Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Rise of Empire cover art

Rise of Empire

By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £31.00

Buy Now for £31.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Theft of Swords [Dramatized Adaptation] cover art
The Crown Tower (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
Pile of Bones cover art
Nolyn cover art
Knight in the Nighttime cover art
Red Rising cover art
Kingfall cover art
The Cycle of Arawn cover art
Fatemarked cover art
Ascendant: Book 1 cover art
Spellmonger cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
The King's Ranger Boxset: Books 1-3 cover art
Benjamin Ashwood cover art
Bury the Living cover art
Storm Front cover art

Summary

Best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan’s mesmerizing Riyria Revelations series has found a welcome home with fans of magic, clashing swords, and daring heroes. This second volume finds Royce and Hadrian on a quest to enlist the southern Nationalists to aid the ever-weakening kingdom of Melengar. Royce suspects an ancient wizard is manipulating them all, but to find the truth he’ll have to decipher Hadrian’s past—a past Hadrian wants to keep secret.

Rise of Empire contains Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm, books 3 and 4 of Riyria Revelations.

©2011 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2012 Recorded Books

More from the same

What listeners say about Rise of Empire

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    589
  • 4 Stars
    188
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    558
  • 4 Stars
    152
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    515
  • 4 Stars
    170
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing

amazing really good book would highly recommend. good story line lots of twists and turns

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Getting so tired of the derogatory and offensive language!

Last time I reviewed one of this series, I mentioned the offensive and racist language used to describe the black characters in the last of the Riyria Chronicles. As a result, I wouldn’t have listened to another by this author hadn’t I already downloaded this and the last novel in the series.

In this offering, the author has added misogyny to his repertoire, (it’s been in there in the background previously), and possible homophobia, with the use of ‘effeminate’, a word that should no longer be in anyone’s vocabulary.

Shame and blame also lies with the narrator for agreeing to read these offensive passages, (and for using the racist language in a previous book!)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Ej
  • 03-10-19

struggled to finish

the likeable two main characters couldn't make up for the poorly written women (all of whom are weepy incompetents who need a man to save them) or the constant Deus ex machina. by the halfway point of the book I stopped caring about any of the drama because there was always going to be a "twist" which was unearned and/or unbelievable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Continues on from the 1st book just as good.

Micheal J Sullivan nows how to wtite and Mr Reynalds reads well.
The audio book was such fun to listen to.
If you like fantacy you'll love this and even if you don't this is a fun series to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story well told

overall it won't light the world on fire, but it's an interesting story, which is also well narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hope it never ends

my English isn't the best as you can maybe see, but as the title says hope it never ends, the characters and the plot/storyline is awesome, the reader is great his old guy voice is just perfect, totally worth buying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Riyria Revelations series gets even better

I loved this second volume of the Riyria Revelations - Rise of Empire. Tim Gerard Reynolds does a brilliant job of narrating the characters, each with their own voice and character. War in Melengar, a continued search for the Heir of Novron, Princess Arista, Amelia, the Empress - wow what a story. I couldn't stop listening. I'm now onto the final instalment of the Riyria Revelations and it just gets better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A bit of a mess

This story is all over the place, really poor characterisation doesn’t help with the continuity. We’ll read though which kept me going longer than I should have.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Solid old school fantasy

The second volume of the heroic fantasy series comprises books 3 and 4 of the Rhyria Revelations, but unlike some trilogies it doesn't mark a slump in the centre. Rather the lighter bromance tone of the first volume is deepened as the author fleshes out his world with the restoration of the Empire, under the nefarious control of the Church. We get more on the Nationalists mentioned back in book one, a tour of new cities, and in book 4 a (well researched) sea voyage, and a jungle visit. I love the world-building and how it ties into the backstory of our two main characters, especially their past adventures (which i think Michael J Sullivan expanded on with his prequel books). The backstory also gives us a great antagonist for Royce in the form of Merrick, a kind of Moriarty mastermind allied with the Empire. The final twists of book 4 (The Emerald Storm) were a clever surprise, and certainly left me eager to complete the three volumes. Pretty definite I'll be reading the Rhyria Chronicles also, with all the past exploit titbits left here.
finally, i found the other main character Princess Arista perhaps even better fleshed out than the Rhyria pair, and her ongoing rather tragic arc engaging.
Solid old-school heroic Fantasy. Definitely recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Masterpiece of classic fantasy-adventure

A great read/listen for anyone who loves classic fantasy adventure.

Strong cast of characters (led by the Royce and Hadrian who we learn more about in this book), cool locations, fast paced plot and plenty of action. While the first entry in this series struggled a bit to set up the world and characters this 2nd entry hits the ground running and doesn't look back while also setting the stage nicely for the final entry in the trilogy.

Overall this is a strong middle book in arguably the best modern fantasy trilogy and is definitely worth a look for fans of the genre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!