Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham starting May 10, 2018.


Here's a link to a FBR group read for this book in 2017:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Spot! 😀

In

Yes! I am running out of Daniel Abraham's fantasy works to read.

In, of course.

I will attempt to join.

Starting this. I cannot wait to reach the end. But I will be sad too I guess.

I will try to read it this weekend.

I started it today.

Chapter 2, 11%

So far I am enjoying the story, but one if the pov (view spoiler)[ Maati (hide spoiler)] managed to get more annoying than it was in previous books. (view spoiler)[ his self-pity really gets to me. (hide spoiler)]

Miche wrote: "I started it today.

Chapter 2, 11%

So far I am enjoying the story, but one if the pov [spoilers removed] managed to get more annoying than it was in previous books. [spoilers removed]"

BOO... I'll be starting soon, I think...

Prologue

Oh gods, what the hell happened to the dead woman...

(view spoiler)[was she bitten to death? By babies?? (hide spoiler)]

Silvana wrote: "Prologue

Oh gods, what the hell happened to the dead woman...

[spoilers removed]"

It was a horrible way to die.

Miche wrote: "I started it today.

Chapter 2, 11%

So far I am enjoying the story, but one if the pov [spoilers removed] managed to get more annoying than it was in previous books. [spoilers removed]"

I agree with this wholeheartedly. It would be funny if he succeeds at the end, thats the only way to redeem his character for me.

Chapter 4
(view spoiler)[well we have Idaan back! People in this series really liked their old lovers. (hide spoiler)]

Silvana wrote: "Chapter 4
(view spoiler)."

(view spoiler)[I was surprised how much I liked Idann in this book! No kidding about the old lovers! It seems poets don't let it go easily. (hide spoiler)]

I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend.

I am starting today.

Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow you're fast!

I'm at 50%. Got a bit confused during the explanation on "grammar".

Silvana wrote: "Prologue

Oh gods, what the hell happened to the dead woman...

[spoilers removed]"

That was grotesque... but I was expecting something after seeing your vague comments :)

Miche wrote: "I started it today.

Chapter 2, 11%

So far I am enjoying the story, but one if the pov [spoilers removed] managed to get more annoying than it was in previous books. [spoilers removed]"

It's funny how much (view spoiler)[we've come to dislike Maati, in general, over the course of the series... just so many unlikeable qualities cropping up... while other characters like Idaani and Liat tempered with age to be tolerable or more than tolerable...

Otah's daughter isn't much better, I feel like... (hide spoiler)]

We barely pay attention to (view spoiler)[how well Otah's son turned out, 10 years later... considering how Daniel Abraham left us wondering at the end of An Autumn War, whether or not he'd even survive the winter... (hide spoiler)]

Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow you're fast!

I'm at 50%. Got..."

I'm nearing 50% as well... (view spoiler)[I haven't tried to understand the Andat's much more than I already garnered in the previous books... they're complex concepts made manifest, and they have many facets... and can be used additively or subtractively... kinda like how Sanderson's magic systems have Pushers and Pullers... (hide spoiler)]

Things are getting interesting at Poet School: (view spoiler)[has the "Andat Mother" been possessed by her Andat?... has she been nursing it?... or just "holding it to her breast"?... cause I'm wondering if an Andat consuming it's leash-holder could have adverse effects?... (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "We barely pay attention to [spoilers removed]"

Well, considering (view spoiler)[Nayiit was dead I had a feeling we'll get to see Danat when he grew up. Whether he'll stay alive at the end, that's another question. (hide spoiler)]

80%: (view spoiler)[Why am I not surprised that Maati's situation has devolved out of his control, to the point the only solution is to get Otah's help...

Story of his life, at this point... (hide spoiler)]

95%: (view spoiler)[I suspected that was what would happen... but I loved how dumbstruck everyone was when "Eyah" freed Wounded right after healing everyone... she didn't want to become a poet... just heal the world... a true physician...

I might have been a little harsh towards her early on :)

I like to imagine others could do this in the future... use Andat for one-time big solutions in the future... the long-term use of Andat, and the "arms race" they entail, hobbled progress... how stable is a city when it can't function without it's Andat, anyway?... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16
(view spoiler)[wow Blindness strikes! I bet millions died. And it is also because of Balasar. If only he did not start the war. (hide spoiler)]

Also the Danat-Ana thing is really corny.

