The Spider's War - Daniel Abraham

The Spider's War is the fifth and final installment of Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series. It is Abraham's take on traditional epic fantasy. It has all the ingredients: dynastic struggles, an ancient wrong to be set right, unlikely heroes and heroines, war on a large scale and the fate of the world itself hanging in the balance. He didn't aim to be startlingly original with this series - although he can't help but subvert a few fantasy tropes here and there - but rather do epic fantasy exceptionally well. In the previous volumes I always had the feeling it was indeed well done but not exceptional. Time to find out how he handles the climax of the series.

The armies of the Antean Lord Regent Geder Palliako have overextended themselves. Exhausted, poorly supplied and only kept from mutiny by the power of the Spider Goddess, they face almost certain annihilation when the fighting resumes in spring. The desperate state the empire is in hasn't penetrated the court in Camnipol yet, but it  is only a question of time. In the city of Carse in the mean time, Marcus Wester, Cithrin bel Sarcour and Clara Kaliam have gathered to find a way to bring the war to an end. Preferably without razing Antea to the ground. It is a formidable challenge that requires innovative financing, military excellence and intimate knowledge of Antean politics. And a dragon of course. Can't save the day without one.

Once again it is obvious that Abraham knows exactly where he is taking the story. Where series like these sometimes get away from the author and move in unexpected directions, Abraham keeps it nicely on track. Apart from a number of brief interludes, he resists the temptation of adding more point of view characters, drawing more parties into the conflict or exploring other parts of his world. It is focussed on the four point of view characters who have been with us from the beginning. As epic fantasies go, it is tightly plotted. Abraham leaves himself the option of more stories in this setting but the main conflict is resolved. Given how busy The Expanse is keeping him, the television series based on these novels is going into the second season, I very much doubt we'll see more on this world any time soon.

The one thing that Abraham does that seems to go directly against the current in epic fantasy at the moment is the relative lack of violence, blood and gore. There is fighting for sure, people die in horrible ways. They starve, freeze to death, get stabbed, are thrown off cliffs and fried by dragon fire but none of it is described in unnecessary detail. Sexual violence is almost completely absent. One or two references that it might have occurred during the war is all this book contains. It feels like a deliberate choice by Abraham, a comment on the direction Fantasy has taken in the last decade or so. One well worth thinking about.

Economics is again the most innovative part of the novel. Abraham describes the transition from using gold as currency to paper money only partially backed by gold in the national treasury. Nobody in the novel fully understands the consequences and risks of this move but in the short run (even fantasy bankers seem to be short-sighted) it works surprisingly well. Cithrin also seems to think that monetary compensation can slake the thirst for blood of Antea's enemies. Somehow I don't think that is going to work out very well. It strikes me as a bit of a fantasy version of the treaty of Versaille, but the story doesn't take us that far. None of the characters feel their plans can prevent all future military conflict though. They are wise enough to realize that.

Despite Cithrin's innovations, in previous books I felt Geder was the more interesting character. The dark streak in his personality, the doubt and rejection that are always gnawing at him, is seemingly at odds with his desire to do what he believes is right. In all the time he is regent it never occurred to him to get rid of the heir to the throne for instance, but he is ruthless with his enemies. There is a contradiction in his actions that keeps building and eventually has to lead to a crisis. In this novel his behaviour reaches new extremes. He strikes me as a full blown manic depressive in The Spider's War. The spiders can only do so much to keep him going it seems.

The other character that is clearly headed for a crisis is Clara. After all she has been through there is simply no going back to her old, comfortable life among the Antean nobles. Too much has changed. Of course facing up to the fact that her old life is a closed book takes courage. This is something Clara doesn't lack but for the final step she needs a push.  Geder and Clara are the most dynamic characters in the book. By contrast, Cithrin and Marcus more or less keep doing what they've been doing for most of the series. She keeps banking, he keeps campaigning even past the climax of the book. It is as if they don't quite know what to do with themselves after the end of the conflict.

Their response to the events in this final volume of the series is not unlike my own. Abraham wraps up his story neatly, if a little predictably here and there. It is well executed for sure but it does leave me with the feeling that it didn't quite achieve what it set out to do. Abraham tried to do something different with his Long Price novels and, commercially at least, they were not as successful as his publisher hoped they'd be. He bounced back with this series, among other projects, and delivered a well written, entertaining, traditional epic fantasy. It does not, however, have that one ingredient that lifts it above the mass of epic fantasy published today.

The drama of Khaiem, their unique culture and language supported by poses, added something to the story that the Dagger and Coin books lack. They were more risky in the sense that these books contained elements that made as many readers bounce right off these books but for readers looking for something a little different, they worked very well indeed. Taking this risk made them stand out for me in a way that the Dagger and Coin series does not. While I enjoyed reading these books, I wouldn't mind seeing Abraham try something a little less traditional for his next project.

Book Details
Title: The Spider's War
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 489
Year: 2016
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-316-20405-7
First published: 2016

Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey

In the summer of 2011, I read Leviathan Wakes the first book in this series. James S.A. Corey is a pseudonym of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, both form associates of George R.R. Martin. I have read quite a bit by Abraham and some of his books are very good indeed. Leviathan Wakes was quite a fun book to read which I thought did more than just be a the space opera it was supposed to be according to the publisher. The second volume appeared in 2012 and I decided to order it. It then lingered on the to read stack for almost three years. What pulled me back to it was the fact that the shooting for a television series based on this series (the fifth book of which, Nemesis Games, will appear in June) is under way. Having read Caliban's War I must admit it might make of a decent television series. That does not necessarily make it a good book though. I feel it is a step back from the first book in the series.

James Holden is now in the employ of the outer planets. In his liberated Martian spaceship he patrols the outer reaches of the solar system with his crew. It is a decent living but tensions are rising within the crew and the relationship beween Holden and his girlfriend Naomi is strained. Their situation changes radically when on Ganymede, the breadbasket of the outer solar system and a moon coveted by Earth, Mars and the outer planets, a firefight appears to break out between Martian and UN forces. The truth is more complicated than that though. The alien intelligence that almost killed Holden on Eros station. Once again he is sucked into events that could plummet the solar system into war, or worse, wipe out the human race completely.

Leviathan Wakes was a space opera with noir elements mixed in. In this book a mystery is included too, the disappearance of a young girl is a key part of the plot, but the space opera clearly has the upper hand. Corey shifts from two main points of view to four. Besides Holden, we get to see the story from the point of view of the Martian marine Bobbie, the only survivor of the incident on Ganymede, the scientist Prax from that same moon and father of the missing gril, and  UN official Avasarala who tries to prevent a war from engulfing the system despite her superior's stupid actions. These two men and two women shape the events described in the book. Unlike in Leviathan Wakes, the UN official in particular, can pull strings all over the system, making it much more a political story.

The novel is dedicated to Arthur C. Clarke and Alfred Bester, two greats of science fiction. I haven't read Bester but I can see traces of Clarke in this novel. I suspect that Heinlein was probably a greater influence on the novel though. There are quite a few political statements in the text. Bobbie in particular seems to hold strong views on Earth's social security system. The novel does take us all over the solar system however, and that is something Clarke would have appreciated. It is a story on a grand scale, with characters who, despite making it their home, are still in awe of the vastness of space. Corey might not be able to pull it off for the more experienced science fiction reader but the characters themselves, clearly exhibit a sense of wonder when they have a moment to reflect on their situation.

