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Age of Swords
Age of Swords
Age of Swords
Audiobook20 hours

Age of Swords

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

The gods are proven mortal and men now hold the art of magic in Book Two of the epic fantasy series that began in Age of Myth. Age of Swords continues the epic story of the war between humankind and the elves-and of ordinary people becoming legendary heroes. It introduces a set of new characters: the dwarves, whose magical weapon-craft could decide the war. It's up to our heroes to win over the dwarves to the side of humankind.or else lose the war forever.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 25, 2017
ISBN9781490656229
Age of Swords
Author

Michael J. Sullivan

Michael J. Sullivan is a three-time New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author who has been nominated for nine Goodreads Choice Awards. His first novel, The Crown Conspiracy, was released by Aspirations Media Inc. in October 2008. From 2009 through 2010, he self-published the next five of the six books of The Riyria Revelations, which were later sold and re-released by Hachette Book Group’s Orbit imprint as three two-book omnibus editions: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. Michael’s Riyria Chronicles series (a prequel to Riyria Revelations) has been both traditionally and self-published. The first two books were released by Orbit, and the next two by his own imprint, Riyria Enterprises. A fifth Riyria Chronicle, titled Drumindor, will be self-published in the near future. For Penguin Random House’s Del Rey imprint, Michael has published the first three books of The Legends of the First Empire: Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War. Grim Oak Press distributes the last three books of the series: Age of Legend, Age of Death, and Age of Empyre. Michael has returned to purely self-publishing roots with the release of his most recent series, The Rise and Fall Trilogy. These books are being published in the current schedule: Nolyn (Summer 2021), Farilane (Summer 2022,  and Esrahaddon (Summer 2023). Michael is now writing Drumindor, the fifth book of The Riyria Chronicles. This will return him to the timeline of Royce and Hadrian, two rogues he hasn’t visited with since the release of The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter in 2018.  You can email Michael at michael@michael-j-sullivan.com.

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Reviews for Age of Swords

Rating: 4.428143683532935 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

334 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An amazing book that really dives deep into the runes and their struggle and new developments as Suri makes tough decisions.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very good book. Lots of action, and a detailed plot line.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The book is well written and the narration is amazing. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to Book 2
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Perfect ratio of humor to action to character detail to transitioning between stories to everything. I laughed,i cried. I loved it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great plot, facilitates thought, incorporates lots of the ancient mythology , great character development and leads to sleep deprivation as it is so hard to stop reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book has been one of the few books I couldn't stop reading. Is was fantastic!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So it’s the 14th, why isn’t it available...like now?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The wordcraft and performance were exceptional, as always. I am amazed at your gifts and discipline. What I found offsetting to what would have been a 5 star review was the story-wide acceleration toward a "males bad, females good" paradigm. It was obviously deliberate and increasingly awkward, like an unnecessary layer of makeup on a beautiful woman. It hurt the story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Closely before finishing the first book of the trilogy i was like no - not going to continue reading this. But it in the end it got quite suspense so i continued. Now everything repeated with the same outcome: Will also read the third part as soon as it comes out.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Picking up not long after where the first book leaves off, Age of Swords starts off quite literally with lightning, leaving the inhabitants of Dahl Rhen with little more than their lives. A gang of giants attacks in the aftermath of the storm and Persephone decides her people can no longer stay in the area if they hope to survive. It's time to gather the clans and decide how to face the Frey threat. This book is all about character development and girl power. Many of our original characters are given a chance to grow (Persephone, Suri, Arion and others) with several side characters from the first book taking the spotlight. It was great to learn more about Roan, Moya and Brin. On the downside, Mawyndule the Frey prince was given POV chapters. Good lord I couldn't stand him! Which I guess is job well done to the author for making an annoying teenager, well, annoying. We're also introduced to dwarves in this book. Going with the ladies to explore the dwarven city across the sea was easily my favorite part of this book. I couldn't wait for these chapters to cycle back into the spotlight.This book does have some issues. The pacing is uneven with long stretches of character dialog providing us with background information on history and magic with the unfortunately shorter stretches of activity. There is also an unrealistic amount of technological progression for the humans, accomplished in a matter of days, almost exclusively done by one person. Leonardo da Vinci has nothing on these characters!My gripes aside, Age of Swords is a solid entry to the series. It had a lot of things to set up for the future books. With that done hopefully the third book will pick the pace again.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While the story of this book is good, the plot is quite predictable and there are parts of it that are just unbelievable, which is hard to say for a fantasy book! This one follows Age of Myth. The humans are still being attacked by the Fhrey, who regard them as little more than animals to be confined to their own lands. The humans realize they must band together to fight, but their stone and copper(!) weapons are useless against the Fhrey and their magic. A council is called to select a war leader to unite the human clans but during the council, some of the key characters must go off to help the Dherg (dwarves) and secure better weapons. Persephone, Brin, Suri, Moya and Roan are still the life of the clan and the most competent of the humans. Meanwhile, the Fhrey are represented by Mawyndule, the foolish and snotty crown prince as their politics plays a lesser role in this book. One of the odd and bothersome aspects of this book is the huge differences in technology between the races. The Fhrey have magic and bronze swords, but the humans haven't even figured out what bronze is, don't have archery, the wheel or.. just about any technology. The dwarves are ahead of both of them technologically. This really doesn't make a lot of sense and it plays an important role in the book as some of the characters 'discover' hundreds of years of technology in a week.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good second book in this series, but not quite as good as the first.

