Dragon Paths

Not at first at least. Otherwise you will keep losing them and just be going for a normal jog. A good thing to do, but not what this article is about. Focused and alert, without to much noise in your head. Most people can manage this with just a little practice, but learning to do it before you try this will make a huge difference! This is the crux of walking the Dragon Paths. Not any great mental magic, though some is needed, instead the key is attention to things most miss.

What looks like a line in the grass? Do this while holding the right mental state and you will step directly onto the Paths without a problems. It also helps but is not absolutely needed at all times. You can also just explore, and sometimes find things that are very different than you might expect. You do need to keep your full focus on the paths however. Let intuition guide you and simply go where you think you see a line, a path or even just feel a sense that you can go in that direction. That is all it takes. You have probably actually done this once or twice in your life by accident!

It is one of the reasons that people can at times become lost in familiar areas. There is a bit of danger in doing this, about the same amount as hiking in the woods, and for similar reasons. Animals cross these paths and some of them are dangerous. A few are not exactly normal animals the way we would think of things either. These are called Dragon Paths after all! Because of the way they twist actually. I have never seen a dragon myself. If you are injured on the paths, it may not be possible for searcher to find you, even if you can see and hear them. Finally, it is possible to end up many, many miles further away than you have walked physically.

Keep that in mind when traveling this way, that there is no consistent measure of distance on the Paths. You may walk a mile to find that you are only a few Hundred yards away from your starting point or you may walk a mile and find yourself twenty miles away even though only twenty minutes has passed. In general however, this is a fun things to do and allows for some useful tricks, such as disappearing from sight and sometimes running into strange people and creatures you otherwise would never have met. Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death.

When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps. Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gol All paths lead to war Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.

Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become. Falling pebbles can start a landslide.

A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war. Paperback , pages. Published April 7th by Orbit first published January 1st The Dagger and the Coin 1. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about The Dragon's Path , please sign up. Is this really a spin-off of 'The Expanse', or did Goodreads make a mistake here? It's listed as part of the series, but the summary reads nowhere close to the setting of 'The Expanse'? Derrick Lewis This is definitely not a spin-off of "The Expanse".

It is a fantasy series by Daniel Abraham, who is one of the two authors that make up the pen name …more This is definitely not a spin-off of "The Expanse". It is a fantasy series by Daniel Abraham, who is one of the two authors that make up the pen name James S. The writing style is very similar to "The Expanse", so if you are looking for the same style in a very different setting, then this is a great series. What's a cunning man that they keep referring to? Does that just mean, the leader?

Kevin Butler Apparently that the name for a wizard. See all 9 questions about The Dragon's Path…. Lists with This Book. I loved this book better the second time around! Must have been my mood the first time or I have evolved! The narration was great! Anyway, the book revolves around four characters, but my favorite is Cithrin and then Geder. They seemed the most interesting to me. View all 24 comments. Jan 29, unknown rated it really liked it Shelves: The star rating system is vague and imperfect. My feelings on this one are somewhere between "liked it" and "really liked it," but I decided to give it four stars because if any author deserves an extra star, it is Daniel Abraham.

His first published series, The Long Price Quartet, has been named among the best fantasy series of the last decade by just about everyone whose opinion I respect. As a reward for his efforts, he was dropped by his publisher. You could argue that this is justified, sin The star rating system is vague and imperfect. You could argue that this is justified, since his books didn't sell. You can argue more convincingly that the publisher didn't bother to work very hard to sell what was a rather unusual take on the genre I mean, from what I have heard, since I haven't read it yet.

In an effort to really rub salt into the wound, once they'd cut Daniel loose and he signed with Orbit for his follow-up series, a quintet of which The Dragon's Path is the first , his old publisher decided not to bother releasing the fourth Long Price book in paperback. This means, of course, that once the hardcovers are gone, no one is going to bother reading it, because why start a series in which the fourth book is impossible to find even on Kindle, they still want a hardcover price for it, two years after publication. So by all means, Daniel, take your extra star half-star, really.

You have earned it. You've also written a pretty good book!

