All The Right Fantasy Ingredients

The Dragon's Path - Daniel Abraham
2011 - Orbit

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This is book 1 in The Dagger and The Coin trilogy, a very good start to an epic fantasy series. In fact, this is probably in my top three of fantasy published in 2011 (Patrick Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear is on that list. Not quite sure what the third book might be.)


Anyway, as I mentioned in the title of this post, this book has all the right ingredients for a great epic fantasy: court intrigue, strong characters, blurred lines of good and bad. I love that Abraham studied ancient banking which added some very interesting depth to the plot line.


Amazon description - 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.