Fantasy

Age of War

Age of War

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  • Create Date：2021-05-06 11:54:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michael J. Sullivan
  • ISBN：110196541X
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Summary

The epic battle between humankind and their godlike rulers finally ignites in the masterful follow-up to Age of Myth and Age of Swords。

The alliance of humans and renegade Fhrey is fragile--and about to be tested as never before。 Persephone keeps the human clans from turning on one another through her iron will and a compassionate heart。 The arrogant Fhrey are barely held in check by their leader， Nyphron， who seeks to advance his own nefarious agenda through a loveless marriage that will result in the betrayal of the person Persephone loves most: Raithe， the God Killer。

As the Fhrey overlords marshal their army and sorcerers to crush the rebellion， old loyalties will be challenged while fresh conspiracies will threaten to undo all that Persephone has accomplished。 In the darkest hour， when hope is all but lost， new heroes will rise 。 。 。 but at what terrible cost？

Magic， fantasy， and mythology collide in Michael J。 Sullivan's Legends of the First Empire series:
AGE OF MYTH - AGE OF SWORDS - AGE OF WAR

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Reviews

Nicole E。 ，

3。75 starsThis book marks the halfway point in the series， and the first arch is done。 Many loose ends are tied， some mysteries are revealed， and sacrifices are made along the way。 I'm interested to see where the series goes from here。I still don't understand the purpose of Mawyndulë as a perspective character。 I understood in the second book， but he didn't add much here other than being a filter for more important characters talking to each other， which is inherently boring。 His character arch 3。75 starsThis book marks the halfway point in the series， and the first arch is done。 Many loose ends are tied， some mysteries are revealed， and sacrifices are made along the way。 I'm interested to see where the series goes from here。I still don't understand the purpose of Mawyndulë as a perspective character。 I understood in the second book， but he didn't add much here other than being a filter for more important characters talking to each other， which is inherently boring。 His character arch really stalled in this one。My favorite quote:（view spoiler）["You sacrificed yourself to save us; good for you。 But you only had to do it once。"If you read the author's note you'll see that Michael J。 Sullivan's wife begged him to write a scene where Persephone professes her love to Raithe， and I'm so glad he listened to his instincts and wrote the grave scene instead。 It's so powerful， emotionally charged， and anything else would have been campy。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Coquecigruelalu ，

More than 5 stars！ Mind- blowing。。。 Heartbreaking。。。 Well done Mr Sullivan！

Tallin ，

These books are just so amazing！！

Razzizzle ，

All-Around Awesomeness: 4/5Worldbuilding: 5/5Characters: 5/5Plot: 4/5Continuity: 5/5Writing Quality: 5/5Recommend: Yes！Not as good as the first two， but still pretty great。 Much of the book was about。。。 War （duh）！ More characters get to prove themselves worthy of being a hero in this book and of course many at the cost of their own lives。 The Fhrey still prove that they're ignorant and annoying AF， especially Mawyndulë， Lothian & Nyphron。 Still trying to figure out Trilos & his stance on everyth All-Around Awesomeness: 4/5Worldbuilding: 5/5Characters: 5/5Plot: 4/5Continuity: 5/5Writing Quality: 5/5Recommend: Yes！Not as good as the first two， but still pretty great。 Much of the book was about。。。 War （duh）！ More characters get to prove themselves worthy of being a hero in this book and of course many at the cost of their own lives。 The Fhrey still prove that they're ignorant and annoying AF， especially Mawyndulë， Lothian & Nyphron。 Still trying to figure out Trilos & his stance on everything。 And is Malcolm the new Tom Bombadil？ 。。。more