1. Animal Kingdom.
2. Les Atomistes de l’Antiquité: Démocrite, Épicure, Lucrèce (Champs Essais) (French Edition).
3. Krebs - Heilung ist möglich (German Edition).
4. The Official Home of Daniel Abraham, James S. A. Corey, and M.L.N. Hanover!

The Dragon's Path has famously well, internet famously So here you go, masses: It even has a sword on the cover and the word "dragon" in the freaking title! Ever the smart-ass, of course, Daniel Abraham is only pretending to write a cliched genre entry. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of conventions on display -- a plucky young orphan seemingly destined to play a role in larger events, a war-weary mercenary with a heart of gold, political machinations, a fight for the throne, etc.

Stealing from the best, it also apes the structure of George R.

I don't know if it is because it is only the first book in the series or because things are being kept deliberately low-key, but I wouldn't exactly say this one is crammed with incident, despite its length though don't let those pages fool you -- this thing is printed in fifth-grader font with those big margins they use when they want kids to think the book they are reading is as good as Harry Potter.

The politics are interesting but not very complex or maybe I am just surprised because I understood them even without access to some sort of character index, ahem George R. Martin and Jacqueline Carey. There are rumors of war but only a few light skirmishes. Aside from one shocking, game-changing event, all the big stuff seems to be coming in future books not a spoiler, really, but ending volume I with the words, "It has begun" is probably a clue that things are just getting started. Even still, I enjoyed myself. Rather than focusing on big fantasy events, the book seems more concerned with the whos and whys of the characters anyway.

Abraham considers all sides of cultural and economic issues that most fantasy books ignore in favor of more plot. The driving force of this volume is, in fact, commerce the series is called The Dagger and the Coin after all. Our requisite plucky orphan, Cithrin, isn't a thief or an assassin or a mage, she's a banker , and her efforts to found a new bank branch take the narrative in some interesting directions.

Here is a book that ends not with a battle, but with an audit. No, really, it was kind of an exciting audit. I like this world, though it is clearly still developing. There's not a lot of magic, but it lingers at the edges of the frame, offering intriguing hints of what's to come.

You get the sense that the parts that don't quite fit yet -- like the fact that humanity has been separated into 13 different races with fantastical physical attributes like horns, tusks and gills -- will be developed down the line. No live dragons yet, but at least there's a dragon skeleton. I'm in for book two.

View all 19 comments. May 31, Conor rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Dragon's Path is the first book in a planned 5 book series. I found it very similar to ASOIAF in the complexity of it's characters and the scope of the political and military struggles. Abraham has worked with GRRM for many years and he's obviously learned a lot in his time getting coffee, helping kill off the Starks and fighting off angry fans who want to know when 'Winds of Winter' will be released.

After reading a lot of books The Dragon's Path is the first book in a planned 5 book series. After reading a lot of books lately with sloppy, rapidly changing POV's I really appreciated the distinct and unique POV chapters of each character. The more personal voice in these chapters made it easier for me to get involved with the story. It also allowed the characters the 4 main POV's especially to be developed extremely well.

• Dragon Paths and Pilgrimages.
• Long Distance Trails.
• Narrentreiben: Ein Fall für Hubertus Hummel (German Edition).
• Kneeling with Giants with Complimentary Kneeling with Giants Reader: Learning to Pray with Historys Best Teachers.

The draw-back of the split-up chapters as opposed to the WoT style of having a character's chapters run together is that at times it disrupted the flow of the individual narratives. The standout character for me was Geder Palliako. Early on Geder establishes a connection with the reader due to his love of speculative fiction However the jocks involved in this military campaign don't approve and proceed to wedgie him, take his lunch money and give him the medieval equivalent of a swirly.

The Dragon's Path

This sets the stage for Geder's arc aka 'Revenge of the nerd'. On the downside I felt his initial ruthlessness and determination in carrying it out made a weird contrast with his later remorse and guilt. The motivation for a normally meek guy to take such extreme action always seemed somewhat thin. I also felt that the motivation for Geder, a frail bookworm, to go on an arduous journey into an unforgiving desert were badly explained. The other star character for me was Dawson Kalliam. His plotting gave us the best insight into the politics going on in Antea and along with Geder were the most interesting chapters.