As I said in the introduction, this book lends itself well to television. It has four clearly defined main characters with clear wants you can easily sympathize with. Holden wants his girlfriend back, Bobbie wants to kill the bastard who wiped out her squad, Prax wants to find his daughter, and Avasarala wants to stay in the game. That is what they work for, it is what drives them and there is very little left over for any other concerns. It makes all of them fairly shallow characters. Holden is the only one who escapes this to an extend because he has a book worth of backstory. I found Avasarala's chapters the worst in this respect as she has the annoying tendency to see every little action in the perspective of her political games and is willing to use anyone to get what she wants. She is refreshingly outspoken about it though, I have to give her that. Still, she struck me as a character who plays the political game for its own sake, regardless of who many people get ground up in her machinations. Corey tries to put things in perspective by anchoring her to her family. Her husband in particular is important to her to keep things in perspective. I can't say I found him very convincing in that role.

Bobbie on sees things more of less from the other end. As a marine too much thinking is not encouraged and she reflects that almost to the point of stereotype. Bobbie is the common sense in this book. Where Avasarala's thinking is convoluted, Bobbie's way of thinking is simplicity itself. Which doesn't mean she doesn't show surprising insights at times. What I didn't think was convincing about her story is that she very easily lets go of her loyalties to Mars to serve the other side in the conflict. She does feel bad about it to an extent but she caries on anyway without, especially early on, a clear idea on how it would help her achieve her revenge or help improve the situation in general. On the one hand she is portrayed as a smart woman, on the other, she can't seem to think further ahead than the next five minutes. The early stages in the novel pay attention to post traumatic stress, something more novels dealing with war situation should take into account. That is definitely one of the stronger elements of her story line.

Prax is the third character with only one thing on his mind. His search for his daughter consumes him to the point that it could easily have cost him his life. He sees his world falling apart and is one of the few people on the station with the knowledge to slow the process enough for help to arrive. He doesn't do it though. His daughter is much more important to him. You can see the insights into what is going on on Ganymede bounce of him. They make no impact whatsoever. It is not until the very end of the book that he reconsiders his verdict on Ganymede as a lost cause. Prax is potentially a very interesting character but like the others, his is completely consumed by the immediate desire to find his little girl. It is a touching story but not one that allows Prax to develop any real depth.

Corey keeps the pace up in this novel. The chapters are not too long, to very the point and alternate between the four characters. The often end on cliffhangers, making the reader want to read just one more chapter. In that sense it is almost a compulsive read. The ending of the novel also contains a clear hook for the third book in the series. Structurally, you can almost see the episodes of a television series in it. It is a plot that is constructed in advance and then filled in as each of the authors making up Corey delivers their chapters.

The sense that is constructed rather than written is much more present in this second book and that is probably the main reason why I think it is a step back from the first novel Abraham and Franck seem to have settled in a routine and delivered a routine book. Caliban's War is not a bad read mind you, it did keep me entertained and I never considered putting it down, but this time it really is what it says on the package, a soap opera in space. I think these gentlemen are more talented than that. Still, it might make for a good television series. I think I am going to give that a go when the first episodes are aired. I'm not sure about reading Abaddon's Gate, the third book in the series though. I'll have to think about that.

Book Details
Title: Caliban's War
Author: James S.A. Corey
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 595
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84149-990-1
First published: 2012

An Autumn War - Daniel Abraham

I'm running low on recent books to review so this week I decided it was time to fill a gap in my reviews of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet. An Autumn War, the third novel in the series, is the only one I haven't reviewed yet. The Long Price Quartet is, in my opinion, one of the most original Fantasy series to appear since the turn of the century. Much more so than Abraham's current Fantasy series The Dagger and the Coin. It is hard to not see this series as one long story but if I had to choose a favourite, it'd probably be this book. The problematic nature of the Andat really comes to a head in this book. In a way, it is the climax of the series.

Fourteen years after the events in A Betrayal in Winter, Otah is still on his uncomfortably throne in Machi. His rule has not been made easier by his stubborn refusal to give into the pressure of having multiple wives and father a bunch of sons. He doesn't want the cycle of brothers killing each other for the throne to start again. While the Khaiem are mostly concerned with internal affairs, secure in the knowledge that the Andat provide the ultimate defense against invasion, the more technologically advanced Galt are stirring again. They have gotten their hands on a rogue poet, a man wit ideas on how to neutralize the Andat. Led by the general Balasar Gice, they prepare another assault on the Khaiem's unassailable position.

Our heroes Maati and Otah are now middle-aged men, with a life settled in routine. They do still have ambitions though. Otah is looking for a way to pass on the throne without bloodshed and to prevent that custom from bouncing back again after he is gone. Maati is doing research in the hopes of getting back into the good graces of the Dai-kvo, the head of his order. He thinks he has found a revolutionary way of preventing a poet from paying the ultimate price when making a mistake in binding a new Andat. It is typical for men from this culture to be so self absorbed. Since the fall of the empire, many generations ago, the Khaiem have been trying to regain what is lost. It permeates their whole culture, their customs, the way they run their cities and the way they trade. It has become a stagnant culture, with only the ambition to regain powers long gone. In a sense, the end of the Khaiem seems inevitable.

This sense of inevitability is present in other aspects of the book too. The Galts are superior in a technological and military sense. It is only the Andat holding them back. Otah is one of the few who realizes this and wants to start raising a militia. Something the other rulers of the Khaiem, conservative as they are, don't like at all. It's a sign of Otah and Maati, once best friends in A Shadow in Summer, are drifting apart even further. Their shared lover and the the son that one of them can't acknowledged and the other wishes was his are part of it as well of course but the difference between looking forward and looking back is what will cause the real conflict in the final book of the novel. The gap is already widening significantly here.

Abraham includes a major Galtic point of view character in the novel, the first in the series. Balasar Gice is a man with a military mind. He thinks that because the Khaiem posses the Andat, the balance of power tips towards the Khaiem in an unacceptable way. He firmly believes that because the Khaiem poses the Andat, it is only a matter of time before they use them against the Galt. Something of a self-fulfilling prophecy given all the plotting and showing off their military muscle they've been doing. The Andat are a nuclear bomb held by only one side. To prevent disaster they must be neutralized. What is most interesting about Gice is that were most generals and politicians would want the power of the Andat for himself, Gice works to get rid of them once and for all and is even willing to go against the orders of his political masters to do so. Abraham could have made him into a stereotypical hawk but manages to avoid this by adding a bit of personal trauma to the character.

His treatment of Gice is one of the many ways in which Abraham succeeds in creating complex characters. Not of the major players in the story are flawless. They all have their bind spots, their annoying habits and they all make mistakes. Sometimes mistakes with far-reaching consequences. They are also all people you can identify with at some level and that makes this book into a real tragedy. They can't all succeed. One of them seems likely to prevail over the others and will change the world for ever in doing so. It is in the climax of the story that the sense of inevitability finally disappears. The twist at the end of the book makes that really drove it home for me. Abraham's world is not black and white, it is not either/or.It is much more complex like that an things can go wrong in ways even the most prudent leader cannot foresee.

There is one part of the story that I did find somewhat problematic and that is how Abraham handles personal relationships in this novel. The drama that ensues when Liat, the woman both Maati and Otah loved at one point, shows up in Machi feels like a bit too much. The whole mess carries over to the younger generation and that is one aspect of the plot that does become predictable, sometimes to the point of being cliché. They are not the teenagers we met in the first book anymore but Abraham can't quite pull off a more mature kind of drama. I think more interesting things could have been done with Nayiit's story line in particular.

After this reread I still think this book is my favourite in the series. The novel combines the dynamic between Otah and Maati with a view of the world outside the Khaiem cities. The problematic nature of the Andat is also addressed and the whole story reaches a point from which there clearly is no going back. While The Price of Spring is a very good novel in its own right, it feels almost like cleaning up after the big climax of An Autumn War. I've read a whole stack of Abraham's other solo novels and collaborations but I'm not sure he has managed to surpass this novel yet. The combination of the unusual setting and culture with the deeply flawed characters make this a very good read for me.

