Upcoming: “The Tyrant’s Law” by Daniel Abraham (Orbit)

Dan Abraham is one of my favourite authors. Despite the very odd (and annoying) fact that his books are so often books I Save For Later… Anyway, The Tyrant’s Law is the third book in Abraham’s current fantasy series, The Dagger & the Coin, which began with the excellent The Dragon’s Path and was followed by the as-yet-unread-by-me The King’s Blood.

The great war cannot be stopped.

The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it.

Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul.

Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can forsee.

The Tryant’s Law will be published in the US and UK by Orbit, in May 2013.

An Interview with DAN ABRAHAM

Dan Abraham is one of my favourite authors. Ever since I read the first book of his Long Price Quartet series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting every new book of his fiction. Abraham is also one of the busiest authors I’m aware of, writing novels in the fantasy, science fiction and urban fantasy genres, as well as writing graphic novel adaptations of Game of Thrones and a handful of other projects. With so many excellent projects on the go, it’s really a wonder he ever manages to sleep… I decided to ask him about this, and many other things besides…

“The Dragon’s Path” by Daniel Abraham (Orbit)

Book One of The Dagger & The Coin

The dragons are gone, the powerful magics that broke the world diluted to little more than parlour tricks, but the kingdoms of men remain and the great game of thrones goes on. Lords deploy armies and merchant caravans as their weapons, manoeuvring for wealth and influence. But a darker power is rising – an unlikely leader with an ancient ally threatens to unleash again the madness that destroyed the world once already. Only one man knows the truth and, from the shadows, must champion humanity.

The world’s fate stands on the edge of a Dagger, its future on the toss of a Coin...

The beginning of Abraham’s highly-anticipated new series, The Dragon’s Path is grand fantasy at its best, and entirely lived up to my expectations. After a solid first half, the novel blossomed in the second, proving that Abraham really is one of the best writers in the genre, willing to take some slightly unorthodox approaches to his storytelling. Readers who found The Long Price Quartet a little difficult will find The Dragon’s Path less dense, but no less intelligent or expertly crafted (although I have to say, I have never understood that criticism: I didn’t find TLPQ inaccessible at all). With The Dragon’s Path, Abraham has written a superb fantasy, set in an interesting and engaging new world.