#geder palliako

[beeblackburn]

Top 5 blorbos? 💖

Thank you, @xserpx!

FitzChivalry Farseer (Realm of the Elderlings) - One of, if not the best Fantasy Protagonist out there, how I love to bully him for his poor-ass choices and cherish him for his better ones. How I love to peel away at his layers, but also lose my brains to incomprehensible noise at just wanting to slap him and hug him and tell him it's all going to be okay, and he'll have a very unconventional family by his side, beloved by so many he won't let close.

Sansa Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire) - There are literally whole passages and chapters burnt into my brain from how many times I've reread her material. Easily one of my favorite female characters in fantasy, just this excellent, fleshed-out take on this classic princess, stuck in the tower, kept by captors in shining armor or with handsome locks of hair, but never losing her idealism in the face of abuse and adversity behind closed doors. I keep coming back to the series, mostly for her. She's worth it, despite what everyone in her surroundings thinks and says about her.

Vick dan Teufel (The First Law) - My broken sweetheart. This unbelievably tormented soul, broken down by the system grinding her up and feeling the only way to endure the cruelty and trauma done to her is through being the boot against the necks of people like her once, only to still have a flickering flame of humanity deep down. She managed to grip my heart from the get-go, and she never let go as she peeled away more layers of her self-delusion and repression of trauma, only to realize sometimes, all a person can do is not settle for what they're given, and instead reach for what they want. That last line of hers lingers in my heart.

Black Calder (The First Law) - I'm always terminally Black Calder-brain poisoned. I just love the journey he took from being a spoiled twat whose first impulse at being given a message is to cut off the messenger's head and send it back to his comrades, to a slippery schemer snake who slithers across political campfires and battlefields without his head nailed down, yet can't slip past his own heart in the end, to an embittered, yet determined father who'll torch most his ambitions, sell his very soul, just to protect and save his son at the very end.

Geder Palliako (The Dagger and the Coin) - Oh gods, this utter trash baby. I want to slap him and his pathetic flaws, so attuned to fascism and the banality of evil that comes with it, this up-jumped fool elevated to too high a castle in the sky, this fucking warmonger who would murder a political prisoner out of spiteful rage and wage violence in the name of making world peace and not think through the implications. Yet, he's also such a mew-mew, so curious about the world, just wants peace and quiet to read his books, just wants friends and will settle for people who just don't treat him like shit. Both virtues and vices so intertwined in the same person, unable to be divided so finely. Which is what's so great and terrible about him.

[xserpx]

The Dagger and the Coin for the blorbo asks

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) - Geder Palliako. My god, what a fantastic villain he is. How relatable, how awful. I do think Clara has the potential to overtake him as my fave overall, but Geder is absolutely fascinating and definitely the highlight of the series.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) - Jorey Kalliam. He loves his wife and family so much, and he just tries so hard to be decent and fair. I want to wrap him in blankets and sit him in a quiet room where no one Geder can disturb him. Prince Aster is also a bit of a scrunkly, isn't he? 🥺

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) - Yardem Hane. I love his friendship with Cithrin. He's like Marcus but chill.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) - Sabiha Kalliam. Also a scrunkly, but gets less screen time, and I also really enjoy how much respect Clara has for her and how Sabiha rises to every challenge.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) - Dawson Kalliam. Like all good poor little meow meows, he makes me go "For fuck's sake 😡! Oh, for fuck's sake 😭!" repeatedly.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) - Alan Klin, because damn it he burned the book!

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) - Basrahip.

[elucubrare]

ugh, i guess these are fine: a palinode of sorts 

i've used daniel abraham's mediocre epic fantasy series as a sort of example of Many Things That Are Wrong With Modern Fantasy for a while, and, while I still hold that many mistakes were made during their construction (I get that he's trying to give women power without just giving them a sword, I really do; still the two most powerful women are Cithrin, a banker, and Clara Kalliam, a former duchess or whatever, whose power mostly comes from a. people not taking her seriously or b. being able to use the mask of society, which, i feel, in a generally subtler series, might be less grating), 

i have to admit that, coming to the fifth and final one after reading 10% each of two intensely mediocre epic fantasies, which i do not even care to name because i quit both of them because they were going to be ...fine all the way through, unless they crossed the border into annoying, that abraham's series, while it's not going to survive, and it's still not good (I get the sense, as I've said before, that he's writing it because epic fantasy is In rather than because he wants to be writing it), is a lot better than a lot of things - 

and indeed, i must admit to myself that i was never really hate-reading it - annoyance-reading, maybe, or more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger-reading it, for the sake of things he's written (the Seasons of War series) that i've liked better; so, all that is to say that, while i still think Geder Palliako or whatever that jerk's name is is a horribly mismanaged character (burning a city to the ground with its inhabitants sealed into it in the first book is scarcely a gradual descent into evil), and I do wish he were doing different things, they're actually on the higher end of mediocre. 

