The Viscount and The Witch by Michael Sullivan | Review

This was sent by the author for an honest review.

The book also contained first chapters of Theft of Swords and The Crown Tower but i hate reading chapter samples so i only did a quick page one read of Theft of Swords and opted to go buy the book instead of reading it now and then wondering what the hell happens first.

FYI, the rating at the bottom of my blog is for the Goodreads Review i have of the book and is not intended for an actual rating of this blog. Thanks! :) The Viscount and the Witch by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*this was sent by author for an honest review*

I am very impressed by the way Riyria Chronicles has swept the Fantasy world of late. It has very high ratings and I cannot wait to rate it myself!
Quite delighted that I was enough to be sent an ebook copy by Mr. Sullivan himself for the two short novels set in the same world. This is the first one:

The Viscount and the Witch

First sentence: "A woman wielding a broom charged at them, looking as much like a witch as anyone Hadrian had ever seen."
- Oh yeah, I can tell that I am going to devour this short novel very quickly.

This book follows the adventure of an assassin and an ex soldier, on their way to a 'mission', when a bedraggled looking woman with hair in dirty knots ask for their help on the road. Hadrian offered to help the lady immediately but Royce was very reluctant and kept on warning Hadrian of the dangers of trusting such random helpless strangers.
True to the woman’s word, a man has been squatting in a barn she claimed is hers, and from there the story unfolds about how the stranger came about to be in the barn and who the lady really is.

Royce, one of the protagonists is the brooding one, cynical of the two. He is the quite the 'brains' between the two, always two or three steps ahead of the game, or probably any heist they concoct. He is also an assassin, probably one of the most ruthless ones in a guild, but he’s ‘retired’ and now works in partnership with Hadrian, a guileless soldier, gentler and more open to the concept of goodness of the world. Hadrian, on the other hand, although a bit naïve, is the brute force. As an ex soldier, he has seen many unnecessary deaths that he has this strong god complex in him, wanting to fix anything and eveything if he can help it. He is also determined to change his friend Royce into a more unsuspicious thief, as they go about their usual occupation of ‘procurement’ which a term I love that thieves use when asked about what it is that they do.
They quite balance each other nicely and I love the chemistry between Royce and Hadrian. Their order of business reminds me strongly of the Gentlemen Bastards and i am very interested how the author go about the story in the actual series.

This story has quite gripped me at the first page. You know that feeling when you read the first few pages, and you think to yourself, “oh yeah, this is gonna be good.” That vibe came to me strongly and now I am curious as to the many crazy adventures that Royce and Hadrian aka Riyria have in the actual series! Fantasy reads are quite tricky as they tend to sound English (quite formal and very different from the usual writing) but this book is quite an easy read! I did not feel like walking in the fantasy world like walking in cobblestones, sometimes pausing to catch my footing and making sure I don’t stumble a bit around. This fantasy read felt like I am walking in the concrete, smooth gait all the way through.

I am definitely bumping the series up in my TBR list.

And thank you Mr. Sullivan for giving me the opportunity to read and enjoy your short novel, welcoming me to the world of Riyria Chronicles.



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