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The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter

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The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter

By: Michael J. Sullivan
Narrated by: Michael J. Sullivan, Tim Gerard Reynolds
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About this listen

"The pairing of Reynolds's narration with Sullivan's multilayered storytelling is outstanding." — AudioFile Magazine

A daughter vanishes. Two rogues are paid a fortune to find her. It isn't enough.

When Gabriel Winter's daughter mysteriously disappears and is presumed dead, the wealthy whiskey baron seeks revenge. Having lived in Colnora during the infamous Year of Fear, he hires the one man he knows can deliver a bloody retribution — the notorious Duster.

Ride with Royce and Hadrian as the cynical ex-assassin and idealistic ex-mercenary travel to a mysterious old-world city filled with nobles claiming descent from imperial aristocracy. Riyria's job appears easy: discover what happened to the missing duchess and, if she lives, bring her home...if not, punish those responsible. But nothing is simple in the crowded, narrow, mist-filled streets of Rochelle, where more than one ancient legend lurks.

©2017 Michael J. Sullivan (P)2017 Audible, Inc. Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Revenge Thought-Provoking Disappearance

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Editor reviews

Editors Select, December 2017

This was the first Michael J. Sullivan book I've ever experienced. That fact might aggravate some of his more dedicated fans, seeing as it's the fourth book in the series ("you have to start at the beginning!"). But I heard that it could be enjoyed as a stand-alone work, and that it definitely can, because I was obsessed immediately. Sullivan's characters really take on a life of their own, especially with Tim Gerard Reynolds giving them such a dynamic performance. Sullivan's sense of pacing is akin to a thriller writer's; each chapter is succinct and compelling, with frequent cliff-hangers that make it impossible to stop listening. Most crucial, perhaps, is the quality and subtle detail of Sullivan's world building - and his synergy with Reynolds - making it easy to dive headlong into this book. —Michael, Audible Editor

Critic reviews

"Fans will rejoice in Tim Gerard Reynolds's return to narrate the latest adult fantasy featuring professional thieves Hadrian and Royce. The pairing of Reynolds's narration with Sullivan's multilayered storytelling is outstanding. Reynolds's sense of the heroes' personalities makes the bantering dialogue a joy to hear and enhances the tale's humor and emotional depths." (AudioFile)
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Holy Hadrian's unicorns, another's fantastic adventure with my two new favourite duo. The Disappearance Of Winters Daughter was my favourite of the Riyria tales yet in my opinion. I absolutely loved them all, but this one had me curled up in stitches, The description of Rochelle alone was amazing. Such a diverse and interesting setting for the story. Brilliant characters old and new, the author brings the Mir into the fold having a major roll in the story, where we haven't seen or had in the previous books. Michael J. Sullivan's writing and worldbuilding is just tremendous. The Riyria books were a delight to read. There were some great twists that only added to the pleasure. I hope this isn’t the last time Michael J. Sullivan invites us to join Royce and Hadrian on another adventure in the near future. In this brilliant tale Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are hired by Merchant to his find his daughter, the Dutchess of Rochelle, who believes is dead and wants revenge on all those who were involved. With the Riyria duo, things never are straightforward, and when they go looking and poking around, strange monsters and legends coming looking for them. A fun and hilarious tale, any fantasy lovers looking for an amazing adventure, look no further, I very highly recommend...😁💙⚔️🗡💥

Just Brilliant.

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I like the interplay between the lead characters. Having read others in this series, it matches the quality of others, enjoy.

Great characters

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another great book from Michael J Sullivan the man just never let's you down

loved it

another excellent Ryira tale

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It's self contained, and for the most part does not lean much on the knowledge gained from the older books. Just bits and pieces that link up. I really like that, since it's quite a while since I read the others.

If you like the others in the series odds are you will like this one as well. Solid voice work.

A great addition.

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Hard to describe it otherwise.
It has depth and warmth, more than I have seen in a long time.
The characters are fleshed out, they are relatable and likable.
There is only one bad guy, and the focus is not really on him.
He is just there enough to make the story move, and it is great that he is that way.
The entire book is about the other characters, from the main ones to the supporting ones, every one is good.
The story is indeed enjoyable in and of itself.
Not much is based on previous books, but some hints and remarks that make me want to get to them and see what the inside joke was all about.
Really hard to describe it, but I loved it.

Good story, great characters and awesome writing and narration.
This is a pleasure to read and one of the few books that makes me want to listen to it again.

A book with lots of soul put in it

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Another brilliant story within the Rhyeria universe but a quite a few recorded sections where the pitch or volume was off was annoying.

Fantastic book in the Rhyeria collection

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Okay so I'm supposed to listen to my audio books as I'm driving to and from work, to pass time stuck in traffic, but I find myself sitting in my car at my offices car park, stealing 5 minutes extra and the same again when I get home! incredible characters, wonderfully engaging. Get it now !

*******************************and i have listen to all The Riyria Chronicles books and i love them all.******************

buy it.

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Every tale tells a story and each story is just another page in the Books that are the Library's of the lives of Royce Melbourne and Hadrian Blackwater.

Each a Tale of Bloody Carnage and Daring-do

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The fourth of the prequel books, and the tenth I've read with Royce and Hadrian, the modern fantasy fan's Fafhrd and Grey Mouser. By this stage it's unlikely you'd be reading this as your first Riyria book, and if so then you'd be best served either going to the first of the Chronicles (Crown Tower, free on Audible at the moment) or the very first Revelations book (which was where I started).
One of the issues with such a long series, especially when they're prequels, and doubly-especially when Michael J Sullivan has written historical novels set in the same world many centuries before, is the internal consistency and the possibility of ret-cons (or pre-cons, I suppose). Generally, I think those are minor although I'm not a fervent fan so many might escape me. I get the sense that some of the prequel plots would clash with the main series, such as last book's Royce-elf lineage, or this book's revelations about Hadrian's gladiatorial and warrior past, which i recall being a bit of a surprise when written about and now seem to have been prior/common knowledge. Also the level of allegiances and contacts they make in the prequels (ancient elven spirits, queens etc) would surely have featured more in the Revelations books during some of the tricky times (framed for crimes etc).
All of that aside, as a Riyria story this is great. The usual fun banter, the usual bromance, Royce being uber-grim, but with some surprising soft-spots,. An urban mystery set in a very flavourful city (Rochelle) with numerous segregation and political issues, we get some excellent sorcery parts (the golem!!) and excellent new characters (who could not like Evelyn?). It's well-paced with some suitable twists and surprises and, beyond the nod to a meta-plot arc, self-contained (always a bonus in fantasy these days).
So once more I'd give it 5 stars (well 4.5 but we'll round up). Really enjoyed it, and the new one is only just around the corner!!


consistently great heroic fantasy

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A very enjoyable listen. Well narrated, fast paced plot and witty banter between the two main characters. Dry humour, not too gory and with a smidgen of romance to keep a nice balance. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes science-fantasy.

Entertaining romp through D&D adventure

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