Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

Subtitle: Book One of The Legends of the First Empire

(Book Review)

Started: September 20, 2017
Finished: August 6, 2020
[Note: The above is somewhat misleading.  I only got a few pages into the book back in September 2017, and then got distracted by other things.  I didn't really start the book in earnest until July 27, 2020.]

Why I Read This Book / My Reading Experience
This book is part of my "Read More Junk" project--a new theory of reading that I detailed in my review of The Thief.  I've come to believe that part of the reason I read so little is because I usually try to force myself to read a lot of heavy books that I think I should read, but don't particularly enjoy.
In order to get myself to read more (and spend less time on Youtube), I need to start picking books that might not be great literature, but that I actually enjoy reading reading--i.e. guilty pleasures.
And, since pulp fantasy has always been my guilty pleasure of choice, I went into the bookstore looking for a fantasy book that looked like an easy read, but that also looked like it would be a gateway into an immersive imaginative and fantastical experience.
As always, since I live in Asia, my reading choices are influenced by the poverty of selection.  (If I was browsing bookstores or libraries back in America, I'm sure I'd be better able to follow my own unique niche interests).  The English bookstores in Saigon are small, and have a limited selection.  There is only a small fantasy section, and it's mostly limited to YA.  Nevertheless, within that limited selection, this book caught my eye. The cover-art promised an immersive fantastical story.  (As much as I hate to admit I'm they type of person who buys a book based on the cover art... I guess if I'm being honest, I'm exactly that type of person.)  The title, "Age of Myth", also appeared to promise a mystical world (I'm a huge mythology geek).  And then when I flipped through the book, and discovered the writing style appeared to be very readable and engaging, I decided to buy it.

I started this book way back in September 2017, and found the first few chapters very readable, and the fantasy-world suitably imaginative.  I'm not sure why I didn't stick with it, but somehow I got distracted by other things, and this book fell by the wayside.  (*1) But over the past couple years I've always been meaning to pick it up again.
Then, I was going on vacation the week of July 27th (*2), and I needed a lightweight book that I could easily travel with for vacation reading.  This seemed to fit the bill exactly, so I dug it out of my discarded book pile, and threw it in my travel bag.
I read about 300 of the 414 pages while on vacation, and then finished up the remainder of the book during my lunch breaks at work after I returned.

Background
This book is subtitled "Book One of The Legends of the First Empire".  Yet more evidence for my assertation that these days its impossible to read a fantasy book that doesn't commit you to a whole series.  Well, at least it's Book One, right?  If it had been Book Five that I found on the bookshelf, I would have passed this by.  But at the very least, I can still enjoy Book One whether or not I continue with the rest of the series (*3).
Upon opening the book up, it turns out that this series is a prequel series to 2 other series that author Michael J. Sullivan has previously written.
sigh. Of course it is. (*4)
But, being a prequel (and not a sequel), there are no plot points from the previous books to keep track of.  Or, as the author assures the reader in the Author's Note:

If you haven't read any of my previous work, have no fear.  This is a new series, and no knowledge of either The Riyria Chronicles or The Riyria Revelations is necessary to fully enjoy this tale.  Also, reading this book won't expose you to spoilers, so there are no concerns on that front.  This series is meant to be a separate entryway into the world of Elan, and if you want to read more--well, there are nine books (told in six volumes) waiting for you. (Author's Note p. xi)

Apparently, however, the events of this book must have been referenced or alluded to in the previous two series, because Michael J. Sullivan then continues:

For those who have read the Riyria books, I should mention that this series is set three thousand years before the events in those novels.  You might think you know how the First Empire was formed, or at least have some general ideas about events.  But, having read my books, you probably realize that things aren't always as they seem.  The accounts I've revealed through Riyria haven't been entirely accurate.  After all, history is written by the victors.  In this series, I can set the record straight, and you'll know the truth in myths and the lies of legends. (Author's Note p.xi)

Well, speaking as someone who has now completed this book, I can attest that it is completely accessible to a newcomer.  I did sometimes wonder how much of the world building had been inherited from the previous two series, and how much of it was new to this book, but I probably wouldn't have suspected there were previous series in this world if I hadn't have been told.

The Review
It's pretty good, actually.
I enjoyed this book.

