Michael J. Sullivan (1) (1961–)

I would highly recommend this entire series to anyone. This is an exceptional fantasy series that is not only ridiculously fun and addictive, but also stands out above the crowd for multiple reasons: first are the strong female characters who all feature prominently, are not simply damsels in distress for the heroes to rescue and actually have their own character arcs that differ greatly from each other. Written by a male author no less! Second, while the general idea of elves, dwarves and show more humans has been repeated in fantasy over and over, this is still a fresh take on an old trope that manages to surprise. Third, it is wonderful to find a fantasy tale that does not rely on heroic battles and wars to fill chapters. Instead there is exciting plot, rich history and great banter. I recommend reading the Riyria Revelations first and then the Chronicles (publication order) as there are a lot of Easter eggs in the newer books that you can only really appreciate if you read the Revelations. show less

“You’re unique—truly unique. You have hair—and it’s two colors. Your skin sags, and has all those great creases, like a beloved knapsack that has been taken everywhere and shows evidence of every mile. No one else has that.”



This is going to be a slightly biased review because I’ve read pretty much everything Michael has published and loved most of it. That combined with the fact that Michael is immensely approachable and a very straight-forward person makes for a mixture I show more can’t resist.

You might want to read another of Michael’s books first, though, to find out if you like his style. Hollow World, while definitely a Sullivan, is maybe not the best introduction. For that, I’d like to recommend his Riyria books to you.



That said, bias or not – this book was very interesting, exciting and entertaining. In “Hollow World”, Ellis Rogers, a 58-year old man with a difficult family history escapes his wife of 35 years and his best friend, Warren, when he receives the news that he’s terminally ill. Using a DIY time machine built in his garage, he jumps 2000 years into mankind’s future.



I have a few (minor) gripes with Hollow World: I’d certainly have enjoyed to get to “see” a bit more of the world itself. Yes, we get introduced to some individuals (voxes, wonderful!) but I know for a fact that Michael has a real knack for world building (read Legends of the First Empire if you don’t believe me) and I wish he’d used it more extensively.

When we reach the main part of the story (a bit too early), we’re strongly exposed to “god and country”, “Old West” and “Good old times” stuff. Again, yes, it’s intentional but it’s going slightly overboard for my taste.

Especially when Ellis Rogers – who seemed mostly sane till that point – picks up on the religious stuff I rolled my eyes.



I also wished for Michael to be a bit bolder about Ellis and Pax. There’s a lot to be said for not making things too easy and even at some key moments (“You recognised me!”) even the daftest old-fashioned guy should come around to see what’s happening.

On the other hand, the way Michael describes the relationship between Pax and Ellis is believable and – considering Ellis’ past experience – it's probably much to ask for him to embrace what’s going on.

Plus: The door is not closed to more stories from Hollow World, I think. It has a lot of potential yet and I'd like to read more of it, especially about Ellis and Pax and humanity at that point of its development because the philosophical issues beyond the shallow religious meandering are still to be explored more fully.

Maybe taking up just a little fewer major topics in one book would be good because, as Michael writes in the afterword, Hollow World encompasses “liberal versus conservative, gay rights, religion, and God” and it’s hard to do justice to all of those within the confines of a single novel.

And, honestly, there’s nothing to argue about equality (not “gay rights”, Michael). Trying to tell anyone whom they’re supposed (or not supposed) to love has nothing to do with “dualities” but is simply infringing on other people’s turf – just ask Pax.



Anyway, one conclusion still holds true after reading a less-typical Sullivan: When I look at my "Favourites" shelf on GoodReads, I see Paul Auster, Isabelle Allende, Thomas Mann, J. R. R. Tolkien and Michael J. Sullivan - it's just that only the last one never disappointed. show less

He's gone and done it again. Michael J. Sullivan just pretty much slapped me across the face with his own book. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. The story was great and kept me positively engaged from start to finish, and then just frelling wholloped me in the face at the end.

I was unsure about "prequels" with the Riyria Chronicles. The first book, and now this one, have shown me that my worries were rather unfounded. My expectations were low, as some other prequels that I have read end show more up being contrived with characters mere shadows of themselves, with stuff being forced.

Not this. Not here. Not Riyria.

Do yourself a favor. Find these books. All of them. Read them. show less

Wintertide is the fifth and penultimate book in Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Revelations series. Again, the story picks up right where the last one left off. The Wintertide festival is almost here and events set in motion in the second book finally come to a head.

Each character goes on an arc. It's amazing how much growth they all have in just over 300 pages. I loved the nod to A Knight's Tale in Hadrian's story thread. My heart is breaking for Royce and I'm a little worried about what show more that's going to do to his mental state. The horrible situation Arista was in has taught her to be humble and I think she's going to bounce back fantastically. Now if only she'd experiment with the Art more! Thankfully Modina finds her way through her own personal darkness and is back in the game as an active participant. Between her and Nimbus the Empire is in good hands. With all the hubbub over the real heir Degan Gaunt is a let down. And a bit of an ass. I hope there's another twist in store and he's not really the heir though that doesn't seem likely at this point. Best of all, it was satisfying for Saldur to finally get his comeuppance.

While I don't think anything will match the pure fun of meeting Royce and Hadrian for the first time, this book came close and is a tie for my favorite in the series. I can't wait to see how it all ends in Percepliquis. show less