"A Shadow in Summer" has been on my to-be-read radar for quite a while now even though I can't quite recall exactly why I put it on the list. But when Jaws Read Too began her Summer of Series program, I looked over at the first installment in the series, sitting on my to be read pile, mocking me mercilessly and decided it was a good time to commit not only to reading the first book, but also the entire "Long Price Quartet" series as well.So, I pulled the book out of the pile, cracked open the pages and began to read.And, again, tried to recall what it was that drew me to the book in the first place. I think part of it was a desire to sample more fantasy novels and to sample series that actually had a chance of being finished sometime within my lifetime. Reading "A Shadow in Summer," it appears that Daniel Abraham had not only a plan for this book, but also his entire series. And, thankfully, this is an entry in a series that has a definitive plot arc that is resolved by the end of the book. Yes, there are still some threads left open for future development, but it doesn't feel like a massive build-up to a cliffhanger or a 300 page preview for book two in the series.Instead what Abraham has done is set up a remarkably believable world with some well rounded, interesting characters. Yes, there is a magical system at work here, but reading "Summer" I was reminded of Laura Anne Gilman's "Flesh and Fire" where the magical system was more limited and while there are powerful people within the magical system created here, it can't always be used as a way to easily get out of a situation (aka the equivalent of the sonic screwdriver on "Doctor Who" where its use is defined by whatever situation the script needs to get the Doctor out of without too much effort). The system is also one that the world we're reading about is built around and it has implications both positive and negative to all the various players we see inhabiting the book.In this world, poets are powerful men who can create andats for a specific purpose. The novel includes one called Seedless who can remove the seeds from things, which is vital to the economy of the setting here. The city is dependent on the cotton crop and the ease of removing seeds is necessity for daily life and the economic survival of the city. But the power extends beyond just the removal of seeds from various plants and into the arena of being able to remove an unwanted pregnancy. And that plot forms the basis for the political maneuvering that drives much of what unfolds in "Summer." In many ways, the unfolding story is one that can be deceptively slow moving, allowing for the full implications of what's really going on to slowly occur to the characters involved and the reader. Abraham clearly assumes an intelligence by his reader and doesn't have page upon page of infodumps that can bog down many of the bigger fantasy names (I'm looking at your Terry Goodkind). He also avoids the habit of excessive recapping of events and having characters ponder what's gone on before in minuscule detail. The characters do reflect on what's happen, but it feels more authentic and real than I saw in another fantasy book I plowed my way through last summer that could have been shorter had we not had a recap or a character reflection every ten pages.Thankfully, the novel is also inhabited by a set of fully realized characters, all of whom you'll like and dislike to various degrees as the novel progresses. Abraham takes the tactic of having the characters who serve as the antagonists for the story clearly believe that the story is presenting them as heroes and the novel works better for that. And his presentation of characters as having both noble and un-noble qualities is a nice touch.And, again, it resolves the main storyline of the novel by the time the last page is turned, even though we have some indication of where things could head for the next novel and possibly the rest of the series.In short, it's a successful standalone novel and a successful start to an intriguing new series.
I must admit I expected to find this story tedious, as I often do multi-volume fantasy epics. But I was very pleasantly surprised. Daniel Abraham's world-building is top-tier, and his characters are complex and realistic. There are no moral absolutes here, thankfully...I've always despised broad strokes of black and white laid out to clue the reader in to "good" and "evil." (This is one of my biggest pet peeves with fantasy literature in general.) The reader is just as likely to feel genuine empathy for a "villain" in this story as to become disgusted by a beloved "hero", and for me this keeps the story believable.The magic in A Shadow in Summer, such as it is, is unusual and language-based. (Thought-based, will-based, or imagination-based might be better ways to describe it. The wielders, rather than being called wizards, sorcerors, or witches, etc., are called poets, and it is an apt term.) There's no flash-bang tide-turning effects here, no battle magic, no incantations or hand-waving. The magic of the Andat is long-term, subtle, insidious, dangerous to the wielder, and vital to the prosperity of the people. It is also ethically questionable in the extreme, as it involves enslaving a being to one's will...or rather creating a being of one's will and then enslaving that part of oneself. It's complicated and darkly beautiful. The people's language (of communication, not of magic) is both subtle and complex, full of ritualized gesture and nuanced body language. The characters - young men, old men, young women, old women, laborers, thugs, scholars, merchants, kings, demigods - were varied and colorful, and I enjoyed getting to know even those I did not actually like. The city of Saraykeht fairly breathed, steeped in the sensuality of food and scent and sound, as well as alive with the hum of local industry. I found there was just enough detail to make me believe and drift into imagination, but not so much as to see me skimming past descriptive passages or becoming bored.The plot was well-paced and twisty, with some surprises I genuinely did not see coming. I love when an author actually puts one past me, as I am as jaded a reader as you will be likely to encounter. Ethical dilemmas, intrigue, tension, realistic and unsappy love, grinding guilt, wrenching sadness, betrayal, tenderness, lies, respect...Abraham writes all these well and affectingly and stays largely free of cliché in the process. Even though this is the first of a 4-part series, the author wraps up the story neatly by the end of this first installment, so it works nicely as a stand-alone work. I have stated many times that I am not really a series reader, and that statement still holds, but I am already missing the vaguely Asian-meets-Arabesque atmosphere of the cities of the Khaiem, with something of the feeling of melancholy that permeates the story itself. I will most likely be drawn to read the second entry in the Long Price Quartet soon.
