The review that hooked me: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...The review that should've hooked me much earlier: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...I don't think beginning this series with a marathon reading session while sick was the best approach, since fevers make me to skim faster and I missed some intricacies. Illness also makes me so lazy, such that I was unwilling to move even though I'd hunched down into a painful sitting/crouching/fetal position. Despite that (and despite the v...

[4.. maybe a 3.75 stars]So if I need to describe this first book in 2 words I would say: Original and ClinicalOriginal, because let's be honest it's nothing like other fantasy novels I've read, the magic system is about capturing "ideas" into humanoid forms called "Andat" and control them to do the bidding of the castor, however these forms develop somewhat human traits and emotions as well, cue instant interesting and favorite character! The world building is also very engaging with a lot of or...

4.5 Stars. A unique and compelling book that opens a fantasy series I am very much looking forward to continuing. A Shadow in Summer is an intimate, political, and character-driven fantasy novel. Abraham's fastidious worldbuilding and complex use of language brings to life a story that feels different from anything I've read before. I could tell, about five chapters in, that this is a series that is going to hurt - and one that is only going to improve with the telling. I am forcing myself to sl...

I really liked the writing and the concept of "poets" giving literal shape and form to ideas. The characterization was also pretty good for most of the characters. I wasn't emotionally satisfied with the ending but it wasn't enough to put me off from reading more in the series.

Truly impressive. So many novels in genre are less novels than they are the workings out of a plot—but that's not the case here. The characters breathe, and their moral and personal and emotional concerns are at least as vital as the clockwork of cause and effect. This actually made it a bit tricky for me to orient for the first couple chapters (after that phenomenal prologue). I kept waiting for the adventure hook, the mystery prompt, the grand doom foretold, and when one didn't come I felt thr...

RTC after I finish the series.....It was a bit difficult in the beginning of the book but then it grabs you and keeps you up til 3am. Not that I did ;)

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...

4.0 to 4.5 stars. A very impressive debut novel. While very light on fantasy elements (think George R. R. Martin and the Song of Fire and Ice), the one major fantasy component is original and simply superb. That idea is that "poets" create and bind ideas made flesh and control them in the use of commerce and war. I was really impressed. This, along with a well developed world and a great story make this a strongly recommended book.

DNF @ 20%. I think I gave this book a fair shot, 20% is quite a long way to read and still be completely bored by the characters, world and plot.One thing that was really baffling and continually took me out of the book was the way the characters kept posing during conversations. It was soooo ridiculous, there wasn't a single dialogue that didn't involve at least ten different poses. They started as "a pose of greeting" or a "pose of farewell", which I can deal with, but soon the characters were...

An underrated masterclass in quiet intrigue and character study. My full review: https://youtu.be/J8TDSZE6Aps

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.Quasi-predestined One: "A Shadow in Summer" by Daniel AbrahamConcepts of a Common Fantasy Novel:- The Predestined one is killed before the beginning of the story, unbeknownst to everyone. The prophecy as it is known is vague, but the real prophecy is actually very detailed and precise - and completely wrong as it turns out. A hero rises to the occasion, but the legendary weapon informs him that he doesn't fit the description of the Cho...

(I read this in Shadow and Betrayal omnibus.)3.5/5 StarsA highly original debut and a good start to a quartet.A Shadow in Summer is Daniel Abraham’s debut and the first book in the Long Price Quartet series. After finishing this book, I have to say that I’m deeply impressed by its originality. There is a lot of subtlety that goes into the book here, Abraham also has created a low fantasy series that’s influenced heavily by Eastern culture especially with the way he implemented poses in the chara...

Via Book Reviews by Niki Hawkes at www.nikihawkes.comI will be the first one to admit that the overview sounds a little boring and convoluted. The first time I picked it up in a bookstore, I almost disregarded it right away and put it back on the shelf. The reading gods must have been looking out for me that day because for one reason or another I cracked it open to read the first page… And didn’t stop for thirty minutes. It was fascinating and engaging – starting out by introducing a complex co...

When you've read fantasy for as long as I have you get tired of the fact that 90% of fantasy tales revolved around a dumb farm boy who is the missing heir to the kingdom or to long gone magical powers, he has a good heart but can't seem to get the girl, he has to leave home and help the world/nation/kingdom against some Dark Lord, who tends to be archetype and has some old mentor who gives him the sword/magical talisman to win and kick the beejesus out of the Dark Lord. Oh, and then he gets the

’And love is more important than justice,’ Seedless said.‘Sometimes. Yes.’Seedless smiled and nodded. ‘What a terrible thought,’ he said. ‘That love and injustice should be married.’The main merit of A Shadow in Summer lies in how its Author bound ideas into words and then formed them into a language comprehensible for us, ordinary human beings. As to the lives these ideas led, the choices they made, the roads they had taken and the tales that could be told about it - that is altogether a differ...

I have definitely read much worse fantasy, or fiction, for that matter, and I see that subtlety and thoughtfulness is the name of this tune, but honestly, it was slow and not much happens.It was, on the other hand, quite readable and the characters were very solid, even memorable as far as they go. The society, the empire, is also quite fleshed out and has a character all of its own. I have no complaints with any of that. Indeed, I think it's quite remarkable.I don't even have a problem with the...

22/25 (88%) 4.5 stars.A brilliant, slow start to the series, filled with clever intrigues and ambivalent characters who struggle through ethical dilemmas and hard decisions; blessed with a brilliant writing style and an original and fleshed-out setting. Abraham truly has created something unique here, and he has done it without needing a single action scene, for the depth of the intrigues and decisions his character must make suffice to carry this story.The worldbuilding is chef's kiss, almost S...

*** 4.25 ***A buddy Read with the FBR Group! Because we love originality! And this is exactly what this book offered - originality and plenty of it! I had no idea what to expect, but I was blown away by how different and complex the plot of this fascinating story offers. If you are expecting a traditional Fantasy with some political jostling in it, you have the wrong book. This is not at all in the realm of the Fantasy I have known up to now. Yes, we have a world of imagination, a city-state mad...

This was part of a group read and I liked it best of everybody reading the book. Which is odd because I think I'm the first one to complain when Fantasy or Sci-Fi books don't have any action and move slow. Others thought that of this book but it wasn't that way for me. There's just something about DA's writing style where both the characters and world are so descriptive. The emotions and interactions come off the page in HD where another author trying for the same is a black and white 9' built i...

What an uneven read! I was not impressed with the beginning, but then the idea of the magic drew me in, and then the plots grabbed me, and then it got gross and boring and then I fell in love with one of the characters, and then the author threw that all away.Weird, but not in a bad way I guess?CONTENT WARNINGS: (a list of topics): (view spoiler)[ child abuse, slavery, abortions (forced), adultery, drug use, violence towards women, fat shaming. (hide spoiler)]Things that were enjoyable:-Heshai....