This is the 4th book in the Legends of the First Empire series by Sullivan. I've enjoyed reading the series, each book building on the previous storyline. This book is the most compelling read to date in the series for me with multiple disparate links and hints from previous books coming together. Different characters from the story line are explored and focused on to build a more complete plot and story arc. A well written book with a surprising ending leaving me looking forward to the next book in the series.

Michael J Sullivan has created such a fantastic, detailed and enthralling world. I'm always eager to return and catch up with characters that are well developed.

4.5 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/

I read Age of Myth for the 2nd time this spring, and though I did like it I was somewhat underwhelmed. Pretty much the way I’d felt upon reading it for the first time. Reading the Age of Swords soon after strengthened this feeling. While I’d enjoyed the first book, the second annoyed more than thrilled me. I mean, it still had the action, the adventure, the discovery… but there was something missing. Kinda how the Crown Conspiracy or the Rose and Thorn compares to the other Riryia books. They’re good, just kinda bland when compared to Sullivan’s other stuff. Then I read the Age of War.

The week I spent on it consisted of five days to reach the 200 page mark. The last day and a half were spent on the remainder. And once finished, I threw the book against the wall. So, I guess I can’t say I wasn’t invested in it. I hated the ending—loathed it—but while that didn’t ruin the entire story before it, it did make me put off reading the next one for a bit.

Until recently.

Age of Legend is the 4th of 6 books in the Legends of the First Empire series. It follows the events of Age of War in three parts. The first takes place directly after the AoW, the second following a year later. Both the 1st and 2nd parts are abbreviated, totaling a quarter of the text combined. Part three—set five years after AoW—is where the real meat of the story is, though #1 and #2 help set up the telling of it. Personally, I found the first and second parts a bit dry, but also rather dark. It begins a good blend of darkness and despair, hope and love, that honestly a bit surprised me. I’ve known Michael J. Sullivan to write the latter pair, with maybe a sprinkling of the former. This is a fairly equal balance.

Fresh off the battle featured in AoW, by AoL the war is on in full. And it is a grind. Longer than either side anticipated, and a great deal bloodier. I was actually surprised at how thickly Sullivan laid the feeling of war on—familiarizing the reader with blood, death and hopelessness early on, so that they could possibly grasp the events following many years of it. Early on, Persephone, Suri and Brin star. Later on in the tale, Seph’s role fades only to be replaced by others—including one I hadn’t expected. And kinda forgot about. Brin and Suri dominate this book, but share time with regulars like Tesh, Gifford, Moya and others. Along with some new faces.

The war between ‘men and Fhrey has reached a standstill. While the humans have managed to push the elves back to their homeland, they cannot reach any farther. And while the elves have managed to stop the ‘men at the river, they cannot push the humans back. Both sides are searching for an upper hand. And some few within are still hoping for peace. But one faction may yet get what they desire—only, which one?

The latter half of the tale features desperation, a betrayal, and an overwhelming dread, followed by an unlikely savior—well, two, really—along with more than a few startling revelations. Even better, while the ending annoyed me, it didn’t make me throw this book at a wall. Which was great, considering I was reading an ebook. Also, it was for a completely different reason. The same reason, in fact, that made the lull between Wintertide and Persepolis intolerable: a cliffhanger. Had I read this several months before, I would’ve been more angry. But with Age of Death on hand, I find myself oddly forgiving of the behavior. Mostly.

In fact, the entirety of my problems with this book include the slow, dry start and the cliffhanger at the end. And nothing in-between. Frankly, I LOVED AoL, and am finally invested in this series after Book 4.

The character development and arcs are impressive, as both Fhrey and Humans feature equally. Suri’s story was easily my favorite, but I won’t sell anyone else’s short. Worldbuilding continues to be a strong element of Sullivan’s books, but it’s the characters themselves that steal the show. I’m even getting to the point where I can stand Roan, now that she’s let off on cheapening human ingenuity. And while both Brin and Suri go through a lot, a few other characters impressed me with their depth. There was one especially lovely part further on in the story, built to accommodate just me, I’m assuming. As I’m really trying to avoid spoilers here, let me just say that it was quite heartwarming and leave it at that.

The adventure is back in AoL; something that, while Sullivan tried in AoM and AoS, I feel like he failed to deliver on. A merry little quest, doomed with failure before its very start. Years before, in fact. It is this harrowing quest that ends with a cliffhanger, this Fellowship upon which everything rests. Not the fate of Middle Earth, but close. Ish.

