The only daughter of the powerful Gerald Vatta, young Kylara (Ky as she is known to most of her family and friends), dreamed of being the first militaThe only daughter of the powerful Gerald Vatta, young Kylara (Ky as she is known to most of her family and friends), dreamed of being the first military officer from her family. That dream is shattered when her good intentions at helping a fellow cadet turn into a public relations nightmare and a political incident. Ky chooses to resign her commission and returns home to her family.
Her father decides it would be best for Ky to be out of contact for a while and gives her command of her own ship. The ship is an older one, on its final run to the salvage yard because the costs of upgrades outweigh the benefits for her father's shipping company. Ky isn't convinced and decides she'll look for opportunities to possibly pay for the repairs and purchase the ship from her family as her own command vessel. This leads to Ky taking on a contract to deliver some agricultural equipment to a colony and, once again, being inadvertently drawn into a political situation that could lead to a public relations nightmare.
On the surface, all of that sounds like a fairly entertaining and exciting space opera story, but "Trading in Danger" isn't necessarily always entertaining or exciting. Part of the problem is the character of Ky herself, who doesn't necessarily seem to learn from her mistakes of the past and keeps making the same blunders over and over again. Early on the story establishes that Ky is a leader who leads with her heart, though that often has disastrous and unforeseen consequences for Ky and those around her. Also, Ky sits back and allows things to come to her instead of being a more active protagonist, especially in the early stages of the story.
At times the story here reminded me of the Miles stories by Lois McMaster Bujold with Miles at the center of galactic doings and surviving by his wits and instincts. Elizabeth Moon is clearly drawing from the same well that gave us Miles, but "Trading in Danger" isn't quite as successful as the Verokosigan series--at least not in this first installment. At times, it feels like Miles and Ky are similar characters, trying to overcome the odds stacked against them, but Miles seems to do it in a most interesting, dynamic way than what we see from Ky.
Both have issues that make them feel inferior and over their heads in certain situations, but the reaction of the two characters is entirely different. Whereas Miles will take and run with an issue, barreling forward and either making things better or worse, Ky seems to spent a lot of time reflecting on her shortcomings but not really actively working to overcome them. (This may be an unfair comparison because I've known Miles and his style for more books than I do Ky. I did try to cast my mind back to the earliest Miles novels to try and recall my feelings about the character then).
After reading "Speed of Dark" by Moon earlier this year and hearing several friends rave about the Vatta's War series, I was fully expecting a more enjoyable reading experience than I got here. There are some interesting moments, times when Moon truly had me engaged and actively interested in what would happen next. But there are also large portions of the story where I was less involved in Ky's dilemma--whether it's due to repetition of a similar issue or that we weren't learning anything new about Ky or seeing any growth from her as a character. I realize this is the opening segment of a five-book series and I'm assuming that Moon has a greater plan for Ky and the novels to follow. I'm hoping this is like the first season of "Babylon Five" and it takes on a deeper significance to the series because its sewing some seeds that will blossom down the road.
For some reason, growing up I never got around to reading Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea." Part of it could be that I heard it compared to For some reason, growing up I never got around to reading Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea." Part of it could be that I heard it compared to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, a series that I couldn't quite plow my way through, despite multiple attempts as a younger reader. And part of it could have been that I was enamored with the tie-in novels for "Doctor Who" and "Star Trek," that I never got around to some of the other original stories from the genre.
When ads began running for an "Earthsea" mini-series a few years ago on SciFi, I admit I was tempted to pick up the books, if only so I could say how the movie wasn't as good as the books. But then I recalled how tedious I'd found "The Dispossessed" and decided against it, writing off the series as probably more of the same.
Finally, years later, I've finally got around to the first book of the series. I decided I'd approach it with an open mind, hoping for the best. After all, my favorite Tolkein is the book he wrote targeted for children ("The Hobbit") so it's possible that Le Guin could improve when writing a novel and series aimed at young adults and children.
Unfortunately, I can't say that I came away from "A Wizard of Earthsea" liking Le Guin more than I did when I started. On a positive note, I didn't find myself not wanting to read her works ever again as I did when I finished "The Dispossessed" and I'm actually curious to read the second installment of the series.
