The Long Price: Shadow & Betrayal (A Shadow in Summer & A Betrayal in Winter) (The Long Price Quartet, (Vol. 1 & 2))

The Science Fiction Book Club is proud to present the first two novels of Daniel Abraham's brilliantly original series, The Long Price Quartet.Gesture and posture convey as much information as spoken words in Abraham's impressive first novel, a fantasy set in a world where poets create and bind powerful shape-shifting creatures called "andat." The Empire hangs on, literally, by a thread; the cloth industry depends on the ability of andat Seedless to magically remove seeds from cotton plants to keep commerce flowing and the barbarians in check. Seedless, who can also remove unborn children from their mother's womb, aims to drive his poet-creator, Heshai-kvo, mad with grief. A love triangle develops among a threesome-Heshai's apprentice, Maati; Itani, a laborer with a past; and the beautiful scribe Liat-as they unknowingly assist the andat in his plot to abort a wanted child. Set 15 years after the events of 2006's A Shadow in Summer, Abraham's clever second novel follows the tribulations of Otah Machi, the sixth son of the Khai Machi. On the demise of the Khai, one son must dispose of all other contenders in order to become the new ruler. Now the old Khai's death approaches, and Otah's oldest brother, Biitrah, has been smothered in his sleep. Whispered rumor-which may have been started by the Galts, an empire desperate to destroy the house of Machi-puts the blame for the murder on Otah. He returns to Machi, grimly acknowledging that he must kill his brothers to save himself. Mystery, love triangles and struggles with magical creatures called andat make for a slow-starting but well-rounded story.