I also found him to be a really well-written morally ambiguous character. He was an ambitious schemer who was willing to deal with his nations enemies to further his plans and is determined to keep the 'peasants' oppressed. However he was also a loving father and husband, a brave warrior and a loyal supporter of the king. Also he had a load of puppies. The other 2 characters Cithrin and Marcus West weren't as interesting. Cithrin spent most of the book as a classic fantasy trope, an orphan lEaving her home for the first time in her life due to attacks from a dangerous enemy.

The Dragon’s Path

She is sent on an important mission that takes her on an arduous journey across the world. However about half way in her chapters become interesting as she comes into her element as a merchant banker. Her scheming and plotting was interesting and she provided an insight into economics and how it affects politics and war that is apparently a big part of the series. Another interesting break with traditional fantasy was her realistic approach to sexuality. Most male fantasy authors tend to write their female main characters as pure and chaste see pretty much every female WoT character, Arista in Riyria and even edgier writers err towards this with their female leads Catelyn, Sansa and Arya in ASOIAF.

However Abraham breaks with this tradition, which makes Cithrin a much more interesting and believable character. While Cithrin became more interesting as the story goes on Marcus never did. He is the archetypal tough, experienced soldier, his backstory even includes the tragic death of his wife and daughter.

The comparison wasn't kind. I realised that Logen also fell into this character archetype but that I never noticed it at the time. Maybe that's because Logen was so much funnier, more likeable and generally badass. Perhaps the difference between them that was most striking however was that Logen really seemed like a grizzled veteran, a survivor. I remember his speech early on in 'The blade itself' where he describes how he has fought in wars, battles and raids and how he had killed without mercy and begged without shame for his life. In comparison despite being an experienced soldier Marcus is still a romantic hero.

According to one exchange with his second helping a refugee escape the pursuit of a hostile army with a fortune drawing even more danger to them is just business as usual. This attempt to blend cynical realism with idealistic heroism seemed forced and I struggled to view Marcus as a realistic character. Overall this was a really enjoyable start to a series that I have high hopes for. I'm really interested to see how the intriguing characters and vast political struggles introduced in this book develop as the series goes on.

View all 14 comments. Oct 31, Mayim de Vries rated it really liked it. You go out with a blade in your hand or else with a purse. Now, this is both bad and good news. What I mean to say is that: Daniel Abraham is not your mediocre copycat writer who explores vampires when they are hot just to abandon them in favour of anti-heroes when those become trendy. In my opinion, next to Adrian Tchaikovsky he is one of the most interesting and versatile writers able to transcend and merge genres, tropes and writing styles.

Now, the dragons are gone and their descendants attempt to carry on without resorting to the main legacy of their creators: In the first volume, we learn only about a fraction of this world, and two pairs of main characters guide us around it: Marcus Wester, a war veteran with a tragic past protects a caravan fleeing the city threatened by an incoming army; one of the escorted wagons is driven by Cithrin bel Sarcour, a half-breed orphan raised by a bank is trying her chances as a smuggler in a man's disguise.

In the ranks of the approaching army, Geder Palliako, a minor noble with an eccentric hobby speculative essay, how unmanly! At the same time in the city of Camnipol, Baron Dawson Kalliam a rigid traditionalist entangled in court schemes and intrigues aimed at gaining the influence over the reigning king. Also, for those who complain that the book is confusing: An additional person enters the stage by the end of the novel when all is settled. I had more problems with the multiplication table than following the plot here. And to be honest, I hope that the next instalment will bring more perspectives to the table.

Especially that the secondary characters are terrific even though kept on the margins. Furthermore, all the characters are rather straightforward in the sense that their actions feed the main two themes: They are created in a coherent and logical way, but Mr Abraham does not penetrate deeply into their psyche and skims over the motivations that push them forward.

This means that while I sucked up the tropes I love more Marcus please , those I am rather partial too were unable to break through my indifference though I have high hopes for Cithrin. I admired how smartly Mr Abraham avoided the rotten YA trap in spite of having an adolescent girl as a leading female. I was so relieved that we were spared yet another wannabe saviour with a special ability able to pickup swordsmanship in three months. But more importantly, the girl is cleverly being developed; she is fiendishly intelligent and it is not an easy feature, martial prowess is much less demanding from a writer , but at the same time both timid and to some extent innocent.

