need to be. At just over 300 pages, Sullivan gives us enough descriptions to get a feel for the world with hints that there is more history. Since I read Legends last year it's interesting to see how things have changed drastically over the 5000 or so years since the Age of Myth. I wonder what other major differences I'll notice over the course of this series.Hadrian and Royce are a lot of fun and compliment each other well. Hadrian is the muscle, a mercenary and darn good fighter, while Royce is the rogue, great at planning and has almost unnatural stealth abilities. My suspicion is he has elven heritage. Again, we don't get a lot of background information on the characters yet. It's something that will be great to explore in future books. The duo meet some unlikely characters along the way. It's hard to get into without spoilers though I will say how much I loved Myron. Such childlike innocence! If I had one complaint it is that the bad guys have a tendency to monologue to reveal their evil plans. If they had mustaches, they'd be twirling them.The Crown Conspiracy was the perfect light, fast read I was looking for. I had great fun on my first adventure with Hadrian and Royce. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.Rating: 4 StarsRoyce and Hadrian's adventures continue in Avempartha. A desperate young woman hires Royce and Hadrian to save her village from a monster that kills villagers every night. The catch? No one has actually seen the creature, only the destruction it leaves behind, and the beast can only be slain by a sword that is locked in a tower - a tower has no obvious way to get inside.I admit I'm a little sad I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book. The first half of the story lays a lot of groundwork that involves the thing I disliked most in the first book: villains monologuing. It was necessary set up for what ends up happening and I have no idea how if I was a writer I'd change it. It's just not my favorite way to tell a story.Once the story gets back to Hadrian, Royce and their current problem to solve, it is a lot more enjoyable. It also goes on a more serious tone as Hadrian stays in the village to help them organize better defense against the nightly raids while Royce works on the problem of getting into the tower. In this case having read Legends made things fairly easy to guess as I already had the background information the characters lacked and some of the historical information was a repeat. That repetition wasn't all bad though I can see how the long time between stories has changed things. Such an interesting concept. There is plenty of action and I didn't see the resolution to the monster working out in the way it ended up. I truly feel bad for Thrace as she's going to have to live with the repercussions of that. It was also great to have my suspicions about Royce confirmed.Spoilers for Legends! I'm starting to suspect that Esrahaddon is Malcolm though I'm still on the fence. He sells only being 900 years old quite well. I also haven't figured out why he let his hands be cut off since I'm pretty sure Malcom could've prevented it if he didn't want it which is also making me doubt. Hopefully this will be revealed by the end of the series. I love how the author is keeping me guessing.Those quibbles aside, this was an enjoyable read. We will see where the plots the Church of Nyphron Novron has set in progress goes next as I'm sure it's going to interfere with Royce and Hadrian's future adventures.Rating: 3.5 starsOverall rating I'm rounding up.
    • 3/5
      tl;dr 2.5 stars It may be a good book to get started reading fantasy because it is so easy to follow and doesn't surprise the reader, but if you are a seasoned sf/f fan, don't bother.

      Given the option I actually would have given it a 2.5. I finished the first book, but couldn't force myself to go any farther. Although I enjoyed some of the sarcasm and humor used throughout the book, the lack of character development and world building really put me off this book.

      This may sound weird, but the names used for places and people just didn't jibe. This may be because of the weak world building, but the names had no significance within the story and it really bothered me. I was also perpetually bugged by the language used. Some anachronisms like lawyer and having a "pair of brass ones," just took me out of the world. At the same time a character that was meant to sound archaic just comes off like a bad Monty Python sketch. It might have been meant that way? I'm just not sure. I think there was also a nod to the Princess Bride, but again, I wasn't sure. This had me second guessing my reading of the book. Is this meant to be a send up or satire of the genre? If it is it didn't commit enough to that concept.