TL;DR

Age of Legend is an impressive read. A little bit dark, a little sweet, with an adventure thrown in—all of it beneath the dark cloud of war. Coming out of AoS and AoW, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue reading the series. And now, I honestly can’t wait to see where it goes from here. While the worldbuilding and storytelling is strong, the characters are where AoL shine. The growth and development of Suri, Tressa, Tesh and Brin all had me interested, such that I really didn’t end up dreading anyone’s chapters. A bit dry at first, the pace quickly sped up, leading to the patented Sullivan cliffhanger. Luckily, with Age of Death now out, there’s no waiting on the conclusion. If you read this on its release, however… it would’ve been quite a pain. Though set during wartime, AoL provides a nice balance of action and diplomacy to get you to its latter half, where the adventure abounds. If you decided to stop after the first three books, maybe check AoL out. If you’ve yet to start it and want to know if it’s worth it in full… eh, dunno. Let me read Age of Death and I’ll get back to you.

Age of Death released via Kickstarter in October. The official release is on February 4th, 2020. Age of Empyre, the final entry in the series, is set for another Kickstarter sometime in January 2020.

I ended up really enjoying this book despite the fact that it is probably the weakest one in the series. There are a couple of time jumps in this one, which is different from the previous books in the series. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about that but it ended up not bothering me all that much.

"What a strange treasure is innocence, a virtue to the old and a curse to the young, so highly prized but eagerly parted with - the riches of beautiful skin traded for the wisdom of calluses."

The characters have matured a bit in this book and some have lost their innocence. They've seen some horrible things; gone through some terrible times. There is a revelation about one in particular that left me rather shocked, and it will be interesting to see how this ends up, especially how it will affect the relationship this character has with another one.

Also, there is one part where Suri does something uncharacteristically dumb, but overall I enjoyed the characters just as much as in previous books. The characters are in fact what saved this book for me. Not a whole lot happened for the amount of time that elapsed, but the characters are always well worth reading about in Michael Sullivan's books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Michael J. Sullivan can basically do no wrong and this 4th book in the Legends of the First Empire series proves it.

It starts out as a straight-forward fantasy adventure. Obviously I can't go into that story it being far into the series now but just know each character meets various people, travels to various places, and encounters the layers of world-building. I ADORE character-driven stories. I can forego a boring plot or confusing settings as long as the characters have strength and depth to carry everything across. Age of Legend delivers on that. "Epic" is highly overused these days, but it does accurately describe the scope of Islington's world, which is deep and rich in back story that is continually hinted at throughout the books. Stakes are highly raised here and I may have shed a tear or two...

I am so happy Sullivan was able to Kickstart this series back into action because it deserves all the praise and attention.

This book was devastating. My only complaint is that it ends on such a cliffhanger. Everyone I care about is suspended with one foot out over the edge of the abyss. There are multiple time jumps, which creates a bit of an odd structure, but the characters are developed so beautifully. No spoilers, but it only took two words to get me bawling like a baby. I am so devoted to the characters in this world and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

I was honored to be given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest. I was a little upset at the author for how dirty he did Raithe at the end of the previous book. His character is so tragic. But that's the magic of reading, right? There is nothing that stirs my love for a book more than characters that make me feel something. Michae J Sullivan is an incredible author. His books are jammed packed with characters that make you love them, hate them, and love to hate them. I can't think of a single character that is flat or undeveloped. And there's a WHOLE lot of them. If you have read the Ryiria series, you will see how the First Empire Series gives us a prequel to that time. I am blown away how MJS keeps track of his characters and the many storylines he has going. I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast, let alone know what is happening to three different races, crazy, complex characters, and making sure their story ties into the one already there. Only a master storyteller could do that. This book does a superb job of moving the story along and letting us see how the characters change and grow over a few years. I've definitely got my eye on Tesh. He has become an interesting and complex character. Will he destroy himself with hate and war, or will he make good on the promise he made? I can't wait to find out in the next book. If you haven't picked up these books, you need to. If you haven't met Hadrian and Royce (Riyria), you must! Don't miss out on Michael J Sullivan.

Spoiler Warning: There will be spoilers for the first three books in this review, so reader beware!

Review: I don’t know how many ways there are to write an introductory paragraph to a series of books that you’ve been raving about the entire time. Yes, more of the same! Loved, loved, loved it! Yada yada. So without any ado for that, let’s just jump into the book summary and actual discussion!

