Greetings all! Robin here. I’m thrilled to be back with my two favorite rogues for hire. And because we exceeded a Kickstarter stretch goal, I’m going to share my thoughts about Drumindor. For those who may not know, I’m Michael’s wife, and I take care of a host of the behind-the-scenes activities to produce his works. Doing this frees up his time to write more stories, which I think is good for all of us.

  Before I start “dishing,” I just want to thank all the people who have mentioned me and my afterwords when writing to Michael (which you can do at ). Honestly, I thought writing these might be a waste of time, but after hearing the positive feedback, I’m glad I took the plunge. So thank you for all the kind words.

  As I start to write this afterword, I’m hearing Helen Hunt’s character from the 1997 movie As Good as it Gets when she says, “What I needed, he gave me great!” That’s exactly how I feel after finishing this book. Don’t get me wrong, Farilane is probably my single favorite book of Michael’s, and Esrahaddon was fabulous because of all the backstory in it. But let’s face it, these books had world-ending stakes which meant they were “packed with drama” and less “a fun romp.” So it was great to get back to a story where the tone is lighter and the risks smaller. In many ways, I think of Drumindor as a “cozy, slice-of-life” fantasy where I knew I was going to laugh, and I didn’t have to worry about a key character dying. After all, these are prequels to Revelations, so I think it was safe to assume that Royce and Hadrian would be around at the end of the book.

  As some may know, Michael wrote The Riyria Chronicles as a gift to me, since I missed Royce and Hadrian so very much. But when he started writing The Crown Tower, I had some trepidation. At that time, it had been years since he’d written The Riyria Revelations, and being away from the pair for so long, I wasn’t sure if he could capture the same “magic” of their personalities and their unique relationship. I shouldn’t have doubted. The pair were as wonderful as ever. This time, however, the time in-between had been even longer. Still, I wasn’t concerned. These days I no longer doubt Michael’s writing ability, but I couldn’t have been more thrilled when I reunited with Riyria and discovered they hadn’t changed a bit. I grinned from ear to ear whenever they were together.

  The discussion of Monty Mousey wine and Hadrian falling off his horse were “quintessential Riyria.” It’s quite possibly my all-time favorite Royce and Hadrian scene of any book. Reading “drunk Hadrian” dialog I was reminded of Dudley Moore from the 1981 film, Arthur, a family favorite that we often quote from. If you haven’t seen it, you might give it a try.

  For years, I’ve seen fan mail that proclaim statements such as, “I would read any story with Royce and Hadrian in it. They don’t even have to do anything special. I’d listen to them as they create a shopping list.” I couldn’t agree more. In many ways, scenes where I was simply “hanging out” with the pair became the ones at the top of my list. Like “drunk Hadrian,” other favorites include eating fish shawarma, Royce asking for romantic advice (like the angstiest of all pimple-faced teenagers), and the two of them trying to decipher the combo to get into Drumindor.

  It would be boring (and repetitive) for me to go through each of these scenes, but here’s what I considered to be the best exchange with the two.

  “What’s going on, Royce?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  “Can I have a hint?”

  Royce pointed at the light on the pole. “Look at all those moths.”

  Hadrian gave it a glance. “Can I have a better hint?”

  In many ways, this book was an opportunity to see the pair in a different light. For the most part, they weren’t battling dragons with complicated names, or saving the world of Elan from destruction, they were on VACATION, and that was just fine with me. In fact, thinking about that brings to mind the 2021 movie Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Do yourself a favor and watch it this winter when the cold wind blows and you need a two hour mini-vacation. You’ll thank me later. It is a quirky film that no one ever seems to have heard of, but I’ve yet to watch it with anyone who wasn’t thoroughly entertained. During much of this book, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Royce and Hadrian go to Vista Tur Del Fur.