[nikihawkes]

Title: The Spider’s War

Author: Daniel Abraham

Series: Dagger and the Coin #5

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: Lord Regent Geder Palliako’s great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling before the ancient priesthood and weapon of dragons. But even as conquest follows conquest, the final victory retreats before him like a mirage. Schism and revolt begin to erode the foundations of the empire, and the great conquest threatens to collapse into a permanent war of all against all. In Carse, with armies on all borders, Cithrin bel Sarcour, Marcus Wester, and Clara Kalliam are faced with the impossible task of bringing a lasting peace to the world. Their tools: traitors high in the imperial army, the last survivor of the dragon empire, and a financial scheme that is either a revolution or the greatest fraud in the history of the world. -Goodreads

The Review:

Spider’s war was an unconventional series-ender, and I’m still not totally sure how I feel about it. On one hand, the atypical resolution was satisfying because it was so far outside the norm. Many of the series I’ve been reading lately have ended with formulaic story arcs, so Spider’s War felt refreshing by contrast. On the other hand, I think it still could’ve ended with a bit more fanfare… the story kind of petered out, missing any sort of momentum. My favorite series tend to be the ones with that amazing snowball careen towards the end where the energy is poignantly felt. This one rolled steadily out the way it rolled in – plodding and consistent. Which I suppose isn’t a bad thing, it just didn’t leave me with a lot of takeaway (which is in stark contrast to how other works by this author have left me – I’m still reeling from those!!).

I think in part it lacked the external momentum because the majority of the focus was on character dynamics and individual story arcs. This is actually my favorite part of Abraham’s writings because he always manages to make me feel connected to the characters – even the villains. The human connection is very much the driving force behind the plot, and that’s why the series is still very much worth reading….

But even so, there were some missed opportunities.

The end of book three introduced a couple of new incredible dynamics to the series that never got expanded on to my satisfaction. In fact, they were almost afterthoughts within the story and added no real value to the final destination. What an opportunity wasted!!! This also could be part of the reason I felt the lack of momentum because my imagination of where it could go was incredible.

Without going into too much detail, I also had trouble with some character inconsistency in this final book. While I love the fact that the series drew me in enough to even care about inconsistencies (I’ve been really apathetic lately with that… meaning I’ve also had nothing to contribute to buddy read discussions lol), a lot of my dissatisfaction stems from not liking where the characters ended up. Some were perfection, some not so much.

Overall, I’m glad to have read this series, and I’ve come away with a stronger than usual love for the characters. I think, however, I’m going to have a difficult time remembering how the series ended a few years from now.

Series status: COMPLETE!

Recommendations: the Dagger & Coin is not your typical fantasy series. It’s highly character-driven and focuses more on the small moments between people than any grand external conflicts. I would probably only suggest it to seasoned fantasy readers who need a break from the formulaic, cookie-cutter series out there. On the whole, it’s worth the read.

Other books you might like:

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A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Medalon by Jennifer Fallon

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

by Niki Hawkes

Book Review: The Spider’s War by Daniel Abraham Title: The Spider's War Author: Daniel Abraham Series: Dagger and the Coin #5 Genre: Fantasy Rating: …

[audiobookblog]

Tyrant's Law

Tyrant’s Law

The great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of…

[audiobookers]

New Audiobook has been published on http://www.audiobook.pw/audiobook/tyrants-law/

Tyrant's Law

The great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul.Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can forsee.

[beeblackburn]

Geder Palliako for the character ask?

Thank you, @xserpx!

