# The Riyria Revelations: Unlikely Heroes...Classic Adventure



## MichaelSullivan (Apr 7, 2012)

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There's no orphan destined for greatness or ancient evil to destroy…just two rogues in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a cynical thief, and his ex-mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living performing dangerous assignments for petty nobles…until a simple job to steal a sword finds them framed for the murder of the king. And so begins this simple tale that uncovers a conspiracy far greater than the mere overthrow of a tiny kingdom.

Theft of Swords Best of Lists: 

Library Journal's Top 10 Scifi/Fantasy Books of 2011 
Barnes and Noble The Best Fantasy Releases of 2011 
Drying Ink's Best Epic Fantasy of 2011 
Dribble of Ink's Favorite 5 Novels of 2011 


I wrote all six books before releasing the first, and five of them were published by a small imprint run by my wife. They did well...I sold 70,000+ copies, and have 2300+ ratings and 500+ reviews here on goodreads. Now, Orbit (fantasy imprint of big-six publisher Hachette Book Group), is re-releasing them as a trilogy in 3 consecutive months: Nov, Dec, and Jan.









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*BOOK 1: THE CROWN CONSPIRACY *
THEY KILLED THE KING. THEY PINNED IT ON TWO MEN. THEY CHOSE POORLY. 
Better known as Riyria, Royce Melborn is a skilled thief who along with his mercenary partner Hadrian Blackwater earn their living by carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles. When a seemingly simple jobs finds them framed for the murder of a king the two are caught in a conspiracy that reaches beyond the mere overthrow of a tiny monarchy.

*BOOK 2: AVEMPARTHA *
THE SECRET IS IN THE TOWER. THE PROBLEM IS THE BEAST. THE ANSWER IS TWO THIEVES.
 When a destitute young woman hires Riyria to help save her town from nocturnal attacks, the two are drawn into the schemes of the wizard Esrahaddon. While Royce struggles to breech the secrets of an ancient elven tower, Hadrian attempts to rally the villagers to defend themselves against the unseen killer. Little do they realize that the events unfolding in this tiny remote outpost will plant the seed for the birth of a new Imperialist empire.

*BOOK 3: NYPHRON RISING *
A PUPPET IS CROWNED. THE TRUE HEIR REMAINS HIDDEN. A ROGUE'S SECRET COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.
 War has come to Melengar and its only hope is to join with the Nationalists, fighting in the south. Once more the crown turns to Riyria to run a desperate mission behind enemy lines. As the power of the New Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that an ancient wizard is using Riyria as pawns in his own bid for power. To find the truth, Royce must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past...what he discovers could mean the end of their friendship.

*BOOK 4: THE EMERALD STORM* 
A MESSAGE IS INTERCEPTED. A SINISTER PLAN HAS BEEN LAUNCHED. TWO THIEVES STAND IN THE WAY.
 Ex-mercenary Hadrian Blackwater sets course on a high seas adventure to find the lost Heir of Novron. His only hope lies in confronting the ruthless and cunning Merrick Marius. Fearing Hadrian is not up to the challenge, Royce Melborn joins his ex-partner for one last mission. Their journey finds them adrift amid treachery and betrayals forcing Hadrian to face a past he hoped never to see again.

*BOOK 5: WINTERTIDE* 
A FORCED WEDDING. A DOUBLE EXECUTION. TWO THIEVES HAVE OTHER PLANS. 
The New Empire intends to celebrate its victory with a Wintertide celebration cumulating with the marriage of Empress Modina and the public execution of two traitors. Once the empress suffers a fatal accident, their plans will be complete. There is only one problem--Royce and Hadrian have finally found the Heir of Novron and they have other holiday plans.

