The Long Price Quartet Comments
The Long Price Quartet (Daniel Abraham)
Book Description (from book flap)This is a fantastic fantasy series that's different than the standard. A cast of unusual (and well realized) characters with some pretty interesting concepts. Strong plot. Quite a few people calling this one of the best fantasy series that's come out the past five years. If you are looking for some great fantasy that's not your standard epic fantasy.
The Long Price Quartet is a fantastic series. If you like Guy Gavriel Kay, Rothfus, Segara, Bujold, you will enjoy this series.
So I saw this book on the list, and ordered it from Barnes & Noble. It arrived, I read a couple of chapters, and then just put it down for a month. It's not that I thought it was a horrible book; I just had no desire whatsoever to keep read more. It sits around for another month, when I finally decide that eh, it's only 350 pages long, might as well read the rest.
Here is the plot in a nutshell:
Poets bind andat, and they harness the power of the andat for whatever purpose. The andat in question, Seedless, is the equivalent of a cotton gin, and makes the seeds fall out. However, if the poet dies before control of the andat has been transferred, the andat disappears. Therefore, keeping the poet safe is of the utmost importance to the city, right?
Wrong.
After a "surprise abortion!" moment fails to release Seedless, it takes about 200 more pages before someone just strangles Heshai (the poet) in his drunken stupor. Really. That's what happens. The books tells us of a vague and slightly menacing kingdom that is eager to conquer the city, but the higher ups don't even give the poet any guards. Come on. If one guy is killed, the entire city becomes worthless, and they don't bother to protect him at all.
I'm just not even going to bother reading the 2nd book...
While I strongly agree that the plot and characters were interesting/unique, and I finished the quartet a few months ago, what stands out for me is the absolutely ATROCIOUS editing... we're talking 3-5 typographical errors PER PAGE, in some instances! To be fair, I read the hardcover editions from the library, and these issues may have been fixed in paperback/later editions... but I found this problem enormously distracting (it got to the point where I stopped mid-sentence every time I found an error). Call me a purist, but I don't think any book should make it to publication with the wrong "your/you're," for example. It's a shame that this is what I remember about the series, rather than its more positive aspects.
Okay, I tried. But I gave up halfway through the first book. Maybe I should have stuck with it, but I just did not care about any of the characters. Well written, but just not very interestng.
I picked these books up, looking for another book with prose as good as what is in The Name of The Wind. After going through a couple books in this list, I finally found this series and was VERY impressed! It takes some easing into this world, but the writing will sweep you off your feet.
tldr - If you like Name of the Wind, you'll like this series.
Oh my... The books are absolutely stunning!!! Abraham's characterization, plot twists, the world he creates, his magic (hmm, I'm not even sure if one can call his invention magic) system - I'm simply speechless, it's THAT good. And the the elagant style of his writing.... Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!! I'm most pleased that the novels have finally made it to this list because they deserve all the praise they get. HIGHLY recommended (especially parts 3 & 4 make you gasp for breath in absolute amazement.)