The Dragon's Path

The Dagger and the Coin, Book 1

By: Daniel Abraham

Narrated by: Pete Bradbury

Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

All paths lead to war....

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 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.

©2011 Daniel Abraham (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Solid

Easy to follow and good pace. The characters are likeable that are supposed to be and also believable. I look forward to the next book.

Good story - but the reading volume is rough

I really like the story (buying book 2 after I leave this). But the first of the story has so many sound effects that most of the first 10 minutes is nearly impossible to understand. Then, the reader (throughout the book) speaks LOUDLY at the start of a sentence and rapidly falls off as it goes on - leaving you with the choice of being deafened at the first of each sentence or missing 30% of what is said at the end.

loved it!

this is the best fantasy I've read in a long time. great characters. great world.
if you want to see a map or breakdown of races of people the author has it on his website.
http://www.danielabraham.com/books-by-daniel-abraham/the-dagger-and-the-coin/the-dragons-path/map-of-the-world/

Good for those that want a magic light world

This probably sounds silly but I just hated almost all of the main characters. I honestly was cheering for most of them to get killed or to lose by the end of the book I feel like the author spent so much time trying to make the characters grey they just became dislikeable.

Slow

I had a hard time getting into this book and never really cared about what was happening with it. The characters also came off a little flat and I was never able to feel any kind of connection with them and didn't really care what happened to them. If all of the characters had died in the first chapter of the book it would of invoked the same emotion as if it had happened in the last.

Intricate details weave together a tale of greed and war

This book comes from the vantage point of many characters whose diplomatic ties to money establish a foreground of war to come. From Cintra a slave girl owned by a bank to a successful business person to a veteran whom every one seems to either think dead or want dead and to an acolyte of a previous age whose war established this empire on a new breaking point and many others seem to take stage as a new conflict is slowly unveiled and built up across several books to follow? It’s simply substantial book with so much to appreciate and root for.

Phenomenal Audiobook and Excellent Beginning!

I've loved this series in print and am now enjoying it again in audio form. Excellent narrator brings the phenomenal story to exhilarating life. I cannot recommend this enough. A fantasy masterpiece with some of the most delightful characters and most brilliantly crafted world building.

Questionable choice in characters

The majority of characters are just unlikable with no redeemable qualities. One is a fifteen year old girl who thinks she's smarter than adults. She freely gives her body to almost any man who shows interest in her, but it's ok because she doesn't charge. Another is a nobleman who thinks commoners are dogs and less than human, but it's ok because he cares deeply about his wife. Another an overweight nobleman who is put in charge of a city, ruins the city with heavy taxes, then burns down said city with people in it. Book even details how he had his men kill babies, but it's ok because the experience haunts him and he feels slightly bad about it. The girl and the overweight nobleman just baffle me in terms of intelligence, and the choices they make. If these seem like characters you want to read about, by all means. I stopped with three hours left lol. It was the result of one the girl's choices that just sent me over the edge, don't think I'll try to finish or buy the next book.

Ok story,...(Edited Review) It gets better!...

I love complex stories and the longer the better. However, this was just really hard to get into and follow. I do appreciate the attempt at the development and depth of the story. There were multiple storylines, but in the end, I just didn't care about the players except for maybe Marcus although his continued involvement as a protector got thin. You can tell that the storylines are gonna be coming together in subsequent books, but as a standalone book I can't recommend to enjoy fully. For now, I think I'm done with this series. The narration did not help at all. I frequently zoned out.

Edits:
Okay, So my previous review stands if you are not intending to fnish the series. I actually finished it because I caught a sale on a later book, so thought "why not?". Now that I've listened to all 5 books if you can commit to the series, you will not be disappointed. I found the first 2 books to be a slow set up, but the last 3 books had me hooked. Please see my review of book 5 for a bit more details without giving away anything to what happens in between. I will say that this series is for seasoned Sci-Fi Fantasy readers/listeners who like to be immersed in complex stories.

attention grabber

better than when I read it the first time excited to listen to the rest