Long Price Quartet

A Shadow in Summer opens the Long Price Quartet in the humid city-state of Saraykeht, where a captured spirit called Seedless underpins the whole economy. When the Galtic Empire dispatches secret agents to destroy the poet-sorcerer who binds Seedless, a former laborer named Otah — with a complicated past he has tried to bury — is the only one who sees the plot in time.

A quiet, character-driven debut that lays the philosophical and political groundwork for everything that follows, centering on impossible choices and the cost of power.

Daniel Abraham delivers a powerful, Shakespearean tragedy in this sequel. Otah Machi, exiled as a boy from Machi's ruling house, returns after decades when his father, the Khai, is dying and his eldest brother, Biitrah, is assassinated. Despite witnessing world-changing events, Otah feels an inexplicable pull back to Machi. However, a deadly tradition awaits him: the Khai's sons must fight to the death for succession. Worse, the expansive Galt empire has allied with a traitor within Machi to overthrow the ruling house. Otah, the long-missing brother, finds himself accused of Biitrah's murder, facing betrayal, Machiavellian politics, and a unique magic. Abraham crafts a suspenseful drama of personal and political intrigue.

Daniel Abraham presents an epic fantasy of wide scope, blending unique magic and political intrigue. Otah Machi, ruler of Machi city, has long warned his people about the precarious future of their magical protectors, the andat. These entities are vital for commerce and defense, but their safe harnessing is failing. Otah's warnings prove prophetic as the expansionist Galtic Empire, led by a ruthless general, makes its move. The Galts achieve the impossible: neutralizing the powerful andat. As the Galtic army invades, the Poets, who traditionally control the andat, are thrust into a desperate battle. They must fight not only for their nation but for their loved ones. Failure seems inevitable, yet their success could be the only way to end the Galtic threat forever.

The Price of Spring closes the Long Price Quartet fifteen years after war has left both the Khaiem and the Galts facing extinction — men of one empire infertile, women of the other barren. Emperor Otah attempts a marriage alliance to produce a new generation, while a guilt-haunted poet named Maati secretly trains women to recapture the andat.

A devastating conclusion examining legacy and irreversible consequence, where hope curdles into tragedy and the only peace available is bitterly earned.