Monday 22 March 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: The Long Price 1-4 - Daniel Abraham

BOOK BLURB:
In a remote mountain academy, the politically expendable younger sons of the Great Houses study for an extraordinary task. Most will fail, some will die, but the reward for the dedicated few is great: mastery of the andat, and the rank of Poet. Thanks to these men - part sorcerers, part scholars - the great city-states of the Khaiem enjoy wealth and power beyond measure, and the greatest of them all is Saraykeht: glittering jewel of the Summer Cities.

There are those in the world, however, who envy such wealth. There are great riches to be had in the Summer and Winter Cities, and only the threat of the andat unleashed holds the enemies of the Khaiem in check. Conflict is brewing in the world. Alliances will be broken and friends betrayed. The lowly will be raised up, the mighty will fall and innocents will be slaughtered. And two men, bound to each other by an act of kindness and an act of brutality, may be all that stands between the civilised world and war. War and something worse . . .


BOOK BLURB:
The poets and their magical andat have protected the cities of the Khaiem against their rivals in Galt for generations. Otah, Khai of the Winter City of Machi, has tried for years to prepare his people for a future in which the andat can no longer be safely harnessed. But his warnings have been ignored, and now it’s too late.

A ruthless, charismatic Galtic general believes he has found a way to strip the andat of their power. If he is wrong, Galt will be destroyed. If he is right, the Khaiem will fall. Only one thing is certain: conflict is inevitable, and Otah and his old friend and enemy the disgraced poet, Maati, must fight a desperate battle to protect their cities from slaughter.

These two men, bound together by shadow and betrayal, will bring the world to the edge of a cataclysm unlike anything either side had imagined. For if the cost of war is high, the price of peace may be unimaginable . . .


REVIEW:
There are some books that when you pick them up you get goose bumps from just the first couple of pages. This is one of those titles that not only gets your interest but grabs it, ties it up and refuses to let go no matter what the ransom is. Add to the mix in two volumes a complete four book series and you know that its serious value for money. Daniel really has exploded onto the writing scene with this offering and whilst they originally started way back in 2006 its had to wait until now to grab my attention. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out on future offerings from Daniel but don’t just keep quiet about this series, give it a go, shout the odds to all who’ll listen. You won’t be disappointed.

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