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So, now I have read all three books within a few days, and I can not really agree with the drop in quality. Imo, none of the books has a particularly surprising plot. I think the characters, their relationships and their conflicts make the books interesting. For this reason, I liked all three books, with a preference for the first and the third book, because the characters involved, apart from the central figures as Otah and Maati, held more interest for me.

What I particularly liked in all books are:

- the non-existence of a true "villain"
SPOILER: An Autumn War
Even though, the Galt were presented as villains in the first two volumes, An Autumn War brought an interesting twist. Now, the Khaiem and the Galt are just two parties with conflicting interests. Either's motivations are understandable, and the plan of the Galts executed in A Shadow in Summer is just as scary a the ideas of retaliation by killing their entire people.

- the focus on friendships and all aspects of love
- the female characters and the relationships between the female characters
- the experience of getting older and the changes in perspective

SPOILER: An Autumn War

I really liked the development of Liat between the first book and the third book. I didn't care so much for her when she was an airheaded teenage girl, but I love the difference.


- last but not least, the setting, the portrayal of cultural differences and the reality of language barriers
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[quote name='Red Sun' post='1512114' date='Sep 10 2008, 00.14']- the experience of getting older and the changes in perspective[/quote]

If only GRRM could manage a time gap so deftly...

[quote]
SPOILER: An Autumn War

I really liked the development of Liat between the first book and the third book. I didn't care so much for her when she was an airheaded teenage girl, but I love the difference.
[/quote]

I totally agree with this.
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[quote name='Red Sun' post='1512114' date='Sep 10 2008, 02.14']
SPOILER: An Autumn War

I really liked the development of Liat between the first book and the third book. I didn't care so much for her when she was an airheaded teenage girl, but I love the difference.
[/quote]

I fully agree with this statement.
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[quote name='RedEyedGhost' post='1512119' date='Sep 10 2008, 08.23']If only GRRM could manage a time gap so deftly...[/quote]

I think it's a difference of story structure. All books of The Long Price quartett have self-contained plots or close a chapter in the life of the heroes, while ASOIAF grew a little too large to conclude all story lines of one book in this book. I also think that Daniel Abraham has planned the gaps between the books, right from the start.



Regarding the discussion of the ending of An Autumn War. I partly agree with X-Ray, but I can see the other arguments.

Regarding the characters after AAW:

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1508646' date='Sep 8 2008, 00.10']
SPOILER: An Autumn War
I think the andat Maati calls is going to be Returning-To-True. He mentions that he has been kinda lazily been working on Returning-To-True for some time.
[/quote]

SPOILER: AAW

I also think that Maati will try to create a new (and last?) andat. Returning-To-True does not sound too bad. However, I think to make it work, he needs to learn the two "virtues" of the poets: strength and compassion. If he doesn't get his shit together in these aspects, he will fail again. Maybe, by finding these qualities, he also finds a new way to deal with the andat.

I also wonder how many years will have passed between An Autumn Way and the next book.



Edited to add a reply
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Something I wanted to ask you, Daniel: are us poor, long-suffering UK fans going to have to wait for Books 3 and 4 to come out together as an omnibus, as with the first two?

That of course leads into an interesting point that I've heard of other fantasy authors (most notably Paul Kearney) being told pointblank by publishers that their books are too short if they're much less than 500 pages in length, and either won't be published or need to be collected together in omnibuses. Obviously Tor didn't see this as a problem in the US where they publish the books individually, but Orbit seem to be more reluctant to do the same. I was just wondering if that was the reason for the UK-omnibus approach, or did Orbit just want to catch up with the US release schedule by publishing the two books together?

Thanks :)
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[quote name='Werthead' post='1512484' date='Sep 10 2008, 09.14']Something I wanted to ask you, Daniel: are us poor, long-suffering UK fans going to have to wait for Books 3 and 4 to come out together as an omnibus, as with the first two?[/quote]

Orbit decided to put the series out in two omnibus books rather than four one-shots. Now in theory, they could have gotten ahead of Tor, putting the second book out before Price of Spring comes out in the US, but Tor had it first, and there's this sort of unwritten code of conduct in publishing that I'd never known about. Orbit agreed to wait on the second omnibus until Tor could get it out just so they wouldn't be screwing Tor over.

From one perspective, it's a pain. From another, it's surprisingly classy.

[quote]That of course leads into an interesting point that I've heard of other fantasy authors (most notably Paul Kearney) being told pointblank by publishers that their books are too short if they're much less than 500 pages in length, and either won't be published or need to be collected together in omnibuses. Obviously Tor didn't see this as a problem in the US where they publish the books individually, but Orbit seem to be more reluctant to do the same. I was just wondering if that was the reason for the UK-omnibus approach, or did Orbit just want to catch up with the US release schedule by publishing the two books together?

Thanks :)[/quote]

Orbit thinks that two big books will sell better than four small ones. I don't know if that's true, but I assume Orbit knows their market better than I do.

For the New Fantasy Project, Tor has expressed a preference for larger volumes along the Erickson/Martin/Jordan doorstop tradition. I'm comfortable with that. There are some real advantages to the great long story that the relatively short novel doesn't have. There are some challenges too.
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[quote name='Myshkin' post='1512680' date='Sep 10 2008, 11.16']Any word on when the New Fantasy Project will be published?[/quote]

Well, I have to finish the proposal first, and then they have to buy it . . .

I'm hoping, if all goes well, to turn the first book of New Project in about the time Price of Spring comes out in hardback. My understanding is that a book a year is about the best way to build readership for a series. There are, of course, exceptions. ;)
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[quote name='bram452' post='1512704' date='Sep 10 2008, 10.29']Well, I have to finish the proposal first, and then they have to buy it . . .

