Cithrin bel Sarcour founded a powerful bank on stolen wealth, forged papers, and ready blades. Now every move she makes is observed, recorded, and controlled. Unless Cithrin can free herself from her gilded cage, the life she made will be for naught; war may provide just the opportunity she needs.
An apostate priest sees the hidden hand behind all: a long-buried secret of the dragon empire threatens everything humanity has built. An age of madness and death approaches, with only a few doomed heroes to stand in its way.
Ok, I can explain.
Uh…well, shit. No. I can’t explain.
I can’t explain why on June 7th, 2019, I wrote that “I absolutely loved The Dragon’s Path, and can’t wait to carry on with this series” in my review for the first book in Daniel Abraham’s series, THE DAGGER AND THE COIN, and then….just didn’t carry on? And here I am, more than two years later, having finally read the second book, THE KING’S BLOOD.
But I’ve got a plan. Kind of? I am Extremely Fucking Hyped™️ for Abraham’s upcoming book, AGE OF ASH. It’s the start of something new, THE KITHAMAR TRILOGY, which I believe has nothing to do with THE DAGGER AND THE COIN (please correct me if I’m wrong). So while I could ostensibly start AGE OF ASH without having finished THE DAGGER AND THE COIN, I’m just making it an actual (and manageable) goal to finish THE DAGGER AND THE COIN by mid-February, when AGE OF ASH comes out.
It gives me about three months to read three books, and I’m doing it. Hold me to it.
ANYWAY.
It definitely took me a bit of time to reacquaint myself with the characters in this book, but not much. Some characters left more of an impression on me in the time between reading the first two books, for one reason or another.
I would be hard pressed calling Geder Palliako my favorite, but goddamn, Abraham has really written such a fascinating character here. Someone who is at times childishly innocent, and then just as often abhorrent and terrifying. A highly suggestible character who has been given a great deal of unearned power, and someone whose motivations are, at best, murky.
It was Cithrin bel Sarcour that captivated me most in THE DRAGON’S PATH, and that holds true for the second book as well. I just loved the notion that a young banker would be at the center of a fantasy series. I mean, give me a young character training to be a warrior or a mage or something, and I will eat that up completely. But seeing what Cithrin is able to accomplish from her position puts such an interesting spin on things. She gets way out of her comfort zone in this one, in an attempt to further cement her position with the bank. Her travels take her to some really interesting locations & set up what I imagine will be some pretty huge changes for this series.
There are a handful of moments in this book that surprised me, and one that kinda shocked the hell out of me. These books don’t take place with anything approaching breakneck speed, but there are these cool/weird/unsettling little moments scattered throughout the story to remind you that this is a very unique fantasy world, and that you shouldn’t get too comfortable with anything that’s happening around you.
This was great! I’ve got THE TYRANT’S LAW lined up as one of my next few reads, for real this time. I HAVE THE MOMENTUM NOW! IT’S ALL HAPPENING!! I AM ALSO YELLING APPARENTLY.
Grimdark Dad 