Geder Palliako

His open-heartedness regarding his friends. There's a decent chunk of me I see in Geder, and, psychologically, his overcompensation with the few he puts in his heart he does have rings terribly true. It's partly why his relationship with Jorey and his father, Lehrer, just from The Dragon's Path, breaks my heart because it doesn't take a lot for Geder to love you. It just requires you not to treat him like dogshit without prompt. For the former, Jorey didn't do much to warrant consideration from Geder. Geder even notes all he did was be silent and not join in to Klin's bullying of him. For the latter, that he'd rather hang out with his old man than attend the party set up in his honor, the praise and adulation he'd sought after within his reach, is so telling of Geder.

That he's the Best Fantasy Villain. Almost no contest. Grimdark fantasies only wish they could have someone like Geder. On a more comprehensive note, what happened to Vanai? What will happen, going forward on Geder's journey? That's been there, ever since the start. The spite, the rage, the yearning for vengeance, and the disregard for masses of people beyond abstraction? That's Geder. That's always been Geder. That's why Vanai makes sense the way it does, even while it's a drastic shift: Geder read something in a history and thought it was a fitting precedent to commit without the actual consideration of the terrible human costs, because he's got an immature sense of right or wrong. Especially since he's been making choices out of spite towards Klin ever since. It's why his guilt right after is crucial: Geder knows enough about what happened to know it's bad, and wants retribution for his actions, but Dawson deflects moral blame off his shoulders by recasting it as a heroic action, leaving Geder with little recourse for actual self-reflection. Abraham once pointed out that many of us have been Geder when we were young, we just outgrew being him eventually. That's what's so great about his character. That's what's so terrible about him.

He would be a fierce, yet inadequate, talent with any non-book hobbies. Books are his passion and love, his first of them, and he clearly cherishes them, but given enough motivation, he would take to artistic talents, like reading poems or playing instruments with a drive that would allow him to pass by being mediocre, but not make him a high talent in those endeavors. Also, he loves him the romantic poems best, those of love and war, and doesn't understand the ones with self-destruction as a theme much.

You're not there yet, but either Basrahip or Aster. For the former, I love the tug-and-pull of intellectual curiosity and religious zealotry and they're so friendly with each other, even generous and gentle. For the latter, it's such a tour-de-force relationship of all of Geder's best qualities and how even his best comes with dark underbellies.

Oh, there's one, but I dare not reveal the name because it's such a burning spoiler, so I'll just go that I wish we got more of Geder's relationship with the non-Jorey fellow nobles, particularly the Broots. From what I reread, Daved Broot seemed decent enough, even complimenting Geder's cloak unprompted, and being similarly big eaters along with Geder. And Fallon Broot seems like a reasonably decent sort to Geder, from what I've read and even reminds me of Brint in terms of being a passable, unimaginative military talent who manages to catch the eye of someone who got lucky with being draped with power. Geder's rather isolated in his friend base, and I wouldn't have minded him getting more people to trust.

As Lord Protector of Vanai, he definitely gave the second-best accommodations to Jorey. The moment Geder mused that Klin's favorites had been given the better accommodations, I just know he'd give the second-best to Jorey without question. Jorey's a bit puzzled why him, solely because he just exercised common decency to Geder, and wonders what he did to earn such loyalty from a put-down outcast.

Thanks again for the ask, @xserpx!

[beeblackburn]

Top 5 non-Rote and non-First Law book characters

Thank you, @books-and-doodles! And thank goodness you clarified book characters, though I suspect this doesn't cover graphic novels? Though, you should've also excluded A Song of Ice and Fire characters, because that provided a cheap way to stuff my top 5 with two of its characters. 😋

1. Sansa Stark from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire - Oh, this sweet summer child. 😭 She’s a much more innocent and nicer Malta. I genuinely love how idealistic and romantic she is, she's a fantasy reader who wants to believe in the hope and the magic of her world, At first, it was partly done out of bratty naivety, she was a teenager after all, but as the horrors of King's Landing coiled and beat themselves against her, the more her idealism became more yearning against the abuses of her lived experience, the more she wanted, not the surface beauty of it, but the romantic substance of love. She's had to learn quickly how to cooperate in a deadly court, and it always hurts my heart to see her abused as a hostage, hiding behind her lady's armor of courtesy and how she's had to watch her words, her actions, her every thought. It makes me respect her all the more, and fiercely sadder for it. I'll always love a child who hopes that "All the stories can't be lies."