I'm hoping, if all goes well, to turn the first book of New Project in about the time Price of Spring comes out in hardback. My understanding is that a book a year is about the best way to build readership for a series. There are, of course, exceptions. ;)[/quote]
Well, I suppose a book a year is pretty good, but I'd be happier if you would just mail me the manuscripts (signed of course) as soon as they were finished. I don't think that's too much to ask.
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[quote name='Red Sun' post='1512219' date='Sep 10 2008, 05.35']I think it's a difference of story structure. All books of The Long Price quartett have self-contained plots or close a chapter in the life of the heroes, while ASOIAF grew a little too large to conclude all story lines of one book in this book. I also think that Daniel Abraham has planned the gaps between the books, right from the start.[/quote]

But didn't GRRM have the five year gap in his initial plans? He just got sidetracked by adding more storylines that would have been active within that five years. I think DA was just able to manage his story a little better than GRRM, because structurally I don't see how the are any different - both were intended to move the story to a point that the characters were age appropriate for the tasks they are intended to complete. Isn't GRRM's main problem in writing aFfC and aDWD that he decided to completely scrap the 5 year gap, and now he trying to rework the story to make up for that?

[quote name='bram452' post='1512271' date='Sep 10 2008, 06.43']It's consistent with the previous gaps. Fourteen/fifteen years.[/quote]

Thank you very much. Plenty of time for the next generation to grow into their own. I can't wait to read it.
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  • 2 months later...
[quote name='bram452' post='1595096' date='Nov 20 2008, 09.45']But if you get it, really don't expect a Long Price-esque book. It's a very different project.[/quote]

That is great to hear. I love when an author is able to show versatility from series to series.
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  • 2 months later...
Good news for everybody that wasn't able to hear Daniel Abraham read his awesome short story, [i]The Curandero and the Swede: A Tale from the 1001 American Nights[/i], at Worldcon, you can read it yourself in March's issue of [url="http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/"]The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction[/url] (the website still lists the info February's issue).

Check it out, it's awesome. I guarantee it :thumbsup:

Seriously, it's good.

He's also got another story coming out in [u]The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume 3[/u], which comes out Feb 24 called [i]The Best Monkey[/i]. I don't know anything about this one, but I'll report back after I check it out.


Info taken from [url="http://www.danielabraham.com/newsite/?p=57"]DA's blog[/url].
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  • 1 month later...
Xray,

[quote name='Xray the Enforcer' post='1508928' date='Sep 7 2008, 22.15']
SPOILER: AAW
I think where I got hung up was not on the quick [i]volte-face[/i] of the Galtic brigade. After all, they are the ones stuck in a very dangerous climate with a serious physical and psychological wound. It was more the relatively speedy shelter offered by Otah that threw me. Maybe I am misinterpreting the time interval between the Gonad Apocalypse and when the Galtic forces were offered shelter in the mines? Or maybe [i]I'd[/i] still be bent on vengeance (had I been in the same position) and cannot possibly see Otah's side of things, no matter how well you present them (this is distinctly possible).

I do dig where you're coming from re: armistice as a question worth exploring. I'm going to reread the ending again and see if I can approach it from another angle, try to understand why Otah made the offer he did. :)
[/quote]

SPOILER: AAW
I just finished AAW yesterday. I do get what you are saying. The Galts would be [i]very[/i] angry. However, it's made very clear that they are incredibly well disciplined and very well led by Balasar Gice. Gice wasn't attacking the Khaiem out of a desire for blood he was really trying to save the world. He saw the Andat's (with good cause) as an ultimate threat to human life. His men, even Sinja to some extent, were very loyal to him. Remember the line to Gice's capitan "What do we tell the men? Why are we surrendering." Gice replyed, "Because we've won." Gice was right after what the Khaiem had suffered and under Otah's leadership as the new "Emperor" the Khaiate cites were not going to be calling anymore Andat. That was Gice's sole purpose in attacking the Khaiate, to destroy and prevent the creation of anymore Andat.

As for the Khaiem giving the Galts shelter. I think that's simply Otah. He values human life he would leave those men out in the snow to die. I do think Mr. Abraham addressed the lingering tension when Gice and Otah talk at the end of the book. Gice says there are going to be conflicts between the Khaiem and the Galts dispite his and Otah's orders to keep the two groups seperate. Further, I think TPOS will have to address the anger the Galtic Counsel is going to have to fell over their sterility. I don't think Gice would lead another assault on the Khaiem but there are other Generals in Galt. Otah's big challenge will be to truely unite the Khaiem and build an army and navy to defend their independence.
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[quote name='bram452' post='1507838' date='Sep 6 2008, 11.39']Oh, I have this whole rant about paranormal romance/urbanfantasy/the-genre-with-the-girl-and-her-tattoo-on-the-cover.

Unclean Spirits is the first of a maybe 10 book series. They're stand-alone books with an arc.

The original inspiration was Hellblazer #4, back in . . . what? '87? 88?[/quote]This is the point at which I decided I need to read some of Mr. Abraham's work.

[quote]Anyway, in that issue, John Constantine has a sister who's a serious religious freak. And he has a niece. Gemma Masters, I think the name was. I always dreamed of taking over Hellblazer for a year or so. First issue, I kill John Constantine.[/quote]This is the point at which I decided I need to read some of Mr. Abraham's work RIGHT THE FUCK NOW.

If anyone else was inspired by that, I understand that Mike Carey has expy'd some of his unused Hellblazer ideas into his ongoing series of Felix Castor novels.
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To read "The Best Monkey," a scifi short story Abraham wrote for [i]The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, volume 3[/i], click [url="http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/2009/03/excerpt-from-solaris-book-of-new.html"]here[/url].

Cheers,

Patrick
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