It was very readable, had some interesting characters and world-building going on, I liked the general atmosphere... Yeah, it was good.
It wasn't a masterpiece of literature or anything, but it's pretty much everything you want from a fantasy paperback like this.
More details below.

The Prose

I found the prose style very easy to read, and it flowed easily. (*5)

The Setting

I also found the world of this novel very appealing.
This differs slightly from the standard fantasy novel in that it's not the typical medieval fantasy of kings, castles and knights.  Rather, this is a prehistoric world in which humans live wooden lodge houses and are organized into primitive clans and tribes (*6).  This primitive setting--just at the dawn of history-- helps to give the book a mythic feel (as referenced in the title).
It's also a book in which the mystical sense of prehistoric nature--particularly the forests-- is done well.  In this book there are vast stretches of mysterious unexplored forests that human civilization only lives on the edges of.   There are descriptions of dense forest undergrowth, forest streams and waterfalls, and mysterious wise trees.  Woodland fairies are frequently alluded to, and some of the forest animals (both friendly animals and unfriendly animals) are major characters in the book.
I particularly liked descriptive passages like the one on page 138-139, which I thought did a good job of setting up a mystical world which I was happy to get immersed in:

A morning mist filled the forest.  In the days he and Malcolm had spent in the Crescent [Forest] , Raithe had seen it many times, but the haze was still unnerving.  There had been no forests in Dureya [where he was from], and the few trees that managed to grow were stunted, emaciated things.  He'd grown up in open, rocky highlands of grass and lichen-covered stone, and it felt unnatural to be surrounded by trees and wrapped in fog.  The haze further supported Raithe's belief that they were walking in a perilous world of guarded secrets and murky mysteries.  Trees appeared and faded in the mist as if by choice--silent watchers, sentinels of spirits and gods. Caught early enough, the waking forest had no time to disguise itself into something mundane. This was a place of enchantments, a place where anything could happen. (p.138-139)

The world building was also good, although information heavy--particularly at the beginning.  As usual in fantasy books, the reader is slightly over-whelmed with many strange names, places, and creatures in the first few chapters.
This book is juggling 3 different plot lines that all come together as the story progresses, so the reader has to learn the names, characters and backstories for the 3 different settings--there's the Fhrey civilization (some sort of super-human type race that lives in an ancient forest), the Dureya tribe (a human tribe that lives on barren rocks) and Dahl Rhen (a human tribe that lives on a hill in a forest).  But arguably learning about all these new worlds and civilizations is also part of the fun of starting a new fantasy series, and it does all becomes clear enough as you keep reading.
(How much of these civilizations were established in the previous series, I don't know.)
Another thing to get used to is all the terminology associated with these different civilizations.  Again, probably par for the course when starting a new fantasy series, but it's slightly aggravated in this case because the author has created his own names for everything.  Fairies are Crimbals, giants are Grenmorians, ghosts are Manes, et cetera.
Once again, I don't know how much of this is inherited from the previous series.
I have mixed feelings on all the new words.  On the one hand, it did help to give this particular fantasy world its own unique flavor.  (This isn't Tolkien's world, and keeping the names different helps to reinforce that.)  On the other hand, I did find it slightly annoying having to learn all the new names.
There is actually a Glossary of Names and Terms in the back of the book.  For the most part you don't really need it (names and terms are usually glossed in the text), but it can be useful to flip back to the glossary whenever you're feeling confused. I confess I flipped back to it frequently. (*7)

The Plot

Despite this being Book One of a six part series, the good news is that this book stands on its own fairly well.  In other words, it's not one of those books that ends directly on a cliffhanger and makes you run out to buy the next book to get resolution.  Sure, there are plenty of unresolved issues that can be carried over to the next book, but most of the plot threads that are introduced have a suitable pay-off within this volume.
In other words, it does a good balancing act between setting up a long-series, and also providing a satisfying relatively self-contained story.

While I was reading it, I was hooked on a lot of the mysteries and conflicts that were set-up.  I'm not sure that they all had particularly satisfying endings--in some cases, the mystery was a lot more interesting than the resolution (*8).  But then, that's true of a lot of books.