Marut ，

Okay， as a whole， this book was very good。 But I also wont be continuing the series anymore。 Stuff happened that， me personally， hated so much that any joy i might have derived from further books is eclipsed by that one fuckup。 There still are characters that i would have liked to know more about but sadly， that's not gonna happenThe stuff in question:（view spoiler）[Raithe's death and how it was handled。 He was the character the series started with， so automatically he was special to me。 And bei Okay， as a whole， this book was very good。 But I also wont be continuing the series anymore。 Stuff happened that， me personally， hated so much that any joy i might have derived from further books is eclipsed by that one fuckup。 There still are characters that i would have liked to know more about but sadly， that's not gonna happenThe stuff in question:（view spoiler）[Raithe's death and how it was handled。 He was the character the series started with， so automatically he was special to me。 And being a long time fan of ASoIaF， I am no stranger to death， even sudden ones， of important characters。 But here， how disrespectfully it was handled， the lack of any sort of a character arc for him and how wasted his death feels is what pissed me to high heavens。 All of the "This is life bro" people can suck my limp biscuit。 If i wanted more of life， i wont be here reading traditional fantasy。His whole story was -Death of his whole clan -> unrequited love and suffering-> more suffering-> you guessed it， more suffering->death。He was treated shittily and used by Persephone and it would have been some consolation if it was acknowledged by the book， but no， its completely glossed over。And what even is the point of a Heroic death of a character who has done nothing but heroic acts the whole series and gotten nothing but suffering for his troubles。（hide spoiler）]The younger me would have felt that i owed it to the series to complete it， but now i don't have the time or energy to continue reading something that i don't enjoy。 So， this is the end of this series， I'm sad it had to be this way， but you fucked up， book。 。。。more

K。R ，

Pretty impressed with another read， but similar thoughts compared to the others。 Absolutely beautifully and powerfully written， but I was more-so waiting for something to happen。 I feel like the first 150 pages could have been part of the previous book， so it dragged on a bit for me， but it eventually transitioned to the focused plot which I was very impressed with。 And that ending？ Wow。 I got hit in the feels。 Such a clever way to make us （readers） care and appreciate what’s happening with our Pretty impressed with another read， but similar thoughts compared to the others。 Absolutely beautifully and powerfully written， but I was more-so waiting for something to happen。 I feel like the first 150 pages could have been part of the previous book， so it dragged on a bit for me， but it eventually transitioned to the focused plot which I was very impressed with。 And that ending？ Wow。 I got hit in the feels。 Such a clever way to make us （readers） care and appreciate what’s happening with our characters。 Off to the next！！ 。。。more

Fredrik ，

"Basic" epic fantasy done right， is what sums up this series。 The speed of discovery is still off-putting， but not so much as in the last book。 Mostly because it isn't so much in focus this time。Not many twists and such that you don't see coming or that are really shocking。 They don't need to be though。 And they aren't that obvious either。I enjoyed this book more than Age of Swords and I find the war part to be entertaining and thankfully it had a real impact， with some major people dying。 Mostl "Basic" epic fantasy done right， is what sums up this series。 The speed of discovery is still off-putting， but not so much as in the last book。 Mostly because it isn't so much in focus this time。Not many twists and such that you don't see coming or that are really shocking。 They don't need to be though。 And they aren't that obvious either。I enjoyed this book more than Age of Swords and I find the war part to be entertaining and thankfully it had a real impact， with some major people dying。 Mostly filler characters， but the author at least had it have some cost。 So over to the fourth book！ 。。。more

Faith Williams ，

So far， this is my favorite in the series。 I was in tears at the end。 There are unexpected twists and reveals that were frustrating and hurtful but incredible to the advancement of the storyline。 One of my favorite things about this series is how the characters are written。 They're real， with flaws and scars and emotional wounds。 I never feel like they're too perfect， too noble， or too heroic。 There's some huge emotional payoffs in this installment， particularly for Tesh and Gifford， but mostly So far， this is my favorite in the series。 I was in tears at the end。 There are unexpected twists and reveals that were frustrating and hurtful but incredible to the advancement of the storyline。 One of my favorite things about this series is how the characters are written。 They're real， with flaws and scars and emotional wounds。 I never feel like they're too perfect， too noble， or too heroic。 There's some huge emotional payoffs in this installment， particularly for Tesh and Gifford， but mostly heartbreak for Arion， Raithe， Suri， and Persephone。 Still， it's a beautiful story。 On to "Age of Legend。" 。。。more

