Jump to content

Daniel Abraham


Tycho

Recommended Posts

ok, so i never really read wildcards or really had any interest past, ohh i should pick that up some day, until i went to denver and sat in on the wildcards panel, cause all the cool kids were doing it. and the one guy who impressed me there was daniel abraham who i had never in my life heard of before the convention, and at the convention he seemed to be the only other author whom BwBers had any concentrated interest in. so at the wildcards panel he was hilarious. and now that i finally went out and bought inside straight ($5 at B&N of the discount rack, i was surprised, so surprised that i spent the $15 i saved and then some on an impulse buy of watchmen that they put by the check out counter, bastards) and finished it in about a day and a half. and his writing there was superb.

and so now i finally wikipedia the man to see what else he has written, and i see that i have read him when i was getting ready to vote for the hugo's novelette category and i did vote for “The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairytale of Economics”.

gods, i feel like i have been hiding under a rock, that said, lots of praise for abraham, and other than the fact that i will be seeking out some of his fiction i am currently bookless. anyone else i am clearly missing from my reading list?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, he does have an excellent fantasy series called [i]The Long Price Quartet[/i], of which the first three books ([i]A Shadow in Summer[/i], [i]A Betrayal in Winter[/i], and [i]An Autumn War[/i]) have been published and the fourth one ([i]The Price of Spring[/i]) is on its final edit (or something like that -- what he actually told me at the BWB party was that he got back the last set of notes from his editor). Each book improves on the last, which is always a treat.

ETA: Abraham is indeed a really cool guy. When we did the live chess match at the LA WorldCon, he was GRRM's opponent (and, by extension, the guy who ordered me around the board).

Edit #2: Great custom title. :lol:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Tycho! How's the new school?

On topic...

Daniel Abraham is the shit. [url="http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showtopic=21972&hl=autumn"]Here's a pretty good thread about [i]The Long Price Quartet[/i] that Mr. X mentioned.[/url] Not only is DA the shit, but on page 4, I call him "a fucking cool dude" after meeting him at his Worldcon reading.

If you can't tell, I would wholeheartedly recommend his books. He also has the first book of an urban fantasy series coming out in December called [u]Unclean Spirits: Book One of the Black Sun's Daughter[/u] under the pseudonym M.L.N. Hanover.

[quote name='tycho' post='1502492' date='Sep 1 2008, 20.41']anyone else i am clearly missing from my reading list?[/quote]

Some more authors that have recently began their careers and I don't think get enough love are:
Tobias Buckell ([u]Crystal Rain[/u], [u]Ragamuffin[/u], [u]Sly Mongoose[/u])
David Louis Edelman ([u]Infoquake[/u], [u]Multireal[/u])
Charlie Huston (starting with [u]Already Dead[/u])
Brandon Sanderson (his [i]Mistborn Trilogy[/i] - although his profile has risen [i]a little[/i] bit in the last six months)
Catherynne Valente ([u]The Orphan's Tales[/u])

And if you haven't already been brainwashed by the cults of Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie, then you obviously need to visit the board more ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd add Felix Gilman to that list, REG, although I do agree with the others you listed. There are others as well, but I think Gilman fits in nicely with the ones you've mentioned.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Dylanfanatic' post='1502645' date='Sep 1 2008, 22.54']I'd add Felix Gilman to that list, REG, although I do agree with the others you listed. There are others as well, but I think Gilman fits in nicely with the ones you've mentioned.[/quote]

I just haven't had the chance to read my copy of [u]Thunderer[/u], yet... One of these days. :cheers:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Dylanfanatic' post='1502645' date='Sep 1 2008, 21.54']I'd add Felix Gilman to that list, REG, although I do agree with the others you listed. There are others as well, but I think Gilman fits in nicely with the ones you've mentioned.[/quote]
I second Gilman. [i]Thunderer[/i] is the best book of the year so far.

[quote name='RedEyedGhost' post='1502648' date='Sep 1 2008, 21.56']I just haven't had the chance to read my copy of [u]Thunderer[/u], yet... One of these days. :cheers:[/quote]
Stop fucking around, and get to reading!


