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coffee_and_wool's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
venti's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
inching toward a 4 star on this one purely for the last quarter of the book. the failed binding of sterile had me on the edge of my seat. seedless’ influence as a character is still present three books later 😱 his power also once again maati and otah’s bromance is unmatched tell me that “we’re his fathers, you and i,” isn’t so homoerotic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Child death, Infertility, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexism, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
lastontheboat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
h4wke's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An Autumn War brings action into the Long Price Quartet, and with it: sorrow.
Daniel Abraham impresses me yet again with the penultimate entry of this series. As the title suggests, war has arrived and it's as tragic as you'd expect.
The prologue of this book is incredible. It simultaneously sets up our new antagonist with a very understandable motive, and showcases what's really at stake. It's one of the most effective openings I've read because of how it recontextualises the world we've seen so far.
From there we return to the characters we already know, with 15 years of experience added on. Abraham doesn't ever make this narrative tool feel artificial; these people have done things, important things, in-between the books. As such the novels feel like pillars holding up their lives.
The tension towards the end was palpable, Abraham shows that he's perfectly capable of writing action if or when he needs to. When we get fights, they're all the more effective for how sparse they've been up to this point. With the previous two books the reader has been shown roughly what's going to happen. That's partly true here, but once it happened I had no idea where the plot was going to go. I'm just along for the ride now. I can't imagine how the final book will wrap up, but I'm confident that it will be great.
Daniel Abraham impresses me yet again with the penultimate entry of this series. As the title suggests, war has arrived and it's as tragic as you'd expect.
The prologue of this book is incredible. It simultaneously sets up our new antagonist with a very understandable motive, and showcases what's really at stake. It's one of the most effective openings I've read because of how it recontextualises the world we've seen so far.
From there we return to the characters we already know, with 15 years of experience added on. Abraham doesn't ever make this narrative tool feel artificial; these people have done things, important things, in-between the books. As such the novels feel like pillars holding up their lives.
The tension towards the end was palpable, Abraham shows that he's perfectly capable of writing action if or when he needs to. When we get fights, they're all the more effective for how sparse they've been up to this point. With the previous two books the reader has been shown roughly what's going to happen. That's partly true here, but once it happened I had no idea where the plot was going to go. I'm just along for the ride now. I can't imagine how the final book will wrap up, but I'm confident that it will be great.
bryce3333's review
5.0
Such an amazing book. The series has progressed from something small and intimate to a world spanning story of loss and mistakes.
mferrante83's review
5.0
It has been over a year since I read the first two entries in Daniel Abraham’s Long Prince Quartet. Both A Shadow In Summer and A Betrayal In Winter are subtle, complex novels light on action but high on character in world that is wonderfully complex and refreshingly different from your everyday fantasy world. While each of the previous novels have primarily been about several deftly drawn characters and their personal relationships each novel has grown increasingly involved with examining how these characters’ actions affect the world at large. As in the previous two novels Otah and Maati remain central characters and it is the ripple of their actions in the previous two books that play an integral role in the threat unveiled in An Autumn War. Some spoilers from the previous two books ahead (no more than what you’ll get if you read the jacket though).
The opening scene of An Autumn War is a bit of a tease from Abraham; almost a jibe at your traditional quest fantasy. In that scene we are introduced to General Gice, a Galtic war hero who has just emerged from the twisted deserts of the Old Empire, with only two his company left but with several important texts about the Andat; the bound aspect-deities that form the basis of the Khaiem cities’ strength. Tantalizingly, Gice recalls the vague horrors and strange encounters in their quest for these important books and it is that moment, particularly the notion that Gice’s initial quest would likely form a large portion of another books main plot, that hammers home how different Abraham’s work is here. Instead Abraham leaves us with the intent behind Gice’s quest, his quiet sadness and his deft hand in soothing the emotional strain on his remaining two men. This opening is powerful, conveying an ominous drone that sounds throughout the rest of the novel.
