Review: The Death of Dulgath

The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan

This is the third book of the prequel adventures for the Riyria pair: Royce and Hadrian. In this book, we travel to a new corner of Elan and face new problems. A bit more magic is introduced than other books in the Riyria Chronicles.

The central figure in this book - Lady Dulgath - has a secret about her. We learned a bit more about the world, specifically, Ferrol’s rule.

I thought the writing in this book has improved over the previous ones. The descriptions about the world are more believable and detailed.

The author seems quite determined to prove Hadrian right though. The opening scene with a theft gone slightly awry and the whole business with Scarlett awards a couple easy points in Hadrian’s favor. The mentioning that Hadrian is “lucky” is likely a hint to the answer we found out in Riyria Revelations.

On the other hand, why is that the villains always want to use a convoluted plan? What’s the point of getting rid of the artist? He is completely unrelated to the plot. What’s the point of making a big show of hiring the archer, then having him get taken out of commission easily? What does Scarlett know and how does she know it?

In the end, what happened with Lady Dulgath*? Especially given that this is only year 2-3 of the 12 years span from Riyria Chronicles and Riyria Revelations. I seem to have a lot unanswered questions.

I do recommend the book, but it could be more satisfying.