I’ve been listening to the audio book version of “Heir of Novron”, by Michael J. Sullivan, but I had to stop. Audio books are my commute entertainment, which is fine most of the time. The trouble comes if I finish my work week at a tense spot in the book. That happened to me a couple of times during this book, and I ended up turning to my hard copy to keep going during the weekend. I ended up reading the last hundred pages last weekend because I couldn’t possibly wait until the following Monday to find out what happened.
So yeah, good book. I’m a Michael J. Sullivan fan to the extent that I recently contributed to his Kickstarter campaign. But let me attempt to address why. Sullivan writes stories I like to read. I know that’s nothing profound, and yet it is. let me see if I can explain why.
- He draws his lines where I would. He seems to believe you can tell a good story without excessive/harsh swearing, without sex, and without total depravity in his villains. Don’t get me wrong; this is not a Pollyanna series. At one point one of the bad guys explains to a main character what he is going to have done to her and some innocent friends of hers if she doesn’t cooperate. That villain was not a nice person, and I’m sure he would have kept his promise, though Sullivan would have left it off camera. But I’ve read books where the villains are truly sick, and their threats are carried out in detail. Call me naive, but I don’t need a shocking level of threat to feel tension. Simple threats are sufficient for me.
- He has a clear sense of morality. He seems to believe in good triumphing–by being good. Evil is allowed to make it extremely difficult for them, and even win some battles along the way, but Good wins, and by being truly good, not just protagonists by virtue of the author’s focus. That’s not to say everything they do is good, and they don’t make mistakes. And there is a lot of gray in which they operate, but ultimately they are trying to make the right choices.
- He has respect for faith and people of faith. Myron, a priest of Maribor who has been in the series from practically the beginning, really gets to shine in this one. He’s always been a bit of a nerd, and often comes across as naive, but in this final chapter he is not only vindicated, but plays a pivotal role in several character arcs. Not a man of action, he nonetheless literally holds the fate of the world in his head, getting the right information to the right people at the right time. I think I may have a new hero.
- He believes in the “everyman”. The series is littered with them. Even though a large percentage of the main characters are royalty, they spend much of the series in situations were blood means very little, and ability is key. The noble characters have to rise to the occasion as much as anyone else, and in the end our respect for them comes from their character and the level of expertise they attain. Street urchins change the fate of empires. Ornamental princesses become wizardesses. Farm girls become powerful leaders. Circumstances demand characters step up and be counted, and they do, though not without their failures and mistakes.
- He believes nobility is more than blood. There are notable nobles who are truly noble, in that they have a strong moral code, treat everyone kindly, and are completely genuine. They are a minority, but they are there, and they prosper in their own right. Sir Breckton is my other new hero.
The more I read of contemporary fantasy, the more these points are more pronounced by comparison. Sullivan, in many ways, is the anti-George R. R. Martin. Sullivan goes against the trend, and I’m glad. I need protagonists who are heroes, not merely less evil than their opponents. I need reassurance that goodness is a desirable trait, not a liability. I want to be told that right can prevail if they work very, very hard at it. Sullivan provides this in spades, and may he never change his mind.
“Heir of Novron” is a fantastic conclusion to a well-constructed series. The story picks up where it left off after “Rise of Empire,” with Arista imprisoned, Royce and Hadrian licking their wounds after being tricked into helping overthrow a major stronghold, and with the general situation looking grim for everyone. Now our boys have to try and rescue Arista and the Heir of Novron while navigating the treacherous politics of the growing Empire.
Nothing from beginning to end is wasted in this series, and I can’t think of a loose end that wasn’t tied up. Both the resolution and the ending are as satisfying as any I’ve seen. The tension is ratcheted pretty darn high as the stakes keep increasing. And all the favorite characters and supporting players get their moments to shine.
He also leaves things with little room for Royce and Hadrian, our main protagonists, to have future adventures together–something Sullivan acknowledges and doesn’t try to work around. I’m okay with that, though frankly I’d love to see a new series with the adventures of Breckton and Myron someday. I trust Sullivan could find a way to put them through the wringer while dimming their awesomeness not the slightest.
Update – 11/17/2017: I just finished this book for the second time, and would gladly repeat everything said above with one addition: not only does the series hold up under repeated reading, but a second read dispels any notion I once held that Sullivan didn’t know where it all was headed until later. On the contrary. The very first chapters of the book divulge information in passing that bear fruit half the series later. The seeds are sown for many of the primary characters to become what they are and to play the roles they eventually grow into. It’s all there, and I’m convinced now that none of it is accidental.