As the novel moves forward we return of Otah, now the Khai Machi, has taken the first tiny steps towards creating the necessary infrastructure for life without Andat; his experience with Seedless revealing just how dangerous complete reliance on the fickle beings can be. Meanwhile, Maati works as librarian for Khai while translating his experiences with Seedless and Stone-made-soft (and their poets) into what he hopes will a be a means to avoid the price paid for failing to properly bind an Andat. Both Otah’s and Maati’s positions reflect their growth as characters and, more than either of the previous two novel, An Autumn War, is very much a confluence of the events and actions from the previous two books.
At the same time An Autumn War is about perspective. Otah’s concerns regarding Andat are based on his perspective from within the Khaiem while General Gice’s concerns regarding the Andat are based on his perspective from Galt. Both come to similar conclusions about the stagnation of society given their use, but the tone and tenor of those conclusions about the danger represented by the Andat is where the true difference, and ultimately most tragic difference, lays. Otah’s early conversation with Sinja reveals the motive behind his decision to build a militia:
“Every generation finds it harder to bind fresh Andat. Every one that slips away becomes more difficult to capture. It can’t go on forever. There will come a time that the poets fail, and we have to rely on something else.”
Gice, on the other hand has an entirely different motivation behind his quest into the wastes on Galt’s border since, as his tutor taught him:
…there were only two legacies left by the fall of the God Kings—the wastelands that bordered Far Galt and Obar State, and the cities of the Khaiem where men still held the andat….Balsasar had understood the implication as clear as if it had been spoken. What had happened before could happen again at any time and without warning.
That conflict of perspective, a threat versus a crutch, adds a certain amount drive to the narrative. Furthermore, Otah’s goal is long term while Gice’s actions are driven by a need for expediency become facts that quickly grow integral to the brewing conflict. By and large though the most fascinating aspect of An Autumn War is that Otah and General Gice are two very similar men with the same goal: the protection of their people.
While An Autumn War definitely increases the scope of the threat Abraham also manages to simultaneously maintain his focus on the characters we have come to know over the previous two novel. Indeed the emotional involvement of the reader is predicated on a preexisting attachment to these characters as each confronts various parts of their past. Indeed, for all the fact that An Autumn War is big epic fantasy, the novel contains few big set pieces and Abraham tends to lean on his character’s responses to the events around them rather than long action scenes. Abraham’s approach to action scenes is different from other authors. It isn’t something I can put my finger on precisely, but the way he describes things takes on a poetic tinge and sense of horrific wonder given the citizens of the Khaiem cities unfamiliarity with far. Otah’s observations in one of the novels few battles in particularly are beautifully written: “Now that he knew to look, he could see the thin, dark shafts. They rose up from Galtic mass, slowly as if they were floating. His own archers let fly, and it seemed that the arrows should collide in the air, but then slipped past each other, two flocks of birds mingling and parting again.” There is a simplicity in the description that lends the passage a certain elegance that in less skilled hands could have easily turned into something far more overblown. While some might say that the battle scenes, particularly the one quoted above, are somewhat underwritten I think that Abraham’s somewhat sparse language in these cases in perfectly suited to a culture whose experience with war is more or less nonexistent. It works wonderfully at expressing a first encounter with full scale battle while also reinforcing the culture of the individuals involved.
As I’ve said in my previous reviews of the Long Price Quartet it is almost criminal how little attention that this series has gotten. Abraham’s exhibits an almost unique ability to introduce new elements to his world in subtle and surprising ways while simultaneously giving the impression that this is the direction things were always going to go; it isn’t really something I’ve seen often. Abraham has continued to provide believable and emotional stirring characters on both sides of his conflict without managing to paint either side as a hero or a villain. Even as the threat in An Autumn War grows to epic proportions with far ranging and long lasting effects on whole societies Abraham somehow manages maintain a focus on the personal reactions and relationships of the characters. I honestly can’t recommend this series enough, it stands out from back as something truly unique and is definitely worthy of more readers. While exited to get to The Price of Spring I am loathe to see this series end and am already counting the days until Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path finally sees print (April 2011).