This is a combustible mix. Her whimper and a bang in this instalment were a bit stretched, but I hope she will grow as the series develops. The timing is the question. Nonetheless, at the macro level, the novel is more exciting than on the micro scale. The coin, as a power parallel and sometimes independent of the sword, is particularly fascinating. This goes against the typical sword and sorcery setting, and already in The Long Price Quartet , Mr Abraham showed that he is able to make the battle of ledgers as captivating as the more traditional action scenes.

Nothing exceptional, just well written. Some things are confusing like the abundance of races! I think this novel, in particular, has one of the best anti-heroes I have encountered. Mind you, Jorg is the anti-hero epitome, but what we have here is even better because the protagonist is more subtle than Jorg. Mr Lawrence wanted us to hate Jorg, whereas what Abraham offers is between pitiable and slightly annoying.

The reader initially feels for the character because the pudgy slab of a man is cowardly and opportunist but not because he is evil, but because he is just normal, with the ordinary mix of average capabilities and dreams. Despite shortcomings and flaws, the novel was just fun to read. Staple fantasy, yes, but above the average and with a lot of potential to get even better. Recommended to both fantasy pros and those not so well-versed. I hope you will like it.

Also in the series: The Widow's House 5. View all 15 comments. Jun 05, carol. Three and a half stars.

Walking the Dragon Paths: Entering Other Dimensions

I cut my reading teeth on fantasy and science fiction. The scarcity of material meant I re-read books I owned many, many times. As a result, when I encounter something that feels new in fantasy, that has a fresh take or inspired writing, I Three and a half stars. As a result, when I encounter something that feels new in fantasy, that has a fresh take or inspired writing, I tend to gush in case you are wondering, both N. Unfortunately, it felt surprisingly familiar. View all 10 comments.

Mar 10, Emma rated it it was amazing Shelves: I've been a long time picking up this series.. It is an example of the fine balance between war and economics. This is character led story telling at its best.: The world building was fabulous. I would lo I've been a long time picking up this series.. I would love to see the thirteen races on the big screen. If you love fantasy and you haven't read this series yet, you're missing a trick! Of course, I've only read the first in the series so I hope those aren't famous Last Words View all 5 comments.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www. Abraham has a talent for orchestrating multiple POVs. In his other novels, he had just as many protagonists, but he started with one or two, letting us get established with them, and then moved on to introduce more as the story progressed.

Anyway, the book had sparks of the same originality as The Long Price Quartet, and the inclusion of original nonhuman races was probably my favorite element. I thought they added an interesting dynamic to the story. Because of that, it would still definitely recommend this title to other fantasy lovers, but only after handing them A Shadow in Summer LPQ 1 first. View all 4 comments. Nov 10, Tammy rated it it was amazing. I guess it's a good sign when you read the first few chapters of a book and start searching google for similar books.

Man, this book was amazing. Less action, but more character development, realistic dialogue, unpredictable plot twists and just awesomeness. Geder was my favorite character and i cant wait to see how his story unfolds. Vincen Coe was another favorite, a man of few words, usually lets his sword do the talking but his loyalty is what i love most about him. The Dragon's Path has intro I guess it's a good sign when you read the first few chapters of a book and start searching google for similar books.

The Dragon's Path has introduced me to a different side of epic-fantasy. I have Daniel Abraham to thank for that. View all 8 comments. Mar 09, Nick T. Borrelli rated it it was amazing. I have to say that this book was such a breath of fresh air for me. Have you ever had that reading rut where you feel like every fantasy book that you read has essentially the same plotline, characters, tropes etc? Well The Dragon's Path is an amazing story that thankfully takes familiar themes but somehow manages to make them seem fresh and original.

Yes there are the usual quest and battle scenes that we have grown very accustomed to in the genre. But there are als interesting sideplots tha I have to say that this book was such a breath of fresh air for me. Abraham has always been one of my favorite authors and this book only serves to solidify that feeling. I think the guy really knows how to write characters that you come to feel invested in and his political intrigue is second-to-none. Maybe it's because he studied under George RR Martin because his style is very similar. This was definitely my favorite fantasy read in a long, long time and I unflinchingly recommend it to anyone who loves a traditional fantasy story with a bunch of new twists thrown in.