      The one character that is developed comes off as trite and formulaic while the others are just shadows of what they could be. It is possible that they are developed further in the series, but there just wasn't enough interestingness there to keep me reading. I had to push through the first book after 100 pages because the foreshadowing was so heavy that it left no surprises.
    • 4/5
      The characters can be a bit cartoonish, but all in all it's a pretty satisfying high-fantasy epic. Hooked me enough to pick up the next one.
    • 1/5
      Why I don't like stories based on D&D campaigns, even though I do like D&D campaigns, exhibit A.You can tell this is based on a D&D campaign, because none of the real plot happens until all of the tangentially related characters all show up together, shrug their shoulders and decide to go follow it.In good stories, there's an interplay between plot and character. One influences the other, back and forth. You can't really do that (or anything subtle: foreshadowing, atmosphere) because like a three legged race, there's a different person controlling each side. Even if you're ostensibly working together, you have different ideas about the details, and moments when you really hit a stride are short and far between. You can patch up some of that in editing passes, but if writing were easy enough that you can do it with one hand tied behind your back, I'd still rather read what you can do with both.Also, holy world-building info-dumps batman. At some point, the characters cross a river into some fields which are described, not as 'green and rolling with a castle' or some business, but with their entire political history of being conquered by some noble who was allied with someone else. None of which is relevant to the plot, or even likely known by the characters. Paragraphs of this. All over the place.The opening scene is pretty good. One of the main characters is decent if not memorable. The other is a little too 'I'm dark and brooding about dark brooding things' without that having any bearing on anything other than 'mysterious tough guys are cool, so I'll be the mysterious-est'. A year later I don't remember the plot or the other characters. (I think one was a prince who had no real reason to be there)
    • 4/5
      The first two books in the Riyria Revelations series is a high fantasy tale of two thieves for hire that end up on an adventure of intrigue and corruption. The first book focuses on getting to know the characters and the world. The story is only okay and the writing is not very good. The second book puts them on a new adventure that is more exciting and a markedly improvement in the writing style. The author does a good job of slowly revealing different aspects of the world and political environment that the reader can focus on the adventure for an easy read. The two main characters are fun, but the side characters shine even more. I think this series is going to be really enjoyable once it picks up and this first Omnibus sets the stage nicely.
    • 4/5
      This epic fantasy includes a little breaking and entering, plenty of snarky insults, political intrigue, magical beasts, and a chaotic neutral maimed mage. For me, the tale started off fun but not particularly special. It wasn’t until about a quarter of the way through the book that the tale grabbed me. Royce and Hadrian are a lot of fun. They’ve known each other for years and each is well into their adult years. This was a nice break from all those epic fantasy adventures that feature teen/young adults bumbling through their first adventures.Royce was my favorite because we have the same dark sense of humor and have to sometimes be talked into doing the right thing. Hadrian is an enthusiastic believer in honor and all things good. It’s a very good thing these two have each other to balance things out. Each has a history veiled in questions and half truths. I look forward to Book 2 revealing more on this note.The one weakness to this tale is the ladies. It’s not all bad, but for the most part they are comforters and romantic interests and need to be rescued. Arista shows promise with her wit and ability to grasp politics. Also young Thrace has a shining moment at the end of the novel. The ladies aren’t the worst I’ve seen in epic fantasy but I did want just a bit more from them.There’s a big fat mystery with the elves. Ancient conflict and truces are eluded to and I expect that will become a big deal later in this series. There are a few elvish slaves in some areas of the human realms, but no elves roam free… or if they do, they can pass for human. The maimed mage Esra provides most of what we know about the elves. He’s ancient and was imprisoned for perhaps 900 years (if I recall correctly). Esra is a big enigma. I don’t know what he wants and he might not know either. He has to keep his head down as he’s still a wanted criminal.Then there’s Myron. I adored this character because of his wide eyed wonder of the bigger world. He grew up in a monastery and had never been off the grounds. He had seen a few horse but never rode one and he’s never seen a woman. As he gets swept up into the adventure, he provides several chuckles. I too wish there were blue horses.By the end, I had fallen in love with the main characters. I really look forward to adventuring further with Royce and Hadrian. 4/5 stars.The Narration: Tim Gerard Reynolds gave a great performance for this book. He had distinct voices for all the characters and his female voices were believable. He sounded like he had a lot of fun narrating this story too. I did notice a few short repeats but there were no other technical issues with the recording. I loved his voice for Myron (always full of wonder), his skeptical voice for Royce, and his honorable voice for Hadrian. 4.75/5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting Q&A with the author at the end of the book which explained a lot for me. He says he's intentionally practicing "invisible writing," where you notice the characters and plot but not the mechanics of the writing itself. And that's the bit that's missing for me--because I love reading, and therefore I love reading writing--if I want a movie or tv show, I'll watch a movie or tv show.