The opening scene of An Autumn War is a bit of a tease from Abraham; almost a jibe at your traditional quest fantasy. In that scene we are introduced to General Gice, a Galtic war hero who has just emerged from the twisted deserts of the Old Empire, with only two his company left but with several important texts about the Andat; the bound aspect-deities that form the basis of the Khaiem cities’ strength. Tantalizingly, Gice recalls the vague horrors and strange encounters in their quest for these important books and it is that moment, particularly the notion that Gice’s initial quest would likely form a large portion of another books main plot, that hammers home how different Abraham’s work is here. Instead Abraham leaves us with the intent behind Gice’s quest, his quiet sadness and his deft hand in soothing the emotional strain on his remaining two men. This opening is powerful, conveying an ominous drone that sounds throughout the rest of the novel.
As the novel moves forward we return of Otah, now the Khai Machi, has taken the first tiny steps towards creating the necessary infrastructure for life without Andat; his experience with Seedless revealing just how dangerous complete reliance on the fickle beings can be. Meanwhile, Maati works as librarian for Khai while translating his experiences with Seedless and Stone-made-soft (and their poets) into what he hopes will a be a means to avoid the price paid for failing to properly bind an Andat. Both Otah’s and Maati’s positions reflect their growth as characters and, more than either of the previous two novel, An Autumn War, is very much a confluence of the events and actions from the previous two books.
At the same time An Autumn War is about perspective. Otah’s concerns regarding Andat are based on his perspective from within the Khaiem while General Gice’s concerns regarding the Andat are based on his perspective from Galt. Both come to similar conclusions about the stagnation of society given their use, but the tone and tenor of those conclusions about the danger represented by the Andat is where the true difference, and ultimately most tragic difference, lays. Otah’s early conversation with Sinja reveals the motive behind his decision to build a militia:
“Every generation finds it harder to bind fresh Andat. Every one that slips away becomes more difficult to capture. It can’t go on forever. There will come a time that the poets fail, and we have to rely on something else.”
Gice, on the other hand has an entirely different motivation behind his quest into the wastes on Galt’s border since, as his tutor taught him:
…there were only two legacies left by the fall of the God Kings—the wastelands that bordered Far Galt and Obar State, and the cities of the Khaiem where men still held the andat….Balsasar had understood the implication as clear as if it had been spoken. What had happened before could happen again at any time and without warning.
That conflict of perspective, a threat versus a crutch, adds a certain amount drive to the narrative. Furthermore, Otah’s goal is long term while Gice’s actions are driven by a need for expediency become facts that quickly grow integral to the brewing conflict. By and large though the most fascinating aspect of An Autumn War is that Otah and General Gice are two very similar men with the same goal: the protection of their people.
While An Autumn War definitely increases the scope of the threat Abraham also manages to simultaneously maintain his focus on the characters we have come to know over the previous two novel. Indeed the emotional involvement of the reader is predicated on a preexisting attachment to these characters as each confronts various parts of their past. Indeed, for all the fact that An Autumn War is big epic fantasy, the novel contains few big set pieces and Abraham tends to lean on his character’s responses to the events around them rather than long action scenes. Abraham’s approach to action scenes is different from other authors. It isn’t something I can put my finger on precisely, but the way he describes things takes on a poetic tinge and sense of horrific wonder given the citizens of the Khaiem cities unfamiliarity with far. Otah’s observations in one of the novels few battles in particularly are beautifully written: “Now that he knew to look, he could see the thin, dark shafts. They rose up from Galtic mass, slowly as if they were floating. His own archers let fly, and it seemed that the arrows should collide in the air, but then slipped past each other, two flocks of birds mingling and parting again.” There is a simplicity in the description that lends the passage a certain elegance that in less skilled hands could have easily turned into something far more overblown. While some might say that the battle scenes, particularly the one quoted above, are somewhat underwritten I think that Abraham’s somewhat sparse language in these cases in perfectly suited to a culture whose experience with war is more or less nonexistent. It works wonderfully at expressing a first encounter with full scale battle while also reinforcing the culture of the individuals involved.
