A Betrayal in Winter
core novel 2007 The Long Price Quartet
Record
| First published | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.92 (7,968 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 320 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765351883 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
As a young boy, Otah Machi was exiled from his family's ruling house in the northern city of Machi, sent away to train as a poet rather than compete for his father's throne. Decades later he returns to his hometown, now going by another name, after his father the Khai falls gravely ill and his eldest brother is assassinated, throwing the succession into crisis. Tradition demands that the Khai's surviving sons fight, by whatever means necessary, until only one remains to inherit the throne, and suspicion for the assassination quickly falls on the long-absent Otah, who has an obvious motive. Amid a deeper conspiracy involving the expansionist Galtic Empire and someone within Machi's own court, Otah must navigate accusations, family betrayal, and a murderous succession battle in his frozen northern homeland.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Long Price Quartet
- Series: The Long Price Quartet core; position 2 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Daniel Abraham
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 2008: finalist; Locus reader poll placement: 12th place.
Notes
- From the series record (The Long Price Quartet): Core Canon = all 4 novels of the completed quartet (Tor Books, 2006-2009). No companion/Expanded Canon material found. Later 2-in-1 omnibus editions (Shadow and Betrayal; Seasons of War) repackage the same 4 texts, not new works, per this project's standing edition-vs-work distinction.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Long Price Quartet: position 2 of 4: previous A Shadow in Summer (2006) · next An Autumn War (2008)
Sources
- FictionDB: The Long Price Quartet
- Tor Publishing Group: A Shadow in Summer
- https://long-price-quartet.fandom.com/wiki/A_Betrayal_in_Winter
- sfadb: Daniel Abraham
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