An Autumn War (The Long Price Quartet)

I wrote a rather scathing review of the first book, due to its plot. But I felt the author had great promise, so, with some trepidation, I tried the second book ... and found it excellent! And now, the third book is even better. This is a very unusual pattern -- most often the first book is strong and the following books are weaker. I don't want to give anything away -- but suffice it to say that this book has great characters that I cared about tremendously, an interesting and coherent world, and a very interesting plot that takes many unexpected twists and turns. As always, Abraham writes brilliantly. I strongly recommend it. :)

I don't want to give anything away to someone who hasn't been following the Long Price series, so I'll just say that this book has been my favorite so far. Abraham has added a great new character to the line-up, and has continued to develop the continuing cast. This book felt like the climax of the series, where a lot of elements he'd been building up from the first 2 novels really came into play, and then hit the fan. I can't wait until his 4th and final book in the series, I've gotten so bored with "classic" fantasy and all of the stereotypical fantasy elements (magic swords, elves, dragons, epic quests, etc). This series felt very unique (somewhat akin to GRRM's Song of Ice & Fire), very character and concept driven. It felt good to read a book that i really cared about again. Its' good stuff, I look forward to following Abraham's future writings.

The strength of the first 2 books of the series was in the setting and the characters. Abraham's writing has a philosophical bend to it; he uses the novels to study human societies and individuals. I thoroughly enjoyed summer and winter, but it was a slow read, with only a dash of suspense to help one turn the pages. Not so for this book. I stayed up till 5AM last night finishing it. All the elements that made the first two books so enjoyable are still there: the alien, yet familiar setting of the world of the poets and their andaat, the family minidramas, the little touches with the hand poses and the food. However, this time the story grabs and doesn't let go. The ending was brilliant. I am still mulling over the questions posed by the resolution, the meaning of it all. We have here humanist sentiment coming to grips with the brutality that comes from ambition and the need to survive. I can't wait for book 4.

It's hard to believe that the first book in this series was Daniel Abraham's first book. It was so good that I eagerly await each one in the series. As I was reading this book, I thought about all the military SF I have read in the past. So much of it is mere body count or more cool ways to destroy people and their property. Although this book is about a deadly war, it is much more about the effects of any war on the people who fight it and the people who suffer from the fighting. In the previous two novels, Otah, a disowned son of a Khai (an hereditary leader of a large city/state) trains to be a poet (a master of a elemental spirits), becomes a common laborer, courier, and eventually Khai of his father's city/state in the far north mining areas. His empire is protected by andats, elemental spirits that can change the nature of reality itself. The rival empire of Galt is desperate to end the threat of andats forever. One lone Galtic general travels to the far east to recover manuscripts from the First Empire that ended in almost complete destruction when andats fought andats. He finds a way to release all andats from their binding allowing him to quickly destroy all the andat protected cities and their poets in a short period of time. Only Machi in the far north is left. Their two remaining poets try desperately to recreate an andat, any andat. And so they do, but it is just as treacherous and dangerous as all previous andats. Both Galt and the Khaimate cities are changed forever. Although this book is even more grim than the previous novels, you are so captivated by the strong and weak characters that Abraham has created that you follow their paths with great anticipation. I am confident that the fourth and final book will show a changed, but more stable world.

In the first two books of The Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham focused on the wealthy, slightly decadent world of the Khaiem Cities, whose ability to bind the andat (natural forces) with magic gave them immunity from military danger; the warlike, technology-using Galts to the west were only a shadowy threat. In book three the threat becomes real as General Gice of the Galts sets out on a crusade to save the world by destroying the andat forever. Since the andat are treacherous and potentially dangerous, even to their controllers, the reader can sympathize with Gice's aim. But the tension becomes great as Gice's attack threatens the world, realm, and family of Otah Machi, Khai of one of the most powerful cities, and the continuing hero of the series. Abraham's ability to create sympathetic, believable characters on both sides of the conflict is one of the strengths of this book. Another is the fast moving plot. In less than 400 pages Abraham can tell more story than many other fantasy authors can in 600. War, family tensions, long-held resentments, the power of love and forgiveness, are just a few of the themes played out in this story. There's also a bit more examination of the magical process that binds the andat and the way in which the nature of the "poet" who does the binding determines the results. The novel is a page turner, with a conclusion that is surprising, satisfying, and yet leaves more conflict to be resolved in the fourth and final book of the quartet. This is a very good fantasy series that deserves success. I'll be waiting for number four!