Book Details
Title: An Autumn War
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 366
Year: 2008
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1342-3
First published: 2008

The Widow's House - Daniel Abraham

The Widow's House is the fourth volume of the Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. They've been appearing like clockwork every year in spring. Recently the cover art for the fifth and final volume was released. The Spider's War is set for release in the spring or summer of 2015. These books tend to linger on my to read stack for a while. On the one hand I like Abraham's writing, but on the other, these novels are not the most challenging or innovative reads around. They deliver what they set out to do. The Dagger and Coin is solid, epic fantasy, nothing more and nothing less. If you are in the mood for that, you could do worse than these novels.

War has enveloped the world. Geder's armies, assisted by the spider priests are achieving one victory after another. The rapid pace of expansion is causing problems though. His armies are exhausted, food is scarce because most of the farmers have been called up to fight and on top of that, there are rumors that a dragon has once again been spotted in the world. Still Geder wants to press on. The rejection by Cithrin stings and when he realizes how she used him, there is no holding him back. The army marches on Porte Oliva to settle the account with Cithrin.

In The Tyrant's Law, Marcus and Master Kit figured out that the Spider Goddess does not exist but that the ancient dragon magic creates the illusion of communicating with the Goddess. Its victims are completely convinced they are right and will prevail. Throughout the book we see signs how this conviction is beginning to work against the priests and how it will lead the world into a spiral of continuous violence. The shape of the conflict to come is beginning to get clear in this novel. It also means Marcus' job is done for the moment and he takes a bit of a back seat in the novel. The unresolved tension between him and Cithrin remains unresolved. Making peace with his past is also out of reach for the moment.

While Abraham is clearly working towards the climax of the story, in The Widow's House he is mostly setting the stage. There is a major battle in the book but neither of the parties get out of it what they were aiming for. In fact, Abraham makes it clear that the solution for ending this conflict is an economic one rather than military. It is Cithrin's mind for economics that comes up with a way to fuse the economies of the various nations in such a way that war becomes too expensive to wage. Her method is not the same but the idea that war can be prevented in such a manner is one of the principles on which the EU and its forerunners operate. The way in which economics is woven into the story is remains one of the most interesting aspects of the story. Interestingly enough, Cithrin also sets up the mechanisms for a spectacular economic crash here. I don't think the story will take us that far but it would certainly have been interesting to see how she'd respond to that.

Clara in the meantime is still seeing the world though more feudal eyes. Even more aware of the various classes of society, Clara herself moves though a kind of vacuum. She is an embarrassment to the court, yet the mother of one of the nation's highest military leaders. It changes her perspective in many ways. She does remain convinced that Geder will lead the nations into ruin however, and continues her campaign to see him removed from the throne. I liked her attitude in this book. She is of the opinion that the worst has already happened to her and is quite willing to risk her life to see peace return to the world. Abraham does make sure to keep a bit of an aristocratic outlook in this character, she may have fallen from grace but her upbringing will not let her be anything but a lady most of the time.

Geder himself seems at a bit of a standstill in this book. He is still the slightly naive, book smart and in some respects decent man, but also possesses a bit of a psychopathic streak, that comes out in full force under the influence of the Spider priests. He is, in other words, his creepy self for most of the book. The combination of basically decent actions and a ruthless policy of conquest is one you don't come across often in Fantasy. We have seen it in the previous novels however, and in this one we have to wait until the very end before we see cracks starting to appear.

I have often wondered what this series could have been if Abraham had taken a few more chances. He consciously avoids a number of overused tropes of the genre (the promised one, a clear good versus evil story, quests for magical artifacts etcetera) and includes elements in the plot that you don't come across often. The banking, the way he handles female characters and his take on religious fanaticism are good examples of that. Despite all that, the series has a very familiar feel to it for readers of epic fantasy. As Abraham said himself, he aims to do epic fantasy exceptionally well. While te result is familiar, comfortable and pleasant reading, it does leave me with the sense of unfulfilled potential. The Widow's House is another solid entry in the series but one that leaves me in doubt whether the final volume will be able to make me shake the feeling this series could have been more than Abraham has made of it.

Book Details
Title: The Widow's House
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 493
Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-316-20398-2
First published: 2014

A Betrayal in Winter - Daniel Abraham

When I first read A Betrayal in Winter, the second installment of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet, I didn't quite like it as much as the first volume. The youthful and often rash characters in A Shadow in Summer spoke to me more than the same ones fifteen years on. That was six years ago however, and in those years I have read a great deal. My taste has developed somewhat and since I still don't have the complete set reviewed for Random Comments I decided to see how it would hold up during a reread. As it turns out, my opinion of this novel has changed a bit but all things considered I think I still prefer the first volume.

Fifteen years after the event that brought about the demise of Sarayketh, Otah's father, the Khai Machi is dying. To determine who will succeed him, by tradition his sons will have to murder each other until one is left. Since Otah never formally renounced his claim to the throne by joining the poets, he is still in the line of succession. Although he has kept his identity secret for almost two decades now, as long as he remains alive, he is a threat to his brothers. The Dai-kvo, head of the order of poets, has taken an interest in the affairs of Machi too. He sends Maati, who has thus far had a very disappointing career as a poet, to look for Otah.

Some people have described this novel as a murder mystery in a fantasy setting. I don't agree with that description. There is very little mystery about who perpetrated the murders for the reader at least. The plot is one about court intrigue and it is quite convoluted. In fact, it is probably the weaker aspect of the novel. Like in the previous book the Galts have a hand in affairs. They try to manipulate the succession to suit their own interests by essentially buying support for the house they want to see ascend the throne. The influential families of Machi then do the murdering for them in quite an ineffectual way, making all sorts of stupid mistakes along the way. This is definitely something I didn't notice on my first read.

Two other aspects of the novel are very enjoyable however. The worldbuilding for instance, is superb again. We move from the warm climate of the summer cities to the cold north. The mountainous setting, a local economy mostly based on mining and the harsh winters Machi gets to endure, all work their way into the details of the story. A Betrayal in Winter is not a large book, weighing in at just over three-hundred pages. Abraham manages the right balance between the level of detail necessary to allow the reader to immerse themselves in his creation and the necessity to keep the plot moving forward at a reasonable pace. It's a balance he took with him to his later Dagger and Coin novels.

The second aspect of the novel I really liked is the characterization. Maati and Otah return from the previous novel and they have unfinished business with each other. In the opening stages of the novel, Otah is still traveling the Cities of the Khaiem, never quite able to settle down anywhere. His true identity prevents him from doing so. In fact, I always had the feeling that while is he's not prepared to murder for it, Otah does want to rule at some level.

Maati on the other hand has been sinking back into poets' society, taking care of the unglamorous day to day business. He is considered a failure. Despite the disrespect the poets show him, he finds himself unable to let go of that life. To make matters worse, he meets a young poet Cehmai in Machi who is everything he could have been and seems to insist on making the same mistakes he made. Like Otah, Maati is stuck between his desires and what society expects of him. Both of them, if their life would not be severely shaken up in this novel, would be heading for a serious midlife crisis.

A third important character is one we haven't met before. Idaan is the daughter of the Khai, growing up in a society where women, at least in the upper class, are mere commodities, used to cement trade agreements, and sent off to the man considered the most advantageous ally. She strongly resents this. So strongly in fact that she is plotting her own way to power. The conservative Utkhaiem will not accept a female ruler, but with the right husband, both influential and suitable malleable, she might get there still. It sets in motion a chain of events from which she will not be able to extract herself. Idaan resists the patriarchal society she is part of but uses the instruments that are another flaw of Khaiem culture. Somewhat predictable perhaps, it results in a mess.

