Pixi Reads

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.

This book! These series! Aaaaahhhhhhh! ?

Okay, sorry, I need to calm down and speak coherently. You can probably guess how I feel about this book, and the rest of the series…well, technically I haven’t finished The Riyria Chronicles. I’ve read the first 3 books, but then the 3rd is also the 1st for Riyria Revelations, and I got sidetracked down the Revelations path.

I listened to the audiobook of The Crown Tower. The narration was fantastic; spot on. Not just was it how I had basically pictured these characters talking, (I had read Theft of Swords sometime last year, and found out while I was reading there was another series) but it went beyond. Tim Gerard Reynolds couldn’t have embodied all the characters better. They really feel like they are alive. If you have a choice between reading these books, or listening to the audiobook, LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK. Or better, if you can do both, read the book while listening. You won’t regret your decision.

This is one of those books, you really won’t want to put down. Not that you could read it in one sitting. You’d have to read very fast, or have a day to just listen to the book. It’s almost 13 hours. It doesn’t at all feel like 13 hours other than the times you are stuck at work, unable to listen, or while you are sleeping, because all you’ll want to do is read more of the story.

Hadrian and Royce are perfect opposites to each other. Royce grew up on the streets, fending for himself, and learned early on life and people will let him down. Hadrian grew up being raised by his father, who trained him to fight, but didn’t want Hadrian to go off to war and instead wanted him to takeover as blacksmith. Hadrian is very trusting of people, and tends to expect the best out of them.

These two are total opposites, and in this first book, they are paired up. They must complete a job together for a mutual friend of sorts. Their very different backgrounds though means there is some tension between the two, and makes it hard for them to work as one to successfully complete the job.

I can’t say I will do it soon, but this story is so great, I am not against re-reading it sometime in the future. I have fallen in love with these characters, and wish there were even more adventures than currently written for me to follow them on.