Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN is a New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author who has been nominated for nine Goodreads Choice Awards and received six Amazon Editor's Picks. His first novel, The Crown Conspiracy was released by Aspirations Media Inc. in October of 2008. Michael has been published by the fantasy imprints of Penguin Random House (Del Rey) and Hachette Book Group (Orbit). He has also been a pioneer in the indie publishing movement. As of 2023, Michael has released twenty novels (nineteen set in his fictional world of Elan, and one standalone sci-fi thriller, Hollow World). His series include: The Riyria Revelations (6 books) The Riyria Chronicles (4 books) The Legends of the First Empire (6 books) The Rise and Fall (3 books) Today, Michael has returned to his indie roots while still providing his novels through retail bookstores. Each novel is launched via Kickstarter (eleven books and counting), where his campaigns are among the most-backed and highest-funded fiction projects of all time. Doing so provides his most-ardent fans with unparalleled author access, deluxe limited-edition hardcovers, exclusive perks, and the ability to read the story months before its official release. MARC SIMONETTI was born in France in 1977. He is an award-winning concept artist, illustrator, and fine artist specializing in fantasy. Marc studied at the Beaux Arts in Annecy and then at the Emile Cohl School. He quickly established himself as a concept artist, making his mark in high-profile productions such as the 3D space opera Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, when he worked in close partnership with acclaimed French director Luc Besson. Further collaborations with leading visual effect companies include Los Angeles-based MPC, and Weta digital. His most recent work as a concept artist, making visual development and staging dramatic lighting and designs, includes Aladdin, Maleficent 2, Aquaman 2, and the upcoming Transformers Moviem, Rise of the Beasts. Best known for his work on GRR Martin’s books A Song of Ice and Fire and The Iron Throne, Marc has also illustrated some of the best-known fantasy and Sci-Fi novels, such as Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, Robin Hobb’s The Royal Assassin trilogy, Patrick Rothfuss’s Name of the Wind, Terry Brook’s Shannara Cycle, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Michael J. Sullivan’s Legends of the First Empire series and the Rise and Fall trilogy. Marc’s awards include Winner of the 2018 Locus Magazine’s Chesley Award: Best Cover Illustration • r/Fantasy Stabby Award Winner for best fantasy covers in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2018 • the 2006-Grand winner Blizzard Art Contest.
“<i>Nolyn</i> is masterfully executed and the disparate storylines are equally intriguing as they are spun beautifully together into an ending full of gnarled twists and grim surprises that will leave you clamoring for more” – David Estes, Amazon #1 bestselling author of <i>Fatemarked</i><br /><br />“Breathtakingly epic in scope, yet the characters are infused with the breath of genuine humanity that makes Sullivan’s work utterly unique.” – Andy Peloguin, bestselling author of The Silent Champions series<br /><br />“Vengeance and love test the boundaries of honor in this phenomenal epic fantasy by Michael J. Sullivan. Heart-wrenching and powerful, you can’t help but root for Nolyn and Sephryn as they struggle to unravel the plots against them before the final trap is sprung.” – Megan Haskell, award-winning autor of The Sanyare Chronicles<br /><br />“With Nolyn, a true master of epic fantasy shines even brighter. Sullivan has an amazing ability to craft a brilliant ensemble of characters and lead readers on an adventure that keeps them wide-eyeed and betting for more with each expertly written page.” – Dyrk Ashton, autho of The Paternus Trilogy.
A HERO TO SOME. A VILLAIN TO MANY. THE TRUTH FOREVER BURIED.
The man who became known as Esrahaddon is reported to have destroyed the world’s greatest empire — but there are those who believe he saved it. Few individuals are as divisive, but all agree on three facts: He was exiled to the wilderness, hunted by a goblin priestess, and sentenced to death by a god — all before the age of eight. How he managed to survive and why people continued to fear his name a thousand years later has always been a mystery . . . until now.
From the three-time New York Times best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan, Esrahaddon is the final novel in The Rise and Fall trilogy. This latest set of stories sits snugly between the Legends of the First Empire series and the Riyria books (Revelations and Chronicles). With this tale, Michael continues his tradition of unlikely heroes who must rise to the call when history knocks, demanding to be let in. This is the nineteenth full-length novel in a body of work that started in 2008 and spans four series.Table of Contents
About the Book
Map of Elan
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter 1: Tigerwolves
Chapter 2: The Forest
Chapter 3: Goblins
Chapter 4: Hekkabah
Chapter 5: The Nyphron Church
Chapter 6: The Longest Day
Chapter 7: The Growing the Flock
Chapter 8: The First City
Chapter 9: The Tree House
Chapter 10: Rappaport and Wardley
Chapter 11: The Warlord
Chapter 12: Riddle of the Rogue
Chapter 13: The Proposal
Chapter 14: Eber-On-Aston
Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest
Chapter 16: The Witch
Chapter 17: Lost and Found
Chapter 18: Meet the Tutors
Chapter 19: Teaching the Prince
Chapter 20: Finding Space
Chapter 21: Conspiracy
Chapter 22: Granting Wishes
Chapter 23: Seven’s Shadow
Chapter 24: The Story Retold
Chapter 25: Training Lessons
Chapter 26: Departure
Chapter 27: Merredydd
Chapter 28: The Hawthorn Glen
Chapter 29: Ryin Contita
Chapter 30: In the Shadow
Chapter 31: Rochelle
Chapter 32: Before the Gates
Chapter 33: The Legion and the Leash
Chapter 34: Mileva
Chapter 35: The Pile
Chapter 36: The Riva
Chapter 37: Sailing Home
Chapter 38: Visitors
Chapter 39: A House Divided
Chapter 40: Preparing to Leave
Chapter 41: The Secret
Chapter 42: The Tower
Chapter 43: As Light Fades
Chapter 44: Fallout
Chapter 45: The Prince
Chapter 46: The Night of Sorrow
Chapter 47: Founder’s Day
Chapter 48: Farewell
Chapter 49: Fall the Wall
Chapter 50: The Heir of Nyphron
Afterword
The Crown Tower Sample Chapter
Rappaport breathed in the steam from her coffee, drinking in the view. She and Wardley sat at an outdoor café with a fantastic panorama of the Shahabad harbor below. Ships and fishing boats, all painted bright colors, bobbed with the rhythm of the sea.
