Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan – Review

Published: July 9, 2019

Publisher: Grim Oak Press

Series: Legends of the First Empire #4

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 432 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.5/5.0

 

Synopsis:

Each culture has its own myths and legends, but only one is shared, and it is feared by all. 
With Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War, fantasy master Michael J. Sullivan riveted readers with a tale of unlikely heroes locked in a desperate battle to save mankind. After years of warfare, humanity has gained the upper hand and has pushed the Fhrey to the edge of their homeland, but no farther. Now comes the pivotal moment. Persephone’s plan to use the stalemate to seek peace is destroyed by an unexpected betrayal that threatens to hand victory to the Fhrey and leaves a dear friend in peril. Humanity’s only hope lies in the legend of a witch, a forgotten song, and a simple garden door.

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First of all, I backed the Kickstarter Michael ran for this book and thus got a copy of the eBook as soon as it was ready back in April. The hardcover and other finalized versions won’t be out until July 9, 2019 for general public purchasing.

So… this wasn’t my favorite book in the series for a couple reasons. First of all, I felt like not much happened in the book. Now, obviously there were some plot developments and such but they were few and far between. My second problem was the ending. It was quite sudden and I swear the book should have carried on for 50-100 more pages (which I expected it to since the ebook version showed that I had a decent percentage left to read). Turns out those extra pages were bonus content and not further plot continuation! The ending was quite the cliffhanger and the whole book felt like a lengthy set up for the next couple books.

Age of Legend was split into two time segments. The first part is shortly after the events of Age of War and the second part is approximately five years later. This allowed for us to skip what seemed to be fairly hum-drum events like more skirmishes with the Fhrey, the work on a bridge over the Nidwalden, and the baby/toddler years of Persephone’s child. Like I said, pretty everyday events that I didn’t mind missing out on. The second half of the book did get more interesting, though I won’t go into great detail to prevent spoilers. Let’s just say a group of our characters are setting out on an unexpected journey that will definitely put them in peril.

I have to say, this book wasn’t quite what I had anticipated and it definitely felt like the filler/set up book. I’m going to hazard a guess that this will all be worth it in the long run despite my current feelings towards the book. If you’re a fan of the series and plan on reading to the end, this is a necessary installment. While not the action packed read that the previous book were, it has plot details that you just can’t miss. I will also say that I was in kind of a reading slump (just wasn’t really in to anything I was reading) and that could be part of the reason for my lackluster feelings towards Age of Legend.