2. Stannis Baratheon from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire - Oh, Stannis, you grumpy lobster king. He's such a host of contradictions, an entrenched legalist traditionalist who's an utter pedant about the law, but also a forward-thinking leader with revolutionary ideas on how to bend his society's traditions, promoting a foreigner and a former smuggler to high positions. A grumpy shitbird of a man, grousing about his rights and how everyone's mean to him before being coarse to his father-figure, but a king who cared and been hurt and underappreciated all his life, and is curt because he doesn't want his elder father-figure to die by accident before his natural time. A nay-theist who allows men to be burned for a religion he doesn't believe in, but also a tormented religious icon who quibbles about the genuine morals and ethics of his duty.

2. Geder Palliako from Daniel Abraham's The Dagger and the Coin - Oh, hey, look, Leo dan Brock before The Age of Madness! I'm not kidding when I say he's the Best Fantasy Villain, and it's barely close, Cersei, Kennit, and Taravangian are the only ones who can be considered for it, and I think all of them are (or will be, in Taravangian's case) compromised in one way or another from getting the title, but Palliako himself is perfectly crafted, from beginning to end. A man with all the epic penchant for spite and pettiness of an emotional-child, the sheer lack of conscious morals and the escalation of them (then papering over them with excuses) of a budding warmonger, but also the innocent kindness and gentleness of a boy who just wants friends and love, but mostly on his own terms, and he ends up being a tangled mess of emotions to me. Goddamn shit, let me hug you, but also shake you until you finally stop STOP.

4. Essun from N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season - Easily one of the best female protagonists in the last decade? It's either her or Baru Cormorant, just from the former's first book. The structure of the book really lets us get to know the entirety of her, and... oof, what a change. Going from an innocent child dealing with an abusive environment, to an internalized centrist who struggles with the company line of the System is Good™, it's Everyone Else who's Bad, via Alabastor, and finally, a grieving mother on a quest to rescue her daughter from his asshat of a bigoted husband. She's brusque, she's quiet, she's internalized her abusive patterns, even while consciously knowing about them as abuse victims are capable of, she's fierce, she can be narrow-minded, she has little time and care for people's shit, she's strong, and she's capable of terrible actions that we can't help but understand, but close our eyes and shake our heads at.

5. Isabella Trent from Marie Brennan's The Memoirs of Lady Trent - fantasy needs more maternally challenged and no-filter honest scientific women, and Lady Trent's proof of that. The series being filtered through her future voice onto her past exploits is a fantastic conceit, partly because it offers a retrospect to the Victorian adventures and allows both her and the author to critique them, but also Isabella's voice itself is delightful and candid, sober and pragmatic, and often exasperated by the sheer recklessness of her past self's diplomatic incidents. Yet, she doesn't lack emotion, the first book alone is full of her sorrow at the incident involved, she just struggles with expressing it at times, given her upbringing and general disposition. She's a great way to frame an entire series and I was glad to read it!

Thanks again, @books-and-doodles!

[beeblackburn]

The Dagger and the Coin for the blorbo meme?

