4.0
The Spider's War
ByPublisher Description
The epic conclusion to The Dagger and The Coin series, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin.
Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling before the ancient priesthood and weapon of dragons. But even as conquest follows conquest, the final victory retreats before him like a mirage. Schism and revolt begin to erode the foundations of the empire, and the great conquest threatens to collapse into a permanent conflict of all against all.
In Carse, with armies on all borders, Cithrin bel Sarcour, Marcus Wester, and Clara Kalliam are faced with the impossible task of bringing a lasting peace to the world. Their tools: traitors high in the imperial army, the last survivor of the dragon empire, and a financial scheme that is either a revolution or the greatest fraud in the history of the world.
For more from Daniel Abraham, check out:
The Dagger and the Coin
The Dragon's Path
The King's Blood
The Tyrant's Law
The Widow's House
The Spider's War
Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling before the ancient priesthood and weapon of dragons. But even as conquest follows conquest, the final victory retreats before him like a mirage. Schism and revolt begin to erode the foundations of the empire, and the great conquest threatens to collapse into a permanent conflict of all against all.
In Carse, with armies on all borders, Cithrin bel Sarcour, Marcus Wester, and Clara Kalliam are faced with the impossible task of bringing a lasting peace to the world. Their tools: traitors high in the imperial army, the last survivor of the dragon empire, and a financial scheme that is either a revolution or the greatest fraud in the history of the world.
For more from Daniel Abraham, check out:
The Dagger and the Coin
The Dragon's Path
The King's Blood
The Tyrant's Law
The Widow's House
The Spider's War
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Spider's War Reviews
4.0
BelievableChange and growDiverse representationLikeableMemorableMinor characters stand outMultilayeredRelatableStrong relationshipsAddictiveClever plottingEpic scopeGripping/excitingSatisfying conclusionSteady pacingSuspensefulWell-structuredExpansiveHarshImmersive world-buildingRealisticSetting fits the storyBeautifully-writtenDescriptiveOriginalWittyDeathMurderViolenceWar violence
“Daniel Abraham has made my list of male authors I trust to write female characters.
No spoiler review for the whole series:
No five stars in the series, but ultimately one I tore through.
If you like political fantasy, character-driven stories, people you don’t expect to be protagonists taking the centre stage, satire and wit - you might like this series.
If you like Traitor Baru Cormorant, Daughter of the Empire, Daniel Abraham’s other quartet - you will enjoy this.
I have seen it compared to Game of Thrones (especially as the author works with GRRM), but I would not have thought of that had I not seen the comparison. Yes, it is about court, about subtle manipulation, about storytelling.
Yet, underlying this is the price of war and peace (call back to his other series). The difference between justice and mercy. Loyalty and honour.
A loyal traitor is a title I would give to a few of the characters in this series.
“Thoughtfulness and kindness and love, I contend, are so much the way we expect the world to be that they become invisible as air. We only see war and violence and hatred as something happening, I suggest, because they stand out as aberrations. In my experience, even in the midst of war, many lives are untouched by battle. And even in a life of conflict, violence is outweighed by its absence.”
Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the role of the bank and how we see how one clever misfit girl manages to change the course of the war and the world through her strategic mind. Not war strategy, but money.
This is not a series focused on the battles, on the epic moments. It is in the quiet actions that decide the outcome.
Don’t read on if you haven’t read up to book 4!
Geder… I don’t even know what to say. An incredible character arc that I still don’t know how to feel about. Quite like the characters within this world who knew him.
Whilst the ending was immensely satisfying, I think it was over too fast for a five book series. However, I also like how Abraham subverts expectations all the time in his book.
A repeat of one of my previous paragraphs to hammer in what I took away:
This is not a series focused on the battles, on the epic moments. It is in the quiet actions that decide the outcome.
https://www.instagram.com/booksblabbering/
https://www.tiktok.com/@booksblabbering”
About Daniel Abraham
Daniel Abraham is the author of the critically acclaimed Long Price Quartet. He has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, and won the International Horror Guild award. He also writes as MLN Hanover and (with Ty Franck) James S.A. Corey. He lives in New Mexico.
Other books by Daniel Abraham
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