Abraham, Daniel: A Betrayal In Winter
A Betrayal in Winter (2007)
Written by: Daniel Abraham
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 352 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book Two of Four
My first experience with Daniel Abraham was reading his A Shadow in Summer for an independent reading project back in 2008. I'd always been intrigued by his work by virtue of his titles and cover art alone, and reading A Shadow in Summer was a bit of fresh air when it comes to epic fantasy. It's different, but not so different that you feel the author is trying too hard. I was all too happy to pick up the second of his Long Price Quartet, A Betrayal in Winter, but I never got around to reading it. When An Autumn War was released in mass market last year, I kept telling myself: you need to catch up on this series!, but I never listen to myself, so the books waited, somewhat impatiently, for me to get off my rear and give them the attention they deserved.
That kick in the rear came in the form of Jawas Read, Too!'s A Summer of Series reading challenge, which I highly encourage all of you to check out (just click here). May's series is Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet, and since I'd read the first and had the next two on hand, I thought this would be a perfect time to catch up on this sucker. Of course, the only problem with my reading A Betrayal in Winter was that I was very fuzzy on the details of A Shadow in Summer, and since I'm not one to re-read, I had to scour the internet for plot spoilers to jog my memory. :)
The premise: ganked from BN.com: As a boy, Otah Machi was exiled from his family, Machi’s ruling house. Decades later, he has witnessed and been part of world-changing events. Yet he has never returned to Machi. Now his father-the Khai, or ruler, of Machi-is dying and his eldest brother Biitrah has been assassinated, Otah realizes that he must return to Machi, for reasons not even he understands.
Tradition dictates that the sons of a dying Khai fall upon each other until only one remains to succeed his father. But something even worse is occurring in Machi. The Galts, an expansive empire, has allied with someone in Machi to bring down the ruling house. Otah is accused, the long-missing brother with an all-too-obvious motive for murder.
With the subtlety and wonderful storytelling skill of his first novel, Abraham has created a masterful drama filled with a unique magic, a suspenseful thriller of sexual betrayal, and Machiavellian politics.
Review style: what I want to talk about most is the use of women in this book, as well as the series to date. I also want to talk about the differences between this book and its predecessor, the structure of the series so far, and what I think makes this series stand out from the typical epic fantasy garb. Spoilers? Absolutely. So if they scare you, just skip to the "My Rating" section of the review and you'll be safe and sound. :)
Let's talk ladies.
I remember reading a review of A Shadow in Summer that grumbled about Abraham's use of women in the book. At the time, I was so far removed from reading the book that I couldn't lend any sort of critical analysis to the grumbling, though I remembered that I didn't entirely care for Liat, the woman that Otah and Maati are both in love with.
But the criticism stuck with me, so I was paying particular attention in this book. Needless to say, I was a little dismayed to see that Idaan, the only female POV of the book, was the villain of the tale. I was further dismayed to see her share a trait with Liat from the first book: both women cheat on their men. And I'll be honest, I'm still a little grumpy about this, simply because while we see GOOD women in the series (look at Kiyan), we have yet to see them in a POV role. We have yet to see them have direct action in the story.
But in some ways, I need to step back. Certainly, Abraham has created a culture in Machi (Machi, Maati, argh!) where women are certainly second class, and I sympathize with Idaan for needing to be more than what society dictates of her. She should've been born a boy, but she wasn't. She wants to play by men's rules anyway. And better still, she's very much a Lady Macbeth, except her failure doesn't happen due to husband's weak, but because there are other powers just as determined as she to get what she wants. I really love the Shakespearean drama to this story, because it strikes just the right chord. It's not OVERLY political, nor is it overtly action heavy. The pacing and the drama and the tragedy feels just right in this story, and that's largely due to Idaan. Also, I truly love her and Adrah's relationship because it's so twisted from where it started, and they so deserve each other.
And that's one of the reasons that while I'm suspicious of Abraham's use of the woman as villain, I'm giving him some slack. The characters feel real and believable, and I truly sympathize and empathize with Idaan. She's not a stock villain by any means. She's human with desires and weaknesses, and more to the point, she's a product of the culture that's trying to trap her.
That said, you can be damn sure I'll be keeping an eye on the use of women in the next two books. For one reason, it's fascinating to see how they have to function in Abraham's world, and for another, well, it's the need to see if he needs to be held accountable or not. ;) As of now, I like Idaan: she represents the feminist POV, but a POV that goes too far in an understandable way.