Abraham took part of his inspiration for these books from Shakespeare. In fact, Macbeth is mentioned on the inside flap of the cover. It shows in the way these characters interact. There is drama everywhere you look. The characters are passionate and flawed and headed for tragedy. It's a type of story that some readers will experience as over the top. And in a way it is just that. The author twists his plot to create all this drama and he doesn't always to it in the most believable way. Abraham does create characters with real emotional depth though. They all want something, they all strive for it and they all make mistakes that leave real scars. If you can stand a bit of drama, they are a joy to read.

A Betrayal in Winter is not quite as action-packed as the third volume, An Autumn War, nor does it contain the youthful passion of A Shadow in Summer. The main characters have matured, they are more aware of consequences of their actions, but the stakes are not so high yet that their actions influence events beyond the city they are in. Abraham is working towards the climax of his quartet in this book. It is a satisfying read in itself, but I can't shake the impression it still falls a little short of the books that flank it. It lacks the excitement of reading something new as well as the tension of playing for stakes so high that they impact the entire world. I guess I'm going to have to reread the third book sometime soon to see how that one holds up as the climax of the series.

Book Details
Title: A Betrayal in Winter
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 317
Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1341-6
First published: 2007

A Shadow in Summer - Daniel Abraham

A Shadow in Summer is the first book in the Long Price Quartet and the one that launched Daniel Abraham's career. At the moment he's publishing several books a year under three different pseudonyms. It was not his first novel however. In 2003 a book called Unreal City was published by Meisha Merlin, a publisher that went bankrupt a few years later. Other than a few references and some second hand copies floating around on the web, it seems to have disappeared completely. Quite an achievement in an age where the Internet remembers everything. Although I haven't really been looking into his work under the H.M.L Hanover pseudonym and read only one James S.A. Corey book, I'm quite fond of his work as Daniel Abraham and this book is mostly to blame for that.

The city of Saraykeht thrives on the cotton trade. As with the Khaiem, their wealth and security is based on the possession of an Andat, a concept given shape and volition through language, a bound magical spirit, forced to do the bidding of the poet that holds his leash. The Andat are always struggling to regain their freedom and Saraykeht's Andat is no different. When the young poet Maati arrives in Saraykeht to train with the Andat's master Heshai, he quickly gets ensnared in a plot to destabilize the city. To make matters even more complicated, he recognizes a former fellow student in one of the city's labourers. He has assumed a new identity but Maati knows him as Otah Machi, son of the ruler of one of the other Khaiem cities. Should his identity become known, his life would be in danger.

This novel has just about everything you could want in a fantasy novel: magic, good worldbuilding, conflict and strong characters. It has an innovative concept of magic for instance. Personally I think this one could make Brandon Sanderson jealous. The Andat are essentially a concept given physical form. The one we get to meet in this novel is quite a scary creature. Very manipulative. He's also very powerful. Should he manage to escape, the same language that bound him will not work again, and another way to describe the same concept will have to be found. This means that the poets are finding it increasingly difficult to find new ways to bind Andat. Letting one go, would be a disaster of epic proportions. The price a poet pays for hanging on to it, however, is extremely high. Especially in the case of the Saraykeht Andat, who according to his poet has a serious design flaw.

The idea of the Andat puts a lot of tension in this story. The benefits of creating one are obvious. The city's prosperity and safety depend on it. On the other hand it is profoundly unethical to capture one against its wishes. It is a practice that, even if new ways to describe the same concepts can be found, is not sustainable in the long run. We'll follow the struggles of Maati and Otah with this contradiction throughout their lives in these four books.

So we have a personal struggle and the city's internal problems, but Abraham doesn't stop there. He creates an external threat as well. The Galt, a militaristic people with a much younger culture than the Khaiem, on the brink of becoming an industrialized society, are always looking to expand. The Andat are like a nuke targeted at them however, but should the Khaiem lose them, they will be overwhelmed. It adds another player to the complex politics of the city. Abraham deftly weaves all these interests into a conspiracy with the Andat at the center.

The magic Abraham describes in the book also has a major influence on the Khaiem culture. Structure is important in their language and correct grammar essential to expressing themselves. The Khaiem have developed a complex system of gestures and poses to communicate beyond the verbal. Body language is essential to a meaningful conversation. Imagine how much harder it would be to lie to someone attuned to watching your body language as well as paying attention to the spoken word. It does make the dialogue in the novel a bit different from what the reader will be used to. Abraham has to describe the meaning of the poses and it does mean he tells us a lot that maybe he could have shown. Personally it didn't bother me, I think it adds to the richness of the woldbuilding in this novel, but I do know of readers who didn't like it or had a hard time imagining what it might look like.

Another aspect of these novels I very much liked was the way the two characters who will be with us for all four books age. In this novel they are young and hotblooded. Their passions, desires and guilt run close to the surface and make them take rash action at times. In the next novel, A Betrayal in Winter , they'll have aged ten years and matured a lot in the mean time. To balance this youthful exuberance, Abraham has added a few more mature characters to this novel. One of them is an older woman working for one of the Galt trading houses. She is probably the most divisive character in the entire book. She is a very skillful bookkeeper and a woman driven to succeed. Admirable qualities, but when her employer does something she doesn't agree with she is not afraid to take over a brothel and use that income to seek justice. It's an odd thing to see those two combined in that character, I'm not sure Abraham managed to really make me believe her motivations for acting the way she does.

A Shadow in Summer is a very promising start to a good fantasy series. It got a lot of good reviews over the years but apparently the sales were nothing to write home about. Tor didn't bother with a mass market paperback edition of the final book. That is a shame really. The Long Price Quartet is a refreshing piece of writing. Concise by the standards of the genre, but without sacrificing the details that make the world believable. In his new fantasy series The Coin and the Dagger, he has shifted his approach somewhat to a more conventional approach to fantasy. I enjoy those books but I like these ones better. Hopefully Abraham will move on to something a little more daring once he is done with that series. In the mean time, you could do worse than giving this series a try. It is well worth your time.

Book Details
Title: A Shadow in Summer
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 331
Year: 2006
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-765-31340-5
First published: 2006

The Tyrant's Law - Daniel Abraham

The Tyrant's Law is the third of five  novels in Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin series. It has been published in spring but back then I hadn't read the second volume yet. Now I've finally caught up with the series. Hopefully I'll be able to do a more timely review of the fourth novel, The Widow's House, which is scheduled for the spring of 2014. Although the series is neither very original or hugely challenging, I've enjoyed the previous two novels a lot. They adhere to the conventions of epic fantasy and make for very comfortable reading. I don't think these novels will end up on any lists of highlights of the genre but I'm pretty sure I'll end up reading all five anyway.

Geder, the Lord-Protector of Antea, has defeated the nation of Asterihold in a quick war. The nations have been embroiled in political and military conflict for generations but this appears to be a decisive blow. This conquest doesn't mean the war is over though. Geder catches wind of a conspiracy against him. The Timzinae, one of the thirteen races of humanity that inhabit the world are behind supposed to be behind it and so Geder's army turns its gaze to the nations where they are most populous. War will soon engulf them and once again Geder's priests play an important part in his campaign.

If there is such a thing as middle book syndrome in five book series then this novel is definitely suffering from it to some degree. As usual Abraham has complete control over his plot but I do feel that the novel lacks a strong story arc of its own. Abraham is getting people from A to B, setting up conflicts for the two concluding volumes of the series and delving into the history of the world. Quite a lo  achieve in one novel but still the result isn't quite as satisfying as The King's Blood.