      So he hovers in a high 3 stars, rounding to 4, because as delightful as the cast is, and as entertaining as the plots are, this is TV on the page. One of those shows that's episode but slightly advanced the overarching plot each episode ... and probably each episode is three times as long as what we're used to, but otherwise it's that kind of thing. And it's fun, and according to the author, it's intentional (though he'd say he's aiming for film, rather than television).

      It's not bad writing--it's clear, it's descriptive, you know what's going on, where they are, and what most things look like (e.g. "a vast gray volume rushed by him ... the dark gray became a swirling translucent green as it reached the edge. The moment it fell, the water burst into white foam" etc.). But I do love my writerly writers, like Catherynne Valente, or A.A. Milne, or Dickens, to cite a disparate bunch.

      And yet, I'm eagerly awaiting the next one (I don't have to wait, but I'm not a binger--I'll read a few other books before I go back to the next in a series).
    • 1/5
      "She was a vision of youthful beauty and Hadrian guessed she could not be more than seventeen."In “Theft of Swords” by Michael J. Sullivan"You're going to ruin all your pretty makeup" -- said to Thrace by Hadrian as she was crying....In “Theft of Swords” by Michael J. Sullivan"I mean, sure, she's cute as a button..." said by Hadrian about ThraceIn “Theft of Swords” by Michael J. SullivanI could go on and on on bad this novel is, but I won’t. I think the quotes above will suffice. As always I’ll go on a tangent when I’ve just finished reading a really bad book.What I'm thinking is to listen to that nagging voice that might be warning the reader of wasting time on the treadmill of publisher's 'hilarious' and 'must-reads'. The analogy of publishers to the RTP (our state TV) may not be out of place as it seems, nor strange, to one who see SF as part of a whole culture and so the same attitudes permeate the culture - the attitude that bombards the consumer with valueless products and doesn't care much how people are affected by it so long as they dominates the production. Three sets of “speakers” all in close proximity to each other all blaring out hip hop is an abuse of the rights of the public; there's a certain careless mentality there. They were gone today, the huge lorries, but RTP were back with a smaller van and set up a tent with six speakers on stands and I presume were about to start blasting again on the local radio station level. What I'd like to see is a more interrogative attitude, and a critical one, on the part of the consumer. The consumer should assert his/her power and reject those things that don't add value to their lives. I mean if people expect good culture can they get it without exercising their discretion and value judgments. I don't think they can. I don't think the residents of SF city are being given the type of culture which they would benefit from, but are having things foisted on them. It's more difficult to make this point in the realm of fiction publishing - except from personal experience: that much of what is published is effete and some of it stomach-turning. I find myself turning more and more away from SF in recent times because there's very little you can feel good about taking and interest in; the market goes in for shifting large quantities so that the book celebs are always the big news. Some tosser gets the status that belongs to the Chekovs, who are dying in the gutter as I write. The way some publishing houses are taking over the town square is an iconic example of what's wrong with the arts/culture today. Three sets of “speakers” all blasting off at once with the hip hop within a few metres of each other doesn't show that there is any message but that sort of thinking that if we blast the traditional off the face of the earth we can make room for something new - it's a culture of abuse for its own sake and some just love it because it is the antitheses of meaning and value. It's the 'get fat' consciousness of the boys with the 'burgers' to sell and get rich. The Publishing Houses are the forefront of the grossly moronic culture which is today pervasive and allows books like these to see the light of day. SF = Speculative Fiction.
    • 4/5
      I love these books mostly because of the bromance. Michael J. Sullivan portrays an amazing friendship between Royce and Hadrian. The banter is funny, the tone is light and as a reader I immediately wanted to spend more time with these people.The writing is nothing special, but if you're in the mood for something light, easy and far less complex than the usual epic fantasy, this is for you. The perfect book after a long day and a great fantasy romp.
    • 4/5
      This was such a great book! I really enjoyed all the characters and the storyline. I can't wait to pick up the next volume and see where this adventure is headed :)
    • 5/5