They seemed to be doing just fine, just took some time to adjust.

I finished this too, lucky there were lots of holidays nowadays.

While I am good with the ending, the amount of drawn out self contemplation in this book is killing me. Maybe because I am not the type of person who thinks about the past alot, it felt grating and made the pacing glacial. Also, Otah and the minutiae of court life took 1/5 of the book. Maati's self pity maybe 1/3. The only POV I enjoyed was Eiah. And it does not surprise me that she ended up (view spoiler)[saving the day. You know, since we are preparing for a long time to wait for her finish the binding stuff (hide spoiler)]

Well, now I only have Hunter's Run to read. And Tiamat's Wrath.

Iain wrote: "95%: I suspected that was what would happen... .."

Clearly the others also think very low about Eiah including her own stupid father. I don't know, Otah has become as annoying as Maati.

What's sad was (view spoiler)[Sinja (hide spoiler)]

Silvana wrote: "They seemed to be doing just fine, just took some time to adjust.

I finished this too, lucky there were lots of holidays nowadays.

While I am good with the ending, the amount of drawn out self c..."

(view spoiler)[After the momentum of the first 3 books, I agree this one was slower...

I kinda liked the payoffs of the series, even if I'm usually with you on self-reflection... (hide spoiler)]

Miche wrote: "I started it today.

Chapter 2, 11%

So far I am enjoying the story, but one if the pov [spoilers removed] managed to get more annoying than it was in previous books. [spoilers removed]"

I have to say that I entirely surprised shocked myself by being totally team Maati in this instalment. I cannot stand Otah's rightful arrogance!

Miche wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Chapter 4
(view spoiler)."

[spoilers removed]"

I was happy to see her too, but I expected that. Abraham does not waste good characters. :)

Iain wrote: "We barely pay attention to [spoilers removed]"

This is one of the inconsistencies that jarred me in this instalment. (view spoiler)[I remember they were saying that the girl was also sickly when young but it was obvious that she was nowhere close to this kid on the verge of death. And here we are with a superb specimen of young male without a word of feasible explanation?? (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow you're fast!
..."


The thing is, I guess, that Abraham changed the assumptions governing the andat. Initially, they were supposed to be only thoughts made flesh. In this part, it is obvious that (view spoiler)[they are not neutral forces, akin to elementary forces of nature. They, out of the blue, acquired sinister abilities and moved onto the evil side of the normative. I think it is stupid and inconsistent. Previously, the wielding of the andat depended entirely on the human; just like wielding the knife. Good human could do a lot of good things (e.g. sculptures), bad humans meant disaster (e.g. mass killings). It is all about the nature of the poet and the perfection of the binding. Good poet and good binding make good andat. For this reason the training was such a crucial aspect. In this book, Abraham turns the table 180 degrees. It is not about humans anymore. Even the best of them (Eiah) can and will eventually be destroyed by the andat (the repeated how could we thought we could do good with these tools attest to this line of thinking.) It drove me crazy. I hate when the author changes the ideas throughout the series and goes from A to Z for reasons that are not clear. (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "95%: I suspected that was what would happen... but I loved how dumbstruck everyone was when "Eyah" freed Wounded right after healing everyone... she didn't want to become a poet... just heal the wo..."

Eiah was great. A bright point of the whole book. The ending was pathetic, though and the epilogue! made me choke with bombast (can one do this to a devoted reader???)

I wanted to love this book, but it didn't work for me. :(

Sorry to hear it didn't work for you, Mayim. :(

Mayim wrote: "Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow ..."

(view spoiler)[I had a different view on it. The andat are a part of the poet. Every one of us struggles with inner turmoil and doubt. Eiah has seen this first hand. She doesn't want to be bound by this treasonous voice nipping at her heels and feels she can do greater things in her life without the power. Most people could never turn down that power. You could say she was the purest of the poets whereas Maati the opposite.

For me it was more a statement about human nature and how all power eventually corrupts. This is a consistent theme in nearly all of DA's works.

