World Famous Comics: An Autumn War (The Long Price Quartet)
An Autumn War (The Long Price Quartet)
By: Daniel Abraham Publisher: Tor Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Tor Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: July 22, 2008 Release Date: July 22, 2008
Daniel Abraham delighted fantasy readers with his brilliantly original and engaging first novel, and in his second penned a tragedy as darkly personal and violent as Shakespeare’s King Lear. Now he has written an epic fantasy of much wider scope and appeal that will thrill his fans and enthrall legions of new readers.
Otah Machi, ruler of the city of Machi, has tried for years to prepare his people for a future in which the magical andat, entities that support their commerce and intimidate all foes, can no longer be safely harnessed. But his efforts are too little, too late. The Galts, an expansionist empire from across the sea, have tired of games of political espionage and low-stakes sabotage. Their general, a ruthless veteran, has found a way to do what was thought impossible: neutralize the andat.
As the Galtic army advances, the Poets who control the andat wage their own battle to save their loved-ones and their nation. Failure seems inevitable, but success would end the Galtic threat.
With wonderful storytelling skill, Abraham has wedded the unique magic, high-stakes betrayal and political intrigue of his previous works with a broad tapestry of action in a spectacular fantasy epic.
A real pageturner 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.
Looking Forward To Book 4
While I enjoyed this book, I didn't love it as much as the first two books of its series, The Long Price Quartet.
In all three books, my favorite characters have been the poets. I have always enjoyed the poets' interactions and conflicts with the andat. Daniel Abraham's language is the most compelling and interesting when he is writing about them. Unfortunately, this third book, The Autumn War, does not focus as much on the relationship between any particular andat and poet. But the book is absolutely fantastic when it does.
Still, I quite enjoyed this book. It was very gripping. Every time I picked up the book, I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to keep reading and reading and reading. And the characters, who didn't seem as intricate as they did in the first two books, were still quite solid and full.
I don't usually enjoy fantasy novels that focus on military campaigns by ruling nations. But this book isn't the average military fantasy. This book's wild and excellent ending speaks to this point; it left me deeply wanting to read the fourth book of the series. I hope it comes out soon.
Oh, and the character, Sinja . . . he is really cool.
Still Amazing and Fabulous 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.
A fine third installment... 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!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