As I’ve said in my previous reviews of the Long Price Quartet it is almost criminal how little attention that this series has gotten. Abraham’s exhibits an almost unique ability to introduce new elements to his world in subtle and surprising ways while simultaneously giving the impression that this is the direction things were always going to go; it isn’t really something I’ve seen often. Abraham has continued to provide believable and emotional stirring characters on both sides of his conflict without managing to paint either side as a hero or a villain. Even as the threat in An Autumn War grows to epic proportions with far ranging and long lasting effects on whole societies Abraham somehow manages maintain a focus on the personal reactions and relationships of the characters. I honestly can’t recommend this series enough, it stands out from back as something truly unique and is definitely worthy of more readers. While exited to get to The Price of Spring I am loathe to see this series end and am already counting the days until Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path finally sees print (April 2011).
kalinnn1's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gmvader's review
5.0
I think I’ve figured out why Daniel Abraham is not a very popular fantasy writer. It’s because his books are not part of the usual formula. Eschewing the usual medieval Europe setting that most fantasy embraces he turns instead to a definite Asian influence. Not only that but there are none of the tropes of fantasy that have trotted around until they became cliché. There is no young farmer/scullery boy/peasant who learns he is the true king/magician/powerful Jedi. Nobody discovers an unlearned magical prowess. There are no quests or knights or heroes or wizards or mystical creatures of any kind. There are not even any true bad guys. That’s not to say that there are no bad people. The people in these stories are flawed human beings, but not too flawed. They are likable and respectable but with weaknesses. There is an antagonist but even he is fully realized and complex. Most importantly, all the main characters are justified in their actions. It is possible to see both sides while still rooting for the success of one.
The previous two books in the series, while standing well on their own, build up to a culmination in this third book that tears the world apart, rending beauty and life and shattering relationships and peace.
The cities of the Khaiem maintain poets, men who use the power of words to bind thoughts in human form, giving them power to control certain aspects of the world. This power in words appeals to me – and probably to most people who love to read. For example Stone-Made-Soft has the power to soften stone so that it can be molded like clay or mined like soft earth. Removing-The-Part-That-Continues – called Seedless for short – can strip the seeds from harvested cotton – or anything else – with a single thought. The rest of the world fear these poets and their bound andat, for even though they were created to increase trade and artistry their power can be (but hasn’t recently) used to destroy. Seedless can also miscarry the child from the womb of every mother in a rival nation, Stone-Made-Soft can sink their cities into the ground and melt their towers on top of their heads.
General Balasar Gice is intent on removing that threat from his country, keeping the world safe from the poets and the andat. In order to do that he must kill every poet and burn all their libraries.
Thus begins a war, in all its brutality, for the survival of a nation versus the survival of a world. If the poets are allowed to continue binding andat then someday they will use the andat as weapons and bring destruction to the entire world. If they do not keep binding andat the cities of the Khaiem will have no protection (they have no armies or fortifications) from the other nations of the world and no way to uphold their economy – which is based on the abilities of the andat.
Daniel Abraham’s particular skill is in his understanding of character and their motivations and strengths and, most importantly, their weaknesses. When his people are under attack Otah does not become a brilliant general or a master swordsman. He becomes a desperate leader and politician. This story – as well as the two previous volumes – is told from the perspective of the people involved and the way that it affects them. We see greatness and weakness tied together in the same people so tightly that we understand and know them.
I have said before that Daniel Abraham writes the best prose that I have ever read and I’ll say that again. I read his books half as quickly as I do other ones because the words resonate with such power that they invite savoring the flavor of them on the tongue and in the mind. I eat this meal slowly, tasting each bite as it goes down.
He is also a master storyteller. An Autumn War, while being an intense and powerful story of war and the effects it has on the people involved also had the time to show some of those people struggling to find their place in a changing world, fighting for survival, whatever the cost. It is also about power and who should wield it and who can wield it.
