Beyond Reality discussion

If you've finished reading, Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan, this is the place to share your thoughts with the group.

Caution: There will likely be **SPOILERS** in this thread.

Michael Sullivan tells a good, fast-paced story, and this is no exception. Although largely a story of the conflict between the humans and the Fhrey, it also highlights the struggle for leadership within the human and Fhrey societies. There are strong characters on every page: Raithe, Penelope, Arion and Suri are standouts, but even minor characters such as Roan, Grygor (the gourmet giant), and Minna (the wolf) are notable. Our villains, both Fhrey and human, suffer from both greed and a sense of entitlement. The wordplay only adds to the fun, in the "sure? pretty sure." dialogue between Suri and Arion, or comments like "if you can't trust an ancient talking tree, what was the point of having one?"


Although Legends of the First Empire is envisioned as a six-book series, the first three books are published and form a satisfying arc in themselves. If you liked this one, continue on with Age of Swords and Age of War.

While this is a prequel to the Riyria Revelations (and Chronicles), it is distant enough that the world bears little resemblance to what we've come to know in those books. Mankind is still at that stage where they are living in clans, but it is pretty much everyone for himself. If you were having an exceptional day, you might help out your immediate family. Of course, humans have been kept that way by the more powerful Fhrey, and the story is really the beginning of men working together for a common good.

I have to admit to admit that I was not immediately drawn to the characters as I thought they weren't nearly as engaging as Royce and Hadrian from Riyria. However, they gradually grew on me. I especially liked Persephone and Suri.

Overall, it is a pretty enjoyable book and you don't have to be familiar with Riyria to follow along, but I think it helped keep me interested at the beginning when I was a little iffy about it.

Oh man, I kind of feel bad I am not a fan of this one. Maybe I am just too jaded over epic fantasy. I appreciate the easy, smooth narrative but just got bored with the plots and the characters. There were some character inner thoughts that struck me as sexist but despite those nitpicks, I just ended up not caring about the end result.

I did like the wolf (who doesn't, right? I skimmed some pages just to know her fate) and some of the elvish politics (probably because it reminded me of the revolt of the Noldors) but...yeah, this book just not for me. However, I could understand why most readers like it and that is okay.

Silvana wrote: "Oh man, I kind of feel bad I am not a fan of this one. Maybe I am just too jaded over epic fantasy. I appreciate the easy, smooth narrative but just got bored with the plots and the characters. The..."

I read his first books & dropped out for the same reason. Haven't bothered reading much of his stuff since. I'm glad I read those books, but it was enough.

Well, I guess at least we all agree the writing is easy to follow, right?

The humour in this one was kind of unexpected, but definitely appreciated. There's Malcolm and Raithe''s banter that's particularly amusing, I think it was at the beginning. The pairing is definitely a trope, but one that I'll never be bored with. How do they compare with the duo in Sullivan's Riyria novels?

The pairing is definitely a trope, but one that I'll never be bored with. How do they compare with the duo in Sullivan's Riyria novels?"

The Royce/Hadrian pairing in the Riyria books is far superior in my opinion. To be fair though, they are the clear protagonists of the Riyria books and their relationship is central to all of the events that unfold. In the Legends books (I've only read the first two so far), Raithe is one of several key players and Malcolm is more of a sidekick.

If you enjoy bantering buddies in your fantasy books, you definitely need to check out Riyria Revelations. The first book starts out narrow in scope with a mostly self-contained story. The scope of the series gradually expands, but Royce & Hadrian are almost always at the center of the action. Riyria Chronicles are prequels to the original series and all of those books are stand alone. Both sets of books are excellent.

Thank you, Bob, for your thorough explanation.

I liked it! the writing was smooth and the story fast-paced.

I had forgotten this was one of our Books of the Month and came across this discussion while searching for something else. I am currently reading the Legends of the First Empire series with a different Goodreads group, and I can say that this book is a good introduction to the series, but the story gets far more complex and certain characters turn out to be quite different than this first book would lead you to believe. I am currently in the 4th book and really enjoying it.