Kayley Declue ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I just finished Age of War， and I did not want to put it down to do anything and was slightly annoyed when I had to。 The cliff hanger at the end is a bit frustrating as I have to get through class before I can read the next book。 Some of my favourite characters died and I was incredibly sad。 If a book can feel like a friend， make me laugh and cry， and want it to never end than I think it deserves at least 5 stars。

Megan Middlebrooks ，

This book was awesome！ The character moments all landed， a few were expected and a few were not。 It was an emotional book。 the battles were done well， very easy to read。 This definitely felt like an ending， which makes sense since he says its two 3 book arcs。 im curious where its going to go next。 the paradigm has shifted and im excited and nervous for the next books。 though these books feel very classic is style， I feel like he does a good job of modernizing the story and making it his own。

Robin ，

When you read Michael’s books you learn two things; He loves his heroes and heroines and he loves his readers。 I have closed every book of The First Empire so satisfied and yet so sad to find myself at the end of my time with the people in the books。 How he， in relatively few words， can show you so many angles of a character is beautiful to me。 Every time someone asks me for book recommendations this series is the first thing out of my mouth。 He’s created a unique world while somehow not making When you read Michael’s books you learn two things; He loves his heroes and heroines and he loves his readers。 I have closed every book of The First Empire so satisfied and yet so sad to find myself at the end of my time with the people in the books。 How he， in relatively few words， can show you so many angles of a character is beautiful to me。 Every time someone asks me for book recommendations this series is the first thing out of my mouth。 He’s created a unique world while somehow not making it so complicated you can’t keep track。 It’s magical。 The writing is literally beautiful and immersive。 Michael and his wife Robin are as special as the stories and characters they give to us。 I have read thousands of books in my time and I have never seen an author who values his relationship with his readers the way Michael does。 The fact that he has an open dialogue with his readers and brings Robin into that conversation makes everything he does that much more special。 Robin， I’m a cryer and the fact that I didn’t cry during Age of War surprised me， but， your Afterword， that made me cry。 You pulled together all the really moving things about this story in such a loving way。 That put me over the edge。 Thank you。 Thank you both so much for what you each bring to us。 I adore you both without ever having met you。 。。。more

Chris Steele ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This will be a short review。 I was annoyed at the rapidity of discovery in the second book， but the childishness of the discovery in this book is painful。 Arrows are named that because they had “a row” of writing in them？ Mankind moves from iron to steel in less than a year？ And then name it “steel” because it was stolen from the dwarves？ That was just too juvenile for me and ruined the book。

Chris ，

Just as Sullivan did with Age of Myth and Age of Swords he continues to press character development through a compelling story。 I particularly enjoyed reading about the Fhrey side of things in this book and am excited to see how a certain bald boy's character continues to grow。Probably one of my favorite things Sullivan does is give you hints。 Through the epigraphs in the beginning of each chapter Sullivan gives you just enough information to want to read the chapter to see exactly what Brin was Just as Sullivan did with Age of Myth and Age of Swords he continues to press character development through a compelling story。 I particularly enjoyed reading about the Fhrey side of things in this book and am excited to see how a certain bald boy's character continues to grow。Probably one of my favorite things Sullivan does is give you hints。 Through the epigraphs in the beginning of each chapter Sullivan gives you just enough information to want to read the chapter to see exactly what Brin was talking about。 When trying to stop reading and go to bed， reading that epigraph at the beginning of a chapter is a mistake that will send you into the next several pages deep into the night。 。。。more

Bruce Retallack ，

After the rather rambling offering of Age of Swords， I thought Sullivan got back into his groove a bit with this one。 Still not as tight as the first volume in this series， let alone the Ryria series， but a solid read nonetheless。 It's fun to watch the evolution of the main characters and the rise of some fascinating new ones。 Enough at least to prompt me to order up Age of Legends。 After the rather rambling offering of Age of Swords， I thought Sullivan got back into his groove a bit with this one。 Still not as tight as the first volume in this series， let alone the Ryria series， but a solid read nonetheless。 It's fun to watch the evolution of the main characters and the rise of some fascinating new ones。 Enough at least to prompt me to order up Age of Legends。 。。。more

