The thing I loved most about Theft of Swords (apart from the character) was the humour. The scene where he talks about the squirrel just about broke my heart. Arista was wonderful too and Esrahadden is mysterious yet so much fun to read but I have to give special mention to Myron, a man who is so completely and utterly adorable you just want to wrap him in a blanket and give him a big hug. I liked seeing Alric go from a very petulant young man into something more regal and befitting of his heritage.

The other characters are also very well written and I very much enjoyed reading their journeys. Their opposing personalities allows for some utterly hilarious dialogue from the two of them and I adore their friendship. To say that I fell immediately in love with these two characters is a complete understatement. He’s also excellent with a sword (or three). Theft of Swords follows two men, Royce Melborn, a thief with a strong pessimistic streak and Hadrian Blackwater, who is the polar opposite of his friend and always sees the best at things.

The Crown Conspiracy feels like a traditional fantasy story with a lot more humour and Avempartha does an excellent job of filling in the history of the world and expanding the world which Sullivan has created. In Avempartha, they are hired to steal a sword in order to defeat a monstrous beast and, by the end, a lot of questions are raised that I am dying to find the answers to. In The Crown Conspiracy, Royce and Hadrian are hired to steal a sword, become dragged into a murder plot and have to save Prince Alric and stop a conspiracy. Avempartha felt more confident, expanded the world and pushed the story forward a lot more but The Crown Conspiracy was just so much fun to read as well.īoth stories focus on the theft of a sword (obviously). Theft of Swords is split into two books: The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha and I loved both of them. Together they make a profitable living as agents-for-hire to wealthy nobles until someone sets them up to take the blame for the murder of the king.Ĭaptured and sentenced to death the two are saved by an unlikely woman with a simple demand that will change the lives of the thieves, the course of a kingdom and the foundation of an empire. Royce Melborn is a superb thief his partner, Hadrian Blackwater is a skilled mercenary. There are not enough words to describe just how amazing I found this book. I haven’t read a debut fantasy novel that I have fallen so instantly in love with since Assassin’s Apprentice. This isn’t going to be so much a review as one massive squeal-fest about how much I loved Theft of Swords.

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan