Michael J. Sullivan’s Nolyn (The Rise and Fall #1)
Description
Long ago, a war was fought between the Humans and Fhrey – elves who ruled the land like gods. Generations have passed, and the details of that war have begun to muddle in the retellings, but forgotten things have a habit of coming back around.
Prince, and heir to the all-powerful Empyre, Nolyn finds himself dispatched deep into the goblin-infested forest. He’s fought and killed more than his share of goblins, but the squadron he’s with is small and it’s getting dark. The goblins will be everywhere – if they aren’t already.
In the capital city, Sephryn, Nolyn’s friend since childhood, fights to bridge the gap and ease the tensions between the Empyre’s Humans and Fhrey. She’s fought with paper, petition, and protest for thousands of years, but her list of victories is meager. Fhrey hold almost all the positions of power in the Empyre – an Empyre initially built to prevent that exact division.
In the city where unrest boils, and in the forest where darkness lurks, long-forgotten secrets are coming to light. Secrets that could tear the known world apart.
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
If you don’t yet know, I am a huge fan of all Michael J. Sullivan’s work. I started with Theft of Swords, and have read through everything I can get. When Nolyn came out – the first book of The Rise and Fall, a series that bridges between two of Sullivan’s already existing series (The Legends of the First Empyre, and The Riyria Chronicles) – of course I was going to read it.
I already knew a lot about Elan, the world Nolyn is set in, so I was easily able to make connections with the timeline and characters, and understand things that were only referenced at.
I loved the characters in Nolyn. For new readers, characters are detailed and fleshed out, making it easy to understand their driving motives. For returning readers, there are new characters who are easy to love or sympathize with, and returning characters whose lives are now all the more detailed. Sullivan does a great job of making characters’ lives realistic – no fairy tale endings here. As much as I was sad to see some much-loved characters’ difficulties and emotional challenges, it humanized them and grounded the story, making me like it all the more – a perfect example of how Sullivan can take a situation I strongly dislike, and turn it in a way that I still love the story.
There is always some sort of mystery and surprise tucked into Sullivan’s stories. New readers will see many of these as unexpected reveals, while veterans will spot the subtle connections and hints at other novels within the world of Elan. There were a few times when the mystery in Nolyn was fueled by an aggravating lack of communication and trust (this is what pulled my rating down), but it was easy to get caught back up with the characters and their goals, and enjoy the story despite it.
Overall, Nolyn is a high action, epic fantasy with humor peppered throughout in the best ways. It can easily be read as a standalone, or as one of a massive book world with all sorts of connecting threads. I really enjoyed revisiting Sullivan’s work with this, and would recommend it to anyone who likes long, action-packed fantasy books.
Quote
“Age doesn’t endow an idiot with intelligence, and time alone doesn’t grant experience, nor does it make you an expert in all things. I suppose if you’re the type of person who loves to learn, you could gain a lot of knowledge, but it wouldn’t make you a genius. Some things you’re just born with. People’s personalities are formed remarkably early. Age most often serves to either mellow or harden what’s already there.”
Nolyn (Nolyn, Michael J. Sullivan)
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 4
- Plot – 3
- World Building – 4
- Characters – 4
- Ease of Reading – 5
- Pictures/ Illustrations (cover and map) – 5
- Overall Enjoyment – 3
- Final Rating – 4 (Actual: 4.0) – Really Liked It
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.