A Shadow in Summer

Daniel Abraham's _A Shadow in Summer_ was published in 2006, and I'm willing to bet it was one of the more interesting Fantasy books published that year. It can't be ignored that this novel is genre fiction, and so the first thing that's interesting about it is what it is not. As one Amazon reviewer says, "If you're looking for escape to a fantasical world of ripe-roaring adventure, it ain't here." The book unfolds slowly, revealing an impressively believable and familiar world, a world where the economic impact of magic is paramount. A world peopled with , well, people, but these characters have more interesting lives than your neighbors.

The Characters. That's what is magical about this book for me. Abraham's characters are the most real and provocative folks I've met recently. For me, the two best and most real characters in the book are an aging business woman, and the Andant. There is some irony in the fact that the Andant is not real at all. He's a magical construct, and how deliciously constructed he is.

If you follow the link above to Amazon you can read part of the prologue. In the next couple days I plan to post some favorite excerpts.

I have couple loaner copies of the book. I'll be glad to mail you one, on request. I will ask that when you are done with it, you either ship it back to me or the next borrower.