bram452's novel for 2008, An Autumn War. This is the third book in his Long Price quartet, the first two of which are available now: A Shadow in Summer [ Powell's | Amazon ], and A Betrayal in Winter [ Powell's | Amazon ].You should consider me a lucky man.
As many of you know, I've been an admirer of Abraham's series for a while. As I said last year:
go buy this if you care about fantasy at all. Because Abraham needs good numbers to get more contracts to write more books we can all read and by which he can advance the quality and direction of the field.
An Autumn War builds on the first two books to deliver one of the most stunning punches I have ever seen in fantasy. I'll say this flat out: this novel deserves to be on all three major award ballots. It's gritty, wrenching, sad, and ultimately an incredibly human book. I won't deliver any spoilers, but An Autumn War is one of the most potent meditations I've ever seen on the costs of warfare, without a scrap of didacticism, while still being a story with profound emotional honesty, about people caring for their children and their countrymen.
This book will land
bram452 in the ranks of our greatest working fantasists, shoulder to shoulder with Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin and their peers. I urge you to buy, borrow or check out from the library the first two books so you'll be ready for An Autumn War when it comes out next year. As for bram452, he's outdone himself and the rest of us with this book. I await the fourth book in the Long Price quartet with a certain amount of awe. 