A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet) (Hardcover)

by Daniel Abraham (Author)
Key Phrases: mourning cloth, low towns, sky doors, Daniel Abraham, Khai Machi, Otah Machi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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.
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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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765313413
• ISBN-13: 978-0765313416
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book With Great, Complex Characters, August 29, 2007

By	Andrew Corsa "Reader" - See all my reviews

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+

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent series, October 29, 2007

By	critical reader (Indiana) - See all my reviews

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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars summa cum laude, May 6, 2008

By	aldarion (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

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.