Daniel Abraham delighted fantasy readers with his brilliant, original, and engaging first novel, A Shadow in Summer. Now he has produced an even more powerful sequel, a tragedy as darkly personal and violent as Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
As a boy, Otah Machi was exiled from his family, Machi’s ruling house. Decades later, he has witnessed and been part of world-changing events. Yet he has never returned to Machi. Now his father—the Khai, or ruler, of Machi—is dying and his eldest brother Biitrah has been assassinated, Otah realizes that he must return to Machi, for reasons not even he understands.
Tradition dictates that the sons of a dying Khai fall upon each other until only one remains to succeed his father. But something even worse is occurring in Machi. The Galts, an expansive empire, have allied with someone in Machi to bring down the ruling house. Otah is accused, the long-missing brother with an all-too-obvious motive for murder.
With the subtlety and wonderful storytelling skill of his first novel, Abraham has created a masterful drama filled with a unique magic, a suspenseful thriller of sexual betrayal, and Machiavellian politics.
A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet)
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From Publishers Weekly
Set 15 years after the events of 2006's A Shadow in Summer, Abraham's clever second novel follows the tribulations of Otah Machi, the sixth son of the Khai Machi. On the demise of the Khai, one son must dispose of all other contenders in order to become the new ruler. Exiled years ago for refusing to become a magic-wielding poet, Otah made his home far from Machi, changed his name to Itani, worked as a laborer and never interfered in affairs of state, hoping to escape the kill-or-be-killed tradition. Now the old Khai's death approaches, and Otah's oldest brother, Biitrah, has been smothered in his sleep. Whispered rumor—which may have been started by the Galts, an empire desperate to destroy the house of Machi—puts the blame for the murder on Otah. He returns to Machi, grimly acknowledging that he must kill his brothers to save himself. Mystery, love triangles and struggles with magical creatures called andat make for a slow-starting but well-rounded story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Setting and characters in the second Long Price Quartet volume are different from those in A Shadow in Summer (2006). In Machi, the khai, or lord of the city, is dying. Tradition enjoins his sons to fight one another to the last man, who becomes khai. These sons are reluctant. When they start dying anyway, suspicion falls on Otah, who fled the court years ago and now, in a distant city, is feeling torn. He doesn't want to go home, but his father has ordered one of Otah's few known friends to get him back. Someone in the empire of the Galts is conspiring with someone in Machi to overthrow the latter's ruling house. The world Abraham has created, in which poets who control andats (magical beings composed of thought) constitute an elite in a once-great empire, remains fascinating, not least because there's more of the andats and more intrapolitical bickering here as well as a collection of characters who keep one turning pages. Murray, Frieda
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Jessica Strider
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Pros: complex characters, world-building with depth, intrigue
Cons: some of the antagonist's plots worked out surprisingly well
The eldest son of the dying Khai Machi is poisoned and all eyes turn to the succession about to take place in Machi. When Otah Machi, the Khai's sixth son, hiding under the false name Itani Noygu, is told by his courier overseer to gather information there he knows returning to the city of his birth is potentially suicidal. He expects his low status and new identity will hide him.
But he is unaware that the Dai-kvo has sent his old friend and student, Maati to the city, to see if it's Otah who has been trying for the position of Khai.
Abraham's forte is in creating characters of true depth. They're real people, with complex emotions faced with difficult choices. After the way the first book ended, I was hesitant reading this book. It starts 14 years after the events of A Shadow in Summer, and there seemed to be too much distance between what just happened and where the characters are at the start of A Betrayal in Winter. But a few chapters in I was so enthralled with the characters, particularly Otah's sister Idaan, who's quite a feminist for the world in which she lives. But realistically so.
And then there are the intrigues. A few times I felt the plots the antagonist implemented to replace the Khai came off a little too easily, if not perfectly. On the whole, the story is quite complex, and I did like how difficult it was for Maati to discover who was behind the assassination of the eldest son.
The world-building continued to be immersive, with everything feeling real, from the netting around the beds to keep the bugs away, to the night candles and the hand gestures and name suffixes.
This is a book that epitomises the phrase, be careful what you wish for. It's also about how the decisions you make change you - for better or worse.
Cons: some of the antagonist's plots worked out surprisingly well
The eldest son of the dying Khai Machi is poisoned and all eyes turn to the succession about to take place in Machi. When Otah Machi, the Khai's sixth son, hiding under the false name Itani Noygu, is told by his courier overseer to gather information there he knows returning to the city of his birth is potentially suicidal. He expects his low status and new identity will hide him.
But he is unaware that the Dai-kvo has sent his old friend and student, Maati to the city, to see if it's Otah who has been trying for the position of Khai.
