Rise of Empire feels like the point where Riyria really starts opening up.
Royce and Hadrian are still the reason I’m here, but the problems around them are getting way bigger than another job going sideways. In Theft of Swords, a lot of the fun comes from watching these two extremely capable guys get dragged into trouble and somehow work their way back out of it. Here, it starts feeling like the world isn’t going to let them stay on the outside anymore.
Hadrian probably interested me more in this one because you start seeing how badly he wants his life to actually mean something. He can fight. Everybody knows he can fight. But being good with a sword isn’t the same thing as knowing who you should be fighting for. I liked watching him wrestle with that, because he wants to believe there’s a cause worth committing to without becoming somebody else’s weapon.
Royce is almost the opposite. His instinct is still to trust nobody, assume the worst, and keep an exit nearby. Most of the time that’s exactly why he survives. But the farther they get pulled into everything, the more you start seeing that Royce’s suspicion protects him while also keeping him from letting people in. That’s part of what makes him such a good character for me. He isn’t secretly a sweetheart underneath it all. He’s still Royce. You just start understanding why he is the way he is.
Arista also becomes much more important here. She isn’t just hanging around the edges of Royce and Hadrian’s story anymore. She’s starting to make her own decisions and deal with power, responsibility, and people constantly underestimating her. I liked that Sullivan gives her room to become a real part of the larger story instead of just using her when the plot needs a princess.
Thrace adds something different too. Her story brings in a more personal look at what all these wars, politics, and bigger ambitions actually do to normal people. That helps keep the series from turning into nothing but kings, armies, and strategy.
This omnibus collects Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, and I think the biggest difference from Theft of Swords is scale. The first omnibus feels more like a couple of adventures that slowly reveal a bigger world. Rise of Empire starts pulling the curtain back. There are more political games, more questions about who people really are, and more people trying to use history, titles, and reputation to control what happens next.
That does mean there are stretches where Royce and Hadrian aren’t just bouncing off each other every other page, and I missed that sometimes. Their banter is still one of the best parts of the series for me. But I think the story needed to grow past just the two of them taking jobs, or it probably would have started feeling repetitive.
What I liked is that even as everything gets bigger, Sullivan doesn’t completely lose what made the first books work. Royce and Hadrian still feel like Royce and Hadrian. Their friendship is still at the center of why I care, even when the story is dealing with empires, wars, and people trying to decide what these two men should become.
Rise of Empire is where Riyria starts feeling less like a really good adventure series and more like one long story that has been quietly setting things up from the beginning.
Who I’d recommend it to: Anyone who liked Theft of Swords and wants the world to get bigger without losing Royce and Hadrian at the center of it.
Caution: There’s more politics and more time away from the simple Royce-and-Hadrian job structure, so it has a slightly different feel from the first omnibus.
Discussion question: Do you think Royce’s distrust keeps him alive, or does it hurt him more than he realizes?
— Cory Lane