Monday, February 16, 2009

Debut Showcase: The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan

The Crown Conspiracy (US - Canada - UK)
By Michael J. Sullivan (Website - Goodreads - Forum)
Publisher: Aspirations Media Inc (October 1, 2008)
Paperback: 310 pages
Excerpt (PDF)

Author's Blurb:

They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.

Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become unwitting scapegoats in the murder of the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out and so begins this epic tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

Mulluane's Take:
This is not a new debut, but it is an unusual one in that it was published by a very small, family run publishing company. Nothing against small publishing companies, but very few put out a high quality product; this book is an exception. The Crown Conspiracy is right up my alley, traditional fantasy, "good" bad guys, a large dose of humor, lots of character development and plenty of surprises. You can read my full review and my interview with Michael Sullivan here: Old Bat's Belfry and another good review here: Fantasy Book Critic. The next book in the series Avempartha, is due out in April.

Tia's Take:
I have a copy of this novel, courtesy of the author, and I plan on starting it next now. Mulluane obviously loved it, so I'm really looking forward to reading it. The blurb is a bit sketchy, so check out those reviews that Mulluane linked. This novel is getting a lot of positive review attention. There's a good deal for it on Amazon, too!

4 comments:

Maria said...

This book sounds REALLY interesting. I'll be on the lookout for it ! I like small publishers. They fill a great niche and I've found most of them to have good stories--that are exactly what they say the story will be!

Tia Nevitt said...

Mulluane thinks it wil lbe a quick read, so maybe you can read my review in a week or so.

Peta said...

You had me at "They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly." Off to read the reviews and (perhaps) sneak it into my next order!

Anonymous said...

This looks like a promising book. It's been on my list for a while. I must read it soon...