As I've said in my other reviews of his books, I'd place Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet, among the top four or five fantasy series of the past decade. So when his new series, entitled The Dagger and the Coin, was announced, I was more than eager to see what he would do for a follow-up. I was not disappointed. The first book in the series, The Dragon's Path, is one of my favorite reads so far this year and I'll be surprised if it doesn't make it onto my year's best list by the end.
It is set in a world long ago ruled by dragons, who over time created thirteen subspecies of humans to act as specialized slaves, breeding one group with the attributes of warriors and another with traits better suited to underground mining, for instance. With the dragons long gone (though their artifacts such as roads and buildings remain), the humans have forged their own kingdoms, city-states, empires, etc. One such is Antea, whose Severed Throne sits in the capital city of Camnipol. Antea is currently ruled by King Simeon, but the land teeters on the edge of civil war as new ideas threaten the whole idea of fixed nobility and rule by king, leading to factions and rivalries within the court. Dawson Kalliam is an ultraconservative noble who will do all he can to protect his friend the king and the status quo (everybody in their place where they belong), sure in the rightness and, ahem, "nobility" of his position. Along with the group of nobles he enlists to his cause, he is also is helped by his wife Clara, son Jorey, and a houseguard named Coe. Caught up in the gamesmanship is a young noble, Geder Palliako, who is more scholar than soldier or political player, but finds himself at various points fighting in an attack on the Free City of Vanai, becoming head administrator of a city, trying to head off a coup, and setting out into the wilds in search of an ancient legend.
Meanwhile, the Medean Bank branch in Vanai, seeing the writing on the wall, smuggles out much of its holdings via a young ward of the bank, Cithrin, who disguises herself as a boy, the goods as wool and iron, and joins a caravan exiting the city before the battle. The caravan is guarded by Captain Marcus Wester (famous hero), his second in command Yardem, and a group of actors he's had to hire to pretend to be guards, led by an older actor named Kit. Eventually, plans go awry and the caravan is diverted to another city where the characters have to find new ways to keep themselves and the bank's wealth safe. The book weaves among several third-person points of views, most often focusing on Wester, Cithrin, Geder, and Dawson, with a few others (such as Clara and a character who appears in the prologue).
The Dragon's Path shares many of the same qualities that made the Long Price Quartet so good while working in a very different, and somewhat more conventional, sort of fantasy story. The first is excellent characterization. The two displaying the biggest growth are Geder and Cithrin, both of whom need to find new strengths within themselves as they are thrust into unfamiliar and dangerous new roles. Both begin in relatively weak positions: Geder is made a pawn of the political machinations around him while Cithrin has been a protected ward of the bank and has yet to come into her legal age. Rather than simply take us on the usual coming-of-age journey, however, Abraham throws a few twists at us, taking both characters into places we don't expect them to go, and not such glorious places either. Even better is how their maturations take place in two wholly different worlds: Geder in the political and militaristic and Cithrin in the world of economics (yes, economics).
Wester grows in quieter, more subtle ways, struggling with the changing dynamics of his relationship with Cithrin and a heavy grief he's carried with him for years. Kit, meanwhile, doesn't really change so much as is gradually revealed. The same is true for Dawson's wife Clara. Dawson, on the other hand, as one might expect from an ultraconservative, doesn't change at all, even when change might in fact be wiser than the path chosen. One of the more fascinating aspects of the book in fact is how the point of view puts the reader at odds with him or herself. As readers, one has a tendency to identify with pov character. Yet Dawson is just about the antithesis of all modern political thought: a man who will die to keep the poor in their place and the rich in theirs, not simply because he benefits personally from it but because it's "right." He rails against the new restrictions on slavery and worries the "rabble" may "choose to champion themselves." He is almost the epitome of the sneering, condescending lord we all love to hate when our pov character works against him. But here he is front and center as the pov character--what's a reader to do? Without spoiling things, I'll say that Dawson is not the only character Abraham plays this game with and its one of the most intriguing and compelling aspects of the novel.
The side characters vary in their depth and range, but none do a disservice to the reading experience. The prose makes for truly effortless reading--clean, tight, efficient without being monotone, with sharp dialogue. I'd say it is less stylized or elegant than the Long Price Quartet, though it has its moments, as when he describes how a city has outgrown its ancient battlements: "The architecture of war slept in the middle of a living community like a great hunting cat torpid from the kill."
The plot is, hmmm, perhaps Abrahamesque is the word? It's certainly more conventional than the Long Price Quartet, but it shares with that series a slow pace, quiet action, character-driven scenes, a focus on personal introspection and relationship, and a preference for political and economic maneuvering rather than sweeping military action. Abraham dispenses of "classic" fantasy scenes such as battles or journey-quests either super-speedily or in unexpected fashion. And magic--an obvious fantasy trope--is as even more understated here than in his first series, which is saying something. There is magic, but like most of Abraham's style, it is a quieter version than we're used to and comes in small, sharp moments (though we have hints it will perhaps be reentering the world in larger fashion).
I should emphasize here that "understated" and "quiet" are not euphemisms for "dull." I read The Dragon's Path in a single sitting, reading well into the night. Truth is, I find Abraham's depiction of conspiracies and economic repercussions, as well as his parsimonious use of magic to be more compelling than many a fantasy novel filled with "epic" battles and "wizardly fire."
Finally, I'll add that while I wouldn't say The Dragon's Path has flaws, in that nothing really detracted from the reading experience, it does have aspects that aren't as strong as its good qualities. I can't say I had a great feel for the thirteen human races; they seemed to blend in or blur. Part of me assumes we'll delve more into them as the series continues, so this isn't such a big deal. And part of me wonders if it matters much; that the fact they're simply "there" just makes for a more realistic feel to the story, rather than giving the reader a "tour" of the Kooky Krazy Fantasy Races. In either case, as I said, it never bothered me or took me out of the story. The same sort of no great feel for things but didn't distract holds true for a sense of culture: food, religion, etc. He has one scene where a character recalls a city he'd overwintered in: "There's a lake in the middle of the city, and the whole time we were there, you could cross it anywhere. There's a winter city they build on the ice every year. Houses and taverns and all. Like a real town." I would have loved to have gotten more of those kinds of details, as well as more on the races, but as there's a lot of story left to come, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this an assume we will see more in both areas (that scene, by the way, with the speaker teaching Cithrin how to ice skate, is one of those small but beautiful moments between characters that Abraham does so well.)
In the end, The Dragon's Path impresses nearly as much as the Long Price Quartet and I can't wait to see where this goes (and one does need to wait--unlike that first series this book doesn't end with a clear resolution. It isn't a cliffhanger, but the story is in the middle). This one will be hard to push off that Year's Favorite list. Highly recommended.
