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windrunner_nyy's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A Shadow in Summer: 4 stars
A Betrayal in Winter: 4.5 stars
Amazing, slow build up with well executed payoffs.
A Betrayal in Winter: 4.5 stars
Amazing, slow build up with well executed payoffs.
callmeren's review against another edition
2.0
Found this seried via rec thread on reddit. Urgh. 1. Too heavy 2. Too fond of cheating. Not actually magical enough to warrant the fantasy in epic fantasy (by that I mean we see the andat use their powers exactly five times in the whole volume), though the idea/scope of the thing IS epic. The whole series encompasses a single person's lifetime, after all. But it's not THAT awe-inspiring. Also, the amount of cheating in this book is repetitive and cringe-worthy. I didn't really get the point of cheating in the first book, except to drive a wedge between the two male characters. Which would have made more sense if the girl didn't initiate it. It was kinda sad how Liat was just tossed around and used by ALL the males around her, while she just drifted along as a plot instrument. At least the second book's main female character was interesting, though I'm uncomfortable with how her efforts to become an independent woman slowly devolve into making her a helpless woman. Eek. I'm dreading the next volume, if only because I'm waiting for cheating to show up. Again.
Honestly, I was more curious about the andat than any of the other characters. Hershai and Seedless were fascinating characters. I also wished Stone-Made-Soft got more characterization. Otherwise, there's a lot of men doing what men in epic fantasy are usually concerned about, while the women drift along without any agency whatsoever. Ick.
Honestly, I was more curious about the andat than any of the other characters. Hershai and Seedless were fascinating characters. I also wished Stone-Made-Soft got more characterization. Otherwise, there's a lot of men doing what men in epic fantasy are usually concerned about, while the women drift along without any agency whatsoever. Ick.
andreadick's review against another edition
Didn't have time to read a physical book and then felt I had to restart.
iskanderjonesiv's review against another edition
4.0
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 . . .
joeri81's review against another edition
3.0
“Shadow and Betrayal” is the first omnibus of two in the Long Price Quartet series. It contains the first two books in the series: “A Shadow in Summer” and “A Betrayal in Winter”. Both books will first be discussed separately and afterwards I'll give an overall conclusion.
A Shadow in Summer:
The first book mostly plays out in Saraykeht, the dominating city of the Summer Cities. It has immeasurable wealth and a lot of this wealth comes forth from an andat named Seedless. It’s a creature made by the poet Heshai, most often described as an 'idea given volition'. It's Heshai who also controles the andat and he will do so until he dies and/or another poet takes his place. Together the poet and the andat not only ensure the wealth of the city, but also its safety, mostly from the Galts in the west who would like to conquer Saraykeht. This means that before the Galts can conquer Saraykeht they will need to remove Heshai and his andat. They already have the perfect plot to accomplish this …
I have to say that the story starts of pretty interesting with the prologue; it starts at the school where young children (sons of the Khai) are trained and educated in the hope to finally be chosen by the Dai-kvo to become one of the future poets. What follows next are some interesting chapters at first, following the main characters in Saraykeht, but unfortunately it doesn't take long before the story starts to dragg out. The pace goes down quickly and overall there isn't all that much happening.
Luckily the story has several aspects going for it. The characters are solid and the relationships among them make out an interesting and important part of the story. The story also has good world building; the society and its structure are nicely described and the world is also fleshed out nicely. On top of this the magic system with the andats is very different from what we’re used to. It also provides a satisfying ending with great consequences for Saraykeht and its future.
In the end I feel this was mostly an introduction to the world and the characters and a setting up for the next books. It certainly isn't an action packed story, it's more about the intrigue and the character relationships. A decent read!
Rating: 6.8/10 (3 Goodread stars)
A Betrayal in Winter:
Contrary to what I expected the story in the second book doesn’t continue in Saraykeht. We only get some glimpses of the fate of Saraykeht after the events in the first book. This time the story moves about 15 years into the future and is mainly situated in the north, in the city of Machi. Again the Galts try to manoeuvre the city politics in order to gain some advantage from it; they are responsible for the assassination of one of the sons of the Khai and with this they have set in motion the succession war for the Khai’s throne in Machi.
