Farilane (The Rise and Fall #2) by Michael J. Sullivan

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Clean

 

Some truths are dangerous, certain secrets best concealed, and one story never should have been written at all.

Being an unwanted twin in the imperial line of succession, Farilane becomes a scholar, an adventurer, and—in a time when reading is forbidden—a hunter of books. Her singular obsession is finding the mythical Book of Brin, a tome not just lost but intentionally buried. Although she is respected and beloved by the Teshlor Knights, not even their legendary skills can protect her, for what she finds is more dangerous than what she sought.

 

I delayed reading this book after not loving Nolyn. That was a mistake! This book was much better than Nolyn. It had that certain magic that Sullivan is able to weave into his stories that I thought Nolyn was missing. I almost always love the characters Michael J. Sullivan includes in his books and I really loved Farilane. Just like all of his books, this one packed some real emotional punches. At the end I was in tears. The ending was so not what I was expecting. I wanted to hate it, but I couldn't, and it's what made this book so good.

I don't really have more to say about this other than if you want to read Sullivan's books, start with the Riyria Revelations, the Riyria Chronicles, Legends of the First Empire, and The Rise and the Fall, in that order. There are tons of Easter eggs and references in the books that you would miss if you read them out of order. I'll be reading the last book in this trilogy, Esrahaddon (the one I've been looking forward to reading the most from the beginning of this trilogy) sometime at the beginning of the year.

“But that’s the result of time, not understanding.” “And yet time allows for understanding, doesn’t it? A boy sees his father as a god, then grows up and realizes he’s flawed, mortal, and foolish. Then he has his own children and discovers his father isn’t foolish at all, but still isn’t a god. Understanding changes the reality of a thing—at least insofar as we perceive it—even if that thing itself doesn’t change.”