Dury is the son of a bronze-smith whose mother died in childbirth. From an early age, Dury shows an aptitude for magic, training with his aunt, the village witch and then apprenticing with a powerful wizard. In the world of Earthsea, people and things are given one name upon their birth and later given their true name in a coming-of-age ceremony that signals their journey into adulthood. Dury becomes Ged.
As an apprentice, Ged is proud of his magical powers and eager to learn more. He's a bit impulsive and impatience in the early stages, leading to his leaving his original master and heading out to the school for magic in Roke. He carries with him a letter from his former master saying that he could be one of the greatest wizards of all time. Ged finds out this when he reads the letter to the overseer of the academy who is slowly going blind.
This knowledge leads Ged to become a bit more arrogant in his assumptions about his power. During a duel with a fellow rival, Ged calls up a dark spiri that also brngs a black mass which attacks Ged, scarring him for life. Ged hovers between life and death while the nameless evil shadow roams Earthsea. Ged finally recovers and receives his yew staff, embodying his achievement of magehood.
If you're worried that I'm revealing a lot of plot details from the book, don't be. Most of what happens in those paragraphs takes place within the first 40 or so pages of the novel. "Earthsea" is one of those stories that is a blink and you'll miss it for the plot developments. Le Guin really packs the story in, giving little or no time to readers to catch their breath, despite the fact that large chunks of time are passing during the story.
As Ged heads out into the world, he realizes what he's done and what he's called up is something that will haunt and pursue him until he can find a way to defeat it. This leads to Ged going from place to place, trying to avoid the future that is bearing down on him.
"Earthsea" is a coming of age story for Ged. Watching him grow from a prideful young boy into a fearful young man is a fascinating journey as is his decision about what must be done to stop the forces pursuing him. And while Ged is reasonably well developed over the course of the novel, a lot of the other characters aren't given much time or drop out of the story once their purpose to the plot is complete. It's a bit frustrating at times or maybe it's that I'm too used to the current fantasy-writing conventions where every character has his or her own backstory for pages on end, even if it's not required by the plot. There has to be a reasonable middle ground, doesn't there?
One interesting aspect to the story is the power that learning the true name of things has. I've seen this element in a variety of genre stories and it's fascinating to see it incorporated here. Ged uses it to bind a dragon and make it agree not to attack a village and the power of knowing the true names of things is a fascinating one. It's something I hope we'll explore more in future books.
The problem with the book is the pacing. Le Guin leaps from one plot to the next with little or no time for reflection. I don't necessarily want to see pages upon pages of Terry Goodkind-like summing up the plot by reflecting on what's happened until now in the story, but I'd also like to feel like what's going on is having some kind of greater impact on Ged. We do see him growing and he does change in many ways over the course of the book, but I found myself feeling like the story was too plot dependent by the time I got to the final confrontation. A bit of character work in there would have been welcomed.
However, Le Guin does avoid the temptation to make Ged go through too much of a change over the course of the story. He does learn from his errors and while he becomes more tempered as the story grows along, he still is prone to making the same mistakes. Often times, he gambles on things and he loses as often as he wins. He wins early in the story, holding off an attack on his village but overuses his powers. He also wins in researching the name of the dragon and it pays off. However, he also gambles and is pushed into it by others (it's interesting to note how Ged is easily persuaded to push his powers by females) and it doesn't always pay off. His being tricked by the daughter of the village witch and the magical duel are both prime examples.
"A Wizard of Earthsea" is a good book, but not a great one. I wonder if I'd read it at an earlier age if I might have been a bit fonder of it. ...more
Since the end of "A Betrayal in Winter," reluctant leader Otah Machi has tried to make some changes in the way the city of Machi is rule. He's taken oSince the end of "A Betrayal in Winter," reluctant leader Otah Machi has tried to make some changes in the way the city of Machi is rule. He's taken only one wife who has given him two children. Otah would like to easily hand off the reigns of leadership to his son, Danat when the time comes, but Danat's poor health could mean the child will die before that can happen. It would leave a vacuum in the top leadership role and lead to potentially more chaos than when Otah took over the throne.
Things get a bit more complicated with Liat returns to his life with her son Niyat in tow. In spite of claims that Niyat is the poet Matti's son, all appearances say he is the son of Otah and could be in line for succession. If Otah chooses to acknowledge him as a son and put him in line for the throne.