      The Riyria Revelations was originally self-published as six novels. When Orbit bought the rights, they released the books in three volumes, each containing two books. THEFT OF SWORDS is the first of these, combining the first two books THE CROWN CONSPIRACY and AVEMPARTHA.Royce, a cynical ex-assassin, and Hadrian, an idealistic master swordsman, call themselves Riyria. Riyria specializes in solving impossible problems for mostly rich people – stealing a lady’s private diary from a locked tower for her lover to save face, that sort of thing.In THE CROWN CONSPIRACY, when they’re offered a huge amount of money for stealing a sword, they break their usual roles to take the job. Of course, it’s too good to be true and they end up being framed for the murder of the king. But this is Riyria, and the conspirators who framed them get far more than they bargained for. THE CROWN CONSPIRACY is a pretty standard fantasy story, it feels standalone, and probably would be if it didn’t introduce so many characters that are important later. There’s a spoiled prince, an independent princess, kidnappings, treachery, a mysterious wizard, and so on. The crisis is averted by the end, and Royce and Hadrian think nothing more of it.AVEMPARTHA picks up a couple of years later, and (in case the title of the book didn’t make this obvious) once again involves Royce and Hadrian being hired to steal a sword. This time they’re hired by a poor peasant girl, Thrace, to retrieve the only weapon that can kill a magical creature plaguing her village from an impregnable elven fortress. To add to the mystery, Thrace was told how to find them by the mysterious wizard in the first book that Royce and Hadrian haven’t heard from in years. This book starts exploring the central mystery of the Riyria Revelations a lot more, and there’s more magic, evil plans, and so on, but not everything is resolved by the end. It’s still mostly a satisfying standalone story, but there are threads left dangling. Characters from the first book – Arista, Mauvin, and Fanen, among others return, and they’re welcome.If you haven’t already read this series and you’re a fan of cozy fantasy with some great twists, I recommend you pick it up!
    • 4/5
      This was a pleasant surprise to me when I purchased the Kindle version. Especially when it turned out to be two books, not just one.Hadrian and Royce are thieves for hired. They are given a cockamamie story about how the king had stolen a sword from a member of court supposedly to make sure he won a duel. The member wanted to get the sword back to challenge him to a fair duel. When the two thieves enter the castle's room where the sword was hidden, they found the king assassinated with a knife in his back. They are discovered and arrested. The princess offers them escape as long as they take her brother with them to a hidden prison which has only one prisoner, a wizard. Action ensues.I really enjoyed getting to know the two thieves. I picture Hadrian as dashing, armed with not one, not two (like my Witcher), but three swords. Royce is more secretive and stealthy but a perfect pairing. I will definitely look forward to more of their adventures.
    • 5/5
      I don't remember where I saw the recommendation to read this book, but I am glad I saw it! Never since the Drangonlance Chronicles had I had so much fun reading a fantasy story.The good: The writing is simply excellent. Not too much descriptions, just enough, a very nice pace, nothing drags for too long, things move ahead nicely, likable characters, great interaction btw the 2 protagonists, loved it all. And the tone of the book is simply great. While reading this book I finally found out why I had read so few fantasy books in the last decade(after reading soooooo many all my life), turns out I got tired of all the dread and gloom that plague current fantasy books! This book goes back to the old tone and I love it! I also very much like the structure of the books, where the author gets to tell us 2 standalone stories that are linked by a bigger overarching plot. The bad: Nothing bad really, but it's true that it's light sometimes. We never really feel the heroes are in real danger anywhere or are struggling to overcome a situation. They're having a good, and somewhat easy, time. But it's the first in a series, so maybe that gets corrected in subsequent books. I also wish the regular "party" would get larger than just the two of them. But that's my old D&D roots showing here :PCan't wait to read the next in the series.
    • 5/5
      A comical and exciting adventure! I loved these books!
    • 3/5
      Light, enjoyable buddy book set in a world where two thieves are set up for the murder of a king and then have to try and save the kingdom.
    • 5/5
      This book has a little of everything in it: a little mystery/whodunit, a lot of action, a bit of magic/mysticism, and a lot of normal topics/concerns that make up a modern culture. I was hooked from the first page. Royce and Hadrian are two clever and well-rounded characters, and the added dashes of humor give them an even greater appeal. I love the fact that even though they are "thieves" in a sense, they seem to end up doing what is right regardless. Their relationship with one another is fantastic, very bromantic and caring, and a lot of what keeps the story going and keeps the reader enthralled. And while I mostly enjoy fantasy books, I loved the fact that this book was more adventurous, and worked so well that way. The setting, as well, is incredibly diverse and complex and quite detailed, and I have so much respect for the author for not separating the world into "Bad" and "Good", as a lot of fantasy-esque and adventure-laden novels do. I think embracing the gray area in behavior is what makes any book more human and more approachable and understandable. It's really brilliant and everyone should read it RIGHT NOW.
    • 5/5
      Really good storytelling, and darned good writing. I'm jumping into the second book right away.
    • 5/5
      Book 1 of The Riyeria Revelations, a superb fantasy series, right up there with Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time. The Rivera ore Hadrian and Royce, and their relationship is front and center in these rollicking adventures.
    • 4/5
      Just read all of these and they were a lot of fun. Reminded me of the best David Eddings stuff.
    • 5/5
      - The Crown Conspiracy 5 stars
      - Avempartha 4 ½ stars

