Michael J Sullivan | Just One More Page

At the moment most of the fantasy I come across has ‘epic’ tagged in front of it. While I do love some ‘epic’ fantasy, sometimes I really want to read fantasy that is a little less weighty, less heavy, less about huge battles between good and evil.

The Crown Conspiracy delivers less of these things, and more quirky characters, good entertainment and giggles along the way. I guess one might describe it as fantasy-lite. I would describe is as a very fun read.

They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly

There’s no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time…Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out…and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
The Crown Conspiracy is the first book in the captivating Riyria Revelations. Instead of a string of sequels this six-book fantasy series was conceived as a single epic tale divided into individual episodes. All were written before the first was released so that plot elements are intertwined, yet each book has its only story and conclusion.

The book delivers on what it promises. I really enjoyed the two main characters and the banter that goes in the book. I was guessing for awhile who the murderer was, and wasn’t disappointed in the outcome.

There are threads in the novel that hint at bigger things, and have me guessing about what the story line might be in the next novel, but the plot of this one was tied up really nicely by the end of the book. It pulls off being a stand alone, while also being a great introduction to the series.

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, but is looking for something a little more light-hearted than your typical fantasy novel. The lack of sex and profanity means that really, anyone can read this.

Title: The Crown Conspiracy
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher: Ridan Publising
ISBN: 978-0979621130 / 0979621135

They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly

So reads the blurb that introduced me to a fantasy novel. I don’t read fantasy much, I don’t like having to read 5 books, 700 pages plus just to get to the punch line, but I was intrigued with this, mainly to see how it would tie in with the other stories, yet still be stand alone, but stand alone it was.

The likeable rogues in this story seemed like two characters I would meet on the local streets. People seen as thugs, but really have a heart of gold underneath it all, as portrayed in the opening of this story. It captivated me from the start, and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen in the end, and I wasn’t disappointed. The anticipation level climbed and readily was satisfied by the ending of the story, and there were no missing pieces.

I liked the storyline, it was easy to read and follow and a couple of times I had to guess before it became clear who the real murderer was. And that was when all the fun began.

Another point this story advertises is that there is no sex or swearing in it, which made for a nice easy read without thinking of the gratuitous sex that generally tends to be inserted into the story to satisfy those who are into that sort of thing. There are hints of love, and intrigues, and there were questions that I have, but no doubt these are in the follow up stories – this being the first in six stories.

If you are a newbie to fantasy, you will enjoy this story. 4 out of 5 stars.