Daniel Abraham

[Horza]

I prefer the term "dense with awesome".

[red snow]

Just finished "The long Price" and you can add me to the list of people who thinks it's great. I'm particularly impressed with how Daniel covered so much ground in so little space. He pretty much covered 100 years of history in the space of two "standard" epic fantasy novels. There were also several strong scenes that tugged at the old heart-strings, which means he's doign something right (and i don't cry anywhere near as easily as the cast of "long price" do ;))

Wert: Good to hear that we'll be able to get our hands on the next series at roughly the same time as the US. Hopefully forbidden planet or somewhere will try and get Daniel to do a signing event if he's in London at some stage.

[Imagica]

I've finally read A Shadow in Summer. I was avoiding this series for a long time because of the timeskips (which I usually hate), but having finished the first book, I've decided that in this case, I'm actually OK with the concept. First, because I'm a bit more interested in the mythology (in particular, the andat concept, which is fascinating) than in the characters, and second, because the older characters, at least in the first book, seemed way more interesting than the standard teens.

I also felt that Abraham was a pretty good writer, considerably better than, say, Sanderson or Erikson. Nothing exceptional, but solid, and there were a handful of moments that even reminded me of Kay's style (must be all that poetic bittersweetness). Still, the story wasn't really exciting: pace too slow, stakes too low, some of the characters not very convincing or interesting. Also, as much as I tried, I couldn't understand the logic of the decision of the main character (well, there isn't really a definite protagonist, but he's the first POV) in the end of the book, and this was a key moment. Kinda annoying.

All in all, it was a good book, albeit with some flaws. It never grabbed me, but had a couple of really touching scenes, and successfully avoided all the tropes and cliches I hate (at least, so far). I'll definitely continue reading the series.

[Jussi]

New interview:

http://orullian.com/writing/danielabraham_interview.html

I've got eight more books under contract: two more of the urban fantasies, three books in a new epic fantasy series (The Dagger and the Coin), and three collaborative space opera books in a new series (The Expanse) under a third pseudonym.

The Dagger and the Coin. Yeah, that's going to be an interesting ride. It's a very different project than the Long Price books. It's more of an adventure story, and it's packed with the things that I like the best. Hopefully, other folks will enjoy it as much as I did.

[Ran]

Read that, really excellent interview.

[Shryke]

I've finally read A Shadow in Summer. I was avoiding this series for a long time because of the timeskips (which I usually hate), but having finished the first book, I've decided that in this case, I'm actually OK with the concept. First, because I'm a bit more interested in the mythology (in particular, the andat concept, which is fascinating) than in the characters, and second, because the older characters, at least in the first book, seemed way more interesting than the standard teens.

I also felt that Abraham was a pretty good writer, considerably better than, say, Sanderson or Erikson. Nothing exceptional, but solid, and there were a handful of moments that even reminded me of Kay's style (must be all that poetic bittersweetness). Still, the story wasn't really exciting: pace too slow, stakes too low, some of the characters not very convincing or interesting. Also, as much as I tried, I couldn't understand the logic of the decision of the main character (well, there isn't really a definite protagonist, but he's the first POV) in the end of the book, and this was a key moment. Kinda annoying.

All in all, it was a good book, albeit with some flaws. It never grabbed me, but had a couple of really touching scenes, and successfully avoided all the tropes and cliches I hate (at least, so far). I'll definitely continue reading the series.

What are you referring to here?

Also, the stakes were pretty damn high. Although this may not be obvious if you aren't taking the Andat seriously enough. The first book is a bit low key about it though.

But believe me, it ramps up as the series goes along.

[Imagica]

What are you referring to here?

I mean Otah's decision to kill Heshai. I didn't understand why he thought it could save Liat and Maati and, well, anything else (except Galt babies, but that was just theory anyway). And how could he believe Seedless so readily? Wasn't that clear he was a manipulative bastard and liar?

[Shryke]

I mean Otah's decision to kill Heshai. I didn't understand why he thought it could save Liat and Maati and, well, anything else (except Galt babies, but that was just theory anyway). And how could he believe Seedless so readily? Wasn't that clear he was a manipulative bastard and liar?

Again, I think you aren't taking the Andat seriously enough. The threat to Galt babies wasn't a theory. Not anymore then "The US would respond with nuclear weapons if Russia ever launched their own nukes at the US".

As for Maati, Otah wanted to spare him the pain of having to control Seedless. A being that literally exists only to make it's controller suffer. That's the "trap" the poet made for the Andaat: Self-loathing. If Heshai, as he was supposed to, passed on Seedless to Maati, Maati would suffer the same fate of living constantly with a sort of manifestation of his own self-hatred. Otah has already seen what this has done to Heshai and he doesn't want his friend to have to suffer that fate.

Yes, Seedless is a manipulative bastard, but that doesn't mean he's wrong.