      Theft of Swords is an omnibus containing the first two books in The Riyria Revelations: The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha by Michael J. Sullivan.

      The blurb describes pretty well what The Crown Conspiracy is about. In this installment we meet Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn also known as the Riyria. A group of ex mercenaries turned thieves who are well known in dark circles for accomplishing difficult to impossible jobs.

      We could say from the pair Hadrian has a lighter spirit while Royce is the moody and dark one. They have an stablished relationship in which they balance each other perfectly. For the way they work together it’s obvious they have been together for a long time but how long we don’t know (yet) nor we know how they met. We know there is an understanding between them and we also know they are a humorous couple, even broody Royce has his funny moments. Both characters are very smart even though sometimes while leading by their hearts they make the wrong decisions. They can kill and rob and do other not too respectable things, but in the end both have a good and charitable heart. They can be thieves but they have integrity and honor their word.

      There are many secondary characters but Mr. Sullivan does a great job introducing them slowly to the story making them easy to follow and identify. They are all different and complex and they all provide something to the story. From Alric the new king of Melegar who discover his back bone while spending time with Hadrian and Royce, Myron the Monk with photographic memory who had never been outside the monastery walls until his encounter with the duo, Princess Arista who risks her own life for her brother’s and their kingdom, Esrahaddon the wizard that leave us with more questions than answers. To the net of villains that is more complicated and extensive than what everybody thinks.

      The second story in the omnibus is Avempartha, this one starts months after the events in The Crown Conspiracy. While our (anti) heroes are searching for the man who betrayed them in The Crown Conspiracy a young destitute girl is also searching for them.
      Thrace’s village has been the victim of the attacks of a flying monster. Half of the village including most of her family has been decimated by this monster. Her father is the only person she has left and he has swear to kill the monster to avenge the deaths of his family, but Thrace knows his father is not a fighter and will die as soon as he faces the monster.
      A wise man (Esrahaddon) comes to the village, he tells Thrace about the Riyria and where to find them. She leaves soon after in search for them.
      Hadrian and Royce know Thrace can’t pay their wages and if they do what she requires of them they will lose money. Hadrian is usually the softhearted that accepts this kind of jobs and he’s tempted to accept but after past experiences he is going to decline the offer to the gran surprise than before he can say anything Royce accepts charging even less than what the girl was willing to pay.