Awesome book and I can't wait to pick up the next one. Oct 09, Igor Ljubuncic rated it liked it Shelves: OK, so this is a weird book. The fact Martin, GRR is a buddy did not help. Because I could not escape the feeling of heavy influence on our present author. It seems Daniel has heard of epic books and that, if you want praise from Martin, should contain dragons, puppet shows, nice clothes, a sense of noble melancholy and pending doom, characters that are gritty and confused and human, and such like.

But the execution is, like I mentioned, weird. First, there are three or four main charac OK, so this is a weird book. First, there are three or four main characters, and they all start pretty strong. But the only one that remains interesting is Geder Palliako a Ukrainian folk dancer. The rest, Cithrin, Markus and Dawson all become kind of boring. They do not change, they repeat their points over and over, and they brood without any hint as to why this is useful or contributory to the story. You can't really sympathize with any of them. Situations are portrayed without any emotional investment or depth, and you don't care what happens.

There's nothing cataclysmic about any of the so-called danger scenes, no real feeling of dread, anguish, pain or anything. More like a recital or a report. Beautifully written, with nice descriptions, but nothing that touches the soul. Furthermore, the book's plot is difficult. There's no real point to the background story of dragons - and spiders, WTF, they show up at the last page, uh suspense, a cliffhanger, more like Earthquake Scale 14 suddenly dropping on you, but for no good reason except to wrap the story that does not lead to any satisfying conclusion.

It's about nobles fighting their dirty little games - reminds you of someone - and there used to be dragons once upon a time - reminds you of someone - and then you also have the mysterious monk that can do wonders - cliche to the point no faking, cooking MCs like a pound of bacon - and then what?

Why do we need Marcus? What does their story have to do with anything? Something relevant in the third or sixth volume of this series? What's your point Vanessa? Crazily, in retrospect, looking back at my readings throughout , I tried many of the new hits recently, and the only one that left with anything approaching cozy nostalgia, in a sense that I felt engaged with a big fat disclaimer in the story beyond the immediate reading thrill, is, absurdly, the second novel in the Locke Lamora series, even though it was significantly worse than the first one, and much worse reading and prose and quality material than the rest of them.

But at least it gave a feeling of HOME. The rest are all carefully orchestrated, well oiled screenplays with accurately balanced doses of grit, drama, suspense, gore, and such, but little to no soul. Authors writing excellent stuff that they do not relate to in any way. You can feel it. And super wrong with this novel.

This is nothing specific to The Dragon's Path, but this book really clarified it. In a way, it eroded my emotional attachment, which is not a good thing.

Dragon Energy

All this, despite the fact the story was ok, the writing very good, and the plot, all in all, readable and enjoyable. A crazy duality that is very difficult to explain. Like cartoons you watch as a kid and love and hate at the same time, but you must stay and watch and watch until your eyes melt or your parents take out the belt.

I'm frustrated, because it took me six or seven paragraphs to try to explain how I feel, and I can't really do it, except that a good meal does not mean an enjoyable restaurant experience, and that's what we have here. Something does not gel. Daniel has done the impossible then. He's taken Martin's style, unwrapped it, and then packaged it in a way that leaves you no satisfaction. Like a nice adult movie without a money shot. Geder was a fatsome bloke, Vanai he left in a cloud of smoke, Daniel's path, Invoked my wrath, With this book, the genre he broke.

Sep 15, Ashley rated it liked it Shelves: It just worked out that way. The Expanse series space opera co-written with Ty Franck , for one. Started out liking it, now a huge fan. His story even merited one of my rather rare four-star ratings in the Rogues anthology I read earlier this year. But looking back, it sort of makes sense.

Because overall, my experience with this book was that its premise sounded exciting, even some of the events that happened in it when examined out of context were pretty mind-blowing. But for me, there was always this emotional disconnect to everything that was going on. I think part of this is that Daniel Abraham is a very cerebral writer. This series is called The Dagger and the Coin, after all.