Abraham keeps the number of points of view down to four in this novel. Geder, Clara, Marcus and Cithrin, all of whom we met before. It is Geder's actions that drive most of the story though. As in previous books, Abraham portrays him as a man who essentially means well but does some seriously creepy things. Protect by his position from the consequences of his actions he rules with an iron fist, depending on the talents of his priests to keep the momentum of the war going. His judgments are often harsh and usually rash. Once his is convinced he knows the truth he applies his brand of justice without digging for motivations or how a person's actions might fit into the larger picture. Geder thinks he will be able to retire gracefully once the prince comes of age but given the speed he is alienating people from him, that seems very unlikely to say the least. The mixture of naiveté and ruthlessness makes for a very disturbing character.

Cithrin, one of the more interesting characters in the novel seems to have come to a standstill of sorts. She is sent to do a years apprenticeship with a more experienced banker. The war interferes however and she is forced to return to her old style of risky banking. I guess what Abraham is trying to do with this character is having her develop a personal and professional moral compass. In the later stages of the book she makes some progress but early on her story line drags a bit. Her plot line ends on a very interesting note however, she seems to have underestimated Geder. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the next book.

Back in Camnipol, Clara is picking up the pieces of her life. She may be disgraced at court but at least her children are still in a position to regain their standing among the nobility. Her life revolves around bringing down Geder now. Left without influence at court, she patiently looks for other ways to disrupt Geder's war. I thought Abraham did a very good job with Clara. Her perspective on life changes drastically but given the strain she is under, the change doesn't feel forced. It's very interesting to see how a person who is essentially considered to be marginalized manages to impact events to such a degree.

Marcus is out and about traveling with Kit, one of the few people in the world who has a good grasp of what is going on at Geder's court. He realizes that the world is in far more danger than it appears to be and sets out to destroy the source of the power behind the throne of Antea. It seems like a classic quest story line but Abraham does give it a nice twist. Little progress is made in resolving the complex feelings Cithrin and Marcus have for each other however. Like in the previous book, Marcus is definitely the least interesting character that gets a point of view.

Abraham set out to write a classic epic fantasy and do it exceptionally well. I'm not convinced he is living up to that ambition with these books but the fact is they are very fast paced and entertaining reads. They are also much more likely to gain him a large audience than his less conventional Long Price Quartet. If you liked the previous two volumes the only thing that will probably bother you about this novel, is that the fourth part is not available yet. That or the fact that the series has not been blessed with particularly good cover art. With The Tyrant's Law, Abraham has added a solid volume to his traditional epic fantasy series. I for one, am curious how he'll bring this series to a close.

Book Details
Title: The Tyrant's Law
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 497
Year: 2013
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-316-08070-5
First published: 2013

Hunter's Run - George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham

A book with three authors, I can't think of many of those. The only one that comes to mind is Black Trilium by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May and Andre Norton, which is less that successful to put it mildly. That book was more or less commissioned. Hunter's Run has a completely different history. That alone makes is a much more interesting book. I read it the first time in Januari 2008, not long after it had been published. Back then I thought it was pretty seamlessly written for a book with three authors. Of course I hadn't read anything by Dozois and Daniel back then. That has since been remedied and I still think it is a very well edited book. Whether you will like it depends on your expectations I guess.

Mankind has made it to the stars only to find out they were beaten to it by more advanced species. None of them managed to overcome the limitations imposed by the speed of light however. That hasn't stopped these species from colonizing other planets. Humans, whit their capacity to bend ecosystems to their needs (or destroy them, depending on where you are standing) are very useful to these species indeed. They get sent out to newly discovered worlds to settle them. One such place is São Paulo, a planet in the early stages of settlement. The kind of frontier mentality that rules the planet suits our violent and anti social main character Ramon Espejo just fine. After he kills someone in a bar brawl, he decides to make himself scarce for a bit and go out prospecting. During that trip, he finds out the planet is not quite as empty has the settlers believe.

Hunter's Run has one of the most unlikely histories I've ever come across in a novel. Gardner Dozois started writing it in 1976 with the intention of writing a short story. He got stuck at one point and put it away for a bit before handing it over to George R.R. Martin to have a go at it. Martin did, but like Dozois, got stuck somewhere along to the way. He handed it back to Dozois in 1982 with the intention of alternating it between them until it was done. This never happened and in the end the two of them decided to bring in a third author, a young writer by the name of Daniel Abraham. Finishing it under the editorship of both Dozois and Martin, who by that time had big reputations in the field, must have been quite an experience for Abraham. He finished the story eventually and it was published as a novella called Shadow Twin in 2004. The three of them saw the potential for a novel in the story however and again it was substantially rewritten and expanded, resulting in the release of Hunter's Run in 2007.

Did all of that work result in a good book? Well that depends on how you look at it. It was published during the long wait for A Dance with Dragons (which wasn't even halfway by then) looking for something else by Martin to read. His influence in the novel can be felt of course, but it reaches back to the period in his career when a lot of his output consisted of short science fiction stories. Martin didn't publish his first novel, The Dying of the Light, until 1979 after all. Hunter's Run is many things but it is nothing like A Game of Thrones. People going into this novel with the expectation of getting something like that will be very disappointed. This should be obvious just from the cover text but there are an amazing number of reviews out on the web complaining about it.

There is something very unusual about the setting of this novel. Back in 1976, science fiction was the domain of white men. Dozois decided to take the rather bold step of coming up with a story with mostly characters Latin American descent. John W. Campbell would have been turning in his grave. It might have been pretty revolutionary if it had actually been published back then. These days, science fiction is thankfully a bit more varied. I understand that the novel fits into the same universe Dozois uses in his 1978 novel Strangers. I own an e-book version of that novel but I haven't read it yet. I might have to do something about that. Dozois' universe is only superficially explored in this novel I would say there is more to tell about it.

It is hard to tell who is responsible for what in this novel but if I had to have a guess, I think the character of Ramon is mostly shaped by Abraham. He is from another generation of writers approaching science fiction concepts in a different way. Ramon is something of an anit-hero. He is violent, anti-social, prone to drinking too much and involved in a very dysfunctional relationship with a woman called Elana. Sex, booze and violence are the crutches he uses to get by in a society he despises. The only time when Ramon is somewhat at ease is when he is alone prospecting. The authors use a science fiction plot device to force Ramon to look at himself and ask himself what is means to be human and how he can become a better man. The answers Ramon comes up with are surprising. It's the psychological struggle Ramon is facing that is the core of the novel. I think Martin and Dozois could have done a lot worse that bring Abraham on board for this.

If you go into this novel leaving Martin's success in the last fifteen years behind, I think Hunter's Run is a very enjoyable novel. Despite being a smooth read in terms of prose, personally I still can't see the cracks in the writing after this second read, there is something of a split in the novel. The early stages and the final section of the novel, set in the major city of the colony, read like a more traditional story, whereas the section set in the unexplored wilderness of the planet are more of a psychological drama. Not all readers will appreciates both parts of the story. Personally I don't think it is brilliant but I do think it is a very interesting work. The history, the impact each writer had on the novel and the phase of their careers they were in at the time make the story that about the novel just as interesting as the one in it. I don't think I've read a lot of books for which that is true. Still, Hunter's Run will not be what each of these three authors will be remembered for. They all have written better stuff. As such, I do consider it a minor work in the bibliographies of Martin, Dozois and Abraham.

