A Shadow in Summer

Long Price Quartet, Book 1

By: Daniel Abraham

Narrated by: Neil Shah

The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit Seedless, an andat bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity.

If they can dispose of Heshai, Seedless will perish and the entire city will fall. In the middle is Otah, a simple laborer with a complex past. Recruited to act as a bodyguard for his girlfriend's boss at a secret meeting, he inadvertently learns of the Galtish plot. Otah finds himself as the sole hope of Saraykeht: either he stops the Galts or the whole city and everyone in it perishes forever.

©2006 Daniel Abraham (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

" A Shadow in Summer is a thoroughly engrossing debut novel from a major new fantasist. A poignant human tale of power, heartbreak, and betrayal." (George R.R. Martin)

Couple torn over narrator, both loved story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story, yes. The narrator? Maybe not.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I think the difficulties in narration might have more to do with direction than voice talent, though I haven't listened to other works by Neil, so I can't say. My husband 'never noticed' any issues and 'didn't mind' the things I found frustrating to the point of wanting to just go buy the paper books. The issues I had were:Volume modulation: (too much) Even in time of great passion/distress/terror in an audiobook, the actual volume level, for the comfort of the listener, should stay within a small spectrum. Whispers that are difficult to hear are frustrating, and yells that are *actually* yelled are literally painful. Most people I know use earbuds or headphones to listen to books, and what's comfortable at a talk is very jarring, if not painful, at a yell. Neil needs to cultivate his stage whisper and fake yell.Tonal modulation: (not enough) Neil sounds bored. Or maybe... like a he's trying to read a history? Or a dictionary? I'm not sure what the directed or intended tone was, but the lack of modulation sounds bored to me. I'm not sure how to describe it in text, but imagine the tonal variations of someone speaking with an Irish accent. That's one extreme. Very melodic, as much inflected as said. Now imagine a type-to-talk program, a digital voice reading text. Neil is much closer, in this book, to the latter than the former. Maybe some readers like it (like my husband, who didn't notice) because it's 'not distracting,' but I can't say I agree. I kept thinking how interesting the content was, but weighing that against how bored I felt. I was more interested in the book when I wasn't actually listening.Overall I'd say the story has been very good. (Especially considering the acclaim of my husband, who has made it through the series and LOVED it. I have not... yet.) but the narration/direction makes me suggest this book be read, not listened to.

I’m sorry.

Very hard to get in to for me. The names were so similar it was hard to keep the characters straight. Couldn’t finish it.

interesting concept and moral thoughts

Daniel Abraham is a name that I won't hesitate to pick up. well thought out characters and situations.

Great Writing; Decent Narration

This is an extremely beautiful story, written by arguably the most underrated writer in Fantasy, Daniel Abraham. The narration by Neil Shah is good, but not great.

Slow progression

It’s a cool idea, but it moves really slowly. It also doesn’t explain enough what the poets can do and how they do it. That being said i like the characters and the moral standings highlighted.