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The rose and the thorn

The rose and the thorn

FantasyEpic Fantasy
Pages
384
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

The Rose and the Thorn is the second novel in Michael J. Sullivan's The Riyria Chronicles, a prequel series to his bestselling Riyria Revelations. Set in the fictional world of Elan, it follows the sardonic thief Royce Melborn and the good-natured swordsman Hadrian Blackwater as they return to the city of Medford and are drawn into a dangerous web of court conspiracy centered on the kingdom of Melengar.

The story braids together several threads: Gwen DeLancy, a young madam guarding a deadly secret; Reuben Hilfred, a palace guard nursing an impossible love for the princess Arista; and a plot by ambitious nobles to seize power. Sullivan writes accessible, fast-moving epic fantasy in the classic sword-and-sorcery tradition, prized for its clean prose and the warm, bickering friendship at its heart.

Because the Chronicles are designed as an entry point to the wider saga, the book rewards new readers and longtime fans alike.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

AdventurousTenseAtmospheric
Morally GreyBetrayal

Genres

Fantasy Epic Fantasy Sword & Sorcery Urban Fantasy Adventure High Fantasy

About the author

M
Michael J. Sullivan

Michael J. Sullivan is an American author of epic fantasy, best known for the Riyria series. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961, and worked as a commercial artist and illustrator, running his own advertising agency from 1996 until he closed it in 2005 to write full time. He began the Riyria Revelations to help his dyslexic daughter learn to read, self-published it from 2008, and it was later reissued by Orbit and translated into more than a dozen languages. His other series are the Riyria...

Characters

Royce MelbornProtagonist

A cynical, ruthless thief with a mysterious past and lethal skill, one half of the Riyria partnership.

Hadrian BlackwaterProtagonist

A principled, warm-hearted master swordsman who balances Royce's colder instincts.

Gwen DeLancySupporting

A refugee running a brothel in Medford who holds a dangerous secret and becomes central to Royce's story.

Reuben HilfredSupporting

A young palace guard devoted to Princess Arista, caught up in the court conspiracy.

All characters in The rose and the thorn