The Dragon's Path

The Dagger and the Coin, Book 1

De: Daniel Abraham

Narrado por: Pete Bradbury

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.

attention grabber

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

A Dizzying and Captivating Introduction

It's not uncommon to encounter political machinations and glimpses of the underlying bureaucratic structure of the world in fantasy novels. Along with the history of the realms and people in question, understanding something of the politics of those fictional worlds is an important element in making them feel like real places. Daniel Abraham has taken this world-building further than most authors by focusing a great deal of his storytelling attention on the facets of finance and trade within the world of The Dragon's Path. What's superbly surprising about Abraham's novel is how interesting he manages to make the details of this commerce.
Of course, it isn't all banking and trade relations. Abraham has packed this first novel of The Dagger and the Coin series with conflict (both small and large scale), gods and myth, political intrigue, and plenty of witty dialogue.
Cithrin is a half-breed orphan raised as a ward of the Medean banking house of Vanai, and she carefully studied under the tutelage of Magister Imaniel. As the armies of Antea approach the city walls, the only way to keep the resources of the bank safe from plunder is to send them away from the city. Cithrin is tasked with escorting the bank's property to safety as part of a caravan headed by the tragic hero, Marcus Wester.
As it happens, Cithrin isn't the only member of Wester's party who isn't who they seem. Marcus has replaced some of his complement with a troupe of actors led by Master Kit, the performers playing the role of soldiers and guards. But Master Kit is more than he seems as well. A past he'd thought he escaped will come back to haunt him again before the tale concludes.
In the middle of everything is Sir Geder Palliako, a bookish and weak man who finds himself tossed about by fate and the machinations of those above him in the royal court of Antea. Struggling against forces he only barely recognizes as nudging him along, Geder becomes the key to leading the world down a path from which there will be no turning back.
Abrahamson packs this novel with a diverse cast of characters, both sympathetic and flawed in equal measure, and he sends them on a series of adventures as captivating as they are well-thought-out. It would be virtually impossible to reach the end of The Dragon's Path without wanting to see where this tale will take us.
Pete Bradbury's narration spectacularly breathes life into the vast cast of characters populating this story, setting them apart from one another without any apparent difficulty. His voice propels the listener through the circuitous web of the narrative, leading us to the end far more quickly than we want to arrive.

Great Story

Loved the narration! Great book. First time listening to audible books. Didnt think I'd enjoy it but was very pleased. Looking forward to next book in this series.

Complex

I like complex fantasy with detailed descriptions and this book did not disappoint! The characters are rich and complex with multiple PoV. I decided to pick this book up after becoming obsessed with the Expanse (both the series and the novels) andI am so glad I did! SF is my favorite bit I'm also a fan of fantasy when it is adult oriented (like Witcher and GoT). I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Great Mix of Characters

I almost didn't get this book because another review mischaracteriaized the charters so badly it made the book unappealing. Having read short stories by the author before I'm glad I took a chance on the book.

The narrator has an incredible story telling voice, the range of the female charters is more narrow but enough to differentiate them to the point you always know who is talking before being told.

As for the story, the charters and world have a lot of depth. This is clearly the first book in the series and a lot still feels left unexplored, but the potential is there. The high point is each character let's the author show a different focus, although the genre is always in the grim dark camp.

As a counterpoint to the review I found disingenuous there is very little sex in the book and it not graphic at all. the review brought that up and I was cringing waiting for it to happen and it just never did.

Overall a strong start to a series.

Amazingly compelling story!

There wasn't a dull moment. Even the political intrigue was so intensely and obviously fraught with danger that you couldn't turn away from it for fear of missing the next turn of the story. Absolutely masterful.

great setup

I really enjoyed this book even though I was told it was slow by necessity because of the setup for later books. but I really enjoyed the development of the characters and what I feel is going to be their paths in the future and it's not obvious. I really look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Disappointed

Based on the prologue I expected this to be a different kind of story. The rest of the story is a completely different tone and the plot and characters are pretty pedestrian. That said, I did finish it and liked the narrator.