Matthew Landers ，

Age of War tugs at the deep cords。 The cords of creation。 The humans and elves unable or unwilling to find peace dive deeper into war one battle at a time。 Each character has their own battles to face within the war for survival。

El Guapo ，

Great book would read it again！

Jared Besse ，

6。5/10Age of War is the third book in the Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J Sullivan。 The series takes place a few thousand years before the Ryria Revelations， the series which Sullivan is commonly known for。 I really enjoy MJS’s books， but they always have something that doesn’t quite work with me and this book further cemented that feeling。When I first read the Ryria Revelations a few years ago， I enjoyed them but nothing about them grabbed me。 All the characters were great， and 6。5/10Age of War is the third book in the Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J Sullivan。 The series takes place a few thousand years before the Ryria Revelations， the series which Sullivan is commonly known for。 I really enjoy MJS’s books， but they always have something that doesn’t quite work with me and this book further cemented that feeling。When I first read the Ryria Revelations a few years ago， I enjoyed them but nothing about them grabbed me。 All the characters were great， and the plot had some good twists and turns but overall， I can’t say I really remember any of the specifics of the world or any of the major story developments。So， while I had originally planned to read the Legends books directly after， I put them off。 I think this did me an ultimate disservice when eventually reading these books。 The ‘legends’ told in the story are directly tied to what we know in the future， but as I can’t remember much of this， I think I miss some of those fun details。However， MJS is one heck of a salesman*。 I don’t know any other author （except maybe Sanderson） who is as open about how all his books connect， where he is in the writing process and making sure that no reader is lost。 All of this makes me want to support him as a writer， so on his winter sale I picked up the whole set of Legend books。I read Age of Myth （book 1 in the series） in a matter of days。 It began slow， but quickly picked up and had an enjoyable early stage fantasy with compelling characters。 Nothing ground-breaking， but a fun read。 （I have some mini reviews on Goodreads you can check out here and here。）However， Age of Swords went a bit off the rails for me。 The over reliance on modern words and phrasing， the convenience of everything being invented over a few days period and some story beats that fell flat， led to a less than favorable read。 So， it was with a bit of hesitation that I progressed on。All of which brings me to Age of War。 The story picks up right where Age of Swords ended and continues to follow all the characters from the previous stories。 It starts with the humans and Galantians preparing for War with the rest of the Fhrey。 I won’t go into much of the plot details， for fear of spoliers， but it was an overall enjoyable tale。However， in a book called Age of War， not much ‘war’ actually feels like it happens。 There is a war on the large scale， but I never felt like it was happening on the scale I was supposed to think it was。 There are some actions scenes， but none really grabbed me and I felt the action was better in Age of Myth。 I think MJS shines better with smaller scale conflicts。The first half of the book took me much longer to read than usually， but I read the second half in a day， which picked up considerably。So why did I keep returning to the book despite these flaws？ The characters。 Let me tell you， not many times have I read a series populated with such real characters。 I get shades of Robin Hobb which is the highest praise。Every character I enjoyed reading about， although I wish that Persephone had a bit more screen time。 Roan continues to be a personal favorite of mine and her development in this book is very well done。 And as MJS does， there are a few gut-wrenching moments that definitely hit me in the feels。 I just wish that these characters were accompanied by better writing and story that really grabbed me。Overall， I like these characters enough to continue with the story in Age of Legend。 Age of War has fairly conclusive ending， so I plan on taking a break with several other books before I continue。Anyway， thanks for reading and let me know what you thought of this book！* and the cover art！！ THE COVER ART！！ Amazing and is probably 70% of the reason I bought these books。 。。。more

