This review refers to the whole Long Price Quartet series, by Daniel Abraham (A Shadow in Summer; A Betrayal in Winter; An Autumn War; The Price of Spring).

I had not read any epic fantasy by this author before, and I am very favorably impressed. They are really well-written. The world building and character development is impressive and the whole series is crafted very carefully, so that each book tells a complete story but each of them builds on the previous ones to tell an epic story that encompasses the whole lifetime of the main characters and the fall and renewal of great nations.

I found the magic system quite original. Magicians, although they are actually called poets, perform complex rituals to summon and bind andats, which are the personification of concepts and ideas. For example, a poet who successfully bound the andat Water-Moving-Down could gain control over the flow of rivers, and over rain. The problem is that being bound goes against the andats' nature. They hate being bound and apply all their effort and talent to fight the poet and get free. Also, each time an andat is bound it becomes much more difficult to bind it again, so by the time the story starts, the poets of the Khaiem find it extremely difficult to replace a lost andat.

On the negative side, sometimes the writer seems to force events and the motivation and power of the andat to get the story to where he wants it to be. It's a minor flaw in a wonderful work, though.

The story is complex and bittersweet, without dark lords and without the characters being divided into good and bad sides. Not all readers will enjoy it, since some will find them slow and lacking in action, but those who appreciate the thoughtful style and the character and plot development are in for a wonderful journey. To give you an idea, if you like Robin Hobb's or Guy Gavriel Kay's style you will probably like this.

For more information, you should read what Jo Walton says about them:

http://www.tor.com/2011/04/19/fantasy-for-grown-ups-daniel-abrahams-long-price-q... ( )

A very interesting succession struggle set in a fantasy city with Asian influences. Started a little slow, but the middle part really grabbed me, and I liked the characters and the world setting. ( )

As a sequel it did improve upon the first, including a fairly complicated plot for a kingdom's succession. Otah and his sister Idaan are easily the two main players here, and love plays the largest role as thememaster, which is rather surprising since neither character shows themselves to be particularly loving in general even if they are in particular.

This is far from a departure from the first novel in the series, carrying through as seamlessly as silk.

The magic again proves rather elusive, even if we have a rather interesting IDEA turned FORM playing relatively minor roles throughout. Honestly, I'd have loved to see more of him, but it wasn't to be.

On the other hand, if you want a novel full of intrigue, reluctant ascension, and heartbreaking betrayals, then you're in for a treat.

The novel is rich in worldbuilding and very close and personal with it's characters.

While I liked it better than the first in the series, I found myself not caring quite as much as I felt I ought to. Maybe I'm a sociopath. No one is extremely good or bad. There's a lot of grey area, and that's perfect if you want a complex tapestry without larger than life events.

Of course, there are plenty of assassinations and at least a taste of mass-death, but I've been spoiled by fantasies rife with war or huge social upheavals.

A taste of what Galt has in store is not really enough, in my opinion, but perhaps it'll all become a huge reveal and a dire event in the future. We shall see. ( )

A Betrayal in Winter is the second in the Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham. There is definitely a step up in the writing with this second book, including a fairly complicated plot and another kingdom's future at stake. This book is all about court intrigue and political maneuvering.

Fifteen years have passed. The Khai Matchi is ailing and the battle for succession has started. By tradition the sons of the Khai fight it out and the last man living is the new Khai. This time, though, it appears there's another party trying to sway the outcome of the succession. The Galts have allied with someone in Matchi in an effort to bring down the ruling house and gain power on the continent.

I find that I'm having a hard time writing a review for this book. There are so many things I liked. The worldbuild is great. I continue love the concept of the andat and the unique flavor this world has. The plot is complicated, more so than it really needs to be given the Galt's goal, and takes a lot of fun twists and turns. Idaan makes a pretty great villain. The characters feel like real people, they have flaws, and are well written. And yet I just wasn't drawn to any of the characters the way I was with Amat and Seedless. Otah spent most of his time trying to avoid the inevitable, though I'm glad he finally came around in the end. I felt kind of bad for Maati. He really is clueless about, well, everything. He was going the wrong direction for his whole investigation until the grumpy librarian helped him out. Idaan trying to buck tradition I understood very well. I can even admire her ruthlessness to a point. I just wish I'd found her more likeable. Cehmai and Stone-Made-Soft were the most intriguing. Abraham did an amazing job of making the andat seem very alien and also a part of us at the same time. Too bad the character itself was so bland! Just give me one character I liked and could root for and this would've been a 4 star book.

Not that that's going to stop me from reading the series. This was a great set up for what I hope is going to happen next. Must find out how Otah handles his new role! ( )

This is much better. The story in this book moves much more fluidly than in the previous one. I liked the plotting and backstabbing that goes on here, although I do feel like it was resolved a little too easily.

The biggest complaint I do have about the series is the characters themselves. While they are written fine and with clear motivations, I still just don't care about any of them. I don't feel danger, sadness or joy for anything that happens to them. I'm hoping this changes with the time jumps that happen in the next books. ( )