Banking is dangerous

I just finished book five of the Dagger and the Coin series by Daniel Abraham.  It is a high fantasy story with magic swords, dragons, and epic battles.  It is fantastic, but not because of the magic swords, dragons, or battles, but rather because of the amazing people that inhabit the world Abraham has created.

In particular, the villain is *amazing*.  Geder Palliako is a jerk.  Not a Sauron-like "I will cover the land in darkness!" kind of evildoer, just a person who is an asshole.  He is bigoted, entitled, selfish, and cruel.  But he is entirely human.  He has crushes on people, loves his father, attempts to do the right thing, and genuinely thinks he is really a good person... but he is also willing to burn down a nation to avenge a slight against him, will commit atrocities to save himself admitting he is wrong, and is more than happy to treat other people as tools for his whims.

Palliako doesn't even have any powers, abilities, or really anything at all to recommend him. He just ends up in the right place at the right time to do all kinds of heinous things, and he seizes every opportunity that comes his way.  It feels very much like the real world, where evil people like Trump are in power not because of being particularly good at anything, but simply because opportunity presented them with a chance, they seized it, and things went their way.

All this makes Palliako believable, frightening, and worthy of all the hatred I can muster.  Unlike "I am the prince of darkness" type villains which mostly make me laugh, Palliako feels absolutely real.  I can't just dismiss the story as silly, because I know people like him.  The things he does truly could happen.

It isn't just the villain that sells it though.  The circumstances that grant Palliako his power are a fantastic condemnation of religion, though I suspect that religious folks might not see it that way.  They might see it as a debunking of false religion, but I think the author is really pointing an accusatory finger at the way religions tend to make people think, and how they treat dissenting thought.  It is possible to reasonably argue that the villain isn't in fact Palliako, but rather a way of thinking, and that makes the whole thing have a lot more weight and interest.

But I am not done with the praise.

The heroes also make me swoon.  Seriously, you know that a fantasy novel is working its magic when I desperately want to play a particular character or set of characters out in a roleplaying game.  Yardem and Marcus' interactions are a gem.  Abraham sets it up at the very beginning when the two have the following simple interaction:

Marcus:  So, Yardem, is today the day that you toss me in a ditch and take over the company?

Yardem:  No sir, not today.

This interaction sets the tone for their friendship and working relationship for five books, and the payoff is just perfect.

The story also features a hero who wields the power of economics.  She doesn't swing a sword, or cast spells, or command armies.  She just thinks about money and banking and how power really works, and her thoughts *matter*.  It is a rare thing for an author to manage to make a banker a compelling character, and her insights on banking into an important plot point, but Abraham does it.

I loved these books, and I recommend them to anybody who wants a fantasy story that has great villains and lovable heroes, both of whom manage to be flawed, messy, and believable.