      After days traveling they arrive to the poor village of Dahlgren, where even less people now live thanks to the monster. People are afraid and don’t know how to protect themselves. Esrahaddon has been staying with them, helping them and waiting for Hadrian and Royce to arrive. He explains the situation to them, the monster is a Gilarabrywn, a dragon like creature created by the elves centuries back. The only way to kill it is with an especial sword that is locked in the Elvish tower of Avempartha, same tower the Gilarabrywn uses as his den.
      Days after their arrival they still haven’t found a way into the tower and are surprised when hundreds of people arrive to the village following the Church of Nyphron’s caravan. The Church has organized a secret competition, calling men from all the kingdoms, the specifics of the competition has been kept a secret until the moment they arrived to Dahlgren. The Church of Nyphron has been looking over centuries for the True Heir of Novron and now they are using the event and the Gilarabrywn in their master plan to form an united empire that they will control.

      In this installment we learn a lot more about Hadrian and Royce and their pasts. They are still as great as they were in The Crown Conspiracy, their witty conversation are a pleasure to read and the discovery of what lies beneath their surfaces is another delightful adventure.

      We also see some recurring characters from The Crown Conspiracy, it’s nice see them grow and become more and better but at the same time Mr. Sullivan is not shy in killing important and loved characters.

      Avempartha is story of conspiracies in which sometimes you don’t know who or what to believe. In this one we see more clearly what is the plan of the Church and what they are willing to do to accomplish it.
      The end is not a cliffhanger but is one that will leave you craving for next book of this series Nyphron Rising. This book will be in the next omnibus Rise of the Empire which also includes The Emerald Storm.

      With its elaborated world, detailed and enchanting characters and fast paced plots Theft of Swords made me remember and fall in love again with the Fantasy genre. If you are a fan of this genre you need to read this book like yesterday and be ready to get your hands in the next omnibus Rise of the Empire that will be release on December 14th.
      I’m counting the days left to the release date to get my hands again in Hadrian, Royce and their adventures.
    • 5/5
      God, I enjoyed this book (which is really two books in one). It has a mix of likable characters, humor and a nice story that just works for me. I wouldn't call it the best series ever written and I fear that it might not hold up on a second reading, but at least while you're reading it for the first time it's really entertaining.
    • 2/5
      Take Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and merge it with a dumbed down D&D adventure and you get Theft of Swords. It is in desperate need of a good editor but otherwise a decent tale to pass the time. Oh, if you are not familiar with the names mentioned at the beginning, run out and pick up anything by Fritz Leiber.
    • 5/5
      Really quite extraordinary. No farm folk orphan with a destiny here, just two thieves and a magically retarded wizard with no hands. Brilliant! I have already started the next omnibus,
    • 3/5
      Very solid start to the series. The story moves well and the good-cop/good-cop vibe between the co-protagonists feels as much like a buddy movie as a fantasy novel. I will definitely continue with this series.
    • 5/5
      As so many other reviews of this book have proved time and time again, excellent read. I apparently have lived under a rock since I had not heard of this series before. I only wish I can recall who suggested I read this book...anyway, thanks to whom ever you are!Royce and Hadrian are hired thieves and assassins. Known for doing jobs that are deemed impossible, these two cohorts work excellent together. Hadrian is more soft hearted and willing to do more for less pay. While Royce is more stand-offish and rigid. Hadrian is always getting them into fixes with the type of jobs he jumps at, leaving Royce to pick up the pieces and pull them through the rough patches. The banter between these two make the book so real. They not only fight with each other of issues, as close friends do. But they also are always picking on one another whenever possible. You can tell that the there is something more deeper than friendship with these two. They actually need each other to survive. They are always there to watch the other's back. They are the perfect fantasy duo.Theft of Swords is so well written. You get wrapped up in the world of deciet in the church, murder of a beloved King, the wizard who you just aren't sure is good or bad, the children of the fallen king and the quest to save humanity. This book was so gripping, that I honestly didn't want to put it down. This is one thing that I have issues with about reading a series book. You get so wrapped up in the characters, that when you finish the intro book, you are dying to read the second installment. My only problem is I desperatly want to know who the heir is...I have my suspisions!