Book Details
Title: Hunter's Run
Author: George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Pages: 394
Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-00-726021-8
First published: 2007

The King's Blood - Daniel Abraham

I read The Dragon's Path, the fist novel in Daniel Abraham's Dagger and Coin quintet in 2011, not too long after it had been published. It was good epic fantasy novel that promised even more interesting things in the second book. Somehow I never got around to reading it though. Abraham is quite a prolific author, publishing under three pseudonyms and the third part of the series, The Tyrant's Law is already available. Past time I caught up with him again. Fortunately, the Dagger and Coin books are fast reads. I read this one in a week, alternating with Robert Silverberg's At Winter's End. The King's Blood proved to be a very enjoyable novel, I may have to get a copy of book three some time soon. After I reduce the too read list a bit further that is.

After uncovering the plot to assassinate the heir-apparent to the throne of Antea, Geder, a son of a minor noble, has been appointed protector of the crown prince. His star is to rise even faster when the King, rapidly approaching the end of his life, asks him to deal with the neighboring state of Asterlihold. They have been involved in the plot and must be dealt with. With his new religious adviser at his side, the inexperienced Geder soon finds out that war is inevitable.

Cithrin in the mean time, discovers that being accepted by the Medean bank is not everything she thought it would be. Too young to sign legally binding contracts, her every move is overseen by an employee of the bank; a thoroughly unpleasant woman named Pyk. It is not that much longer until she reaches her majority but the lack of responsibility is beginning to chafe. Cithrin decides to travel to the city of Carse, where the holding company of the bank is located. She intends to find a way to regain her control over the bank but soon finds herself in involved in another of the bank's projects.

Like the previous volume, The King's Blood is a highly readable and in most ways fairly traditional epic fantasy. Abraham refines and expands the cultures, races and characters he introduced in the first volume. There is more detail on the thirteen races that inhabit the world for instance, and even an appendix I mentioned missing in my review of the first volume. In between the action there is also quite a bit of attention for the history of the world. The disappeared dragons are mentioned on a number of occasions although their role in the story remains unclear for the moment. Where in the first book the world the author created was still a bit sketchy, it is beginning to feel properly fleshed out in the this second volume.

Geder again is one of the more interesting characters in the book. He is utterly unpredictability. At times he behaves like a hurt little boy, but he can also be ruthless, understanding and caring. He makes enemies without realizing it, rationalizes the most brutal decisions and yet remains completely naive when it comes to the political realities of the realm he is trying to govern or the perception other powerful players have of him. All things considered, he is a pretty scary man, but at the same time he is sympathetic at some level. What I especially like about him is the difference in public perception and the reality of his relationship with his religious adviser.

The focus of Cithrin's story line has shifted a bit from financial manipulations to a more adventure oriented plot. With her hands tied when it comes to banking, she is exploring other avenues to regain control over her life. Her uncanny ability to see how money flows is not quite as noticeable in this book, although she does tend to think in terms of trade and investment, even when looking at political mattes. It is a limitation she doesn't seem to be aware of. One she will no doubt have to overcome in later books.

The activities of Cithrin and Geder drive the story but Abraham include a number of more mature characters as well. The conservative nobleman Dawson is forced into a difficult position when his views of society and religion clash with Geder's new order of things. He is not a man who bends easily as his family will find out at their expense. Dawson doesn't change much over the course of the book, his actions are highly predictable,  but his wife Clara,  also a point of view character, promises to be more interesting in the next volumes.

The other mature point of view character is the mercenary captain Marcus Wester. I must admit I didn't like him very much. Marcus is a man haunted by his past, he feels responsible for the death of his family and is now trying to make up for it by protecting Cithrin. Which is not working very well as he has left the city to go to Carse. Marcus wallows in his guilt and does a number of stupid things when he hears rumors that might mean Cithrin is in trouble. I think I can see what Abraham has in store for this character but in this novel, I thought he was annoying. Fortunately he seems to have found a purpose again that the end of it.

Abraham does not intend something hugely original with this series. His Long Price quartet is much more challenging in that respect. That being said, Abraham has a control over the plot that is rare in epic fantasy. He seems to know exactly where he's going and how to get there. No meandering side plots, dozens of point of view characters or long rambles on the customs, culture or history of particular places. All of it is worked in to the story to the extent it is needed and not beyond. It's an ability many a fantasy author should be jealous of.

Book Details
Title: The King's Blood
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 501
Year: 2012
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84149-889-8
First published: 2012

Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey

Leviathan Wakes is the first novel in a space opera trilogy named The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. Corey is a pseudonym for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. I am familiar with the work Abraham published under his own name, some of which is very good indeed. Corey is his third pen-name. He also writes an Urban Fantasy series under the name M. L. N. Hanover. With ten novels under his belt, Abraham is definitely the more experienced of the two. I haven't read any of Franck's writing yet. I know he has contributed to the latest Wild Cards volume Fort Freak, which is still on the to read stack. Other than that, I only know him as George R.R. Martin's assistant. I didn't know what to expect of this novel, it is quite a departure from Abraham's previous (novel length) work and a new adventure for Franck. As it turned out, Leviathan Wakes is a very readable bit of science fiction. One that might appeal to a larger crowd than just the hardcore SF-fans.

The novel is set in a future where humanity has ventured beyond Earth and colonized Mars as well as a whole host of moons and asteroids. Humanity's cradle is still essential to the survival of the species however, the source of many materials that simply can't be produced in any meaningful quantities elsewhere. Its power is only rivaled by Mars, one of the few other places in the solar system to house a significant number of people. Further out, are the miners of the asteroid belt, people confined to small bubbles of air and artificial gravity in the the vast emptiness of space.

Jim Holden is the the executive officer on an ice miner, making runs between the Jupiter's rings and the asteroid belt. It's a dead end job on a rickety old ship and usually quite uneventful. Until that is, they come upon the derelict ship Scopuli, emitting a distress call. What they find on the ship draws the crew into a spiral of violence that almost inevitably seems to lead to war. In the meantime on the asteroid turned space station Ceres, detective Miller is on a missing persons case. Although the police force on Ceres has more than enough problems on their hands once the political instability of the solar system is exposed and Miller is told to let go of the case, he can't shake the feeling there is something fishy about it. Miller digs deeper, at great personal expense.

In there is one thing I admire about the book is the way that Corey has managed to make it a science fiction novel that has so many elements of other genres and sub-genres besides space opera in it that it has a much wider appeal that a hard science fiction novel would have had in today's market. That is not to say there aren't some classic science fiction elements in the tale. Corey spends a great deal of time on the effects of gravity (or the absence of it) to the human body, to the operation of space stations, to warfare etc. There is definitely a bit of Rendezvous with Rama in this novel. There are some nice references to things like space sickness and the trick of deciding which way is up in an environment without gravity that a hard science fiction fan will appreciate but doesn't take a vast knowledge of physics to understand.

On the other hand, the story line of Miller also injects a dose of police procedural into the narrative. It's a combination that can work very well, as Alastair Reynolds showed us in The Prefect, a novel I still consider his best. Miller's past and personal problems are woven into the case he is researching. He's increasingly unable to keep his job and his private life separate, or in fact, keep reality and illusion apart. He's clearly a man headed for self-destruction. Holden on the other hand, is a man who has a completely different way of getting into trouble. Besides being rather direct, he feels qualified to decide which information should be shared with the entire solar system and which shouldn't. Much to the disgust of Miller, who blames him for starting a war. The authors have stated it was not intentional but the parallel with Wikileaks is almost inescapable.

