The Dagger and the Coin is the name of a 5-part epic fantasy series by Daniel Abraham. I really enjoyed this series and can understand why many call it the best kept secret in epic fantasy.
If you’re a fan of the A Song of Ice & Fire series by George R.R. Martin like I am, you will enjoy this series as well. One thing I’d note for anyone who wants to take on this audiobook adventure is that the books keep getting better and better as the series progresses. I liked them all, and this series truly builds to a climax and satisfying conclusion. Definitely a rewarding listening experience.
Book 1 – The Dragon’s Path
The Dragon’s Path
The series gets started by introducing the Apostate. A man who has some very special abilities is on the run from his former brotherhood. Meanwhile, former soldier Marcus is now a mercenary-but he wants nothing to do with the coming war. So instead of fighting, he elects to guard a caravan carrying the wealth of a nation out of the war zone-with the assistance of an unusual orphan girl named Cithrin.
Book 1 sets a great foundation for things to come. Honestly, I had this book in my Audible library for about a year before I actually dove in. The opening was gripping and hooked me, but some of the following chapters seemed uneventful by comparison. Ultimately, I stuck it out and the story picks up and becomes exciting and suspenseful.
Book 2 – The King’s Blood
The King’s Blood
In this compelling follow-up to The Dragon’s Path, Geder Palliako enjoys high social standing as protector to the crown prince of Antea – but a looming war threatens to change his way of life. Meanwhile, Cithrin bel Sarcour is counting her blessings: long under close surveillance, she hopes a battle will be the opportunity she needs to regain her freedom.
Book 3 – The Tyrant’s Law
The 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.
Book 4 – The Widow’s House
The Widow’s House
The rise of the dragon and the fall of kings Lord Regent Geder Palliako’s war has led his nation and the priests of the spider goddess to victory after victory. No power has withstood him, except for the heart of the one woman he desires. As the violence builds and the cracks in his rule begin to show, he will risk everything to gain her love or else her destruction. Clara Kalliam, the loyal traitor, is torn between the woman she once was and the woman she has become. With her sons on all sides of the conflict, her house cannot stand, but there is a power in choosing when and how to fall. And in Porte Oliva, banker Cithrin bel Sarcour and Captain Marcus Wester learn the terrible truth that links this war to the fall of the dragons millennia before, and that to save the world, Cithrin must conquer it.
Book 5 – The Spider’s War
The Spider’s War
The epic conclusion to The Dagger and the Coin series, perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin.
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.
The Dragon's Path
Free with Audible Trial