    This was more about character and plot development than anything else, really. It felt like watching a master-level chess match, with the key pieces being moved into place for some future gambit. Lots of dialogue and definitely some palace intrigue in the Fhrey arena, too.

    I am definitely looking forward to the next book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was much better than the first book. The characters had far more depth than before, each one taking on a unique role. I also enjoyed how Sullivan worked in the invention of several basic technologies. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but by the end, I appreciated it. I look forward to the next book.

    On a side note, I'm not thrilled with the voice actor for the audiobook.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    **The book was reviewed for the San Francisco and Seattle Book ReviewsAge of Swords is second in Michael J Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series. War continues to loom between Fhrey and Rhune. A vicious attack leaves those of Dahl Rhen without a home, and more determined than ever to shake free of the yoke of Fhrey oppression. Persephone, now chieftain of Dahl Rhen, issues invitations to all the Rhune clans, even the feared and fearsome Gula, to a summit to appoint a keenig who will lead the united clans against the Fhrey.Trouble plagues the effort from the beginning. No clan wants another's chieftain to be keenig. The most logical choice refuses to even consider it because he thinks superior numbers, and Nyphron’s training mean nothing without weapons at least equal to their opponents. While the council continues to argue it out, Persephone and a band of intrepid females set out to the Dherg nation to barter for weapons of quality. What they are required to pay, and what they find are far beyond their imagination. Question is- will it be enough?I love Sullivan's writing! He has dynamic characters and engaging, immersive story. Swords was no exception. Each character continues to grow, even as they struggle with inner and outer demons. For the women, Neith becomes their crucible, forging alchemic change. This is especially true of Suri, who pays the highest price of all for their cause. Persephone and the others grow as well. Brin and Roan, the two youngest, step into greater maturity. Moya finds her true confidenceI love that alchemic themes are teased at with Mawyndulë also. The secret Miralyth meetings are under the Rose Bridge, they are sub rosa, beneath the rose. This begins Mawyndulë's transformation, which continues in the Airenthenon. He is young, with much potential, and at a critical age for shaping ethics. I admit, I didn't like him at first. He seemed petty, shallow, and childish. These things get stripped from him in the fires of his own Calcination.This book is all about alchemic change. It isn't just the individuals, but entire cultures. Sullivan does a masterful job showing cultural diffusion, as Rhune, Dherg, and Fhrey cultures begin to bleed into one another, sharing technology and information, however reluctantly. This diffusion sparks a great deal of growth in Rhune culture. Being the least insular, and shortest-lived seems to have made them quite adaptable. It's a great message, too, that the majority of change is instigated by women, often despite the men’s behaviour and beliefs. I'll admit. It is a rare book that can make me actually cry. Not just tear up, but sit bawling, hugging my very confused, and increasingly irritated kitty cat. In the depths of Neith, I truly shared Suri’s sorrow. Sullivan plays the heartstrings of imagination as Suri plucks the strings of creation. Powerful magic indeed.?????
