Several venues included Micheal J. Sullivan among their best of the year selections.

Bibliosanctum: Top 10 Reads of 2013

Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan

MOGSY SAYS: It’s a great time to be a speculative fiction reader right now, with so many great and original ideas having found their way to being published in recent years. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have their place too, because if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of reading this incredible book in 2013.

What struck me about Hollow World isn’t so much the story, but the main character’s personal journey – the things he learns about himself and the questions he asks about life and love. I didn’t expect such heavy subject matters when I first picked this one up, but it was a welcome surprise. The book took my emotions on a roller coaster ride – I felt ecstatic, shocked, angry, sad, annoyed, disturbed, deeply touched, so moved that I was almost in tears…all that and more just from reading the story, and any book that can give me the kind of feels that Hollow World did certainly qualifies ashaving resonated with me. (Review coming in Spring 2014 closer to release)

Shadowhawk’s Shade: Best of the Best Novels-Top 6

4. Riyria Chronicles #1: The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan

  

Link | Goodreads | Author Blog | My Review | Guest Post: On Self-Publishing | Guest Post: Dealing With Success

Two men who hate each other.

One impossible mission.

A legend in the making.

Hadrian Blackwater, a warrior with nothing to fight for, is paired with Royce Melborn, a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Hired by an old wizard, they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most prized possessions.

But it isn’t gold or jewels that the wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might succeed.

Bookworm Blues: Best Books of 2013

Michael J. Sullivan
Okay, so I’m breaking my rule twice, but I really love Sullivan’s writing and his books always seem to scratch my itch perfectly. I love his characters, his plots, the easy flow of events. Everything about him is wonderful. His books have been huge hits with everyone who reads them, and there’s a reason for that. Sullivan is just a solid author. You know that his books will be worth the time it took to read them, because they are always good. Furthermore, Sullivan is a success story that so many authors aspire to. He’s a hell of a guy, a magnificent author, and I’m beyond thrilled that I’m one of the people who gets to read his books. Pay attention to this one. He is one of the best.

Fantasy-Faction: Best Fantasy Books of 2013

9) The Crown Tower & The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan

 

A warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most valuable possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels the old wizard is after, and this prize can only be obtained by the combined talents of two remarkable men. Now if Arcadias can just keep Hadrian and Royce from killing each other, they just might succeed.

The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles are two separate, but related series, and you can start reading with either Theft of Swords (publication order) or The Crown Tower (chronological order).

Michael Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations are straight up adventure stories with a very fun duo of thieves in the middle of it. His new series, The Riyria Chronicles, serves as a prequel story, telling the tale of how Royce and Hadrian met and became the team of thieves we are familiar with from Riyria Revelations. As we expected, Sullivan delivered a very enjoyable adventure story. We get a better picture and understanding of what caused Royce and Hadrian to become such opposite personalities, and we get more insight into what makes them tick. We are shown how they team up and learn to work together and how they really complement each other. We also get to hear Gwen’s story and how she came to be the character we are familiar with in Riyria Revelations. It’s enjoyable, the characters are as loveable as ever and we have no doubt you’ll finish it and wonder where all the pages went…

Additionally, Sullivan was given the 2013 Reddit Stabby for r/Fantasy Community Achivement Award for Best Overall Editor.

A FREE extended preview of Hollow World which contains the first four chapters of the book (66 pages) is still available.

For information on Hollow World, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Marc Simonetti. Design by Elizabeth Story.