While humankind one a massive victory in the last book, one that also cost an enormous price, the war has now been dragging on for years. Persephone and her people have slowly pushed forward, and it’s clear that they pose a real threat to the Fhrey people. This growing fear results in the leaders of the Fhrey admitting one crucial fact: regardless of the “crudeness” of the human species, they have a powerful weapon in the form of Suri, the only human so far to master the Art, and thus she must be dealt with before all else. This realization sets off a tragic chain of events that can only be stopped by another band of characters setting off on an impossible mission, this time one that leads into the very heart of the Fhrey land.

Given the dramatic events in the previous book, it was inevitable that this one would read very differently. For one, the loss of Raithe is huge. Not only do we lose the man whose actions ultimately lead to this conflict and a pretty important POV character, but he had a lot of important connections to the other characters. His loss is felt by both the reader and these other characters. I very much appreciate the fact that Sullivan picked up the story at a few different time periods. By doing this, he allowed readers an insight into the thoughts and feelings of characters into this loss over a period of time. We see the initial loss and signs of grief (anger, regret, etc.), and we also see how this loss continues to play out as characters, especially Suri and Persephone, are forced to make difficult choices.

Suri’s burden is by far the heavier. The dragon she created with Raithe’s sacrifice was pretty much solely responsible for the humans’ victory. It is so powerful that the knowledge and use of this “spell,” for lack of a better word, is pretty much all it takes to win the war for one side of the other. But the price is incredibly high and Suri has had to pay it twice now. Naturally, her conclusion is that she must not love anyone or anything to avoid future tragedy. But she’s not alone in this war, and there are those on both sides of the fight who would pay dearly for her to use it again or to teach someone else how to wield this deadly ability.

Persephone, for her part, has to deal with the regret she feels for turning Raithe away with false words of disinterest all those years ago. Instead, she has had to follow the path she set out for herself, making practical decisions for the betterment of her people. These decisions have come with some joy, but also a lot of increased pain, worry, and self-sacrificed. The Persephone we see in this book is the worn-down leader, a war-time general who has been fighting for too long.

As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, one of the things that stands out the most in this series is Sullivan’s ability to juggle a large cast of characters and choose just the right POV character for every situation. We’re always seeing event through the perfect angle, and just when you begin wondering what so-and-so’s take would be on events, bam! They get the very next chapter! It all plays out so smoothly and at times it feels like the author is reading one’s mind with regards to what is needed next to keep this perfect juggling act in order. This being the case, there were several characters in this book who we got to see more POV chapters from and I very much enjoyed it.

I also loved the story itself, though it is a bit handicapped by the overall nature of the book. Sullivan provides and introduction to the work and in it explains that the book was originally one longer book that was split into two. This is pretty clear as one reads the book, and especially at the end (big cliffhanger warning there!). But this is a half-hearted complaint at worst. For one, in the hands of a more strict editor trying to force it into one book, we may have lost some of the early chapters that gave us earlier scenes in time than when the majority of the story takes place. We might have missed out on some of the important character work that was laid down in these chapters, especially dealing with the fall-out of Raithe’s death, as I mentioned above. This type of devotion to key character moments is what has allowed the series to maintain its large cast. So while the pacing of this story might have suffered for having to be split into two books, I would still prefer this result to the likely other option of reduced character moments in the service of plot.

Like I said, there’s a pretty major cliffhanger at the end of this book, but don’t let that deter you! I zipped through this book, and it has done all the work needed to set up the next one as even more thrilling. Definitely check it out! And don’t forget to enter for our current giveaway for an ARC version of the book.

Rating 8: There aren’t really any new ways of praising this series other than to wag my finger at any epic fantasy readers who haven’t jumped on this wagon yet!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Everything is so obvious when you look back. It is the first time through the garden-of-fear-and-doubt that messes with your head.
— The Book of Brin

Michael J. Sullivan (MJS) is one of my favorite epic fantasy writers. He is dependable, great at tying threads together and always gives his reader something a little unexpected. Age of Legend is the fourth book in the the Legends of the First Empire series. This is technically a prequel set thousands of years before the Riyria Revelations series and shows just how much history gets wrong after a few millennia goes buy if you have read both series. This is the true accounting of the war between the Rhunes (man) and the Fhrey (Elves) that changed everything about the world.

All of MJS’s other books have a clear beginning and ending to that story but the final three books of this series will not follow that format. There will be good stopping points but it is better to think of books 4-6 as one really large book instead of three separate ones.

