So this book finishes on a cliffhanger of biblical proportions. Good thing that Age of Death is now out so I don't have to suffer too long. But I did feel this book was a little slower than previous books. There was a lot to tell I guess. I was mostly interested in Suri's side of this book rather than the rhunes fighting fhrey. There was a bit of jumping around to each character and a few I wanted to strangle. It's good to know the back stories...But mostly I just want to get back to Hadrian and Royce. I miss those guys. ( )

Description
The war with the Fhrey has officially begun. Limping from an almost-lost victory, the humans rally for the next clash; but battle never plays out as expected.

Suri was a wild-looking Mystic, with every intention of telling the village leader her prediction of widespread death, then returning to her life in the woods. Now, no longer just a Mystic, but also a human fully capable in the Fhrey’s magic Art, she finds herself surrounded by death, and nowhere near returning to her old home in Hawthorne Glen.

Raked with grief and loss, she follows the friends that she unexpectedly found, and is only led further into the human/ Fhrey conflict. How can she continue despite everything she has lost; and what help can she be, refusing to call down destruction with the power of the Art? More importantly, what happens when a butterfly wants to become a caterpillar?

Disclosure
I personally bought this book. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.

Review – Spoiler Free
Fourth in Sullivan’s six book series, The Legends of the First Empire, Age of Legend bridges the series’ first half to its second half. (Read the review of the first book in the series, Age of Myth, on my blog.) At two points the story jumps forward, skipping past chunks of time. Some readers may lament not being able to read through specific events that occurred during those skipped times, but I honestly didn’t miss them. It was obvious to the story that they had occurred, and it saved much droning on about the progress of the war.

The skips, and certain developments within the story made it a little hard to pin down one specific ‘main character’, but again, I wasn’t bothered by this. Sullivan is such a strong writer, that it is easy to follow a new story line with clarity while also not losing touch or understanding with the other continuing story lines not being told at the forefront.

Honestly, my only disappointment with this was the general absence of a character that the story previously followed closely. Their absence was perfectly understandable, I just wish that they were more pivotal in the few scenes we had them ‘on screen’ for.

Overall, I loved this book. As always, Sullivan’s work is full of good story layers and unexpected, yet hinted at, plot points that make reading it a joy. ( )

I have always found it amazing that in the vast expanse of eternity, several significant yet unrelated events can occur simultaneously. Such things make we wonder what the gods know that I do not.
-The Book of Brin

Age of Legend is the fourth book in the Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J. Sullivan. It is also the point where the series takes a mythological turn as the story's tone and focus shifts. The war between Rhunes and Fhrey has been going for years and is now in a stalemate. While both sides desire an end to the war, one side desires peace while the other aims for nothing short of the extinction their enemies.

What I didn't realize going into the second half of the series is that these three books were written as one story and broken into a trilogy due to size. This entry definitely reads as one long prologue with a set up for the remaining two books to come. There are some interesting reveals and a seriously bad decision all to move various characters into place for what's to come. Just as everyone is in place and the plot gets going, it ends. Not just ends but ends in one heck of a cliffhanger. I'm glad I waited for the series to finish being published so I don't have to wait to see what happens next. ( )

The good:

If you have been enjoying the Legends of the First Empire so far, you're probably going to enjoy this and the newish direction it takes. In a very positive way, it is more of the same with many of the same characters, dealing with the aftermath of the big blow-out of the previous book and learning how to move forward. Brin gets a lot of page-time and I, for the most part, enjoyed these parts more than the rest. Writing about writing is fun.

The bad, or rather, the indifferent:

I just couldn't get into this book much. I found my mind wandering a lot, never connecting or caring much about most of the happenings or the characters. It might just be me or perhaps I'm getting slightly burned out on the series.

It's a shame! I did enjoy quite a few parts of the previous tales, and this one has some pretty interesting, if very late, reveals that rallied my attention. I'm just not sure if I feel like it's worth it, tho. ; ;

Who knows? Maybe the rather mythological new direction will appeal to a lot of ya'll. ( )

Another cracking read!! Characters to believe in and a storyline to inspire. ( )