A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet) [Paperback]

Daniel Abraham (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Tor Books (August 21, 2007)
• ASIN: B000VD6H0S
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Daniel lives in New Mexico. He keeps a blog at www.danielabraham.com. He also writes as MLN Hanover and (with Ty Franck) as James S. A. Corey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 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 review is from: A Betrayal in Winter (Long Price Quartet) (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+

7 of 7 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

This review is from: A Betrayal in Winter (Long Price Quartet) (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, October 29, 2007

By 

critical reader (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Betrayal in Winter (Long Price Quartet) (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!