I am worried about one thing: Otah, at this moment, as two women lose in the world who have the potential to ruin him in some way. Liat, who could claim her son as Otah's, which will, of course, wreck havoc on any other sons he fathers (I was SO RELIEVED that his firstborn was a girl!) and worse still, the son will be more inclined to listen to his mother, whom he knows, than a father he's never met. Then there's Idaan, who's a threat for the obvious reasons, though her last sections lead me to believe she truly wants to get away and be free of the city and its expectations of her.
Now, speaking of traps, this book is full of them: it's not just women trapped by societal expectations and culture. It's andats trapped by their poets. It's poets trapped into limited and unfulfilling lives for the sake of duty. It's brothers bound to slaughter each other for the crown. And that's a fascinating theme in this book. I love how Stone-Made-Soft is always trying to break free. This andat is very different than Seedless, but their desires are very much the same. All andats resent their bondage and seek for ways to break free. I loved the use of the game to strengthen or weaken the bond between Stone-Made-Soft and Cehmai, but I really loved the fact that Stone-Made-Soft manipulates the poet's (and every poet before him) first love in order to wreck enough emotional turmoil so that the poet might falter and the andat might be free. At first, I wasn't really sure what was going on or why, but once I realized this, I found myself quite satisfied with that little subplot.
In comparison to A Shadow of Summer, I will say that I still found the poses annoying. Because they're not described in detail (thank god!), I don't have a lot to feed my imagination for an image, and so, the poses become rather redundant, because every time it happens, I feel like I'm being reminded that I have NO IDEA what these look like. Still, it wasn't QUITE as bad this time as it was in the first book. That could be due to my getting used to the poses, or--and I think this is the case, but it has been a few years since I last read the first book--Abraham used the poses less. We'll see in the next one!
I found this story to be a bit stronger than the first, though again, my memory is rather fuzzy on the first. I remember liking it really well, but not enough to follow the series in hardcover. Also, the fact that I had such a difficult time remembering plot details doesn't speak well for anyone, though that may mostly be on me and my inability to retain things. :) That said, I felt like this book had a more obvious direction, and the prose was clean and solid and while there were some surprises along the way (I love how Abraham manages to avoid all-out action scenes and still keep fantastic tension on the page), I knew how this book would end: with the reluctant, long-lost son claiming the throne. See, I told you there were some familiar bits of fantasy to be found here, though in a more subtle twist, Otah was never, ever, ever supposed to take that crown. He had to out of necessity.
Characterization remains very solid and very strong, and it's seen in the relationships these characters form between each other. I really loved seeing the depth of love/hate shared between Otah and Maati. We learn more about their relationship and how it's affected both mens' lives, and that's pretty interesting. I'm also fond of the fact that this book isn't a direct sequel in that it doesn't pick up right where the previous book left off, but that by no means makes this book a stand-alone. I had some trouble because I couldn't remember details from the first book (marriage tattoo? What marriage tattoo? And that's minor compared to the fact that I completely forgot that Otah MURDERED A POET and even learning so doesn't jog my memory!), so I don't recommend reading this without A Shadow of Summer under your belt. The length isn't overwhelming by any means, which is quite an accomplishment given the genre.
And babies. At first, I wondered why the stress on children in this book, but by time the book was over, the implications were quite clear, and I mentioned them earlier. We've seen how tradition in Machi can tear a family apart and ruin everything, and because we've seen that, we (should) fear for what will happen to Otah's offspring. Oh, the potential for drama is ripe, and that alone has me wanting to nibble my nails off. The fact that such a quiet book can leave me with that feeling is quite an excellent accomplishment.
Some favorite lines:
Her beauty had been in paint. Perhaps it would be again, someday. This was a poor day for beauty (p. 210).
For this, he thought, I have given up the world (p. 334).
My Rating
Worth the Cash: but don't you DARE read this book without reading its predecessor, A Shadow in Summer. Sure, A Betrayal in Winter takes place ten or so years after the first book, but I've read the first book, and even I had trouble getting back into the swing of things and remembering important details. But this series has so much going for it that it's worth starting from the beginning and making your way through. Solid characters who form relationships that are the fuel for the plot; unique, Asian-influenced setting; a Shakespearean plot that doesn't overwhelm the book, and feels just right in the culture Abraham has created. I don't consider this a super-fast read, as the chapters are a bit on the long side, but it's a book worth savoring, especially since unlike most epic fantasies, this clocks in at around 350 pages. That's impressive! I'm very much looking forward to An Autumn War, though I have this nagging fear the book's gonna try and break my heart.
Cover Commentary: I've always preferred the hardcover design to the paperback, even though it's the same art. Reason being is that for the hardcovers, you get to SEE more of Stephan Matiniere's work, and I like the author's name being out of the way. So I broke and ordered the first three books in hardcover off of Book Closeouts, even though I already own all three books in mass market. That's how much I prefer the hardcover design. :)
Next up: The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman