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    Three Parts Dead
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    Three Parts Dead
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    Three Parts Dead
    Ebook444 pages6 hours

    Three Parts Dead

    By Max Gladstone

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From the author of the viral bestseller This is How You Lose the Time War...

    "Stunningly good. Stupefyingly good." —Patrick Rothfuss

    Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence chronicles the epic struggle to build a just society in a modern fantasy world.

    A god has died, and it's up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.

    Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis's steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot.

    Tara's job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who's having an understandable crisis of faith.

    When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb's courts?and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb's slim hope of survival.

    Set in a phenomenally built world in which lawyers ride lightning bolts, souls are currency, and cities are powered by the remains of fallen gods, Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence introduces readers to a modern fantasy landscape and an epic struggle to build a just society.


    For more from Max Gladstone, check out:

    The Craft Sequence
    Three Parts Dead
    Two Serpents Rise
    Full Fathom Five
    Last First Snow
    Four Roads Cross

    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    Editor's Note

    Unique take…

    The take on gods and power in this book is refreshingly unique. They are less beings of belief and more beings of contract. And one of them is dying despite seemingly solid investments. The metaphor for corporation works in an astonishing way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateOct 2, 2012
    ISBN9781466802032
    Unavailable
    Three Parts Dead
    Author

    Max Gladstone

    Max Gladstone is the author of the Hugo-nominated Craft Sequence, which Patrick Rothfuss called “stupefyingly good.” The sixth book, Ruin of Angels, was released September 2017. Max’s interactive mobile game Choice of the Deathless was nominated for the XYZZY Award, and his critically acclaimed short fiction has appeared on Tor and in Uncanny Magazine, and in anthologies such as XO Orpheus: Fifty New Myths and The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales. John Crowley described Max as “a true star of 21st-century fantasy.” Max has sung in Carnegie Hall and was once thrown from a horse in Mongolia.

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    Reviews for Three Parts Dead