Although the story in Leviathan Wakes is essentially complete, the way the novel was written leaves a lot of possibilities for a series that goes well beyond the planned trilogy. There is quite a bit of attention for world building, an aspect that gives the whole novel an epic fantasylike quality. In this novel, the two main characters are far away from the places where the big political decision are made. They deeply impact the story but the real motivation behind them remains mostly guesswork by the main characters. Throughout the novel you can sense that there are layers of events and decisions that have yet to be revealed. It would be nice if the authors paid a bit more attention that than in the next two books. The action we get to see now is set at the fringes of human expansion but what is going on 'down the well', as the Belters refer to the inner solar system, sounds like it is worth a few pages more than are dedicated to it in this novel.

Leviathan Wakes is a novel that achieves what it sets out to do very well. Entertain the reader. It is a novel that is clearly meant to be a fun ride, without too many complications or being too demanding on the reader. As such, I enjoyed it a lot. It's fast paced, very careful not to let itself get distracted in grand descriptions of the solar system or futuristic technology. Many of the elements in this novel will be familiar to the experience science fiction reader, it is not shockingly original. It is however, a well written adventure with plenty of opportunities for an equally enjoyable continuation of the series. I look forward to reading the second volume, Caliban's War, scheduled for publication in the summer of 2012, already.

Book Details
Title: Leviathan Wakes
Author: James S.A. Corey
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 561
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84149-988-8
First published: 2011

The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham

Since his début novel A Shadow in Summer appeared in 2006, Daniel Abraham has been writing novels at an impressive rate. 2011 will see the release of no less than three titles. April saw the release of The Dragon's Path, the first book in Abraham's new epic fantasy series The Dagger and the Coin Quintet, in June Leviathan Wakes, a space opera written in collaboration with Ty Frank under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey appeared (this one is still on the to read stack) and in scheduled for release in November is Killing Rites, the fourth book in his urban fantasy series The Black Sun's Daughter written under the pen-name M.L.N. Hanover. That's on top of the comic adaptations and the occasional short story he is working on. Very impressive indeed.

The Dragon's Path introduces us to a new fantasy setting where the thirteen races of humanity, once united under the dragon rulers, are now divided in many different kingdoms. One of the more powerful states, Antea, is about to launch a military campaign against the city state of Vanai. Although the eyes of the empire appear to be directed outside its own borders, the campaign is but one move in a much larger internal conflict. The King struggles to keep his subjects from going for each other's throats but clearly, control is slipping away from him. It turns what ought to be a limited military expedition into a spiral of violence that could well end in civil war.

I'm a big fan of Abraham's Long Price Quartet. Its unusual, oriental flavour, its almost Shakespearian drama and the attention to characterization make it some of the best fantasy written in the last decade in my opinion. It was quite well received by reviewers but apparently didn't sell well. Publisher Tor didn't bother with a mass market paperback edition of the final book, The Price of Spring, effectively sealing the fate of the series. It's quite an achievement Abraham survived this as a writer and is still publishing under his own name. These experiences may have influenced his approach to this series, The Coin and Dagger Quintet feels a lot more like traditional epic fantasy to me.

It took me a while to get into this story. Abraham is clearly building in this novel and that means the reader should have a little patience with this book. He introduces a world that is much larger than anything he attempted in the Long Price Quartet. It took quite a few pages for me to settle into that environment. Not surprisingly, quite a few things go unexplained or are not as well developed as I might have liked in this book. The thirteen races of humanity is probably the best example. He describes most of them briefly at some point in the novel but apart from the ones the main characters belong to, most of them are still only vague images in my mind. I guess an appendix would have been nice. The history of these thirteen groups is something Abraham probably will get into in later books. He leaves some interesting titbits throughout this novel though. One of the things I'd be interested in is the apparent lack of hybrids. Somewhere in the story it is suggested that not all combinations result in fertile offspring but others obviously do.

The story is told using many point of view characters, with chapters named after the character. In this, and a few other aspects of the story, Abraham is clearly influenced by George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. He picks his characters from all layers of society. From the conservative nobleman Dawson to the mysterious mercenary Marcus, the entire fabric of society is shown to us. There seem to be two overarching conflicts in the novel that concern both the coin (economics) and dagger (military aspects) of the story. Dawson in particular, is involved in a struggle to keep farmers from gaining more influence in court. He is a great believer in the idea that everybody has his or her place in society and should not under any circumstance try to get above themselves. He shows a great dislike of the employee of a large bank he meets later in the novel for instance and resents the fact that the bank is able to wield a lot of influence thanks to their fortune rather than their station. These tensions could easily lead to armed conflict later on, something Dawson is quite prepared to face to defend his values.

The second conflict is not quite as clear yet and most likely ties into the unexplored history of Abraham's world. One of its symptoms of this approaching conflict is the re-emergence of a religious movement. The character most involved in this is Geder, the son and heir of a minor Antean nobleman. His mind seems receptive to a good dose of religious fanaticism. In fact, even without it, he is capable of some pretty drastic actions. Geder is the character I'm most curious about in the next volumes of this series. Whatever his next move is, it will most likely be quite dramatic.

Abraham introduces a clear economic component to his story, something that is often lacking in other epic fantasies. This part of the story is mostly seem through the eyes of Cithrin, a young orphan raised in the care of a banking establishment in the city of Vanai. Her protector sends her off with most of the bank's fortune to keep it from falling in the hands of the Anteans. It's the beginning of a wild adventure that will see Cithrin put into practice many of the things she's been trained to do as well as learn a thing or two about the world. I think this character is one of the stronger ones in the novel. Cithrin is a curious teenager. Her story line is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Inexperienced as she is, she doesn't deal well with setbacks and has a tendency to look for answers in alcohol. Cithrin is definitely one of the more colourful characters in this novel, it will be interesting how the author will develop this story line.

The Coin and Dagger is a series with a lot of potential. The scope of this series is beyond what Abraham did in his previous fantasy novels and will definitely appeal to the epic fantasy fan. Personally, I thought The Dragon's Path, judged on its own merits, is not as strong as previous novels It's a bit slow to get going and, although it ends at a natural point in the story, the climax of the novel didn't have the impact on me any of the Long Price novels managed to deliver. Still, Abraham has me intrigued enough to stick with this series. It would surprise me if an author of Abraham's caliber would not be able to deliver on all that this volume promises for the rest of the series. I guess I am on board for part two: The King's Blood.

Book Details
Title: The Dragon's Path
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 555
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-84149-887-4
First published: 2011

Leviathan Wept and Other Stories - Daniel Abraham

Daniel Abraham must be a busy man. He's currently writing under several pseudonyms in several (sub) genres of speculative fiction and his output is impressive. Vicious Grace, an urban fantasy novel is scheduled to be released in November under the name M.L.N. Hanover, with another book in the same series expected in 2011. In June 2011 his first science fiction novel is expected, a collaboration with Ty Franck under yet another pen name: James S. A. Corey. He also has a new epic fantasy series in the works for Orbit under his own name. I haven't been able to find a publication date (unless you wish to trust Amazon) for the first part in this series, The Dragon's Path, but the announcement of the book deal was made last year so I would not be surprised if that book surfaced in 2011 as well. I'm a great fan of Abraham's Long Price Quartet, which unfortunately didn't do as well as publisher Tor hoped. That's a real shame, it is one of the better fantasy series of the first decade of this century. I currently only have a review for the final part in the series, The Price of Spring, available on Random Comments but I intend to change that sometime soon.

Abraham also has quite a few short stories to his name but until now they had not been collected. Subterranean Press has released nine of his short stories in a very handsome hardcover edition. I own a number of their books and I have to hand it to them, they know how to make a book visually stunning. Unfortunately they omitted adding the publication history of the stories so I am not entirely sure if this collection contains any new work. Looks like all of them are reprints except A Hunter in Arin-Quin. Leviathan Wept and Other Stories is a bit of a strange collection. It clearly shows the various styles and sub genres that Abraham writes in but the strongest stories are all in the first part of the collection. Not that there isn't more than enough to enjoy in the later part of the book but I couldn't shake the feeling it would have worked better if they changed a couple of stories around. I'm going to mention a few I particularly enjoyed.