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): Geder Palliako. How did we get the Best Fantasy Villain from not Hobb or Abercrombie or GRRM? Up there with, if not outright better than, Cersei Lannister (who lacks more redeeming aspects, if still has a vivid tapestry of human experience) and Captain Kennit (whose post-ending development is a bit boofed). A relatable victim of bullying, a product of the banality of evil, a vengeful shit, a man devoted to those he loves, a delusional fool starved for love, an educated man brimming with curiosity, Geder's as multi-faceted as human terrors get, as human as he is terrible, and his ending remains perfect. He makes me wince in sympathy almost as much as I gag at every mistake and action he makes down the road.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Vincen Coe. He's such a MILF simp, so utterly devoted to Clara and supportive of her, right down to assisting in treason and tearing down the evils of a current regime as a partner does, way to the point of nearly dying right before her on more than one instance. Their romance is cute! And hilarious, god, Vincen, when will you stop nearly dying before her eyes, I swear. And sad, especially once Vincen gets notably angry at The Tyrant's Law and you really do get a sense of how much he loves her, but their difference in status is such that he's always aware of it and my heart. Aster works too, but he's canonically Geder's scrunkly and I worry what he'd do to me if he thought I was monopolizing Aster.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): It's a threesome between Pyk Usterhall, Abatha Coe, and Dar Cinlama. Pyk Usterhall because she's just there trying to be a low-risk sensible banker and here's Cithrin trying to take high-risk, high-reward gambles like a fantasy protagonist are wont to do, and then shutting Cithrin down when she whines about her not liking her, despite Pyk having absol-fucking-lutely no reason to like her and plenty to resent her. I sure didn't like her my first read, sharing Cithrin and Marcus' thoughts on her, but in my older age? Nah, I totally get Pyk now. Abatha Coe for rightfully pointing out that Clara's not considered the socioeconomic/human costs of using Vincen's resources and staying solely because of family, and telling Clara she's getting out of "this shithole of a city" if Vincen dies. Dar Cinlama for indulging his curiosities and exploring it all out there, just wanting to travel about, talk stories with others by a campfire, and seek all the secrets of the world. No wonder Geder got jealous of him for a hot second.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): Enen. Let's see, pelted female beast-warrior with braids in her hair who's no-nonsense and respectful? Why didn't we get more of her. Honestly, I wish we got more of the non-Yardem portions of Marcus' fellow mercenary bunch, but I would especially have like to have gotten more of Enen and I like the notion that she'll become Cithrin's Yardem eventually.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): Fallon Broot? Honestly, every non-Basrahip character on Geder's council could be considered. I mean, Broot is an obedient and utterly willing tool of an imperialistic empire with no imagination and that was before Geder. But he's pleasant enough to Geder, his ridiculous mustache is funny, and how Geder reacted to him at the end of The Tyrant's Law when he reported to him actually gave me a shot of sympathy for his position. He's like The Dagger and the Coin's Brint! Nothing goes well for him and life takes a steaming dump on him.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): Alan Klin, and this is a series with Dawson Kalliam, Feldin Maas, and Basrahip. Look, Geder making Alan Klin go to the military vanguard in the hopes of him dying over a book is definitely a little fucked, as Klin points out, but at the same time, fuck this guy? It's not even that he burned the book, though everyone knows that's the clear-cut signal for a total asshole. It's that he refuses to see it as a microcosm for the vicious bullying he put Geder through. It wasn't just the book that was burnt, Klin was gas-lighting the shit out of him afterwards and he still sees it as him being ruined over a book, rather than the consistent bullying pattern and only feeling bad about it because Geder became top dog and turnabout's fair play. Yeah, I would totally torment this guy!

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): Cep Bailan. In a series full of petty embezzlers, self-delusional fascists, banal war criminals, bigoted reactionaries, and genocidal zealots, this guy's such a fucking prick. I hate him and his face-garbage. I would gladly throw this shithead into superhell above the rest.

[nikihawkes]

Title: Tyrant’s Law

Author: Daniel Abraham

Series: Dagger and the Coin #3

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul. Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can forsee. -Goodreads

The Review:

I enjoyed this book quite a bit despite the fact that not much happened. Well, that’s not strictly true… there were a lot of moving parts within the characters – internal revelations and forming convictions. There was just less focus on the external mechanisms (until maybe the last 10%). I can’t put my finger on exactly why Abraham’s exploration of character absorbs me so completely, but he has once again managed to capture my attention.

The characters really are the selling points of this series, and almost all of them have these fascinating inner stories and poignant motives for all they do. It’s amazing that even the “villain” inspires a deep compassion from me – these aren’t characters I’ll likely forget soon. Clara is especially interesting for the choices she’s making, and I can tell you she’s 100% my main motive for continuing the series. I just can’t wait to see what she’s going to do next.

Compared to Expanse and Long Price Quartet, I admit I initially found the Dagger and the Coin series a bit slow. It took all the appropriate steps to immerse in character, but something about the external conflicts had me a bit bored. That is…. until the surprise at the end of this book… NOW I’m fully engaged, but it took a while to get here.

Series status: I plan to continue with the final two books as soon as possible. It’s finally starting to show some momentum and I’m eager to hop on for the ride.

Recommendations: this is one of those dry, character-driven fantasies that will appeal to GoT fans for its multiple POV delivery (albeit much less gritty). I personally would endorse Abraham’s Long Price Quartet series first, but these books are still solid entertainment.

Other books you might like:

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan

The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

The Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon

by Niki Hawkes

Book Review: Tyrant’s Law by Daniel Abraham Title: Tyrant's Law Author: Daniel Abraham Series: Dagger and the Coin #3 Genre: Fantasy Rating: 4/5 stars…