What do You think about A Shadow In Summer (2006)?
This fits so nicely in the star system, I really liked it! So I immediately went to libes to request book 2, they don't have it. Ok I'll buy a used copy. Wtf? $80 for a like new copy? This isn't that old a book, what game is the publisher playing? I bought a used kindle years ago that I still haven't even registered, but I figure this will be on kindle. Sure enough it is but for 8$ and I found an acceptable used copy for 7, and I still prefer hard copy. It was the only book that wasn't exorbitantly expensive and I hope it's in legible state. All this to say I really liked this book and was about to do my first kindle I want to continue this series so much.
—Lori (Hellian)
I enjoyed this. Not bad at all for a debut novel.It's a low magic fantasy. Political/industrial intrigue rather than knights and dragons.I like the city of Saraykeht and the almost oriental feel to the main culture. The main language is comprised of poses and gestures that accompany words similar to the Adem hand gestures in The Wise Man's Fear.The central concept of poet's capturing ideas and then imbuing them with volition creating an enslaved god (andats) was interesting. You would think this would make poet's extremely powerful but Abraham avoids the deus ex-machina by placing us in an Empire that has fallen because of the mutual destruction of poets wielding these andats against each other. And andats are not that easy to create anymore and few are actually useful enough to tip the balance of power. But we do have at least one andat that has made the city state of Saraykeht virtually immune from war and with a major trade advantage. The andat "Seedless" has the unique ability of removing seeds from cotton en masse. What the cotton picking good is that for? I know you're asking. Well it's pretty darn good when nobody has to pick out the seeds themselves if they bring them to you - and oh, while they are there they may as well just deal with you for all their cotton trading and processing - or something like that. It's a major trade advantage according to cotton seed experts of the fantasy realm - I'm sure there's a thesis in it for somebody. Whatever, Daniel Abraham sells it well. Oh, the other thing one might use "Seedless" for is magically evacuating the wombs of all women in a nation - or destroying all their crops by vanishing their seeds overnight. So you don't want to mess with the andat.You've probably already spotted the downside from this review. What's so interesting about cotton? Where is the badass in this book? Well, there's different kinds of badassery. Take one of the main characters, Amat. She is badass - in a ruthless political sort of way. She left me saying "Amat - you are badass - and you don't need kung fu." Still I wouldn't have minded a little kung fu.I'll definitely be continuing on with book 2 in the series. I'm giving this one...3.75 stars.
—David Sven
...A Shadow in Summer is a very promising start to a good fantasy series. It got a lot of good reviews over the years but apparently the sales were nothing to write home about. Tor didn't bother with a mass market paperback edition of the final book. That is a shame really. The Long Price Quartet is a refreshing piece of writing. Concise by the standards of the genre, but without sacrificing the details that make the world believable. In his new fantasy series The Coin and Dagger, he has shifted his approach somewhat to a more conventional approach to fantasy. I enjoy those books but I like these ones better. Hopefully Abraham will move on to something a little more daring once he is done with that series. In the mean time, you could do worse than giving this series a try. It is well worth your time.Full Random Comments review
—Rob