The collection opens with The Cambist and Lord Iron, a story takes the form of a faerie tale in which the Cambist (money-changer) has the face three challenges by the dangerous and notorious Lord Iron. He is to value the unusual commodities in strange currency. Once for his job, twice for his life and finally for his soul. Publilius Syrus' well known maxim "Everything is worth what is purchaser will pay for it" proves useful but certainly not the answer to all of these challenges. Stories like these is why I find myself reading more and more short fiction. It's unusual, has a strong central theme and has the potential to make the reader think about how we value certain aspects of our lives. The form Abraham uses to tell his tale contrasts nicely with some of the questions it raises. This story is available under a creative commons licence here.

Flat Diane is the second story in this collection and probably one of his better known short works. It got Abraham a Nebula Award nomination. I guess this is a horror story about a father and a daughter trying to deal with the departure of the mother from the family. One of the things tries to cheer Diane up is create a paper outline of her and to send it around to friends and family with instructions to have their picture taken with it. Soon signs that Dianne knows things that only Flat Dianne can know begin to show up. This becomes a real problem when Flat Diane falls into the wrong hands. It's a very creepy story. The fear in Diane is very well done but the suspicion the father faces when people start thinking he is doing horrible things to his daughter himself really elevates it about the rest of the collection. If I had to pick one, this story would be my favourite.

Self-help books, a phenomenon that is not quite as big on our side of the Atlantic but not entirely unknown. In The Support Technician Tango random advice from a mysterious book that apparently belongs to no one wreaks havoc on in a lawyer's office. When everyone from the system administrator to the lawyer himself starts to follow these bits of advice misunderstandings, reset priorities, suspicion and unrequited love plunge the office in chaos. At times slightly satirical, sometimes touching and lacking a clear speculative element, this story is not something most readers would expect Abraham to produce. What I thought interesting about it, is the importance a lot of the characters seem to give to superficial things and above all appearance to measure their success in life. What's even more interesting is the way they clean up the mess without anybody getting hurt.

The final story I want to mention is A Hunter in Arin-Quin which gives Flat Diane a run for it's money when it comes to the emotional power of the story. At the beginning of the story we meet a woman in a state of exhaustion and panic. Her trade is slaying monsters but all her hard earned knowledge and experience seems to vanish when one of the monsters she usually hunts turns the tables on her and abducts her daughter. Completely unprepared of a long hunt though winter weather she tries to catch up with the monster. Abraham weaves a second story line into the tale composed of flashbacks of the training she received by her father and how it ultimately lead her to the mess she is in. A Hunter in Arin-Quin set in a secondary world with distinct Asian influences. I very much liked it for the setting but also of the way Abraham uses non-verbal communication in this story. It's different from what he does in the Long Price Quartet but no less effective.

The collection also includes the stories The Best Monkey, Leviathan Wept, Exclusion, As Sweet and The Curandero and the Swede all of which have their moments. I think I need to read that final story again sometime. Not entirely sure what to make of that one yet. All in all Leviathan Wept and Other Stories is a varied collection of excellent short fiction. The breadth of Abraham's writing is showcased here. What each and every one of these stories have in common is the attention to the characters. Abraham uses very different characters in these stories, men or women, old or young, all of them are very well drawn in the limited space a short story offers. Like his novels the characterization is exceptional. So far I have only read Abraham's fantasy. From this collection it is quite clear he is capable of much more. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for that some of his other books. I guess his science fiction début Leviathan Wakes has just placed itself on the to read list for next year.

Book Details
Title: Leviathan Wakes and Other Stories
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Pages: 277
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59606-265-8
First published: 2010

The Price of Spring - Daniel Abraham

The Price of Spring is the concluding volume of Abraham's highly praised Long Price Quartet. I absolutely loved the first three books and so far I have been unable to pick my favourite among them. An Autumn War, the third book in the series has one of the strongest endings I've read recently. Abraham set an equally high standard in the rest of the series, especially his choice of characters and the characterization in general appeal to me. In this book Abraham maintains his high standard but while this final book is certainly a very good novel I can't help but feel the real climax of the series was indeed An Autumn War.

The Price of Spring opens some fifteen years after the events in An Autumn War. Maati's failed binding of the Andat Sterile has left the female population of Khaiem and the male population of Galt unable to have children. The two enemies are condemned to each other if they are to survive. But common sense is the last thing on the minds of these old enemies. Fifteen years after the war no children have been born in either nation and they are slowly fading. Something needs to be done to prevent both nations from disappearing or being overrun by neighbouring states. Both Otah and Maati have their ideas on how to deal with the crisis.

Otah, emperor of the Khaiem since the war, has travelled to Galt to propose an exchange of (fertile) men and women between the two nations. The men of Galt, robbed of their manhood (or so they seem to think) oppose the deal but in an inspired bit of negotiating Otah manages to get some of the more influential women behind his proposal. To seal the agreement a marriage between Otah's son and a daughter of one of the high ranking Galts is arranged. Otah has failed to ask one of the most important pieces in the agreement for her thoughts on the matter and he will pay for that mistake.

Maati on the other hand, is not willing to let go of thousands of years of history and tradition. He is working on a way the recreate the Andat, this time not using the male grammar that has been used for centuries, but by gathering a group of young Khaiem women around him and train them to become poets. When the emperor's daughter Eiah, who feels her father is abandoning his female subjects by importing Galt brides, decides to support him, his chances of rebinding the Andat look good.

Driven by guilt of their part in the disaster, the two former best friends are on very different tracks to solving the problems facing the Khaiem and Galt. A clash between these two visions seems inevitable but without either of them succeeding there will be no spring for their people.

In this book Otah and Maati are in their sixties. They have lived, lost and seen the world as they knew it move on. In other words they are not a happy couple of main characters. Both feel that their time to make peace with the world is limited and both feel very tired. They are a long way from the hot-blooded young men in A Shadow in Summer or even the more mature men in A Betrayal in Winter. Neither makes for a very sympathetic character in this book to be honest. Maati have become a very bitter man, unable to see or admit how ethically dubious binding an Andat really is, and ready to repeat the mistakes of the past. Otah spends a lot of time complaining about the burdens of being emperor. The choices he's faced with are not easy but at some level you have to agree with Eiah, he's willing to give up on large groups of people a little too easily.

The book is fairly slow paced, I guess that suits the main characters just fine. We're slowly rumbling towards to final confrontation, alternating between Otah's luxurious court life and Maati's existence as a renegade. Only in the last part of the book does the tale pick up speed. The Price of Spring contains some great bits of Realpolitik and carries a deep sense of loss for the world of Otah and Maati's youth. The portrayal of these two elderly man is very convincing. Despite that I can't help but feel that Abraham is done with the series. Tying of the stories of Otha and Maati's life makes for a satisfying end to the quartet but The Price of Spring did not strike me as the great tragedy An Autumn War was. Or any of the previous books.

The Price of Spring is a moving tale, and a fitting ending to the quartet. Fans of the series will absolutely want to read this. Although I am impressed with the quality of Abraham's work I must admit the tale didn't quite grab me like the previous books. Still the Long Price quartet is some of the best fantasy written in recent years. The Price of Spring and the entire series are highly recommended. Abraham has recently signed a contract with Orbit for a more classic epic fantasy series. I am very curious to see how that will turn out.

Book Details
Title: The Price of Spring
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Tor
Pages: 348
Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1343-0
First published: 2009