*BOOK 6: PERCEPLIQUIS* 
THE ELVES HAVE CROSSED THE NIDWALDEN. MANKIND STANDS ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION. THE TIME FOR THE HEIR TO ACT HAS ARRIVED.
 "I saw a great journey. Ten upon the road, she who wears the light will lead the way. The road goes deep into the earth, and into despair. The voices of the dead guide your steps. You walk back in time. The three-thousand-year battle begins again. Cold grips the world, death comes to all, and a choice is before you." -- Seer, Oudorro Village

Percepliquis is the final installment of the epic fantasy, The Riyria Revelations. This saga that began with two ordinary thieves will end in a final monumental volume where all the mysteries and secrets will at last be revealed.

*REVIEWS*
"Filled with adventure and clever dialog and featuring a pair of not-quite-heroes whose loyalties to each other provide them with their greatest strength, this epic fantasy showcases the arrival of a master storyteller." -- Library Journal

Hair-raising escapes, flashy sword fights, and faithful friendship complete the formula for good old-fashioned escapist fun."-- Publisher's Weekly

"[O]ne of the best traditional epic fantasies currently being published and a top 10 novel of mine." – Fantasy Book Critic

"Michael J. Sullivan has created a world and a cast of characters that pull you in and remind you why you fell in love with this genre in the first place. If you can remember how the wizards, warriors, damsels and dragons once moved your imagination, I highly recommend that you see a masterful author updating their genre’s archetypes." – Ruled by Books




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## MichaelSullivan (Oct 3, 2012)

Got the news a few days ago that the UK version of Theft of Swords went into it's 5th printing!!


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## Butterfly (Oct 3, 2012)

woo-hooo!

BTW, I'm totally in lurrrve with the Riyria covers.


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## MichaelSullivan (Oct 4, 2012)

Butterfly said:


> woo-hooo!
> 
> BTW, I'm totally in lurrrve with the Riyria covers.



Great to hear that.  The photographer/artist that does the graphic is Larry Rostant.  The art director who choose the "panel design" and the fonts etc is Lauren Panepinto.  Both very talented individuals.


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## Kim (Oct 4, 2012)

I really like the covers. And the story sounds great. I see it is translated in Dutch, so I'll keep this series in mind.


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## pskelding (Oct 5, 2012)

I loved the entire series Michael!!  I read them back to back in just under a month. I'm looking forward to the 2 new books!  

Your wife is great in her own right, I love the publishing advice she has been giving on various podcasts especially Dead Robots Society a while back.


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## Graylorne (Oct 5, 2012)

Michael, your 1st boek (Het Koningscomplot) just got a 4 of 5 stars review at Fantasy Wereld, one of the major Dutch fantasy review sites. The site is known for a critical approach, so it's a very good score. Should you want to exercise your Dutch: Fantasy Wereld


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## julidrevezzo (Oct 6, 2012)

Wow. Congrats, Michael, on the deal with Hachette! The story sounds awesome. I hope to hear great things about you in the future.


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## MichaelSullivan (Oct 18, 2012)

Kim said:


> I really like the covers. And the story sounds great. I see it is translated in Dutch, so I'll keep this series in mind.



Glad you like the covers...they do get high marks. I, however, can't take any credit for that...thank the nice people at Orbit and the cover artists they employ.  In particular: Lauren Panepinto (art directory) and Larry Rostant the photographer and artist that did the main image.



pskelding said:


> I loved the entire series Michael!!  I read them back to back in just under a month. I'm looking forward to the 2 new books!
> 
> Your wife is great in her own right, I love the publishing advice she has been giving on various podcasts especially Dead Robots Society a while back.



Glad you enjoyed them...they were a ton of fun to write, and it was great reuniting with Royce and Hadrian.

As for Robin...she indeed is a "smart cookie" she really launched the books when they were self-published and she loves helping out authors. So it's good to hear that you have found her stuff helpful.  I'll certainly pass along that you enjoy her stuff.



Graylorne said:


> Michael, your 1st boek (Het Koningscomplot) just got a 4 of 5 stars review at Fantasy Wereld, one of the major Dutch fantasy review sites. The site is known for a critical approach, so it's a very good score. Should you want to exercise your Dutch: Fantasy Wereld



NICE!!  Thanks so much for sharing that with me!



julidrevezzo said:


> Wow. Congrats, Michael, on the deal with Hachette! The story sounds awesome. I hope to hear great things about you in the future.



I'll continue to do my best!


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## Kim (Nov 23, 2012)

I bought the first book today and I am really looking forward to reading it. On my way home, I have read the first two pages and they made me even more curious.


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## Xaysai (Dec 10, 2012)

Mr. Sullivan,

I just joined Mythic Scribes yesterday and was extremely happy to see your post here because I finished your Trilogy a few months ago.

With no offense meant to anybody, it can be very difficult to find books in the fantasy genre that are just so damned good that it makes me sad to finish them because the story is over, but your series was one of them.

In my opinion (and I hope you don't mind holding company with the following), your series is right there with Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy, Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard's series (of which he NEEDS to publish more) and Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles as fantastic stories which just don't get enough publicity while "better known" authors publish inferior books and get all the press : )

Anyhow, enough of my rant - keep writing amazing books!

Thanks,

Dan


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## MichaelSullivan (Dec 10, 2012)

Xaysai said:


> Mr. Sullivan,
> 
> I just joined Mythic Scribes yesterday and was extremely happy to see your post here because I finished your Trilogy a few months ago.



It's a great place - welcome.  Thanks for reading my series.



Xaysai said:


> With no offense meant to anybody, it can be very difficult to find books in the fantasy genre that are just so damned good that it makes me sad to finish them because the story is over, but your series was one of them.



Thanks.  I hope you'll be interested then in the new books: The Crown Tower (Aug 2013) and The Rose and the Thorn (Sep 2013).



Xaysai said:


> In my opinion (and I hope you don't mind holding company with the following), your series is right there with Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy, Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy, Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard's series (of which he NEEDS to publish more) and Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles as fantastic stories which just don't get enough publicity while "better known" authors publish inferior books and get all the press : )



Do I mind? Are you kidding?  I'm honored to be placed in such company - thank you for that.



Xaysai said:


> Anyhow, enough of my rant - keep writing amazing books!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan



Will do.  Like I said Orbit has two of my books coming out in the fall of next year and I'll probably be self-publishing a new standalone in the spring.  I've completed a 4th book and once it is edited I'll send it to my publishers (I have to contractually) but I'm not sure which route I want to publish it in yet.

Thanks for the kind words!

MIchael.


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## MichaelSullivan (Dec 10, 2012)

Kim said:


> I bought the first book today and I am really looking forward to reading it. On my way home, I have read the first two pages and they made me even more curious.



Nice I hope you've had a chance to get deeper in and are still enjoying it.


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## Philip Overby (Dec 11, 2012)

I saw one of your books linked on Fantasy-Faction today.  I'm definitely interested in getting your series.  It's the next one I'm going to pick up.  Here's the link of anyone is interested in the Most Anticipated Novels of 2013 with Michael Sullivan listed.  

Top 10 Anticipated Fantasy Books for 2013 - Part One: Readers' Choice | Fantasy Faction


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## Graylorne (Dec 12, 2012)

Good work, Michael!

And thanks for championing: 





> (Fantasy Faction) 'His books take a step back from the current complex, mainstream fantasy and go back to that lighter, more adventure orientated fantasy that was popular in the late eighties and early nineties (with far better prose and character development!)'.



It's what I write, too, and it's sometimes heavy going against the current. This is very encouraging and something to point to.


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## MichaelSullivan (Dec 12, 2012)

Phil the Drill said:


> I saw one of your books linked on Fantasy-Faction today.  I'm definitely interested in getting your series.  It's the next one I'm going to pick up.  Here's the link of anyone is interested in the Most Anticipated Novels of 2013 with Michael Sullivan listed.
> 
> Top 10 Anticipated Fantasy Books for 2013 - Part One: Readers' Choice | Fantasy Faction



Yeah I was really excited to be included in that list - A fine grouping of authors and I'm still not sure how I snuck in ;-)

Glad you are interested in the series - please let me know what you think about Theft of Swords when you get done.


