The Dragon's Path

This is a typical example of the kind of book I despise. Well written, medieval fantasy BUT incredibly boring. I find Game of Thrones, which I didn't love, to be the very minimum a book of this kind must be. You want to write an “ordinary” story, talking about trivial events in day to day life, with many protagonists, an pacing so slow it seems the plot is inexistent, be good at it. Stephen King, GRRM, Anne Rice. All good examples.

The book starts with a prologue (sigh), following the same formula: the most interesting part of the book, completely unreleted to the following chapters.

The first chapter is about one of these protagonists, Marcus. He is an ex soldier, trying to avoid being enlisted in an army he didn't care for. So he is trying to convince a theater company to disguise themselves as soldiers, in order no to be attacked in the forest by bandits, and leave the city as a caravan.

The next chapters introduce the next protagonist, aaaand I've seen where this is going. All characters, no story. So I stopped.

Read 1:07/17:19 7%

Not exactly different, but a slightly unusual twist on the high fantasy model. Characters are rich and full-bodied, and their behaviour is consistent with what they have done before, even when it is unexpected. A slow buildup, as Daniel Abraham creates an atmosphere and a civilisation that is defined well enough for future books in the series and goes in a different direction than might be expected. I'm looking forward to the next entry in the Dagger and Coin series.

Executive Summary: An enjoyable start to a fantasy series that seems to focus more on politics and the economy than it does on battles and magic.Audio book: I initially really struggled with the audio book. This wasn't Pete Bradbury's fault. Rather there is a lot sort of dumped on you at the beginning and it would have been nice to go back and reread which isn't always possible for me when I'm listening.By the second day I had my bearings though, and will continue on with this series in audio moving forward. Mr. Bradbury is a good, but not great reader. He speaks clearly and at a good volume. He does a few accents and voices but nothing too elaborate.Full ReviewMy only exposure to Daniel Abraham was in the guise of [a:James S.A. Corey 4192148 James S.A. Corey https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png] where I have no idea which writing is his and which is [a:Ty Franck 2851727 Ty Franck https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]. However since I love those books, I really wanted to check out some of their other writing.I got this one on a daily deal earlier this year, and with the fourth book out this month, I decided to give it a go.The setting for this is one where magic has almost passed from the world. The dragons that once ruled are gone. Leaving 13 races and many ruins in their wake, but little in the way of record or magic. Normally I prefer books with cool magic systems, but there is a lot to like here that I didn't mind their not being any mages throwing fireballs around.Most of the book follows 4 POV characters, with a 5th used in the prologue and a 6th one added near the end. Of the main ones we have Gedar, Marcus, Cithrin and Dawson.Gedar is a young and mostly foolish noble, whose ideas come from books rather than experience who is out on his first campaign. Marcus is a season veteran of much renown with a troubled past. Cithrin is a young ward of a bank, who is smart and capable despite her lack of experience of the larger world and Dawson is a powerful noble whose sense of honor only extends to those with the right blood.They make for a good mix of characters, each having things I like and dislike about them. These aren't perfect characters by any means, and it's sometimes hard to know who to root for when their positions oppose one another.This book is a lot more about politics and economics than it is about big battles or magic. Most SFF books tend to gloss over the economics most of all, even if they are focused on the politics. The two pretty much go hand in hand and often money is relegated to not having enough and taxes. This books focuses on banking and the roles the banks play in the politics of the nations. The banks are independent and only care about making a profit and not about who is at war with whom. There are 1 or 2 points where I wish I could have skimmed over some details about costs and things in the book, but for the most part I found it really interesting and important to the story. Economists would probably be disappointed, but compared to most other fantasy books I've read this covers things far more thoroughly.This book has a lot of grey areas without really ever getting into dark fantasy. Do you root for the noble who wants to protect his kingdom and king from chaos, but regards farmers and other commoners as little better than dogs? Do you root for the kindly noble who may mean well, but is often ignorant or spiteful in his actions?I will say that this book had a point where I saw where the plot was going and thought it would keep following a predictable path only to throw me for a complete loop.Overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to continuing on with the series when I have a chance.

Pros: political intrigue, unique races, good worldbuilding, interesting story

Cons: it doesn't get the full 5 stars because while I liked the characters, I didn't quite feel for them

War is coming to the free city of Vanai. But the people aren't worried. Every few years the Kings of Antea throw their weight around before leaving the city to its own devices again. Still, the branch of the Medean bank doesn't want the whole of its holdings to potentially fall to the invading army, so the bank's ward, Cithrin, is disguised as a boy and set to carting the gems, silks and other precious items to the branch in Carse.

The caravan's guards are ‘drafted' into the army, so their captain must find a new team, or he, too, will find himself fighting. He convinces a group of actors that their fortunes are better off outside the city.

Meanwhile, marching towards Vanai is Geder Palliako, butt of his fellow nobles' jokes and admirer of essays about the fall of the Dragon Empire. He's unaware that he's about to become the pawn of powerful men.

And back home in Antea's capital, Dawson tries to keep the farmers from gaining a council and weed out his political rivals, whose actions are becoming more and more treasonous. If only the king would listen to him and grow a backbone.

This book has so many good things going for it. The writing is solid - enough background and description to give a sense of place and time but not enough to become boring. Fantastic worldbuilding - with geographical diversity, history and a unique set of races sure to please readers of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt fans. I especially liked how people from one place knew next to nothing about other areas of their world, and relied on hearsay and stories for what they did know. And unlike Col Buchanan's Farlander, where the conflict is strictly along regional and national lines, here there's also (unfortunately) realistic racism among the 13 varieties of humans.

The protagonists are all interesting and make decisions that are often surprising though entirely in character. The only reason it didn't get a 5 star rating is because I never went that last step towards feeling what the characters feel. I didn't rage with Dawson or despair with Cithrin.

The political intrigue isn't as brutal as that in The Adamantine Palace (by Stephen Deas), but the players are much more likeable here and what intrigue there is, is well played.

I expect to see this book up for awards and on many ‘best of' lists for 2011