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The saga continues as Persephone, Suri, Raithe, Miya, Roan, and Malcolm seek ways to have the warring clans unite to defeat the Fhrey. The answer lies far across the sea in a land where a race feels nothing but distance for all of the human race and Fhrey alike. Persephone leads the gifted seer, the Fhrey sorceress, Aron, and a band of misfits in a desperate search for aid.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Age of Swords is the second book of the five book Legends of the First Empire series. (*See my remarks about series below.) It picks up shortly after where Age of Myth ends. Dahl Rhen is destroyed in a retaliatory raid ordered by the Fhrey. Persephone, the new chieftain, gathered together what remained of her clan and fled to a neighboring dahl. There she hopes to unite the clans in war against the Fhrey. But talking folks into going to war against gods is easier said than done, especially without effective weapons so soon Persephone and a small band of women take ship to the city of Neith to negotiate with dwarves for a supply of swords. The price? Just kill a giant, only Balgrgarath isn’t really a giant. He’s a demon. As Brin said, “The name should have been a clue. When something sounds like a giant vomiting up a dwarf, you shouldn’t expect sunshine and daisies.”What I liked most about this book was its cast of strong female characters. One can’t be blamed for thinking a handful of women could stand a chance against a demon but this isn’t your typical handful. Persephone has already shown her mettle as a leader in Age of Myth, as have Arion the Fhrey refugee and Suri, her apprentice in the magical arts. Also with them are Brinn, keeper of the clan’s stories who is fascinated with the idea or turning sounds into marks on tablets; the inquisitive Roan, who confronts every obstacle with the thought that there must be a better way, and Moya, who makes up in bravery what she lacks in other qualities. Bottom line: There are so many fantasy series out there that it takes a lot to make one stand out and keep the readers coming back for more. This series has a compelling plot, well-developed characters that are easy to relate to, and just the right combination of thrills and humor to keep me interested. I highly recommend Michael Sullivan’s Legends of the First Empire series. * Some people insist on reading series in order starting at the beginning. I believe that this is absolutely necessary with some series and unnecessary in others. In my reviews, I assign books in a series a score of one to five in which the higher score denotes increased importance of reading the book in order. A series with returning villains, an ongoing story arc, and evolving family dynamics will rate higher than one where the plot in each book is totally unrelated to the others. As an example, a Nancy Drew book would be a one. There is no evolving story arc. Nancy hasn’t grown any older in fifty years and, face it, Ned is never going to propose to her. The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, is a five. Reading the trilogy in order is essential to fully understanding and appreciating the story. One book picks up right where its predecessor leaves off and Fellowship of the Ring contains information that readers of The Two Towers really need to know. Besides, Tolkien originally wrote it as a single volume.I rate This book a 3.5 to 4 on the series scale. The dominant story line is the long story, which is made more evident when we learn that Michael Sullivan wrote all five volumes before the first volume went into print. Even so, the events in Age of Swords, while a contributing part of the overall story, can be read as standalone without losing too much difficulty in comprehension. I don’t recommend it, but if a copy of Age of Myth is unavailable, it can be done.**Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending. *1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Age of Swords picks up shortly after the events in Age of Myth, Book One of The Legends of the First Empire by Michael Sullivan. In Myth, Raithe proved that the Fhrey were not gods by killing two of them. As Sword opens it becomes clear that appeasement is not an option as a magical storm and an attack by giants destroys Dahl Rhen. Persephone, now chieftain of Dahl Rhen, calls all the tribes together to select a Keenig, or single ruler to lead the tribes in the now inevitable war with the Fhrey, or elves. The only advantage the Rhunes, or humans, have is numbers. Fhrey are long-lived, but slow breeding. They have better weapons, strength, and tactics, not to mention magic.It turns out the Rhunes have a few secret weapons of their own, namely some strong