The Characters

The characters in this book are well done for the most part.
The main characters are all likable and have clear motivations and character arcs.

I also liked the large cast of minor characters--the quirky villagers that make up the supporting cast.  There's Moya--the town beauty, Padera--the wise but grumpy old woman, Cobb--the inept pig farmer, Roan--the former slave who is inventive and inquisitive, Gifford--the gifted cripple, et cetera.
I felt it was good that this wasn't only just the story of strong young men fighting things with swords (strong young men fighting things with swords is a major part of this book, but it's good that it's not the only part).  It was nice to have the ordinary people of the village also get fleshed out a bit.  And when the village becomes in danger, it helps to heighten the stakes--these aren't just nameless villagers, these are people we like.

...there are however, one or two missteps.
There's the character of Suri, a girl who was raised in the woods and so doesn't understand how normal conversation works, and consequently takes every statement literally and is unable to understand the illocutionary force behind statements.  She constantly gets confused, and then lectures the city dwellers on how they are all crazy.
I think her naivety is meant to be endearing, or possibly we're even supposed to admire her directness, but I just found the character annoying. (*9)

Then there's Roan, the former slave, whose quirks are also meant to be endearing.  In Roan's case, she is constantly inquisitive, and constantly exploring.  But what is sometimes meant to be written as delightful quirky occasionally comes off as disturbingly psychotic.

"This is Roan we're talking about, Seph. Two weeks ago, I stopped her just seconds before she she stuck a needle in her eye."
Persephone looked at Roan, aghast. "Whatever for?"
"She wanted to find out how deep the socket was," Moya answered for her.
"Oh, blessed Mari! Roan, don't ever do that," Persephone said.
"Okay." Roan nodded without the slightest indication that she understood why. (p.283)

She wanted to stick a needle into her eye to measure how deep the eye socket was?  I don't find that character quirk endearing at all.  That's a character that needs immediate psychiatric treatment, and who shouldn't be wandering around the village unsupervised.

Those are my nitpicks.  But those complaints aside, for the most part I did actually like the characters, and they were the kind of characters I didn't mind spending time with.

Will I be Continuing on with the Series?

No, as it turns out.
I finished the book, and I had some mixed feelings as to whether or not I wanted to continue with the series.  On the one hand, I enjoyed this book well enough, and wouldn't mind reading more.  On the other hand, it didn't absolutely blow my mind, so I didn't feel like I needed to continue reading this series (*10).
But in the end, I decided I had enjoyed it enough that I wanted to continue.  And there were a lot of things to keep track of in this book (major characters, minor characters, names, places, plot lines), so I knew that if I didn't plunge into the next book soon after finishing this book, I would lose track of everything.
But... I can't find the next books in the series anywhere in Vietnam.
I've gone to several bookstores in Vietnam, and also checked the online sellers in Vietnam.  The next book in the series doesn't seem to be available here in Vietnam. (*11)

And so... once again, living in Asia has foiled my attempt to follow a long-running fantasy series all the way through.

I'm actually not too broken up about it actually.  Like I said, it was good, but it didn't blow my mind.  If the next book had been available, I would have read it.  But I'm not shedding any tears over this either.

Author's Note and Acknowledgement

There's a few interesting notes in the Author's Note and Acknowledgements section.

In the Author's Note section, the author gives some interesting insight into his writing process:

For those unfamiliar with my process, I write sagas in an unusual way. I finish the entire series before publishing the first novel, and these books continue that tradition.  Why is this important? Well, there are several reasons. First, it allows me to weave threads throughout the entire narrative.  Minor references that seem initially unimportant will usually provide some interesting insights upon re-reading.  This is because I'm able to spread out details across the entire story line (Author's Note p.xi-xii)

I don't know if I find this information interesting or annoying.  Both, I guess. (interoying?)

I do actually find it an interesting little insight into the author's writing process.

At the same time, I don't want the author to have to tell me that a lot of minor plot threads will pay off.  I'm the reader--I'll be the judge of what pays off across the series and what doesn't, thank you very much. (*12)

I mean, I want the plot threads to all pay off, but I don't want the author to have to tell me at the beginning that the plot threads will all pay off--if that makes sense.  I want to be pleasantly surprised as I go.