ETA: Oh year, and Abraham is great. [b]Long Price[/b] is one of the best series going right now.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mmm, gots to love that DPA. :cheers:

so i've been at school for about two weeks, one for orientation and placement exams, which i passed all of Huzzah, and one for classes. and all seems to be well. though i dont have the internet at home yet so i have to come to campus to use this new fangeled interweb, and read this crazy board. i havn't really stalked the board since last summer and i never got out of the book general chat till after denver, since then i've been reading all relavent BwB posts but this is my first real foray into the board that isnt about asoiaf or a bwb event. so no, i havn't yet been brainwashed toward lynch nor abercrombie.

yes i do need to visit the board more, y'all are great at conventions, and there must be something the collective masses see in the board. but i do wonder, when exactly do you expect me to do all this reading and boarding? i'm still trying to figure out how to live off campus and help undergrads learn some chemistry without blowing the lab sky high, or suing, let alone classes. jheesh. :P

ok, so when i make my way to the local book store, on the short list:
abraham - [i]a shadow in summer[/i] (he is what got this all started)
gilman - [i]thunderer[/i]

then back to this list for more. thanks yall.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='tycho' post='1503623' date='Sep 2 2008, 23.24']ok, so when i make my way to the local book store, on the short list:
abraham - [i]a shadow in summer[/i] (he is what got this all started)[/quote]

I've not read anything else by him (yet) but I did like [i]Hunter's Run[/i], the science fiction novel Abraham wrote with Gardener Dozois and some author called George RR Martin.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because of another thread, I have started reading Abraham's "Summer". Damn, he's good. A totally different take on fantasy - a more Oriental setting as it were with a unique magic system and very lively prose. Very original and very good.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='williamjm' post='1503765' date='Sep 2 2008, 20.05']I've not read anything else by him (yet) but I did like [i]Hunter's Run[/i], the science fiction novel Abraham wrote with Gardener Dozois and some author called George RR Martin.[/quote]

from the wild cards panel it seemed as though gardner was a friend of the consoritum but the only character that he brought up was apparetnly called "the wanker" iirc and the plot options seemed pretty linear and limited apparently. but i probably should put [i]hunters run[/i] on the sort list too.

and i'll have to check out this martin person you speak of too. not that i needed another name on my list. ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, the wanker bit was hysterical. :lol:

Abraham is certainly a great writer and a very cool guy. His bits for Inside Straight were some of the best in the book. I'm curious, does anyone know why he's writing Unclean Spirits under a pseudonym?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='beniowa' post='1503903' date='Sep 2 2008, 19.34']Abraham is certainly a great writer and a very cool guy. His bits for Inside Straight were some of the best in the book. I'm curious, does anyone know why he's writing Unclean Spirits under a pseudonym?[/quote]
It probably has something to do with shelf saturation; the same reason why King still publishes some books under the Bachman name.

I'm excited about [i]Unclean Spirits[/i], but I'm a little worried that it looks more like a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy. Does anyone know anything about it?

ETA: Here's what Abraham said about the reason for the pseudonym at Fantasy Book Critic: [b]

[/b]"[b]The Black Sun[/b] books are a very different project from the epic fantasies. Anyone picking them up and expecting something like the [b]Long Price[/b] is going to be disappointed no matter how good they are. It's like when you forget you ordered a Coke and think the stuff in the cup is iced tea. It can be really good Coke and still be nasty iced tea. I wanted the projects to be separate, and putting the one under a different name seemed the simplest way to do that. I've always believed that if the thing that makes a book good is the name of the author, it isn't a good book."
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1502675' date='Sep 1 2008, 23.41']I second Gilman. [i]Thunderer[/i] is the best book of the year so far.


Stop fucking around, and get to reading!


ETA: Oh year, and Abraham is great. [b]Long Price[/b] is one of the best series going right now.[/quote]

Yes, sir.

:leaving:

[quote name='tycho' post='1503623' date='Sep 2 2008, 16.24']...i havn't yet been brainwashed toward lynch nor abercrombie.

yes i do need to visit the board more, y'all are great at conventions, and there must be something the collective masses see in the board. [b]but i do wonder, when exactly do you expect me to do all this reading and boarding? [/b] i'm still trying to figure out how to live off campus and help undergrads learn some chemistry without blowing the lab sky high, or suing, let alone classes. jheesh. :P

ok, so when i make my way to the local book store, on the short list:
abraham - [i]a shadow in summer[/i] (he is what got this all started)
gilman - [i]thunderer[/i]

then back to this list for more. thanks yall.[/quote]

Well in that case, run, run far and fast! ;) Seriously though, there are so many phenomenal recommendations on this board that I own nearly 100 books that I have yet to read. Before I found the board I never owned more than 5 books that I had not yet read.