I felt that this one started off pretty strong as well, just like the first one. And although this one was also a slow burner, I felt it was more interesting as a whole. We again have a lot of intrigue and heart-breaking betrayals and in the centre of this are some of the characters we got to know in the first book. We learn what has happened to them these past years and how their lives have developed.
As with the first book the main strengths also lie in the characters; probably the most interesting new characters are the young poet Cehmai and his andat Stone-Made-Soft. I thought the concept of the andat and how it was controlled was also more interesting in this book. The character development and relationships were again greatly done, as was the world building. The story itself is slow placed, but provides some more interesting scenes then the first book does. In the end I also feel the second book is slightly better than the first.
Rating: 7.2 /10 (3 Goodread stars)
Conclusion:
I can say that the book has good writing, interesting and good developed characters, nice world building and intriguing magic. The story itself is good but not very exciting; it doesn’t have much action. The excitement there is mostly comes from intrigue and tension between characters. So in the end I can say that Daniel Abraham does a lot of good things in this book, but he doesn’t do anything extraordinary. My overall feeling is that this was just an ok read.
Does this mean that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else? Not necessarily! In the end it all depends on what you want from a fantasy novel. If you are satisfied with a lot of intrigue, solid characters and good character relationships, an interesting world with a different kind of magic … then this book could be something for you. If you absolutely search for a lot of action and you prefer epic fantasy with large battles, I think you’d better pass on this one. I myself don't need a full action packed story, but in this case the book really was way too slow for me to enjoy it a lot. It did get more interesting in the end, but by then I just wanted to be done with it and move on to my next read. That’s also the reason I’m currently reading something completely different before heading into the second omnibus.
Finally, I want to emphasize that “Shadow and Betrayal” certainly isn't a bad book, overall I still liked it, but it just wasn’t exactly what I want from fantasy (or at least not at this moment). From what I understood things will improve a lot in the second omnibus which contains the final two novels in the series; there should be a lot more excitement to come. I’ll be delving into this once I’ve finished my current read.
Rating: 7 / 10
A Shadow in Summer:
The first book mostly plays out in Saraykeht, the dominating city of the Summer Cities. It has immeasurable wealth and a lot of this wealth comes forth from an andat named Seedless. It’s a creature made by the poet Heshai, most often described as an 'idea given volition'. It's Heshai who also controles the andat and he will do so until he dies and/or another poet takes his place. Together the poet and the andat not only ensure the wealth of the city, but also its safety, mostly from the Galts in the west who would like to conquer Saraykeht. This means that before the Galts can conquer Saraykeht they will need to remove Heshai and his andat. They already have the perfect plot to accomplish this …
I have to say that the story starts of pretty interesting with the prologue; it starts at the school where young children (sons of the Khai) are trained and educated in the hope to finally be chosen by the Dai-kvo to become one of the future poets. What follows next are some interesting chapters at first, following the main characters in Saraykeht, but unfortunately it doesn't take long before the story starts to dragg out. The pace goes down quickly and overall there isn't all that much happening.
Luckily the story has several aspects going for it. The characters are solid and the relationships among them make out an interesting and important part of the story. The story also has good world building; the society and its structure are nicely described and the world is also fleshed out nicely. On top of this the magic system with the andats is very different from what we’re used to. It also provides a satisfying ending with great consequences for Saraykeht and its future.
In the end I feel this was mostly an introduction to the world and the characters and a setting up for the next books. It certainly isn't an action packed story, it's more about the intrigue and the character relationships. A decent read!
Rating: 6.8/10 (3 Goodread stars)
A Betrayal in Winter:
Contrary to what I expected the story in the second book doesn’t continue in Saraykeht. We only get some glimpses of the fate of Saraykeht after the events in the first book. This time the story moves about 15 years into the future and is mainly situated in the north, in the city of Machi. Again the Galts try to manoeuvre the city politics in order to gain some advantage from it; they are responsible for the assassination of one of the sons of the Khai and with this they have set in motion the succession war for the Khai’s throne in Machi.
I felt that this one started off pretty strong as well, just like the first one. And although this one was also a slow burner, I felt it was more interesting as a whole. We again have a lot of intrigue and heart-breaking betrayals and in the centre of this are some of the characters we got to know in the first book. We learn what has happened to them these past years and how their lives have developed.
