The Crown Conspiracy
Michael J. Sullivan
Reviewed by Tamara Baff
The Crown Conspiracy begins an epic fantasy that consists of 6 books
called The Riyia Revelations.
Each of these books may be read on its own without reading the rest of
the books but they all fit together well in the telling of the tale of
Elan.
The characters of Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are skilled
thieves...so skilled in fact that they are notorious for it and their
cost reflects this exclusivity. Nobles and commoners alike come to this
pair to retrieve stuff stolen from them or assignments that are
sensitive in nature. This all comes to end when they are framed for the
murder of the king. They are the only persons to be found near his dead
body...in a locked chapel.
Amid the ensuing furor they meet and help Prince Alric and Princess
Arista seek the real murdering traitor and expose the treachery from
within the court. They need to spirit away Prince Alric before he can
also be murdered, to take him as far away as possible to keep him safe,
even if he resists.
Along the way they also meet and help a monk who was saved from
execution and left behind after his abbey was burned to the ground. He
beocmes a kind and gentle new friend. They also seek and find a wizard
magically imprisoned for the last 900 years...a secret so volatile that
to know of him is to sign your own death warrant. They gather up their
trusty band of cutthroats and prepare to race to the rescue of the
princess and place the rightful king back upon the throne.
There are so many layers to this story that to explain it in a few
words is nigh impossible. The characters are well fleshed out and the
descriptions about the countryside and customs fueled my imagination
and I felt that I could hardly wait to read more of this adventure. The
world created by Michael J. Sullivan is intriguing and he has subtly
interwoven new possibilities that may be coming in future installments
of this epic tale. I am hoping that the future books will include more
of the characters met along the way and I have already guessed at one
of the mysteries. I can`t wait to see if I was right.
Waiting eagerly for the next chapter of this saga.
Great read!