Abraham's forte is in creating characters of true depth. They're real people, with complex emotions faced with difficult choices. After the way the first book ended, I was hesitant reading this book. It starts 14 years after the events of A Shadow in Summer, and there seemed to be too much distance between what just happened and where the characters are at the start of A Betrayal in Winter. But a few chapters in I was so enthralled with the characters, particularly Otah's sister Idaan, who's quite a feminist for the world in which she lives. But realistically so.
And then there are the intrigues. A few times I felt the plots the antagonist implemented to replace the Khai came off a little too easily, if not perfectly. On the whole, the story is quite complex, and I did like how difficult it was for Maati to discover who was behind the assassination of the eldest son.
The world-building continued to be immersive, with everything feeling real, from the netting around the beds to keep the bugs away, to the night candles and the hand gestures and name suffixes.
This is a book that epitomises the phrase, be careful what you wish for. It's also about how the decisions you make change you - for better or worse.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars
23 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful Book With Great, Complex Characters
Aug 29 2007
By Andrew Corsa
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book! It is full of intrigue, murder, love triangles, and true psychological drama. In it, Otah Machi, having been exiled from his hometown, returns when his father, the ruler, is dying and one of Otah's brothers has just been killed. Now, who will be the next ruler, and who else must die before a ruler is chosen? Reading this book, you feel the internal struggles of characters forced to cope with love, guilt, social status, and power.
This book does not have the gripping action sequences and array of strange creatures found in many fantasy novels. But what it has is even better: CHARACTERS. Its characters are intricate, and real. They have complex minds, and feel emotions so multifaceted, yet believable, that I can really empathize with them. In the fantasy genre, where characters are often too simple and flimsy, this book is a real treat. Watching this book's characters is like watching a dance, or perhaps, more fittingly for this book, a game of stones. There are always moves you can predict, if you have paid enough attention to the characters, and hundreds of moves you cannot. And every move the characters make feels true to them, even when they are truly unexpected.
Also, Daniel Abraham's imagery is wonderful. Sometimes subtle, and at other times blatant, his imagery sets a tone for the book, gives it a sense of location and time. I found Abraham's prose very compelling, and the book's images have stuck in my head. Having finished his book, images of stone, rock, and the poet's andat still cling to the back of my mind.
You should certainly read this book! A+
This book does not have the gripping action sequences and array of strange creatures found in many fantasy novels. But what it has is even better: CHARACTERS. Its characters are intricate, and real. They have complex minds, and feel emotions so multifaceted, yet believable, that I can really empathize with them. In the fantasy genre, where characters are often too simple and flimsy, this book is a real treat. Watching this book's characters is like watching a dance, or perhaps, more fittingly for this book, a game of stones. There are always moves you can predict, if you have paid enough attention to the characters, and hundreds of moves you cannot. And every move the characters make feels true to them, even when they are truly unexpected.
Also, Daniel Abraham's imagery is wonderful. Sometimes subtle, and at other times blatant, his imagery sets a tone for the book, gives it a sense of location and time. I found Abraham's prose very compelling, and the book's images have stuck in my head. Having finished his book, images of stone, rock, and the poet's andat still cling to the back of my mind.
You should certainly read this book! A+
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
summa cum laude
May 6 2008
By aldarion
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
After having read Shadow in Summer, which was very good, I was not expecting the next installment in the series to be quite this good. I give it a summa cum laude rating - highest praise. It is hard to describe to those who haven't read it what makes this book so superlative, but it has to do with how the reader is kept on edge by the elements of intrigue and danger to the main sympathetic characters, while at the same time the author weaves in a deep sense of compassion and undestadning for ALL the characters, very much including the antagonists. In this installment the andats ('ideas made real' -- think ancient WMD), which are an important aspect of the series, play a relatively minor role. Expect that role to expand in the next installment with the start war between the Khaiem and the Galts (presumably). I can hardly wait.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent series
Oct 29 2007
By critical reader
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
The Long Price Quartet certainly seems to be the excellent, original, new fantasy series that the blurbs promise. Even so, I have to differ with some of the Amazon reviewers about what sets these books apart. It's not characters or setting. The characters, are interesting and sympathetic but not particularly complex, and the slightly oriental setting is also unusual, but not well developed. The real strong point is the story. These are essentially plot-driven books, with complicated stories full of twists and turns. Also, and most important, Abraham knows how to tell a story. The plot moves along quickly, without the unnecessary description or overload of characters that weakens the work of Robert Jordan and George R. R. Martin. The length of the books proves this: both are about 300 pages long, half the length of Jordan and Martin's tomes. I'm looking forward to the next two books, and since the series isn't sinking under its own weight, it shouldn't be too long!
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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