Unfortunately, something about the way he does this just falls flat for me. All of humanity is an offset of what Abraham calls the First Bloods normal humans , who were slaves for the dragons. He focuses instead on stuff that was so mundane. I guess I admire him for trying to get his worldbuilding out in a more organic fashion death to infodumps?

And I mean that quite literally. Really, that just reinforced my opinion that most of the writing there was take-it or leave-it, because when I tuned back in, I was still perfectly able to understand what was going on. The other three characters were much, much more interesting. Also, because I like stories about smart people doing scheming sort of things.

Her journey from young and naive orphan to where she ends up was pretty satisfying, all considering. It was certainly the most satisfying part of the book, even though the climax of that particular story which also acts as the main climax of the book was a blink or you miss it sort of moment.

I guess that happened? He goes from loser-noble-nerd-nobody guy, to accidental one thing after another, and he actually does some pretty horrifying things the more importance he gains. But you understand why he does them. Really the only thing to say about Marcus is that his affection for Cithrin, who reminds him of his dead daughter, is heartbreaking. Not to be entirely negative, but there were things about this book I did enjoy. I feel like Abraham and I are at odds about what is actually interesting in his story, and he gave me just enough cool things to keep me there, while forcing me to sit through things I would rather not have.

I should probably put the word forcing in airquotes. It hurts me inside. Anyway, the good stuff! The audiobook narrator was pretty great, if audiobooks are your thing. I also really liked Cithrin and her banking shenanigans, how she was smart but not so smart that it was unbelieveable. How she failed, and how heartbroken it made her. I also like reading about a world where dragons used to exist, where a whole bunch of scary things used to exist , actually. Which leads me to my next thing. So the prologue has this priest guy running away from his priest cult, which involves having blood that dissolves into spiders, and also means anyone in that cult can tell when someone is lying.

Hopefully, this will be one of those times where I look back on a book and say, okay, I see why he did it that way. Hopefully I enjoy the sequels more than I enjoyed this one. But for now, I remain disappointed. I can see how it might develop into a really great series, though, so starting the second one via audiobook as soon as my library is able to get it to me. Might as well do it now while I still remember most of the minutia of this one.

View all 9 comments. Sep 08, Maria V. Snyder rated it it was amazing. I finally finished listening to this one! The narrator is fantastic - he did a great job with the reading and the voices, which I think for an audio book is key! The story is also well done - it's an epic fantasy and has a great cast of characters and plot and I was drawn into the world. It didn't seem too heavy with the details, but there's lots going on and the pace is brisk.

Jul 24, Paul E. I absolutely loved Daniel Abraham's fantastic Long Price Quartet when I read it a few years ago, so I'm quite surprised it's taken me so long to start his other major fantasy series, The Dagger and the Coin , of which this is the first volume. The world-building is superb; you really get a sense that this is a fully realised world and that there's so much more going on outside the parameters of t I absolutely loved Daniel Abraham's fantastic Long Price Quartet when I read it a few years ago, so I'm quite surprised it's taken me so long to start his other major fantasy series, The Dagger and the Coin , of which this is the first volume.

The world-building is superb; you really get a sense that this is a fully realised world and that there's so much more going on outside the parameters of the story you're currently reading. History is one of the main themes of the book and, appropriately, you can feel the history of this world lying just beneath the surface of the current events. Another thing that makes this world feel real is the economics As you can probably infer from the title of the series, money is another of the main themes of the series and the author actually makes the economics of this fantasy world absolutely fascinating and key to the central plot.

It made me realise how most fantasy novels don't deal with money much other than to have it as the treasure at the end of the quest. In this world, it makes things seem a lot more plausible to see how the more day-to-day financial affairs are run. That's not to say it's devoid of action and adventure; far from it! There's plenty of the old stabby-stabby and quite a few 'OMG' moments that had my jaw hitting the floor. I also fell in love with virtually all of the characters.

I spent most of the book thinking to myself 'Geder's definitely my favourite character I'm SO happy there are four more books in this series and I don't have to say goodbye to these characters just yet! Overall, I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it to any fan of the fantasy genre. Now, on to the next one View all 6 comments. An enjoyable start to a fantasy series that seems to focus more on politics and the economy than it does on battles and magic.