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## MichaelSullivan (Dec 12, 2012)

Graylorne said:


> Good work, Michael!
> 
> And thanks for championing:
> 
> It's what I write, too, and it's sometimes heavy going against the current. This is very encouraging and something to point to.



You gotta write what you want to read...follow your own heart and not the trends...it's a strategy that has done well for me.


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## danr62 (Dec 18, 2012)

MichaelSullivan said:


> Yeah I was really excited to be included in that list - A fine grouping of authors and I'm still not sure how I snuck in ;-)
> 
> Glad you are interested in the series - please let me know what you think about Theft of Swords when you get done.



Michael, you "snuck in" to that list because you are an excellent story teller and you and your wife are above par when it comes to marketing. Also, you're extremely helpful to other authors so you get some karma points too.


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## Janga (Dec 18, 2012)

I'm reading the last book in the Riyria Revelations now. This series is excellent!! I would have never known it existed if I wasn't a member of this forum.


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## MichaelSullivan (Dec 19, 2012)

danr62 said:


> Michael, you "snuck in" to that list because you are an excellent story teller and you and your wife are above par when it comes to marketing. Also, you're extremely helpful to other authors so you get some karma points too.



Thanks for saying such nice things.  I do believe that good things happen to those that do good things.  It may just be a matter of perspective (my glass is always 1/2 full).


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## Kim (Jan 1, 2013)

I really enjoyed these books. I have posted my very personal opinion about them on my blog: The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. Â« About reading and writing.
Hopefully the next book will arrive soon, so I can continue reading.


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## MichaelSullivan (Jan 2, 2013)

Kim said:


> I really enjoyed these books. I have posted my very personal opinion about them on my blog: The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. Â« About reading and writing.
> Hopefully the next book will arrive soon, so I can continue reading.



Wow thanks Kim - I'm really glad you enjoyed them so much.


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## MichaelSullivan (Feb 10, 2013)

For fans of audio books, my Riyria Revelations (Starting with Theft of Swords) was named to Audible's Best of the Best: Top 25 Series list.

Very exciting!


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## PlotHolio (Feb 13, 2013)

Wow, I didn't realize you were a member of this forum. I love your books.


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## MichaelSullivan (Feb 14, 2013)

PlotHolio said:


> Wow, I didn't realize you were a member of this forum. I love your books.



Yeah I've been here for some time - I do get "quiet" when I'm really busy - but I'm always open to answering questions. I'm glad you have enjoyed the books.


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## Chilari (Feb 15, 2013)

I've been thinking this for a while now, and nearly said it in a thread on reddit/writing the other day where someone else mentioned your moustache, but it slightly scares me. Not as much as Marcus Mumford's moustache in the Winter Winds video, but it does scare me. Moustaches are weird and frightening things without beards in the immediate vicinity.

It does make you look a bit like a WWII British officer though. Tally Ho!


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## MichaelSullivan (Feb 16, 2013)

Chilari said:


> I've been thinking this for a while now, and nearly said it in a thread on reddit/writing the other day where someone else mentioned your moustache, but it slightly scares me. Not as much as Marcus Mumford's moustache in the Winter Winds video, but it does scare me. Moustaches are weird and frightening things without beards in the immediate vicinity.
> 
> It does make you look a bit like a WWII British officer though. Tally Ho!



You are not alone...Peter V. Brett calls it "Sullivan's creepy moustache" but the again he's a beard guy. I'm not going to grow a beard...and when I did shave it off my wife and kids freaked out - maybe I can convince them to let me go again without it.  The way I look at it they see it more than I do so if they want it - so be it.


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## julidrevezzo (Mar 28, 2013)

MichaelSullivan said:


> I'll continue to do my best!



I'm sure you'll do fine.  Keep us posted!


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