Lynch and Abercrombie are two of my favorite new secondary-world fantasy authors, and are definitely worth your limited time. :thumbsup:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The [i]Long Price Quartet[/i] has been pretty cool, but to be honest, I think it's gotten worse with each succeeding book. [i]A Shadow in Summer[/i] was superb - one of my favorite books, period. [i]A Betrayal in Winter[/i] was not as good, but still interesting. And [i]An Autumn War[/i] was still a pretty good book on the absolute scale, but very disappointing and predictable - I hope [i]A Price of Spring[/i] is better.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I'm sorry the last couple books weren't working as well for you. My perspective is, of course, unreliable, but I feel like A Shadow in Summer was a pretty good first book. There are some flaws in it, and if I could rewrite it, there are some tweaks I'd make.

Autumn War was a different structure, with the alternating storylines around Otah and Balasar that move slowly together until the end. I felt like the story worked better because of the focus. And Shadow and Betrayal could move a little slow. Pacing is always a bitch.

Anyway, give The Price of Spring a shot when it comes out. Of the four, it's the one that least stands on its own, but that's more because there's *so* much history and it's got the double job of telling its own, self-contained story and also tying up the whole quartet.

From where I'm sitting, I'm pleased with how the story has played out. It did more or less what I intended at the beginning, and I've learned a lot along the way. The next series -- assuming Tor picks it up -- is going to be a fairly different experiment. . . :D

As to the original question of who else to read, try:

kop by Warren Hammond -- Science fiction noir
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis -- non-genre chess thriller No seriously.
The Dread Empire's Fall trilogy by Walter Jon Williams -- best space opera I've read in years
The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne Valente -- Neo-Arabian Nights (and yes, I totally have a fanboy crush on her)
Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang -- short stories by the best living writer of science fiction

Normally, I assume everyone's read Chiang, but it's turned out not to be true sometimes, so now I just always include it.

-- Daniel Abraham
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Myshkin' post='1503909' date='Sep 2 2008, 20.45']I'm excited about [i]Unclean Spirits[/i], but I'm a little worried that it looks more like a paranormal romance than an urban fantasy. Does anyone know anything about it?[/quote]

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? 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. Issue #2? Gemma Masters, Hellblazer. Take a year figuring out who and what John Constantine *was*, then haul him back at the end so I wouldn't have done permanent damage to the series.

Unclean Spirits was my chance to do something like that. Only it's shifted. Partly because I think the paranormal romance genre is profoundly unhealthy in some really interesting ways. It's an entire genre based around the uncomfortable relationship between women, sex, and power. So yeah, I've got a 20-something heroine, and there's going to be vampires and werewolves and love triangles and all that stuff. Only not.

To misquote Rorschach: Their tropes. My perspective.

-- Daniel Abraham
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='bram452' post='1507828' date='Sep 6 2008, 19.23']Well, I'm sorry the last couple books weren't working as well for you. My perspective is, of course, unreliable, but I feel like A Shadow in Summer was a pretty good first book. There are some flaws in it, and if I could rewrite it, there are some tweaks I'd make.

Autumn War was a different structure, with the alternating storylines around Otah and Balasar that move slowly together until the end. I felt like the story worked better because of the focus. And Shadow and Betrayal could move a little slow. Pacing is always a bitch.

Anyway, give The Price of Spring a shot when it comes out. Of the four, it's the one that least stands on its own, but that's more because there's *so* much history and it's got the double job of telling its own, self-contained story and also tying up the whole quartet.

From where I'm sitting, I'm pleased with how the story has played out. It did more or less what I intended at the beginning, and I've learned a lot along the way. The next series -- assuming Tor picks it up -- is going to be a fairly different experiment. . . :D

As to the original question of who else to read, try:

kop by Warren Hammond -- Science fiction noir
The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis -- non-genre chess thriller No seriously.
[u][b]The Dread Empire's Fall trilogy by Walter Jon Williams -- best space opera I've read in years[/b][/u]
The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne Valente -- Neo-Arabian Nights (and yes, I totally have a fanboy crush on her)
Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang -- short stories by the best living writer of science fiction

Normally, I assume everyone's read Chiang, but it's turned out not to be true sometimes, so now I just always include it.

-- Daniel Abraham[/quote]

I am always touting this trilogy, dont understand why Williams dont get more love
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...