“Theft of Swords” was a Christmas present from my brother. I haven’t been putting it off. It’s just that I had a lot of other books also given as gifts that were in line first, and some of them took a long time to read. But I knew I would get to Mr. Sullivan’s novel sooner or later, if for no other reason than my youngest son looking at the cover and asking me if it would be okay for him to read. I had no idea.
But “get to it” I did, and it’s an interesting twist of fate that I got to it right after reading “The Lies of Locke Lamora”, the best-written book I haven’t liked. But whereas the “Lies” protagonists were rogues with a patina of heroic-ness, the protagonists of “Theft of Swords” are heroes with a patina of roguishness. Sullivan’s world is not exactly a nice place, but it’s not dark and gritty. (This is later explained in the extra material from the author in the back of the book. He doesn’t want to “do” gritty. He wants to write stories about heroes.) It’s not trying to make a statement. He just wanted to write a fun adventure.
And he succeeds. Twice, actually, for “Theft of Swords” is actually the first two books of his Riryia series combined into a single volume. Since they were together in a single volume I determined to read them both before reviewing them. And that is for the better. The first book, “The Crown Conspiracy”, is good, but perhaps a little too much on the light side. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t particularly sad to end. It tells the story of Hadrian and Royce, two lovable rogues who, together, are the perfect thieves. There is nothing they can’t steal, no chamber they can’t enter, no swordsman they can’t defeat. And no trouble they can’t get caught up in. In the first book they get hired to do a job that goes terribly wrong, plunging them into a nasty mess of intrigue that they, unsurprisingly, work their way out of by the end.
It’s in the second book, “Avempartha”, that Sullivan begins weaving his larger plot arch in earnest. Details that we saw and perhaps shrugged at in the first book are revealed to run deeper than we might have thought. Hadrian and Royce take on an altruistic mission this time, which again lands them in the middle of some terrible nastiness, which they only partly succeed in getting out of. Something is brewing on the horizon, the book two starts to wind up the spring. By the time the second book ends there are multiple reasons to keep reading.
Can I let my nine-year-old read it? I’m not sure. For the most part there’s nothing he hasn’t already read. However, he’s probably not ready yet for brothels and prostitutes, however brief and vague. From Sullivan’s books he might think they are overly-attentive innkeepers, but there are enough hints otherwise to perhaps inspire some questions I’m not ready to answer yet.
I can see why my brother gave me the book–both for the book itself and for the story of the man behind the book. Sullivan’s biography reads a lot like my own, and his philosophy on stories seems quite compatible. Here is a writer whose ear I’d like to bend some time.
Right now Sullivan’s books are on sale at Barnes & Noble for 2 for @20 (actually more like $22, but still a reasonably good deal, and there are many other writers included). I’m sorely tempted to pick up at least the next one so that I have it on hand when my reading list things out further. So yes, I like his writing. If you’re tired of all the writers trying to “out-dark-and-gritty” one another, give Sullivan a try. He’ll put the fun and adventure back in fantasy for you.