and clever women. As the other chieftains bicker over who should be Keenig, Persephone strikes a deal with some dwarves who need someone to defeat a demon who has barred them from their home. Persephone agrees to lead a group to fight the demon in exchange for weapons that can be used in the war against the Fhrey. The group includes Brin, the clan record keeper, Suri, the young mystic who has demonstrated the ability to wield magic like the Fhrey, renegade Fhrey Arion, Roan, the former slave with an almost single-minded focus on inventing things, and Moya, the beautiful girl with hidden depths and strengths who takes on the role of Persephone’s protector. One of the things that sets this series apart is the complete lack of technology among the Rhune. The sense of wonder and opportunity that come along with the invention of the items like the wheel and iron weapons are interestingly captured here. Events move steadily forward towards war with the Fhrey, even as the Rhune must learn to work together. Persephone’s practical leadership and strategic thinking propel the story forward. Time spent among the Rhune and the dwarves is the most enjoyable. Much like the first book, time spent in Fhrey society is less interesting. There is scheming and the seeds of intrigue planted there, but the lack of sympathetic characters among them are the weak point of the story. The emotional core of the story is Persephone and her group. Their determination and sacrifice drives home the magnitude and stakes of what awaits them. The very survival of humanity may depend on their success.The audio version of the book is dedicated to its narrator, Tim Gerrard Reynolds, and it is easy to see why. His narration complements the story at every turn with distinct character voices and great pace. He conveys the emotion present in the scenes and amplifies the humor. Although the books can be enjoyed in either print or audio, Reynolds skillful narration makes the audio my preference.Age of Swords is an excellent follow up to Age of Myth and will be sure to please fans of Sullivan’s work. I’m looking forward to the next volume. Highly recommended.I was fortunate to receive a copy of this audiobook from the publisher.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Ouf, many passages were painful to read in this one. I had the impression of reading the first book from a first grader. First, let's face it, Sullivan is horrible at naming characters. Roan and Arion for girls name? Frost, Flood and Rain as dwarf? Where's Grumpy and Snow White? Second, in less than 200 pages, the Rhunes(human) gets to invent the wheel, writing and bows.(of course, all those inventions already existed for the other races, but what took decades to create for the other races, two single Rhunes managed to do in less than a week.) Third, all the parallels he tries to make on the language are awful. I.e: ryeteen = writing. Ugh. I tell you, it's like reading a first grader story, except he got published somehow.Fourth, the plot itself is also painful. "hey, let's go kill a giant for the dwarves, so then they will make us hundred of wonderful swords in gratitude to help us for the war against the Fhrey!" Hmm, if they can make such wonderful weapons, why would they need anyone to kill a simple giant...? How are we supposed to believe Roan and Brin and Persephone can lead, invent writing and wheels, and bows, and yet can't even figure out something is amiss in this "quest". As for the Fhrey prince chapters, so much stereotypes, you'll cringe off 3mm of your teeth enamel before the end of the book.There is also the constant, omnipresent, and now totally predictable and unending argumentation between any and all characters about everything and nothing. I mean, the author could almost make them argue for 3 pages about who'll open the door after someone knocked. I'm barely exaggerating. Thankfully, no one knocked on any doors during this story. I liked the first book of this series and where it seemed it was heading, I also generally enjoyed The Riyria Revelations, especially the background story about the Empire. I liked less the Riyria Chronicles and stopped reading after book 2. And this book here? Pure guano. End of the series for me.