This is the most riveting book I’ve read so far this year and the most powerful one of the series. If you don’t want to read the first two books you could probably pick this one up with little trouble. If you do the read the others, though, you are in for a ride of sheer brilliance that is guaranteed to leave you breathless at the pain and beauty you will find.
The previous two books in the series, while standing well on their own, build up to a culmination in this third book that tears the world apart, rending beauty and life and shattering relationships and peace.
The cities of the Khaiem maintain poets, men who use the power of words to bind thoughts in human form, giving them power to control certain aspects of the world. This power in words appeals to me – and probably to most people who love to read. For example Stone-Made-Soft has the power to soften stone so that it can be molded like clay or mined like soft earth. Removing-The-Part-That-Continues – called Seedless for short – can strip the seeds from harvested cotton – or anything else – with a single thought. The rest of the world fear these poets and their bound andat, for even though they were created to increase trade and artistry their power can be (but hasn’t recently) used to destroy. Seedless can also miscarry the child from the womb of every mother in a rival nation, Stone-Made-Soft can sink their cities into the ground and melt their towers on top of their heads.
General Balasar Gice is intent on removing that threat from his country, keeping the world safe from the poets and the andat. In order to do that he must kill every poet and burn all their libraries.
Thus begins a war, in all its brutality, for the survival of a nation versus the survival of a world. If the poets are allowed to continue binding andat then someday they will use the andat as weapons and bring destruction to the entire world. If they do not keep binding andat the cities of the Khaiem will have no protection (they have no armies or fortifications) from the other nations of the world and no way to uphold their economy – which is based on the abilities of the andat.
Daniel Abraham’s particular skill is in his understanding of character and their motivations and strengths and, most importantly, their weaknesses. When his people are under attack Otah does not become a brilliant general or a master swordsman. He becomes a desperate leader and politician. This story – as well as the two previous volumes – is told from the perspective of the people involved and the way that it affects them. We see greatness and weakness tied together in the same people so tightly that we understand and know them.
I have said before that Daniel Abraham writes the best prose that I have ever read and I’ll say that again. I read his books half as quickly as I do other ones because the words resonate with such power that they invite savoring the flavor of them on the tongue and in the mind. I eat this meal slowly, tasting each bite as it goes down.
He is also a master storyteller. An Autumn War, while being an intense and powerful story of war and the effects it has on the people involved also had the time to show some of those people struggling to find their place in a changing world, fighting for survival, whatever the cost. It is also about power and who should wield it and who can wield it.
This is the most riveting book I’ve read so far this year and the most powerful one of the series. If you don’t want to read the first two books you could probably pick this one up with little trouble. If you do the read the others, though, you are in for a ride of sheer brilliance that is guaranteed to leave you breathless at the pain and beauty you will find.
andrew_f's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was feeling like a four star book until that wild and unpredictable ending. Like A Betrayal in Winter, an Autumn War takes many years after the events of the previous novel. The Galtic Empire has a secret strategy to remove the only weapon the Khaeim have that has kept them safe from invasion for years. General Balasar would pay almost any price to remove the world of the andat, who could destroy cities and empires within seconds should their masters choose.
Decisions have consequences and this book shows how events from the first book influence the plot of this book. Characters from the first book reappear and the third book has the same fascinating and complex character relationships of any fantasy book I've read. This is a war story, but it's focused solely on the husbands and wives, former lovers reunited, father, son, daughter, friend. The price of war is at each of these character's doorsteps and the consequences devastating.
I have no idea how this series will wrap up, but this is a series unlike any I've read before. If you appreciate uniqueness and amazing character work in your fantasy, this series is one of the best.
Decisions have consequences and this book shows how events from the first book influence the plot of this book. Characters from the first book reappear and the third book has the same fascinating and complex character relationships of any fantasy book I've read. This is a war story, but it's focused solely on the husbands and wives, former lovers reunited, father, son, daughter, friend. The price of war is at each of these character's doorsteps and the consequences devastating.
I have no idea how this series will wrap up, but this is a series unlike any I've read before. If you appreciate uniqueness and amazing character work in your fantasy, this series is one of the best.
laurentined's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0