[Errant Bard]

Shryke is right, but I feel he forgot to point that the book was also purposefully depicting the action of a very young man, and a strong idealist at that, and that does colour his actions.

Spoiler about latter books:

To contrast with the latter books where he thinks back on this and wonders if he would really kill a man, a friend, to save hypothetical victims who are stranger to him.

[Shryke]

Shryke is right, but I feel he forgot to point that the book was also purposefully depicting the action of a very young man, and a strong idealist at that, and that does colour his actions.

Spoiler about latter books:

To contrast with the latter books where he thinks back on this and wonders if he would really kill a man, a friend, to save hypothetical victims who are stranger to him.

That spoiler was actually one of my favorite parts of the series.

And he doesn't really wonder as I remember, he pretty much outright says he'd let the Galts burn. And that he does feel almost a sense of loss at this change in him. It's really well done imo.

[Imagica]

Thank you for clarifying. I really like this change (an idealist becoming more cynical/disillusioned is one of my favorite character development arcs) and now I'm looking forward much more to reading the following books.

[red snow]

So what's his urban fantasy series them if he's doing another two?

Good to see he's got a good contract and is able to play around with three "different" genres. It still bugs me that you're supposed to have a different name for different types of fantasy - unlesss you're already super famous. At least Iain Banks vs Iain M banks is easy to work out.

[beniowa]

The urban fantasy series is The Black Sun's Daughter under the name MLN Hanover. There's been two books so far, Unclean Spirits and Darker Angels, with the third, Vicious Grace, set to come out in November. The basic premise is that spirits, called "riders", can inhabit or takeover human bodies.

[red snow]

The urban fantasy series is The Black Sun's Daughter under the name MLN Hanover. There's been two books so far, Unclean Spirits and Darker Angels, with the third, Vicious Grace, set to come out in November. The basic premise is that spirits, called "riders", can inhabit or takeover human bodies.

I've never heard of them. Are they any good? I'm not a huge urban fantasy fan but I can be tempted over. It looks like a lot of authors feel the draw of the urban fantasy. Then again it's worth a shot if you can tap into that sookie stackhouse/ twilight market.

[beniowa]

The series not as good as The Long Price Quartet, but I do like it quite a bit. I've never read the Sookie Stackhouse books so I can't say how it compares. They sound an awfully lot like a soap opera though and that's not what Abraham's series is like at all.

[red snow]

The series not as good as The Long Price Quartet, but I do like it quite a bit. I've never read the Sookie Stackhouse books so I can't say how it compares. They sound an awfully lot like a soap opera though and that's not what Abraham's series is like at all.

I was at a sci-fi con last year and there was a fun panel of urban-fantasy writers who hate Twilight/sookie stackhouse because they feel everyone now thinks that's all urban fantasy is. I can see how it might cause upset but they should see it as a gateway drug to get the mass market interested in the wider genre. A bit like how Harry Potter probably boosted sales of all YA fantasy.

The weidest convert to modern fantasy I've seen of late is Jon Courtenay Grimwood. His next trilogy is urban fantasy. Given his previous works I can imagine he'll do quite well at conveying the urban part.

[polishgenius]

The weidest convert to modern fantasy I've seen of late is Jon Courtenay Grimwood. His next trilogy is urban fantasy. Given his previous works I can imagine he'll do quite well at conveying the urban part.

O_o

Given his previous works, I'm sure my brain will explode.

Though I've only read Stamping Butterflies and End of the World Blues (which I'm not sure I finished), dunno how out-of-the-tree his older books are.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

The weidest convert to modern fantasy I've seen of late is Jon Courtenay Grimwood. His next trilogy is urban fantasy. Given his previous works I can imagine he'll do quite well at conveying the urban part.

Isn't that a secondary world fantasy?

[red snow]

Isn't that a secondary world fantasy?

At the risk of hijacking Daniel's thread Grimwood's new series appears to be set in renaissance Italy but it has vampires and werewolves in it. So it's not contemporary urban fantasy but has all the other trappings of UF. It may be like the arabesk series and have a weird divergent point in history that changes the world slightly (not sure if vampires are slight).

Based on the description I'd hazard that it may be "arabesk" quality which is a lot more promising than the uninspiring "9tail fox" but probably short of the crazy brilliance of "Stamping butterflies".

We should probably let Daniel have his thread back now ;)

[Imagica]

I'm 1/3 through A Betrayal in Winter, and so far I'm loving it way more that the first book. The pace seems better, the conspiracy plot is more interesting, and I find myself intrigued by Idaan - a female character who's both ambitious and likeable (YMMV, of course) is a welcome addition. I also emphasize a lot with her struggle for control and despair at women's role in society (although they are much better off in Abraham's world than most fantasy settings). Too bad her story is almost guaranteed to have a bad end (remember, kids, ambition is evil and fratricide is even worse!) Oh, and she's conflicted as well. The morality seems to be "gray and gray", although I'm guessing the Galts are the villains, they just don't have a face yet (except maybe Oshai)