My heart was left a little broken at the end of Age of War, and with the title I guess that is fitting, war should break your heart. Age of Legend first gives us a glimpse of the repercussions right after Age of War, then jumps forward about a year to give a bit more insight and then another five years. I’m really happy of this since Man is at was with the Fhrey the entire time and I think that tracking all of that time could have gotten tedious. This way the story flows fantastically and you still feel connected to all of the characters and their relationships to each other.

This is another great tale of courage in the face of uncertainty, devotion to the people you love and fighting for what you believe in. I really liked how the connections between people aren’t always easy to see. How one person tied to another, and that person tied to someone else can snowball into the most unlikely group of people working together. Every book delves a little more into the mysteries of Elan. I totally adore how this one opens up the lore of the gods to us a little more and for those of you dying to figure out who/what Malcolm is, well you are in luck because her story is expanded quite a bit.

Persephone, the Rhune leader was always destined to marry Nyphron, leader of the Fhrey warriors. Her story breaks my heart as Nyphron is not a Fhrey in love with woman like all of the legends from the Riyria books have claimed. It is completely political and so sad in a way. Persephone played more of a role in prior books but for this one she will take a bit of a back seat.

There are so many other characters that are just fantastic in this series. Suri is always a favorite of mine, she has been through so much already and I feel so sad for the caterpillar turned butterfly.
Suri had few illusions about her future, except that the path before her was necessary. She’d always known that becoming a butterfly would come at a cost, but she’d never dreamed there would be so many payments.

I looks like her journey is not done yet and that she will have an even bigger role to play in the upcoming story. I’m really just hoping my summer heart can take it.

Gifford and Roan are absolutely hands down my favorite couple. I absolutely love that MJS has taken two people so broken in different ways and put them together. They are adorable and I think it is wonderful to see that not every marriage moves at the same pace or looks the same. But the reader knows every moment what these two feel for each other.

Tesh, his story is another that has brilliant moments of love with devastating moments of hate. Bent of revenge and doing very well at it I might add, Tesh will have some big choices to make. Become the monster he hates or give up his revenge for the girl he loves. It is hard to know where that will fall, he definitely loves Brin but I’m not sure that he loves her more than he hates Fhrey.
“And that will fix everything, will it?”
With a bitter fold of his lips, Tesh nodded. “It will fix a lot. It will rid the world of a monster.”
Brin shook her head. “No, it won’t. You’ll only be trading one for another.”
Tesh’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Revenge. That’s what you want, Tesh. And revenge is contagious— evil given for evil received.”

There are so many wonderful characters and plot lines happening that I’m not sure how to tell you how great this series is. MJS writes strong women, some are brilliant, some are wise, others are strong and one is magical but all are three dimensional, brave and fierce in their own ways and I love that about his books. You don’t need to have read the Riyria series at all to read Legends of the First Empire, both are fantastic all on their own, but I love knowing how the tale shifted over the centuries and seeing what it truly looked like. The contrast is amazing.

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I enjoyed Book Four of Sullivan's The Legend's of the First Empire. The book leaves you waiting for the sequel to be available immediately. I enjoyed the storytelling and the plot. Another hit for Sullivan.

The end of the third book (Age of War) gave the reader a thoroughly satisfying conclusion to a wonderful trilogy.

But wait!

There's another THREE books to the series! At first I was a little worried that this book may feel a little forced and a little like flogging a dead horse continuing a story that was fairly well finished. I have never been so happy to be wrong!

While some of our MCs from previous books are no longer part of the story or have much smaller roles to play, this gives the perfect opportunity for some of our favourite secondary characters to step forward into the light. I am a huge fan of these "secondary" characters so I'm so so happy that they are getting bigger parts in this half of the series.

This book is set into 3 parts to ease us into a new adventure set 6 years after the events of Age of War. I thought this was a very clever way to introduce the reader to the new events by filling in gaps without dragging us through months of unneeded filler.

The story itself is just brilliant. Especially the second half of the book. I am so excited about this new adventure that has been set up featuring some of my favourite characters. Even with a warning about the cliffhanger at the end of this book I was still so mad but in the best way.

I am desperate to get my grubby little mitts on Age of Death ASAP!

This is another fantastic book, I very much enjoyed reading this.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Jen Mullen's review Jun 02, 2019 · edit
really liked it

Michael J. Sullivan excels in his world-building and character development. Age of Legend, the fourth book in this six book series, takes place after a gap of five years from the last book and during a stalemate in the war.