They don’t call them café s here, she reminded herself.
In Calynia, these open-air coffee shops were known as jaffes, which was a variation on the word café — or vice versa, she supposed, given that coffee was an import. Using the proper term was important, as getting it wrong had been known to cause fights.
Culture, she mused, is like a drop of ink on a wet page. It splatters and bleeds, but never far. What does spread isn’t the original black, but some form of gray, as the native paper absorbs the black but never surrenders to it. The ink despises the loss of true color, and the paper hates the change forced upon it.
Rappaport saw something different. She did not focus on the loss, but on the gain. The blending of cultures was not less of each but more of something wholly new. The merger was a flood plain inundated by muddy water. The land might loathe the deluge that left it covered in silt, but such fertile banks brought forth blossoms.
“Everyone here appears to wear linen, with a sheer muslin being the choice of the more well-to-do,” she said. “Not a whole lot you can really do with such flimsy material, but I can certainly see the benefits, given the weather. Does it get cold here?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Wardley replied.
“I’m interested in clothing. You must know that by now. I designed this dress-coat myself. Usually I have a vest on beneath it, but the heat and humidity here . . .” She fluttered the lapels of her jacket. “I really am starting to see the benefit of the sheer muslin and light linen. Alas, this is my sacrifice for fashion.”
Rappaport slouched as she placed her feet up on the neighboring chair, the ceramic cup held on her chest by both hands. Beside her, Wardley sat upright, both feet on the floor, chin up. Stiff posture aside, at least he looks like he belongs here. With weathered features, dark beard, and that intense look in his eyes, Wardley might have been a native. His clothes gave him away.
Neither of them was making any attempt to blend. This wasn’t that sort of assignment. So while not as distinct a statement as hers, Wardley stood out by wearing his uniform.
“Well?” he asked, cracking another one of those big nuts from the complimentary basket on the table.
“I’m thinking.”
“About fashion?” He spat shells onto the floor. The fieldstone patio was strewn with yellowing hulls, the accumulated refuse of a dozen tables.
“I can do two things at once. Part of the training, actually.” She sipped her coffee that was ridiculously strong — practically soup. “You probably want to kill him, right?”
“Why would you say that?”
“You have three swords. Carrying those around all the time must give you an itch, if only to justify the effort of hauling them.”
His brooding expression slipped into a scowl. “I thought you were smarter than that. There’s a rumor you were third in your class.”
Her time to scowl. “There were only three in my class.”
“Oh, right.” He smiled. “Now tell me what we should do — and show your work. Dazzle me, my dear.”“<i>Nolyn</i> is masterfully executed and the disparate storylines are equally intriguing as they are spun beautifully together into an ending full of gnarled twists and grim surprises that will leave you clamoring for more” – David Estes, Amazon #1 bestselling author of <i>Fatemarked</i><br /><br />“Breathtakingly epic in scope, yet the characters are infused with the breath of genuine humanity that makes Sullivan’s work utterly unique.” – Andy Peloguin, bestselling author of The Silent Champions series<br /><br />“Vengeance and love test the boundaries of honor in this phenomenal epic fantasy by Michael J. Sullivan. Heart-wrenching and powerful, you can’t help but root for Nolyn and Sephryn as they struggle to unravel the plots against them before the final trap is sprung.” – Megan Haskell, award-winning autor of The Sanyare Chronicles<br /><br />“With Nolyn, a true master of epic fantasy shines even brighter. Sullivan has an amazing ability to craft a brilliant ensemble of characters and lead readers on an adventure that keeps them wide-eyeed and betting for more with each expertly written page.” – Dyrk Ashton, autho of The Paternus Trilogy.
A HERO TO SOME. A VILLAIN TO MANY. THE TRUTH FOREVER BURIED.
The man who became known as Esrahaddon is reported to have destroyed the world’s greatest empire — but there are those who believe he saved it. Few individuals are as divisive, but all agree on three facts: He was exiled to the wilderness, hunted by a goblin priestess, and sentenced to death by a god — all before the age of eight. How he managed to survive and why people continued to fear his name a thousand years later has always been a mystery . . . until now.