Amanda ，

This book was fantastic - and true to Michael Sullivan's style - kept me guessing and turning pages until the end。 This is a great series for anyone looking to read an epic fantasy without the over-the-top violence and sex that's become typical of modern fantasy storytelling。 This book was fantastic - and true to Michael Sullivan's style - kept me guessing and turning pages until the end。 This is a great series for anyone looking to read an epic fantasy without the over-the-top violence and sex that's become typical of modern fantasy storytelling。 。。。more

Cole ，

4 Stars "I think we accept all too readily what we are told by those we love。 It is not that our friends and family lie， but that they do not know the truth。" Age of War picks up where we left off in Age of Swords， and thankfully did not take as long as the previous installment to peak my interest。 At this point in the series， most of the cast has been relatively fleshed out， and there are a handful of characters who I thoroughly enjoyed。 The character development of Raithe surprised me， as I 4 Stars "I think we accept all too readily what we are told by those we love。 It is not that our friends and family lie， but that they do not know the truth。" Age of War picks up where we left off in Age of Swords， and thankfully did not take as long as the previous installment to peak my interest。 At this point in the series， most of the cast has been relatively fleshed out， and there are a handful of characters who I thoroughly enjoyed。 The character development of Raithe surprised me， as I found myself liking him much more in this book than the previous two。 Malcom was also another character that kept things interesting to say the least。 As revealed in the previous book， he has a plethora of secrets and we finally get the chance to unravel a few of them as the story progresses。 "Getting older is like climbing a mountain。 The higher you go， the greater the view。 From time to time， you look back。 At such heights， you can see paths behind you: the trails you took and the ones you foolishly disregarded; the blind alleys you fortunately missed， purely out of chance rather than by some greater wisdom on your part。" Sullivan does a great job of setting up a very tense tone in the last 100 pages or so， and this is where the story really shines。 The last section of the book flew by， and I was genuinely invested in the story as well as the characters。 Along with this， there was actually a decent amount of action， something that Sullivan doesn't heavily rely on in his stories。 Combined with the action， were some heart wrenching moments that evoked genuine emotion in me。 Overall a solid read and my favorite of the series so far。 "I truly believe that hardship makes better people。 Pain-- assuming that it does not break us-- provides the strength of knowing that such things can be endured and overcome。" 。。。more

Nancy Rodriguez ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Tore my heart to pieces。 How much more does Sweet Suri need to suffer？

Јордан Коцевски ，

As things great up in the previous two books， it's clear that war is inevitable。 But the way Sullivan plays with the characters is masterful and cruel to them。 Then he surprises you with emotional outbursts of characters one hasn't expected。 This book kept me tensed， it melted my heart， it made me angry， it made me laugh。。。 Everything a great book sould do。 As things great up in the previous two books， it's clear that war is inevitable。 But the way Sullivan plays with the characters is masterful and cruel to them。 Then he surprises you with emotional outbursts of characters one hasn't expected。 This book kept me tensed， it melted my heart， it made me angry， it made me laugh。。。 Everything a great book sould do。 。。。more

Kareem Nowayh ，

Heartwarming， page turner 。。。 Unexpected delight。I think i teared up a little while reading Gifford and Roan's arc。 Also The final 100 pages were an adrenaline rush。 Heartwarming， page turner 。。。 Unexpected delight。I think i teared up a little while reading Gifford and Roan's arc。 Also The final 100 pages were an adrenaline rush。 。。。more

Jane ，

Loved that the female characters develop， and show that girls can get sh*t done！ The blokes are interesting too， their motives， their feelings。。。especially the motives of certain Frey。。。

Ed Napiorkowski ，

I rated this book as three stars。 An interesting story which I mostly enjoyed however did find quite a bit of it long winded。 The audiobook was just short of 17 hours in duration。 There may be sections I think are unrelated which will be referenced in later works but I just felt it went on for too long at times with filler information rather than progressing the story。 The characters are interesting and fairly consistently portrayed， and the themes are what you would expect for this type of fant I rated this book as three stars。 An interesting story which I mostly enjoyed however did find quite a bit of it long winded。 The audiobook was just short of 17 hours in duration。 There may be sections I think are unrelated which will be referenced in later works but I just felt it went on for too long at times with filler information rather than progressing the story。 The characters are interesting and fairly consistently portrayed， and the themes are what you would expect for this type of fantasy novel。 In my opinion the more interesting and entertaining aspects of the story appeared well towards the end and are used as leading in to aspects continued in the next book。 Not sure if I will continue on。 Book four in the series， Age of Legend， is another 14 hours worth and then there are two more after than。 Break time from this saga I think。 。。。more

