Michael J. Sullivan’s Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire #3)
Description
The Fhrey rule the world as though they were gods; but now, human clans unite to defend themselves from these pseudo gods – so the war begins.
The humans have set aside their clan differences and join together in hopes of staving off a rumored Fhrey attack. Newly elected to lead the united clans, Persephone must make decisions without precedent.
Should she trust the few Fhrey who have joined with the humans, and lead an attack against a Fhrey stronghold? How can she prevent her people from devolving into clan disputes? And how can the young Mystic, growing ever stronger, help them in all of this?
Once as a clan leader, but more so now as Keenig of all the clans, Persephone finds herself making decisions based on one question, a question that controls her destiny more than she knows: what is best for my people?
Disclosure
I personally bought this book. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
The third of Sullivan’s The Legends of the First Empire series, Age of War dives into the beginning of the battle between Fhrey (elves) and men (read my review of book one, here). Where the second book, Age of Swords (read the review here) was more slow paced, focusing on character development and setting, Age of War picks back up to the fast pace that I love in Sullivan’s books. There is still plenty of world building, and character development with both returning and new characters, but it is laced around more action.
There is also a little mystery woven into this story that is independent of the other books, while still building on aspects from them. This is something else that I love about Sullivan’s writing, he has so many different, interesting story lines that build into and strengthen each other.
I did have a hard time with the end of this book – but not because it was poorly written, quite the opposite. The characters and plot are set up in a way that the reader roots for certain things. When the possibility of some of those things is finally squashed, you appreciate that it made complete sense with the story lines and characters, but that doesn’t keep it from breaking your heart. Cue the good, sad cry.
Overall, I loved this book. As expected, it (and the series as a whole) is fun, well written, and definitely something that I would be happy to read again.
Quote
I think we accept all too readily what we are told by those we love. It is not that our friends and family lie, but that they do not know the truth.
The Book of Brin (Age of War, Michael J. Sullivan)
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 5
- Plot – 4
- World Building – 5
- Characters – 5
- Ease of Reading – 5
- Pictures/ Illustrations – 3 (loved the cover, map was OK)
- Overall Enjoyment – 5
- Final Rating – 4.5 (Actual: 4.6) – Really Liked It/It Was Amazing
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.