As if that weren't enough, a Galt general by the name of Balasar Gice is stirring up trouble to the north. He has a poet of his own and audacious plan to invade and conquer his neighbors to the south. Balasar plans to remove the security blanket that has kept Galt at bay all these years--the andats. Liat brings news of the troop movements by Balasar and the Galts and while Otah struggles over the decision to use the andats or not to wipe out the Galts, Balasar puts him plan into motion, destroying all the andats and leaving the country open to conquest.
"An Autumn Campaign" is the third installment in Daniel Abraham's "Long Price Quartet" and it may be the best so far. Abraham takes seeds from each of the first two books and weaves them together into an engrossing story that is rich both in well developed character and an engrossing narrative. The novel is one that finds the pigeons coming home to roost as it were with events and actions from the first two novels having consequences and a major impact on developments here. Abraham also keeps the story interesting by allowing us to see both sides of the coming conflict and lets us understand that while war is brewing, both sides have legitimate claims, fears and grievances in the upcoming battle. It'd be easy to make the Galts one-note bad guys but Abraham avoids this. The first two books found them off-stage a bit, pulling strings and maneuvering politically. Here we spend significant portions of the book getting their world-view and the novel is a richer experience for it.
The disappearance of the andats is a major turning point in the series and leads to another turning point for the series. Maati and his fellow poet struggle to find a way to bind a new andat to reset the balance of power and wipe out the Galts. But what Maati creates and the ramifications of it leave the book on a compelling cliffhanger and open up the door to a fascinating end to the series.
It's nice to see a series that seems to have a thought-out storyline before the first chapters are committed to paper. As I've said before, one of my biggest frustrations with fantasy series is the lack of closure some will have, simply running on for pages and novels on end in an attempt to pad out a series for maximum profit. "The Long Price Quartet" shows the value of having a clearly defined beginning, middle and end to a story and while I'm sure Abraham has some surprises in store for the final book, just like every other surprise he's thrown in the series so far, they'll all be well sewn into the story either based on our knowledge of the characters or the established rules of the universe.
Reading "Autumn" I was struck again by how Abraham grounds his fantasy universe in familiar elements of our own. One particular thread that struck me is the mentions of food in the books so far. It's not a stopping to describe some luxurious and exotic feast. Instead it's details of the names of food, the sights, smells and tastes of them and having the characters stop to enjoy a meal or wine or tea. It's seemingly minor, but it has a huge impact in helping the world seem a bit more real and interesting. ...more
Opening fifteen years after the events of "A Shadow in Summer," the second installment in the Long Price Quartet opens with the death of one of the KhOpening fifteen years after the events of "A Shadow in Summer," the second installment in the Long Price Quartet opens with the death of one of the Khai's sons, a signal that the battle for succession among his sons has begun. In Daniel Abraham's political system, the Khai's sons all fight and kill each other for the right to take over the throne when their father dies (similar to rising in rank in the classic "Star Trek" episode, 'Mirror, Mirror') while the women are either dismissed back to their original home (in the case of the wives) or married off for political gain (in the case of the daughters).
The first death sends two sons into hiding, fearing that it's their long-lost brother Otah returning from the shadows to inherit the throne. Otah vanished in disgrace but could be mounting a comeback, they fear and they could be the next targets. Maati is sent to the city to investigate the claim and to possibly flush Otah out into the open. Maati is one of the few who would recognize Otah from their dealings in the first novel and is facing a change to win a bit of redemption of his own. His failures in the first novel have left him in disgrace, even to the point of losing Liat.
In many ways, the political maneuvering at the heart of "A Betrayal in Winter" reminded me of the plots within plots of Frank Herbert's "Dune." The reader is clued in early on to who is really behind the plot to take out the brothers and seize power and watching as strings are pulled and things begin to unravel because they don't go according to plan is fascinating. The central schemer is the Khai's daugher Idaan, who wants to marry for love not just to win political points for her father. To this end, she arranges to maneuver the situation and marry Adrah, the son of a powerful rival political family and one who has powerful connections to forces in a neighboring country. Watching the duo plot and scheme is one of the novel's more fascinating storylines as is watching the best laid plans of both slowly become more and more complex and complicated. At several points, things don't go exactly according to plan, leading to some interesting shifts mid-stream to cover their track and assure the intended outcome.
Of course, this puts a strain on their relationship and watching it slowly come unraveled is another fascinating development over the course of the story.
