What a joy to read. I can't honestly recall the last time a book created such tension, such a war between my interest and care for characters, and an irresistible sense of impending doom. I wanted to read it through in one sitting, but I hated to see these deep, breathing, living characters suffer at all.

I won't bother with a synopsis, there are a dozen out there. Suffice it to say, where the first two books in the quartet were engaging, well crafted fantasies, this is a work of deep, almost painful humanity. I honestly can't imagine how Abraham followed this, and I can't wait to find out. ( )

An Autumn War is the third in Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet. The story kicks things up a notch as the long awaited war between Galt and the Khaiem finally arrives. The result is nothing short of brilliant though I almost gave up on the story due to it's glacial pacing in the first half of the book. Reader be warned: this is not a happy tale. Abraham paints war in all it's horrifying and tragic glory.

Fourteen years have passed and Otah Matchi has settled into his role as Khai for the people of Machi, albeit in a non-traditional manner. He has only one wife, a single son and a single daughter, and has undertaken the training of a standing militia, something not seen in the Khaiem in ages. Most believe it unnecessary with the power of the andat at their side. After all, the Khaiem have used the threat of the andat to ensure peace and prosperity for their people for centuries. Why would this ever change? One Balasar Gice, general of Galt, is about to change everything.

Similar to the previous book, I'm fairly conflicted in my feelings. The first half of the book was a complete slog, taking me 10 days to complete. We spend even more time in the heads of the same characters, almost 30 years later, older but not necessarily wiser. If there was one character I felt truly drawn to this would have been OK. I still haven't connected with anyone in the cast so it makes reading these long sections more of a chore than it might be otherwise.

The second half of the book is completely different. Around chapter 16 plot takes off and I could not put the book down, finishing the remaining chapters in a few hours. The scale of the war is enormous, with an outcome I never saw coming, one that has changed the face of the world. Abraham's writing is elegant. He paints a tragedy that is almost Shakespearean in it's beauty and brilliant in its execution. I am in awe of what he pulled off.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about Balasar Gice at least a little. He is a wonderfully drawn villain. Rather unimposing physically, Gice is incredibly charismatic, a scary-smart tactician, leads his men by example and is willing to start a war to acheive his goal of ending the threat of the andat, though really the andat are basically a sheathed sword as the Khaiem have no aspirations towards conquering. In the book's own words: “At heart, he was not a conqueror. Only a man who saw what needed doing and then did it.” There is nothing scarier than a true believer.

At this point I have no idea what is in store for this world next. I am looking forward to finding out. Just please give me a character to root for! ( )

Not quite as emotionally excoriating as the second in this series, but still a magnificently ruthless and implacable look at real, faceted, complex characters in personally (and, in this one, objectively) horrifying situations, all the more horrifying because the world is this shape, and these things must be.

The strength and depth and nuance of the world is part of the awesome scope of this series, and this one shifted the lens ever so slightly to bring the central detente into vivid intensity. I am tremendously impressed with how perfect a fantasy analogy for nuclear deterrence, brinksmanship, the whole cold-war shebang this is. I take off my honours-in-political-science hat to Mr Abraham. ( )

SUMMARY:
Daniel Abraham delighted fantasy readers with his brilliantly original and engaging first novel, and in his second penned a tragedy as darkly personal and violent as Shakespeare’s King Lear. Now he has written an epic fantasy of much wider scope and appeal that will thrill his fans and enthrall legions of new readers.Otah Machi, ruler of the city of Machi, has tried for years to prepare his people for a future in which the magical andat, entities that support their commerce and intimidate all foes, can no longer be safely harnessed. But his efforts are too little, too late. The Galts, an expansionist empire from across the sea, have tired of games of political espionage and low-stakes sabotage. Their general, a ruthless veteran, has found a way to do what was thought impossible: neutralize the andat. As the Galtic army advances, the Poets who control the andat wage their own battle to save their loved-ones and their nation. Failure seems inevitable, but success would end the Galtic threat. With wonderful storytelling skill, Abraham has wedded the unique magic, high-stakes betrayal and political intrigue of his previous works with a broad tapestry of action in a spectacular fantasy epic.

This third installment of Daniel Abraham's Long Price Quartet is definitely more than the sum of its predecessors, both of them outstanding books: where the first two parts of this series introduced the world in which the action unfolds, and fleshed out the characters peopling it, An Autumn War brings all these elements to fruition in a tale that is both enthralling and satisfying.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this series has been the notion of the andats, the anthropomorphic manifestations of complex thoughts or ideas summoned to life by the "poets", specially trained people able to give them substance and control them. Andats like Seedless - the creature that can "remove the part that continues" and is employed by the cotton growers to remove the seed from raw cotton so that the weavers can easily process the material; or Stone-Made-Soft, dedicated to mining and effortless tunneling. These constructs require a constant vigilance though, because like all unwilling slaves they hunger for freedom and are not averse to dangerous or deadly trickery.

The Khaiem, the eastern-like, feudal culture deployed over several city-states, has used the andats for generations, relying on them to the point that no other way of life is deemed possible, to the point that the loss of a city's andat means ruin and decadence. While their historical adversaries, the Galt, see the creatures as a danger and an obstacle to progress, and are determined to rid the world of them.

This is the nature of the conflict built over the previous two books and that finds here its culmination: what is fascinating is that the main opponents - Otah, Khai of the city-state of Machi and General Gice, the Galt commander bent on destroying the andats - are both honorable men, and likeable, complex characters, who want the best for their own peoples. The unexpected, tragic way in which the conflict is resolved opens the road to future promising developments, since the aftermath will require huge adjustments from both cultures. The last book in the saga will no doubt be quite interesting...

The more I read of Abraham's work, the more I appreciate his storytelling style, simple and elegant, with rich descriptions that paint a complex, fascinating picture. The best feature of this saga comes from his choice to forgo the usual (and in my opinion over-used) medieval-like setting, to create a culture resembling that of ancient Japan - complete with structured hand gestures ("poses") that convey subtle layers of meaning. This new approach, combined with a minimal but expressive prose, makes for a compelling reading that never fails to leave me wanting for more.

rating: 4 and a half stars ( )