/lit/ - Literature

A Betrayal in Winter, Long Price Quartet #2: Daniel Abraham (2007)

And so, almost fourteen years go by and the story resumes yet again. I wonder if each book will have a timeskip. I wonder if each book will do so. The primary characters from the first book are now in their thirties. They've changed in many ways and stayed the same in other ways, same as most anyone. There's an argument to be made that character development should only occur within the text, but as long as I'm enjoying myself it's irrelevant to me. I find series that cover the entirety of a character's life, or are intergenerational sagas, to be fascinating and I really ought to read more of them.

I continue to appreciate how this series plays with fantasy conventions. I don't think it does so quite as much as in the first book, though it does have a dialogue with what was established in the first book in its subtext. If the first book was "Adventure isn't what you think it is", then this one is "I'm reluctant to be involved in Adventure". The focus this time is primarily centered on power plays, court intrigue, and what is owed to those whom one cares about. Character interactions remain the most important part of the story, though this time there's somewhat more of a plot. Romance and messy relationships are still present and meaningful.

There are several questions that are presented to the reader without being discussed and thus consideration outside of the act of reading is required. Of course, doing so may not interest various readers, though I think an entirely surface level reading here may limit enjoyment. Philosophical discussions too often become boring infodumps for readers so it's understandable why they were avoided, but that also runs the risk of being misunderstood. The question I've thought about the most is that people tend to internalize the behaviors of their oppressors and think that equality is becoming them rather than any sort of reformation.

I'm very interested in how the third book will address the situation at the end of this one and what it will mean for the lifelong thematic arc of the protagonist. Overall, I may have enjoyed the first book a bit more, though at this level of personal enjoyment for me it doesn't making any difference with the rating. I think that the books that readers love and hate the most are also those that have the least predictive value for others, especially when their personal experience is an outlier from the aggregate average.
Rating: 5/5