Persephone takes a backseat during this book and other characters get their time in the spotlight.

Sullivan writes the kind of epic fantasy that keeps you turning the pages, engrossed in the characters and in the action. If you decide to read the series, start at the beginning (Age of Myth) to see the character development and the beginning of the rebellion.

I started with Age of Myth in 2016. Then knowing that it would be at least a year until the next book, I binged on the The Riyria Revelations, starting with the Theft of Swords and was completely caught up with the characters and suspense.

Honestly, as much as I've enjoyed the books in the Age of Legends of the First Empire series, I still think my favorites are the books in The Riyria Revelations trilogy. I still think of Royce and Hadrian as real people. :)

Read in May. Blog review scheduled for July.

NetGalley/Grim Oak Press
Epic Fantasy. July 9, 2019. Print length: 480 pages.

Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The good:

If you have been enjoying the Legends of the First Empire so far, you're probably going to enjoy this and the newish direction it takes. In a very positive way, it is more of the same with many of the same characters, dealing with the aftermath of the big blow-out of the previous book and learning how to move forward. Brin gets a lot of page-time and I, for the most part, enjoyed these parts more than the rest. Writing about writing is fun.

The bad, or rather, the indifferent:

I just couldn't get into this book much. I found my mind wandering a lot, never connecting or caring much about most of the happenings or the characters. It might just be me or perhaps I'm getting slightly burned out on the series.

It's a shame! I did enjoy quite a few parts of the previous tales, and this one has some pretty interesting, if very late, reveals that rallied my attention. I'm just not sure if I feel like it's worth it, tho. ; ;

Who knows? Maybe the rather mythological new direction will appeal to a lot of ya'll.

This was a fantastic continuation of this series. As with the previous books this one follows multiple perspectives, but this instalment takes place five years after the events of the third book. It was great to be back with these characters and Sullivan did a good job with their development. I loved the direction of the plot and I cannot wait to see where things go next. If you haven't started this series yet, I highly recommend checking it out.

Age of Legend continues a story set at the beginning of the realm that eventually becomes the setting for the Ryria chronicles. Unlike most prequel series that I've come across this particular origin story is interesting and entertaining. The characters are deep and intriguing, each voice different from each other and different from its earlier written sequel. This book in particular was no exception to that. As always Sullivan writes interesting dynamics between his characters, relationships and the world itself feel natural without sacrificing the mystical. There are enough touchstones and tie ins to the much later series without it being too much, it feels like a fairly accurate depiction of how much history skews based upon what parts are remembered, what is forgotten and what is written over by the victors. If I had one complaint, and I'm hesitant to say it as we are warned in the preface that this book is paced more as 3 parts of a single book rather than 3 books in a series, it is that this book essentially takes us from beginning to another beginning with very little closure in between. Minor characters are slightly changed from start to finish but it didnt end with much satisfaction in any of the storylines. Each is once again sitting at the beginning of their respective quests that were ultimately begun in the opening pages. The journey to get to this point was, of course, interesting. Sullivan is fantastic at giving us reasons to care about his characters, but in a book that spans 7 years of time I dislike the feeling that I've barely made it through what would be chapter 1 of a book. Frodo's is just getting to the edge of the shire, rand althor is reaching edmunds field, vin has met kelsier. I have no doubt the next books will be equal to what remained of those stories but that feels where we are in this adventure, the start of everything.

All in all as enjoyable as ever, brin and tressa, tesh and his techylors, mawndule and the elves are all beginning fantastic arcs in their stories and I expect the ending of this series will be as wonderful and explosive as all of the previous stories. I do wish this ended with at least a few knots being tied but knowing it will be a truncated publishing schedule and a brief wait only for the next part of the tale eases my frustration quite a bit.

I have been a huge fan of Michael J. Sullivan and the world of Elan for years. I have really enjoyed being able to follow him on his journey as a writer and I think he's grown so much. I started with all the Riyria books and I love Legends of the First Empire just as much. I really enjoy the world-building and I love that the author chose to expand on the world's history by making these prequel novels. I cried throughout Age of War especially, and Age of Legend incited a roller coaster of emotions as well. I had a theory about the Gilarabrywn and it seems I was correct! That makes me so happy. I love all the featured characters (even the antagonists) and their arcs, and the side characters are loveable too. Please tell me I'm not the only one who was waiting a long time for a Tekchin/Moya moment. It was well worth it. Some of the heartache I felt as a result of Age of war was worth it as well. Overall, I love this book and I loved the incorporation of some new/previously unimportant character. I'm unable to express exactly how much I treasure this series as a whole. The way it ends makes me a little upset that I have to wait for the sequel, but I'm sure it will be worth it as well.

