Seasons of War
2009 • 688 pages
Ratings13
Average rating4
15
Ratings13
Average rating4
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.
Featured Series
4 primary booksLong Price Quartet is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2006 with contributions by Daniel Abraham.
Reviews with the most likes.
I really love Abraham's ability to write character evolutions. Meeting our characters again fifteen years later, each of them extremely different people, makes for such a powerful story. This installment is certainly the bloodiest (as the title implies) but it follows the same outline of very moral people placed in extremely morally gray zones and figuring out what to do. If you've enjoyed the series thus far, I'd say keep at it.
Executive Summary: Best one yet. More action than the previous two, but again the emphasis is character driven political conflicts.
Audio book: Neil Shah continues to be a good, but not great narrator. It makes audio a viable option, but far from a must listen.
Full Review
I continue to be impressed with Mr. Abraham. Each book continues to improve on the previous one.
This one has more action than the previous ones, but again the main focus is on the politics of the Khaiem, and raises the stakes with it's conflict with Galt.
The best part of this series continues to be it's characters. In this book, my particular favorites are the new antagonist Balasar and the mercenary captain Sinjah (or however you spell it).
I bounce from despising Balasar to starting to like him, or to remember how misguided and hateful he is being. And the actions of Sinjah kept me guessing the whole time. Both are very complex characters that relish in the shades of grey Mr. Abraham seems to be so good at.
I must also add I had no idea where this book was going to end up. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out at least the broad strokes of most stories. This one, not so much. I will say, I'm glad I have the time to jump right into book 4, because I just had to know what would happen next.
As this is the third book in a series, there isn't much else I can say without getting into spoiler territory for either this book or the two previous ones.
This has easily been the best of the series thus far, and if the trend continues, I'm in for an excellent ending.