  Whether the above movie was an influence for Michael when writing Drumindor, I can’t say. But one movie’s influence is undeniable. Did you notice? If not, here are some clues: The Blue Parrot, a casino, a fat man, a freedom fighter, the name Ugarte, the singing of a national anthem in a crowded bar, and a murdered courier who was robbed of something everyone is looking for. Yep, it was 1942’s Casablanca, and just as you should read “drunk Hadrian” with the voice of “drunk Dudley Moore,” you should picture any scene with Royce and Cornelius DeLur as being played by Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet. And here is a little behind the scenes thing. I asked Michael to add the following line just to cement the connection: “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Both Casablanca and Barb and Star have a setting that is similar to Drumindor’s, and I absolutely LOVED visiting Tur Del Fur! I so didn’t want to leave it by the time the book was over. I kid you not, the final night at The Blue Parrot brought a tear to my eye. Especially when Calvary Graxton says, “Go forth, all of you, and tell the tale of ?Tur and fishermen, the Unholy Trio and the Yellow Jackets, the dwarven towers and of the place where dreams came true, and most of all of parrots of blue and a way that was new, that hopefully one day might be again. A toast to Tur Del Fur!” Even thinking of it now, I lament the loss of that city and its people.

  Speaking of tears, how emotionally heartbreaking was it to see Royce Melborn cry? That’s another top moment for me. There is so much wrapped up in that character having that reaction. Royce has really grown since The Crown Tower and I can’t help but think that if he stays the course, he might become “a real boy” someday! And yes, that’s a shout out to Disney’s 1940 movie Pinocchio because I’m on a movie association roll.

  Another thing that tickled me in this book is how Michael made me smile with nothing more than Royce and Hadrian’s re-naming of people: Prematurely Pardoned Pete, Future Corpse Number One, the Gingerdead Man, unusually friendly cloakroom lady, and Bull Neck and Orange Tunic (who Hadrian immediately recognized as Brook and Clem from Dulgath). These nuggets were immensely entertaining.

  But perhaps my favorite thing of all about this book is how it interconnects to the larger tale. With the publication of the fourteen books that came out after The Riyria Revelations, it’s apparent that Michael’s debut series was just one small corner of a much larger tapestry?—?one whose enormity is almost beyond my comprehension. When Michael mentioned in his Author’s Note that Drumindor became so much more, he wasn’t kidding. I even see connections to books yet to be written, as mentioned by TEC’s announcement of ?The Cycle.

  To what do I refer? Well, another movie quote comes to mind. This one from the 1987 classic The Princess Bride when Inigo Montoya says, “No, there is too much. Let me sum up.” A partial list includes, Falkirk de Roche, Mister Hipple, Beatrice, Pickles, Mileva Hitartheon, Bernie DeFoe, Virgil Puck, Bran, Brin, Dulgath, Genevieve Winters, King Mideon, Villar, Rain, Neith, Trilos, the Martel diary, Typhons, Brotherhood of Maribor, Arcadius’s meddling with Gwen and Royce, an old fortress on the sea, a lack of rain, the Morgan, Hadrian’s mention of the color blue, Kile and the White Feather, Millie, the three creatures trying to escape from deep underground, Avempartha, Tur, the game of Ten Fingers, Merrick Marius, Manzant, the Gur Em, the tiger, Dibben, Death by Steps, Gwen’s insistence that the singer is not “the one,” people’s faces being eaten, Gwen’s four gold coins, and most important the panels on the wall inside Drumindor. There were even a few things that weren’t explicitly mentioned, but I’m sure my guesses are correct about topics such as: Farilane, a certain individual who goes by multiple names, Mawyndul?, Ruby Finn, and the missing Second Book of Brin. Michael is spinning a lot of plates in this book, and I’m amazed at his prowess of telling a standalone story and yet one that is an integral part of a much larger tale. As much as I would love to go into detail about the things listed above, I can’t because for those who haven’t read the other books, anything I would say here would be riddled with spoilers. Which gave me a brainstorm, and something for me to spend my time on over the next few years while Michael is writing The Cycle. I’m going to create a YouTube channel called Sullivan’s Spoils where I’ll be able to talk freely about the books in Elan and how each fits into the whole. You can learn more about Sullivan’s Spoils in the next section.

  Since I can’t talk about the spoilers, it’s time for me to wrap up. I’m hearing a song from the 1965 movie, The Sound of Music, and I’ll bid you, “Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu.” But before I go, I just want to thank you for all the incredible support you’ve given the stories, and the love you’ve expressed for my afterwords. As Michael has alluded, it may be quite some time before we can chat again, but hopefully you’ll stop by and visit me at Sullivan’s Spoils. Until then, I remain a humble servant in helping Michael get more stories out into the world. I’ll do my best to keep them coming.

  Robin Sullivan

  September 2024