Sorry this one didn't work for you. I get your POV and appreciate your articulating it. I hate when somebody says they hate a book but can't back it up. I always have very specific reasons why a book turned me off. One of the best reviews I've ever read a person crushed The Way of Kings which is one of my favorite books. They dissected everything they disliked and why. It was a brilliant review and I got their POV even though I love the book. (hide spoiler)]

Scott, I am still a great fan of the series and in spite of my personal dislike for Abraham's playing with certain concepts, I believe it is top notch fantasy worth reading. I just hoped to love it and instead I was, I don't know, saddened and angered in equal parts.

Mayim wrote: "Scott, I am still a great fan of the series and in spite of my personal dislike for Abraham's playing with certain concepts, I believe it is top notch fantasy worth reading. I just hoped to love it..."

I understand and as I said I appreciate your vocalizing it. If we all thought the same way it would be a boring world. Dissenting opinions when well articulated are interesting. When it's ad hominem it turns me off.

9 chapters done.

So far, I really like it a lot, a lot more than the previous books in fact.
(view spoiler)[
I really did not think that the events of the previous book would have been such an issue for the nobility. I honestly thought that they would simply import slaves/bonded labourers of the appropriate gender.

I am slightly wary of the Ana-Danat thing. I really don't want a juvenile romance.

Knowing Maati, will the poet project all end in tears?
(hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "We barely pay attention to [spoilers removed]"

Yep. (view spoiler)[ Danat turned out to be a surprisingly balanced and well adjusted individual. One of the bright spots of the book in fact (hide spoiler)]

Mayim wrote: "Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow ..."

I have to disagree here (view spoiler)[ From the first book the basic message is that the Andat are held against there will and they try continually to somehow make life difficult enough for the poet to release them. It can be anything from small irritating gestures, to grand schemes like seedless. The reason that subversive aspect of the Andat got magnified in this book was the total lack of training of the summoners. They were trained in grammar, but not in the mental toughness required to hold an Andat. (hide spoiler)]

Finished it, liked it.

(view spoiler)[ Overall I really liked the book. I liked how every character is somehow trying to deal with the cataclysm of the earlier book.
Maati is as annoying and as short sighted as ever. Otah comes off a lot more sincere here.

I felt that the Ana-Danat thing was just a bit too... silly, but to be honest their relatively simple relationship was a breath of fresh air amidst the stinking mess the other characters had made.

I anticipated the ending. The basic pragmatism of Eeah combined with her compassion dictated that she would almost certainly let the Andat go. (hide spoiler)]

Mayim wrote: "Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this weekend."

Wow ..."

I think (view spoiler)[that might be more about Maati's failures as a teacher and skewed worldview, more than Daniel Abraham's... or else, a statement that all humans have too much evil in them to be good enough, over time... (hide spoiler)]

Arkadeb wrote: "9 chapters done.

So far, I really like it a lot, a lot more than the previous books in fact..."

Sounds like (view spoiler)[you expected some Handmaiden's Tale (hide spoiler)]

Arkadeb wrote: "Mayim wrote: "Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further sometime this w..."

Exactly... (view spoiler)[Even Cemai's Andat... the most benign-sounding one we got, I think... wanted to escape... he just didn't scheme as overtly as Seedless... (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "Arkadeb wrote: "Mayim wrote: "Iain wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Miche wrote: "I finished the book. Beautiful conclusion to the series.

It is late now and I should go to sleep, so I will comment further..."

I agree but (view spoiler)[wanting release is not the same as being evil and destructive. (hide spoiler)] Anyone noticed that (view spoiler)[Maati's thread was just cut and abandoned. That was badly done. (hide spoiler)]

Just started... Poor women, but at least they are trying!

Mayim wrote: "."

I'm not sure what you mean by (view spoiler)[Maati's thread was cut and abandoned. Can you clarify? (hide spoiler)]

Scott wrote: "Mayim wrote: "."

I'm not sure what you mean by [spoilers removed]"

I think she means how (view spoiler)[Maati's storyline kinda fizzled out once he decided he needed Otah's help... and he wasn't really mentioned in the epilogue, I don't think... (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "Scott wrote: "Mayim wrote: "."

I'm not sure what you mean by [spoilers removed]"

I think she means how [spoilers removed]"

I never really had an issue with that. I did kind of want (view spoiler)[Idaan to behead him. (hide spoiler)]

Up to Ch 16... Galt deserves everything it gets and I hate how they play the victim, when they destroyed cities and countries, killing and raping... They had no mercy, why should the poets???