Pawel Olas ，

definitely better than the sequel。 Not as good as the first book in the series but a fun and entertaining read nevrtheless。

Deborah Obida ，

Passion was a wild， selfish thing that didn’t respect boundaries or common sense， but without it life felt pointless。Age of War is the third book in this series， it was supposed to be the last book but the author realized that it seemed incomplete， I totally agree with him。This book has some themes that tugs at my heart strings， one of them is friendship and comradeship， the portrayal is amazing， I also like how the romance didn't overshadow the book， the war and fight scenes were also well Passion was a wild， selfish thing that didn’t respect boundaries or common sense， but without it life felt pointless。Age of War is the third book in this series， it was supposed to be the last book but the author realized that it seemed incomplete， I totally agree with him。This book has some themes that tugs at my heart strings， one of them is friendship and comradeship， the portrayal is amazing， I also like how the romance didn't overshadow the book， the war and fight scenes were also well depicted。 Strange how life often delivers the worst with the best， the highs with the lows， happiness with sorrow， and joy with screams that haunt a person forever， making it impossible to sleep in a room with a window。 Then again， that might just be me。The writing improved greatly so did the world building， the book has additional POV and I like that， it makes it possible for us readers to get other perspectives。 The writing is easy to understand。 The magic system is more of elemental with telekinesis， blood sacrifice and telepathy thrown into it。 So often I have heard that war is a noble and necessary thing， the answer to many problems。 But I have found that when war becomes a reality， peace becomes the noble and necessary thing because there is no problem greater than war。Just like the title says， this book is about war， the war between the Rhunes and the Fhrey， with the help of Nyphron the humans made it to Alon Rhist， the Insantrya fortress。 The humans are now camped them and the Fane is coming with their army of Miryalith。 I can't decide between Brin and Persephone who my favourite is， they are both strong willed women， same goes for Roan， Moya，Suri and Arion。 MJS is the one of the few authors that depicts women well in fantasy。 Raithe finally got a purpose but I don't like it。 Tesh the Durayan boy now has a POV， I like him。 Nyphron is more of a monster than I thought。Malcolm is still a mystery， what is he？ 。。。more

Nick ，

An interesting continuation， lots of action and some big character development and unexpected twists。 The Human plot goes forward at a pace but the Fhrey one seems to be trickling along and i found rather tedious。

Danny Moody ，

Best book of the series so far！ The story was solid and filed with compelling conflict。 The characters are well developed and continue to develop three books in。 There are some really unpredictable twists and turns that happen in this book。 Can’t wait to see what happens next！

Todd ，

With the previous two books in this series I enjoyed them but not to the level of the Riyria series。 That changed with this one。 It was amazing。 The fane（elf lord） has had enough of his people's attempts to squash the Instarya and humans ending in failure。 So he is taking the fight to them。 Nyphron has a plan to defeat them and needs Persephone and the humans to follow his lead。 Great battle scenes， touching scenes between the cast and tough decisions are made。 Personal growth for many of the With the previous two books in this series I enjoyed them but not to the level of the Riyria series。 That changed with this one。 It was amazing。 The fane（elf lord） has had enough of his people's attempts to squash the Instarya and humans ending in failure。 So he is taking the fight to them。 Nyphron has a plan to defeat them and needs Persephone and the humans to follow his lead。 Great battle scenes， touching scenes between the cast and tough decisions are made。 Personal growth for many of the cast and great characterization。 。。。more

Jessica Delaney ，

Such well developed characters。 Such an immersive story ！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Age of War

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Age of War&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Age of War&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0