I couldn't believe this book ended where it ended. Not only was it a huge cliffhanger, but the book also seemed pretty short. I felt like the action was just starting to pick up when the book ended. I'd describe it as a Set-Up Book, the kind that you usually get in the middle of a long series. As a Set-Up Book, it was fine, but as a member of this series, it was pretty lackluster. It definitely made you Really want to read the next one though, so there's some success. It left me feeling like nothing much had happened, and the book was just bridging a gap between where the last book ended and the next one begins.
On the other hand, it was engaging and interesting. The character development was, as usual, stellar. It was great to get to know some of the less-well-liked characters better. On the other hand, some of the likable characters started to show signs of going down the wrong path. I'm so invested in these people. Some are annoying and awful (Nyphron), others are awful but relatable (Tressa), others are great on the surface but dark underneath (Tesh) and some are faded remnants of what they used to be, worn by time and trials (Persephone). Sullivan really excels at writing these characters.

Once again I was enthralled as this book (just like the last) is addictive and masterfully written. I especially liked the book being separated into three sections; Part 1 follows on immediately after the last book, Part 2 is a year later and Part 3 is 6 years later. This means that there’s no filler or padding out the story to fit timeframes, the plot advances forward at a good pace and it doesn’t relent.

My favourite part of Michael’s work is the characters and they don’t disappoint here, they’re deep and incredibly well developed. Whether you’re meant to love or hate them the characters are remarkably compelling and have some very enjoyable dialogue.

For a book that sits in the middle of a fantasy series this was unexpectedly exciting and had some fantastic surprises throughout the story. So after a shocking ending and the fact that I’ve read all the Riyria and Legends of the First empire books I feel a deep depression coming on so I’m going to lie down for a while….

I give this book 4 stars not five, because most of action in the later parts is basen on one very stupid decision. And as most as I love all the characters, it's too obvious how easily all of what happened could be avoided. I can't write more to not spoil anything, but the main event leading to the adventure of our heroes seemed to me to be written this way only for them to have a reason to go into danger and it bothered me a little.

Despite this one issue I still really liked this book. It's hard not to when you can again meet so many wonderful people you've known for a while and see how they grew through years. Age of Legend is divided in three parts:
- part I takes place after events from book III
- part II takes place one year later;
- part III (the longest) takes place 6 years later.

This novel is obviously kind of middle-series installment, a little slower-paced with plot that isn't so big, but leading to some bigger things we hopefully get to see in the next book.

Legends of the First Empire is one of my all time favourites series, and though I think that Age of Legend may be the weakest so far, I see a lot of potential to the future story and even my complaints didn't much influenced my enjoyment of reading. I believe in Michael J Sullivan who can create brilliant characters, interesting plots and wrap it all in a beautifull prose. Age of Legend ended with cliffhanger and I can't wait to put my hands on the continuation of the story.

THE CLIFFHANGER AT THE END GAVE ME AN ACTUAL STOMACH ACHE.

This latest installment is a different pace than we have experinced–the author even mentions the whys in the author's note which i'm glad he did. there is a five-year gap in the book because of the water but the character's don't change dramatically enough to cause an uproar.

The only reason I could not give the book a five is because of the loss of the voice of Persephone. She was so inspiring the first two books and I miss her, haha. I feel like her character development got swallowed by Nyphron's ambitions and the guilt of Raithe's death. Persephone seems to know that Nyphron is wrong and ruthless but admires him greatly. And with the birth of her son (SON?! was super happy for her) she seems content to stay on the sidelines.

Tesh's character is pretty interesting because I found him opposite of Raithe. Both were excellent warriors but Raithe hated to fight and the fame that came along with it. Persephone was right–he just wants to run away from it all and live in a forest. He wants his people's legacy to be anything other than fighting but Tesh is so swept up in avenging his village that he eventually pushes Brin away (for now–I guess?)

Suri–my poor little mystic! THEY ARE GOING TO PUT HER WHERE? BURY HER ALIVE WHERE? She has lost people she loves and now she has to suffer more? WHY!

NEED the NEXT BOOK!