Agree with another reviewer. It was unspectacular. I thought that by book 4, an obvious path to a conclusion to the story would begin to crystallize. I will read the next book(s) only because I am now committed to the story. As a rule, I only start trilogies/epics if they are all available. An example to my failure in this was the Eye of the World that took over a decade with multiple catch up readings. The Widow’s House is the fourth – and penultimate – book in Daniel Abraham’s awesome fantasy series The Dagger and the Coin, and continues to follow the stories of four central characters during their nation’s descent into war.As with the previous three books in the series, The Widow’s House is very character-focused and is structured using the named chapters and switching POVs popularised by George RR Martin. As with all books that use this technique this is sometimes quite frustrating, particularly when a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, or when you’ve forgotten what a certain character was doing when last we saw them. However, it’s nice that the focus has consistently been on the same four POV characters throughout the series, and picking up The Widow’s House gave me the sense of being reunited with old friends. The switching POVs also become much less disorienting as the novel progresses and each of the different storylines all begin to fall together.Much as I like all four of the main characters, I have to say that once again Geder Palliako edges in front as my favourite. The Lord Regent is child-like and peevish, petulant and bitter, and yet strangely sympathetic. He’s the nicest of people while at the same time being the villain of the piece, a tyrant who simply does not realise he’s a tyrant. He fails to observe that everyone is terrified of him and his inexplicable rages, and is instead desperate for everyone to be his friend. He doesn’t realise certain things are inappropriate, such as staying over for a week to personally oversee his Lord Marshal’s wife giving birth, or committing entire armies to devastating battles simply to take revenge on a woman who hurt his feelings. He also doesn’t realise that he is a puppet, manipulated by his most trusted friend – the spider priest Basrahip – into turning his kingdom into a platform for the chaotic cult of the spider goddess.The other characters are very different, but also likeable and interesting to read about, and all three are working together – whether knowingly or not – towards the same end. The darling of the piece has to be Clara – the ‘widow’ in The Widow’s House – who is secretly scheming to overthrow the Regent in order to protect the kingdom, a job made much more complicated by the fact that her husband was executed by Palliako for treason, and she is unwilling to jeopardise her sons, both of whom hold high positions within the Regent’s army. Clara is brave, practical and loyal, and her chapters always make for a pleasantly easy read (despite the fact that not a lot really happens in them). In contrast, Marcus is a cynical mercenary who has travelled to the ends of the earth searching for ancient weapons to stop the spider priests from spreading their evil; while Cithrin, a banker, is attempting to undermine the Regent and his priests using more unconventional means. Cithrin’s chapters are often the most interesting: she is the ‘coin’ in The Dagger and the Coin, and is forced to find ways to defeat her enemies using the resources at her disposal, namely money. This thread of the story, focusing on economics rather than war or politics, is original and interesting, although a little under-used.All of the characters have developed throughout the series in their own fascinating way, and the plot has progressed to the point where I can’t wait to see how it ends. Bring on book five!
What do You think about The Widow's House (2014)?
Well I guess this wasn't the final installment after all...
—changminssi
Will be anxiously awaiting the 5th in the series.
—Shelley