By skipping ahead fifteen years, Abraham has allowed the story, characters and universe of "The Long Price Quartet" to grow, develop and change naturally, while still leaving much of what we came to know about them from the first book in place. Otah wants only to cut all ties with his past, only to once again see his attempts to distance himself from who he was catch up to him with unintended consequences. Maati is also haunted by his failures, but still isn't willing to compromise on certain things, including his defying orders to return once most of the evidence points to Otah's involvement in the political maneuverings to take over as Khai. Abraham fills in enough of the details of what the characters have been doing to satisfy readers but leaves out a few other tantalizing details so as to hopefully keep things interesting in the next two installments. (I'm dying to know what happened to Liat and her child after she and Maati went their separate ways.)
As all good sequels should, "A Betrayal in Winter" takes the foundation from the first novel and builds on it, expanding the characters and universe in the series. It's a story that you could read without having first picked up "Summer" though some of the references would be lost on you and the nuances of the characters might not be there. Again, the story is one that's self contained but there are seeds of a richer tapestry being developed here and one that continues to intrigue me. It's a sequel that's as good if not better than the original and one that sets up some intriguing possibilities for the next installment. ...more
"A Shadow in Summer" has been on my to-be-read radar for quite a while now even though I can't quite recall exactly why I put it on the list. But when"A Shadow in Summer" has been on my to-be-read radar for quite a while now even though I can't quite recall exactly why I put it on the list. But when Jaws Read Too began her Summer of Series program, I looked over at the first installment in the series, sitting on my to be read pile, mocking me mercilessly and decided it was a good time to commit not only to reading the first book, but also the entire "Long Price Quartet" series as well.
So, I pulled the book out of the pile, cracked open the pages and began to read.
And, again, tried to recall what it was that drew me to the book in the first place. I think part of it was a desire to sample more fantasy novels and to sample series that actually had a chance of being finished sometime within my lifetime.
Reading "A Shadow in Summer," it appears that Daniel Abraham had not only a plan for this book, but also his entire series. And, thankfully, this is an entry in a series that has a definitive plot arc that is resolved by the end of the book. Yes, there are still some threads left open for future development, but it doesn't feel like a massive build-up to a cliffhanger or a 300 page preview for book two in the series.
Instead what Abraham has done is set up a remarkably believable world with some well rounded, interesting characters. Yes, there is a magical system at work here, but reading "Summer" I was reminded of Laura Anne Gilman's "Flesh and Fire" where the magical system was more limited and while there are powerful people within the magical system created here, it can't always be used as a way to easily get out of a situation (aka the equivalent of the sonic screwdriver on "Doctor Who" where its use is defined by whatever situation the script needs to get the Doctor out of without too much effort). The system is also one that the world we're reading about is built around and it has implications both positive and negative to all the various players we see inhabiting the book.
In this world, poets are powerful men who can create andats for a specific purpose. The novel includes one called Seedless who can remove the seeds from things, which is vital to the economy of the setting here. The city is dependent on the cotton crop and the ease of removing seeds is necessity for daily life and the economic survival of the city. But the power extends beyond just the removal of seeds from various plants and into the arena of being able to remove an unwanted pregnancy.
And that plot forms the basis for the political maneuvering that drives much of what unfolds in "Summer." In many ways, the unfolding story is one that can be deceptively slow moving, allowing for the full implications of what's really going on to slowly occur to the characters involved and the reader. Abraham clearly assumes an intelligence by his reader and doesn't have page upon page of infodumps that can bog down many of the bigger fantasy names (I'm looking at your Terry Goodkind). He also avoids the habit of excessive recapping of events and having characters ponder what's gone on before in minuscule detail. The characters do reflect on what's happen, but it feels more authentic and real than I saw in another fantasy book I plowed my way through last summer that could have been shorter had we not had a recap or a character reflection every ten pages.
Thankfully, the novel is also inhabited by a set of fully realized characters, all of whom you'll like and dislike to various degrees as the novel progresses. Abraham takes the tactic of having the characters who serve as the antagonists for the story clearly believe that the story is presenting them as heroes and the novel works better for that. And his presentation of characters as having both noble and un-noble qualities is a nice touch.
And, again, it resolves the main storyline of the novel by the time the last page is turned, even though we have some indication of where things could head for the next novel and possibly the rest of the series.
In short, it's a successful standalone novel and a successful start to an intriguing new series.
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