As with the first book the main strengths also lie in the characters; probably the most interesting new characters are the young poet Cehmai and his andat Stone-Made-Soft. I thought the concept of the andat and how it was controlled was also more interesting in this book. The character development and relationships were again greatly done, as was the world building. The story itself is slow placed, but provides some more interesting scenes then the first book does. In the end I also feel the second book is slightly better than the first.
Rating: 7.2 /10 (3 Goodread stars)
Conclusion:
I can say that the book has good writing, interesting and good developed characters, nice world building and intriguing magic. The story itself is good but not very exciting; it doesn’t have much action. The excitement there is mostly comes from intrigue and tension between characters. So in the end I can say that Daniel Abraham does a lot of good things in this book, but he doesn’t do anything extraordinary. My overall feeling is that this was just an ok read.
Does this mean that I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else? Not necessarily! In the end it all depends on what you want from a fantasy novel. If you are satisfied with a lot of intrigue, solid characters and good character relationships, an interesting world with a different kind of magic … then this book could be something for you. If you absolutely search for a lot of action and you prefer epic fantasy with large battles, I think you’d better pass on this one. I myself don't need a full action packed story, but in this case the book really was way too slow for me to enjoy it a lot. It did get more interesting in the end, but by then I just wanted to be done with it and move on to my next read. That’s also the reason I’m currently reading something completely different before heading into the second omnibus.
Finally, I want to emphasize that “Shadow and Betrayal” certainly isn't a bad book, overall I still liked it, but it just wasn’t exactly what I want from fantasy (or at least not at this moment). From what I understood things will improve a lot in the second omnibus which contains the final two novels in the series; there should be a lot more excitement to come. I’ll be delving into this once I’ve finished my current read.
Rating: 7 / 10
jhouses's review against another edition
3.0
Un libro de Fantasía épica original. Un mundo con sabor oriental. Dos novelas que se centran en sus protagonistas y sus elecciones en la vida pero que desvelan complicadas intrigas cortesanas y una ominosa guerra fría.
antonism's review against another edition
4.0
4 / 5
Shadow and Betrayal, by Daniel Abraham, contains the first two books of the Long Price Quartet, namely the books A Shadow in Summer (SiS) and A Betrayal in Winter (BiW). After reading BiW, it is my impression that SiS is the weaker book of the two and functions mostly as an introduction or prologue to the series. That is not to say that SiS is a bad book, only that it's not as strong as BiW. BiW shows Abraham in his stride, showcasing his great narrative and storytelling skills with excellent descriptions, a very tight and tense plot and amazing characterization. While the end of SiS left some questions unanswered and plot-threads unresolved, the end of BiW tidies up all loose ends and gives a satisfying end to the general story arc presented in Shadow and Betrayal.
I'm very curious and excited to see where and how the story continues on to the next 2 books of the quartet. Needless to say, I highly recommend this book to most fantasy fans and not only!
4 / 5
Shadow and Betrayal, by Daniel Abraham, contains the first two books of the Long Price Quartet, namely the books A Shadow in Summer (SiS) and A Betrayal in Winter (BiW). After reading BiW, it is my impression that SiS is the weaker book of the two and functions mostly as an introduction or prologue to the series. That is not to say that SiS is a bad book, only that it's not as strong as BiW. BiW shows Abraham in his stride, showcasing his great narrative and storytelling skills with excellent descriptions, a very tight and tense plot and amazing characterization. While the end of SiS left some questions unanswered and plot-threads unresolved, the end of BiW tidies up all loose ends and gives a satisfying end to the general story arc presented in Shadow and Betrayal.
I'm very curious and excited to see where and how the story continues on to the next 2 books of the quartet. Needless to say, I highly recommend this book to most fantasy fans and not only!
4 / 5
jefffrane's review against another edition
2.0
After several hundred pages I admitted to myself that I just didn't care about anyone or what happened to them and that it wasn't going to get better.
wwfeldman's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this series, it's not your usual sword slinging fantasy. An original magic system, great character depth, nice plot twists and turns. I thought the series was well thought out and very well written. One of my favorite fantasy series I read last year.
mrbadger63's review against another edition
2.0
poor, poor attempt at storytelling. no matter how cool your fantasy world is you still have to tell at least a halfway decent story!