A Shadow in Summer [Mass Market Paperback]

This novel, the first in a quartet, is set in a land with a bit of an oriental feel, where powerful magical beings called andat are controlled by men called poets. Each andat is unique and based on an idea formed by the poet. The novel follows an apprentice poet, a former instructor of his who basically dropped out of poet school, and a woman they both love, as well as a senior employee in a foreign trade house. These individuals all get caught up in a complex plot involving the local andat.

There is very little action in this book, so fans of heroic fantasy may not enjoy it. Instead, this book is very character driven. The characters are all very well developed compared to most fantasy novels. The writing is also very good - the author really made the world come alive for me. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and suspect fans of Guy Gavriel Kay will enjoy this book. Unfortunately I've heard the North American publisher is not releasing the final novel in mass market paperback - meaning either picking up the hard cover, an e-book, or an import, unless they change their mind or another publisher picks it up.

Easily the most engrossing novel, let alone Fantasy novel, I've ever read in a long while. Daniel Abraham has established a truly fascinating world, of rulers, laborers, merchants and poets... whose abilities have let them capture and control the essences of gods. It's a fantasy world which sets aside any "showy" displays of the magical system, and instead focuses on nuances of character interactions that build into a very unexpected and exciting conflict; the ramifications of which are carried throughout the entire Quartet. After finishing the book (in a handful of sessions) I was panicked to reach my local bookstore so I could pick up the next 3 books in the series. A book series very much work your time.

Pros: lots of intrigue, complex characters, fantastic world building

Cons: characters make disappointing choices

Otah Machi, sixth son of the Khai Machi, gives up his chance to become a poet and leaves the training school he was sent to without a brand, in order to make his own way in life. Years later, one of Otah's pupils, Maati, comes to Saraykeht to apprentice with its poet. Poets keep Andat, spirits made flesh who perform particular tasks. Saraykeht's Andat, Seedless, helps with the cotton trade. The Andat does not wish to be a slave and has plotted to bring his poet down.

Otah has built a new life for himself in Saraykeht, with a powerful trading house and a woman he loves. But everything changes when the overseer of the house finds out about Seedless's plot.

This is a very complex book. There are plots within plots and it's hard to know what will happen next. I loved all of the characters. Each one felt like a real person, with problems and strengths. In fact, when Maati makes a decision that would normally have angered me, in this book, it worked. I felt sorry for the characters involved and understood their complicated emotions when things went wrong.

The world also felt real. Abraham created a complex vocabulary of hand gestures meant to explain one person's rank in relation to another's, to ask questions, to give thanks. There's a flourishing bath culture for escaping the heat of the day as well as for doing business and learning gossip. The court ceremony and trade bureaucracy are intricate and time intensive. Though the greater politics between nations is only touched on in this volume, I expect it to show up more in later books.

Seeing the characters as real people made the ending difficult as I didn't like some of the choices they ultimately made. The good thing about having a two in one volume is that it's natural to keep reading, where I might otherwise have stopped, having enjoyed the book but not being sure I want to learn what happens next (as I suspect it will be bad).