Previous SFF Author: Matthew Sturges
(1961- )
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Michael J. Sullivan has lived in Vermont, North Carolina, and Virginia. He worked as a commercial artist and illustrator, founding his own advertising agency in 1996, which he closed in 2005 to pursue writing full-time. The Crown Conspiracy is his first published work. Michael currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia, with his wife and three children. Learn more at Michael J. Sullivan’s website.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE BOOKS BY MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN.
Today we welcome Michael J. Sullivan who’s here to talk about how he became a reader. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of his latest book The Crown Tower which I reviewed earlier this week. It’s a prequel to his popular RIYRIA books, so it’s the perfect book for both new readers and established fans. (We can send to U.S. addresses only.)
It’s probably not something that an author should admit but I wasn’t a “big reader” when young. In fact, I hated to read.
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
The first thing you should know about Theft of Swords is that it’s not a fine dining experience. This book is not the literary equivalent of going to a fancy restaurant and getting one of those huge plates that are mostly empty except for a tiny stalk of asparagus artfully drizzled with a delicate sauce. Instead, it’s more like sitting down hungry and getting a big, tasty burger you can just grab and sink your teeth into. (Vegetarians, please substitute for the vegetarian equivalent of a big,
Editor’s note: Rise of Empire was originally published as Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm.
Rise of Empire by Michael Sullivan
Nyphron Rising: Now that the Imperialists have a puppet for their throne, the war for conquest has begun. Knowing that Melengar cannot stand against the Imperialists’ might, Princess Arista employs Royce and Hadrian to escort her on a self-imposed mission. While working for the princess, Royce has his own agenda: to secretly investigate Hadrian’s past to determine if what the wizard Esrahaddon has told him about his friend is true.
Greg Hersom and John Hulet | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
Editor’s note: Heir of Novron was originally published as Wintertide and Percepliquis.
Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan
Wintertide is the next to last book in THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS series. As with the rest of these books, this is a fairly self-contained story, but at the same time the reader can feel the momentum building toward an explosive conclusion. Hadrian is forced into a deadly deal to kill an honorable knight by making it look accidental in a tournament,
Greg Hersom and John Hulet´s rating: 4 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Crown Tower by Michael J Sullivan
The Crown Tower is the first book in Michael J. Sullivan’s RIYRIA CHRONICLES series. This series starts before the existing novels, THE RIYRIA REVELATIONS, and it lets us see how Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn first meet.
Since I haven’t read any of Sullivan’s other books, in a way I was the perfect reader for this one. I didn’t have expectations. The Crown Tower is full of fast-paced sword-wielding fun from the first chapter.
Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan
The Rose and the Thorn is the second book in Michael J. Sullivan’s RIYRIA CHRONICLES. Sullivan continues to share “the early years” of Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn.
The Rose and the Thorn takes place about one year after the events in The Crown Tower. The book opens, not with our two wandering thieves-for-hire, but with Reuben Hilfred. Reuben is soon to be made one of the royal guards in King Amrath,
Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan
As soon as I heard about Hollow World I jumped on the bandwagon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love it when authors take a left turn and tries something absolutely new and different. Michael J. Sullivan is known for his epic fantasy, so a time travel/futuristic sci-fi is absolutely different than his usual work. He had my attention.
The thing is, despite the fact that this is an absolutely different genre than Sullivan fans will expect,
Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
With Age of Myth, Michael J. Sullivan begins a prequel series to his RIYRIA CHRONICLES and RIYRIA REVELATIONS series. The good news for newcomers to his books is that, since this series takes place about 3,000 years earlier, you don’t need to be familiar with either of those series or the world of Elan to enjoy this new LEGENDS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE series, so I was in good shape.
Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Age of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
Storm clouds have been gathering since the events of Age of Myth, the first book in Michael J. Sullivan‘s new epic fantasy series, LEGENDS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE. The Fhrey (elves) have been feeling threatened by the Rhunes (humans) ever since the Rhunes shifted from a nomadic lifestyle to a more settled one, with crops and flocks of animals as well as hunting. Their population started exploding, and the Rhunes now outnumber the long-lived Fhrey by a factor of twenty to one (one million Rhunes vs.
Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan
We (Tadiana and Marion) have both been reading THE LEGENDS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE series. Here, we take a few minutes to discuss the third book, Age of War.
Tadiana: All the resentments, cruelties, conspiracies and ambitions that have been simmering since Age of Myth (and even before) boil over and explode in Age of War (2018), the third book in Michael J.
Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Michael J. Sullivan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
There is so much free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet these days. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about. We’ll put our favorites at the top.
The Oiran’s Song” by Isabel Yap (2015, free at Uncanny Magazine)
“The Oiran’s Song” is the tale of a young man who is sold into service with a traveling group of Japanese soldiers; this is a better fate than what befell his younger brother. It’s also the tale of a young woman who entertains soldiers through various methods,
There is so much free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet these days. Here are a few stories we’ve recently read that we wanted you to know about.
“Peace in Amber” by Hugh Howey (2014, $1.99 Kindle, $3.95 Audible)
“Peace in Amber” is Hugh Howey’s tribute to Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, a surrealistic novel in which Vonnegut explores his personal memories of the bombing of Dresden. Like Slaughterhouse-Five, “Peace in Amber” is also a personal reflection: Hugh Howey’s experiences on September 11,
Here are a few shorter SFF works that we read this week that we wanted you to know about. Some great finds this week!
Blood Grains Speak Through Memories by Jason Sanford (March 2016, free at Beneath Ceaseless Skies, free ebook available on the author’s website)
Frere-Jones Roeder is the anchor of her land, charged with its protection and maintenance. The blood grains flow through her body, sharing memories of past anchors and giving her senses knowledge of all of the life and activity on her two-league plot of land,
Previous SFF Author: Matthew Sturges
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one