Im zweiten Band der Reihe haben mich die teilweise etwas klischeehaften Charaktere gestört und die Handlung ist nur langsam in Fahrt gekommen. Mittlerweile sind mir die Figuren aber ans Herz gewachsen und sie sind vielleicht nicht unglaublich ausgefuchst, aber doch sehr individuell und im zusammenspiel mit der nun wirklich spannenden Handlung wird ein toller Roman draus. Ich bin etwas verspätet süchtig geworden 😅
Michael J. Sullivan’s Age of War is a fantastic read. He continues to give us incredibly authentic characters that are crafted with a careful attention to consistency and detail. Classic fantasy with some fun twists, the Legends of the First Empire series is becoming one of my favorite epic fantasy series in recent memory.
As the title suggests, the story in this book moves into all out war between the Fhrey and the Rhunes. As the war commences there is a real sense of loss that Sullivan weaves in. Characters experience individual losses, but there is also a sense of a loss of innocence as a community. As a people the Rhunes are becoming something different—perhaps something new—but certainly they are no longer the people they were a short while ago. Sullivan excels at producing this feeling of innocence lost in his descriptions of the preparations for the coming war. …
Michael J. Sullivan’s Age of War is a fantastic read. He continues to give us incredibly authentic characters that are crafted with a careful attention to consistency and detail. Classic fantasy with some fun twists, the Legends of the First Empire series is becoming one of my favorite epic fantasy series in recent memory.
As the title suggests, the story in this book moves into all out war between the Fhrey and the Rhunes. As the war commences there is a real sense of loss that Sullivan weaves in. Characters experience individual losses, but there is also a sense of a loss of innocence as a community. As a people the Rhunes are becoming something different—perhaps something new—but certainly they are no longer the people they were a short while ago. Sullivan excels at producing this feeling of innocence lost in his descriptions of the preparations for the coming war. It’s an aspect of the novel I thoroughly connected with. In addition to this, the characters continue to be a strength. Sullivan does an excellent job of making them believable and giving each character their time to shine. This is doubly impressive because the novel contains a fairly large cast, and yet one rarely—perhaps never—gets the impression that a characters growth is being short changed as a result. Each character is given an opportunities to take center stage. They each grow in profound ways. I continue to really enjoy Gifford’s arc, and there are hints of more to come for him. Perhaps Sullivan’s greatest achievement, however, is the writing of Mawyndule. Any time you are reading one of his viewpoint chapters it feels like being inside the head of a spoiled adolescent. From that perspective it isn’t exactly enjoyable, but Sullivan has crafted someone who feels amazingly authentic. In addition, I question whether he is meant to be a villain or a sort of tragic character. The author has done a very good job with him. The novel doesn’t only do a tremendous job with characters, however. There is also great action and suspense, plenty of questions to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Unfortunately, one thing that did not quite work for me was the end game. There were two main issues I had. The first was that Suri’s growth, particularly in the final third of the novel, felt like a complete retread of her growth in Age of Swords. In some ways, almost a literal retread. For a character that I think still has a great deal of potential growth, this was disappointing. The other issue was that, during the end game, there are some reveals that felt to me as if they really removed the agency of many of the protagonists. It began to feel like they were just doing what they were told, or dancing to someone else’s tune. There is still a great deal to love in Age of War, but the final third of the book dampened my enthusiasm slightly.
Age of War is another fun, enjoyable entry in Sullivan’s Legends of the First Empire series. If you enjoy classic fantasy with wonderfully crafted characters, this is one for you. I can’t wait to see what these characters, whom I’ve grown to love, are faced with next.
8.5/10
4.25/5 stars.
5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile 4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile 3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time 2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it 1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing
I'm torn by this review (3.5 Stars). As always, Sullivan is excellent at crafting simple prose and intriguing story. I simply feel conflicted by the characters and character development. There is just a ton going on here and some of the character arc are very, very cheap.
I love strong female leads, and this First Empire story is full of them. But I don't care for when the strong female leads come at the cost of horrible male counterparts (and vise-versa for that matter). So far it's been played that the men are garbage and women will save the day. The few decent male characters are either eliminated from the story or marginalized.
Additionally, some "relationships" are being rushed to fill in something that's needed in that later narrative. And I mean rushed. Sury grew to love Raithe from a couple walks? And what's up between Raithe and Persephone? That …
I'm torn by this review (3.5 Stars). As always, Sullivan is excellent at crafting simple prose and intriguing story. I simply feel conflicted by the characters and character development. There is just a ton going on here and some of the character arc are very, very cheap.
I love strong female leads, and this First Empire story is full of them. But I don't care for when the strong female leads come at the cost of horrible male counterparts (and vise-versa for that matter). So far it's been played that the men are garbage and women will save the day. The few decent male characters are either eliminated from the story or marginalized.
Additionally, some "relationships" are being rushed to fill in something that's needed in that later narrative. And I mean rushed. Sury grew to love Raithe from a couple walks? And what's up between Raithe and Persephone? That just went on and on and into nothing.
This is probably what I'd call a bridge book. We had a so much "hey look at this person" Gifford's art, Tesh's fighting skill, Mawyndule's "experience", and Malcome's sudden "I know the future but felt it was unnecessary to use it in the past for things..." to near zero reward, I'm assuming it will be in the next books. Sullivan is normally really good at avoiding these because he writes the bulk of the narrative for the series from start to finish before publishing, but this one doesn't escape it. Probably just enough action to hide its flaws from the editors.
