Theft of Swords - Michael J. Sullivan

I didn't read this book as much as listened to it over a 4 day drive from Charleston, West Virginia to Carson City, Nevada.   It made the incredibly long drive actually enjoyable. 

I picked up this book because it looked interesting and I needed listening material for my long drive and at 22 hours, it would cover a good portion of my 36 hour drive. 

The book starts out with the characters of Royce, a very good thief, and Hadrian, an excellent swords man, two renown thieves who make up the Organization Riyria.  They are contracted for an enormous amount of money to steal a renown sword from the castle of the king of Melengar.  Hadrian, who has a heart of gold and really desires to help people accepts the job, not just because of the ridiculous amount of money offered but because he believed unless the sword was taken, a man would die. 

A word on Royce's and Hadrian's relationship:  These two men are close, very close.  They disagree a lot and they bicker frequently, but Michael J. Sullivan really built their relationship well, and despite the bickering and back biting, the characters obviously care about one another deeply. 

Royce is described as 'scary' throughout this book and the subsequent sequels, and a bit of delving into Royce's past, shows he is scary, but he is also smart and an excellent tactician.  Hadrian could have easily been played as the big, dumb lovable guy to foil Royce, but although Hadrian is the lovable guy, always willing to crack a joke and is very friendly, he is much more complex than initially meets the eye.  Needless to say, I really liked both of these characters.  They have depth, and I enjoyed reading about them.

After attempting the job, the two find that they have been set-up.  Surprised?  Not I, but there wouldn't have been much of a story had they just easily gained the sword, now would there?  The two end up accused of the murder of the King, and end up in the dungeon.  The son of the king, pronounces death upon them come the dawn.  The sister of the King, Arista, sets them free and commissions them to kidnap her brother for his own safety as she believes there is a plot to eliminate their family, the Essendon's.

And so they do.  And a delightful romp begins. Where the two travel to an hidden prison, rescue a eidetic monk, set free a renown evil wizard, and win the trust of the prince along the way.  And save the Kingdom of Melengar....at least for now. 

I was impressed that throughout the book, it had me second guessing who the good guys were and who were the bad guys.  It was well done, and I enjoyed that depth, which unfortunately, you don't always get in a Sword and Sorcery novel.

This book was so enjoyable that even though I had a second book lined up for the drive, I ended up buying the second book in the series, Rise of the Empire, to listen to during the remainder of the trip.