On a different note, there's also some interesting stuff in the acknowledgements that give some insights into all the steps a book like this goes through--publishers, editors, two groups of beta-readers who gave feedback as it was evolving, etc.

For those of us who dabble in fiction occasionally, it's a reminder of just how much work it actually is to get a story up to publishing quality.

Footnotes (docs, pub)

(*1) Looking at my blog archives from 2017, it looks like shortly after I started this book, I got distracted by Ken Burns: The Vietnam War and Star Trek: Discovery.  Plus I was still in two separate book clubs back at the time (HERE and HERE) which also ate into my reading time.

(*2) Before you shame me for travelling during Covid-19...In Vietnam, the Coronavirus was under control, and it was considered safe to start travelling again within the country.
...at least, that was the situation at the time we booked our tickets.  Unfortunately a second wave broke out right about the time we started our vacation (although none of the provinces we traveled to were affected).  But a full discussion of the Coronavirus situation in Vietnam is a different subject for a different post, so I won't get bogged down in discussing the second wave here.

(*3) This is another frustration about reading in Asia--it makes it very difficult to track down all the books in a series when your access to English books is so limited.
And because you can't read a fantasy book these days without committing yourself to a whole series, this consequently means that I just don't pick up a lot of fantasy books.
I suspect that if I had spent the last 15 years living in the U.S., there would have been a lot more fantasy series on my reading list.

(*4) Actually I should qualify that sigh.  As a long-time geek myself, I do understand the appeal of having a long-running massive epic multi-part series that allows you to fully immerse yourself in a fantastical world.  My main frustration is that given my limited access to books out here in Asia, I know I'm never going to be able to track down all the books in a series.  And it's impossible to pick up a fantasy book these days that's not part of a 6 part series, and then the series itself is almost always a prequel to a sequel to another series.

(*5) I've never been very good at analyzing or describing prose, so with apologies I can't really go into much more detail than that.  I know when prose is easy to read, and when it's difficult to read, and this prose flowed quite easily.

(*6) Or, I don't know actually, what is standard in the genre?  The Conan the Barbarian series also took place during a primitive time, right?  Is this kind of setting just as standard for fantasy as the medieval world?

(*7) Okay, minor complaint here:
The Glossary of Names and Terms isn't actually in the very back.  It's before the Acknowledgments.  And then after the Acknowledgements is the Sneak Peek at Book Two in the series.  So the Glossary is actually pages 415 to 426 of 444 pages total.
It would have been easier to find if the Glossary had been at the very end.  Instead I felt like I had to fumble around to find it each time since I couldn't simply flip to the back of the book, but instead had to locate the Glossary somewhere near the back of the book.

(***Spoilers***)

(*8) For example, I was intrigued by the conflict between Persephone on one hand and Konniger and Tressa on the other.  Even though I realized that Tressa was deliberately written as being bratty just for the sake of creating conflict, I still got hooked in on the drama.  I was slightly disappointed, though, when the at the end it turned out that Konniger was just evil and scheming for the sake of being evil and scheming, and that it just ends in a physical fight.

As for Grin the Bear--the story had been setting up Grin the Bear to be something, and I was slightly disappointed when the resolution turned out to be that he was just a normal bear all along.

(*9) Actually that's the exact same gag that the Star Trek writers use all the time for Spock, isn't it?  And I was a huge Star Trek fan in my youth.  So why do I find it so annoying here?

Maybe because I'm older now, and grumpier.

Or maybe something about the constantly lecturing tone of the character Suri that I found annoying?

I don't know--for whatever reason, it didn't work for me.

(*10) I'm a slow reader and only manage to read a handful of books a year.  So I always try to weigh up how much I really want to read a book, and think about what other books I could read instead.  

(*11) Of course, I bought this book in Vietnam.  But, for whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be unusual for the bookstores in Vietnam to only carry one book in a series.

(*12) Okay, in this case, I won't actually be finishing the series--as I stated above.  But as a general principle...

Video Review
Video review HERE and embedded below.
Note... yet another video in which I ramble on for too long, and then get cut off at the 30 minute mark.  (My camera automatically stops filming after 30 minutes).



Link of the Day
noam chomsky on universal grammar and the genetics of language with captioning