From the three-time New York Times best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan, Esrahaddon is the final novel in The Rise and Fall trilogy. This latest set of stories sits snugly between the Legends of the First Empire series and the Riyria books (Revelations and Chronicles). With this tale, Michael continues his tradition of unlikely heroes who must rise to the call when history knocks, demanding to be let in. This is the nineteenth full-length novel in a body of work that started in 2008 and spans four series.Table of Contents
About the Book
Map of Elan
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter 1: Tigerwolves
Chapter 2: The Forest
Chapter 3: Goblins
Chapter 4: Hekkabah
Chapter 5: The Nyphron Church
Chapter 6: The Longest Day
Chapter 7: The Growing the Flock
Chapter 8: The First City
Chapter 9: The Tree House
Chapter 10: Rappaport and Wardley
Chapter 11: The Warlord
Chapter 12: Riddle of the Rogue
Chapter 13: The Proposal
Chapter 14: Eber-On-Aston
Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest
Chapter 16: The Witch
Chapter 17: Lost and Found
Chapter 18: Meet the Tutors
Chapter 19: Teaching the Prince
Chapter 20: Finding Space
Chapter 21: Conspiracy
Chapter 22: Granting Wishes
Chapter 23: Seven’s Shadow
Chapter 24: The Story Retold
Chapter 25: Training Lessons
Chapter 26: Departure
Chapter 27: Merredydd
Chapter 28: The Hawthorn Glen
Chapter 29: Ryin Contita
Chapter 30: In the Shadow
Chapter 31: Rochelle
Chapter 32: Before the Gates
Chapter 33: The Legion and the Leash
Chapter 34: Mileva
Chapter 35: The Pile
Chapter 36: The Riva
Chapter 37: Sailing Home
Chapter 38: Visitors
Chapter 39: A House Divided
Chapter 40: Preparing to Leave
Chapter 41: The Secret
Chapter 42: The Tower
Chapter 43: As Light Fades
Chapter 44: Fallout
Chapter 45: The Prince
Chapter 46: The Night of Sorrow
Chapter 47: Founder’s Day
Chapter 48: Farewell
Chapter 49: Fall the Wall
Chapter 50: The Heir of Nyphron
Afterword
The Crown Tower Sample Chapter
Rappaport breathed in the steam from her coffee, drinking in the view. She and Wardley sat at an outdoor café with a fantastic panorama of the Shahabad harbor below. Ships and fishing boats, all painted bright colors, bobbed with the rhythm of the sea.
They don’t call them café s here, she reminded herself.
In Calynia, these open-air coffee shops were known as jaffes, which was a variation on the word café — or vice versa, she supposed, given that coffee was an import. Using the proper term was important, as getting it wrong had been known to cause fights.
Culture, she mused, is like a drop of ink on a wet page. It splatters and bleeds, but never far. What does spread isn’t the original black, but some form of gray, as the native paper absorbs the black but never surrenders to it. The ink despises the loss of true color, and the paper hates the change forced upon it.
Rappaport saw something different. She did not focus on the loss, but on the gain. The blending of cultures was not less of each but more of something wholly new. The merger was a flood plain inundated by muddy water. The land might loathe the deluge that left it covered in silt, but such fertile banks brought forth blossoms.
“Everyone here appears to wear linen, with a sheer muslin being the choice of the more well-to-do,” she said. “Not a whole lot you can really do with such flimsy material, but I can certainly see the benefits, given the weather. Does it get cold here?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Wardley replied.
“I’m interested in clothing. You must know that by now. I designed this dress-coat myself. Usually I have a vest on beneath it, but the heat and humidity here . . .” She fluttered the lapels of her jacket. “I really am starting to see the benefit of the sheer muslin and light linen. Alas, this is my sacrifice for fashion.”
Rappaport slouched as she placed her feet up on the neighboring chair, the ceramic cup held on her chest by both hands. Beside her, Wardley sat upright, both feet on the floor, chin up. Stiff posture aside, at least he looks like he belongs here. With weathered features, dark beard, and that intense look in his eyes, Wardley might have been a native. His clothes gave him away.
Neither of them was making any attempt to blend. This wasn’t that sort of assignment. So while not as distinct a statement as hers, Wardley stood out by wearing his uniform.
“Well?” he asked, cracking another one of those big nuts from the complimentary basket on the table.
“I’m thinking.”
“About fashion?” He spat shells onto the floor. The fieldstone patio was strewn with yellowing hulls, the accumulated refuse of a dozen tables.
“I can do two things at once. Part of the training, actually.” She sipped her coffee that was ridiculously strong — practically soup. “You probably want to kill him, right?”
“Why would you say that?”
“You have three swords. Carrying those around all the time must give you an itch, if only to justify the effort of hauling them.”
His brooding expression slipped into a scowl. “I thought you were smarter than that. There’s a rumor you were third in your class.”
Her time to scowl. “There were only three in my class.”
“Oh, right.” He smiled. “Now tell me what we should do — and show your work. Dazzle me, my dear.”