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    • 5/5
      Willkommen zu Three Parts Dead, der vermutlich besten Neuentdeckung des gesamten Jahres! Selten ist mir ein solch gelungenes Konzept untergekommen wie in diesem Roman von Autor Max Gladstone. Es beginnt mit einem schlüssigen Magiesystem: Menschen beten zu ihrer Gottheit, die Gottheit erhält dadurch Macht, die Gottheit nutzt die Macht, um das Leben der Menschen zu verbessern, indem z.B. für warme Häuser gesorgt wird oder für ein Verteidigungssystem der Stadt. Auf dieser Basis ist eine ganze Wirtschaft entstanden. Nicht-Anbeter können gegen eine Gebühr Verträge mit den Göttern abschließen. Sie gewinnen dadurch temporär etwas Macht von der Gottheit und zahlen sie gewinnbringend zurück. Das Ganze führt zu einem fantastisch ausgearbeiteten Weltenbau mit facettenreichen Charakteren. Als nun Kos Everburning stirbt, ist es die Aufgabe von Miss Kevarian und ihrer Auszubildenden Tara Abernathy, herauszufinden, wie es zum Tod von Kos kommen konnte, dessen Verträge auf den ersten Blick ausgeglichen aussehen – und doch führte irgendetwas zu einem Machtverlust, der schlagartig so groß war, dass es ihn das Leben gekostet hat. Die Basis dieses durchdachten Romans bildet die daraus resultierende Kriminalermittlung.Der Roman spielt sich irgendwo in einer Parallelwelt ab in der die Menschen gelernt haben sich einer Magie zu bedienen, die den Göttern ebenbürtig ist. Zeitlich oder örtlich lässt sich die Welt nicht eindeutig zuordnen. Es gibt Elemente von Frühindustrie, epischer Fantasy, Gaslichtatmosphäre und ein teils vertrautes Rechtssystem wie vertraute Gottheiten. Das Stadtbild von Alt Coulumb kommt eindrucksvoll, lebendig und voller Gegensätze daher: ein moderner Club, im Aufbau Dantes sieben Stufen der Hölle nachempfunden, wird monolithischen Steinbauten gegenübergesetzt, die an die goldenen 20er Jahre oder Gotham City erinnern, fahrerlose Pferdekutschen fungieren als Taxis und verströmen einen Hauch von 19. Jhrd. und dann ist da noch das vermutlich coolste Polizeisystem seit Erfindung der Fantasy.Seril, einst Göttin der Gerechtigkeit und Geliebte des Feuergottes Kos, starb vierzig Jahre zuvor im Krieg zwischen Göttern und Magiern. Ihre Macht wurde von einem Thaumaturgen gewandelt und so entstand »Justice« – ein transformiertes und wiederbelebtes Fragment der einstigen Göttin, das nun für Gesetz und Ordnung in Alt Coulumb sorgt. Justice wird von vielen freiwilligen Menschen verkörpert, die für die Dauer ihrer Arbeitsschicht zu sogenannten »Blacksuits« – einem Teil von Justice selbst – werden. In dieser Zeit werden die Blacksuits von dem kollektiven Geist geleitet, die persönlichen Emotionen verstummen, der Verstand wird ausschließlich auf das bestehende Recht ausgerichtet. Die Blacksuits gewinnen übermenschliche Kraft, sind nahezu unverwundbar und ihr äußeres Erscheinungsbild verändert sich zu einer monochromen Maske in der Masse nachtschwarzer Gestalten. Nachteile hat das System für die Blacksuits allerdings auch, denn die Zeit als Teil von Justice wirkt wie eine Droge auf die Freiwilligen und führt bei manchen zu Entzugserscheinungen. Wenn nichts anderes an diesem Roman interessant genug wäre, ihn zu lesen, so würde diese Personifizierung der Gerechtigkeit schon ausreichen, um das Ruder noch herumzureißen. Doch glücklicherweise gibt es mehr!All das erfährt man als LeserIn schon auf den ersten Seiten, und doch stecken hierin ungleich viele Informationen, die es erst einmal zu verarbeiten gilt. Dies wird im Verlauf der Handlung durchaus nicht viel einfacher. Autor Max Gladstone fackelt in seinem Roman nicht lange mit Vorgeschichte und Aufbau von Hintergrundwissen. Er wirft seine Leserschaft einfach mitten ins Geschehen und lässt sie nach und nach das Puzzle dieser Welt zusammentragen. Für Schnellleser und jene, die einfach nur seichte Unterhaltung möchten, dürfte sich Three Parts Dead daher als Stolperfalle erweisen, denn hier ist ein eingeschaltetes Hirn und aufmerksames Lesen Pflicht, will man den Zusammenhängen folgen können. Das ist jedoch alles andere als negativ zu sehen. Dieses Buch ist tatsächlich erfrischend anders und sein Autor widersetzt sich mit Bravour dem Trend, das Denken für die Leserschaft zu übernehmen.Auch die Charaktere lassen nichts zu wünschen übrig. Von der kleinsten Nebenfigur bis zur tragenden Hauptrolle böten alle Figuren dieses Romans genug Stoff für eine eigene Geschichte. Da gibt es den kettenrauchenden jungen Novizen Abelard, der gerade eine berechtigte Glaubenskrise durchmacht und dazu verdonnert wird, Tara Abernathy zur Hand zu gehen. Tara ist gerade erst von den Hidden Schools als Magierin graduiert und anschließend unsanft aus den Wolken gestoßen worden. Abelard ist eher der ruhige, etwas sensible und schüchterne Typ, Tara dagegen hat sich bereits ihre Narben verdient und ist sowohl schlagfertig als auch unkompliziert im Umgang mit anderen. Sie scheut sich nicht davor, jemandem das Gesicht zu stehlen, was durchaus blutig und wörtlich zu nehmen ist. Das Besondere an Tara ist außerdem, dass sie sich ihr Leben ausgesucht hat. Gerade bei weiblichen Charakteren ist es oft so, dass sie in ihre Rolle gedrängt wurden, Tara dagegen ist eine starke Persönlichkeit, die eine bestimmte Karriere anstrebt.Neben diesen beiden Hauptfiguren gesellen sich noch eine ganze Menge weiterer hinzu, die mal prominenter, mal seltener in Erscheinung treten. Shale, der Gargoyle, Cat, die Vampirbiss-Abhängige, Raz, der Vampir-Pirat … Es ist gesellig und lebendig in Three Parts Dead.Was die Lektüre zusätzlich zu etwas Besonderem macht, ist, dass hier auf ganz außergewöhnlich leichte Art und Weise sämtliche Klischees und Vorurteile umschifft werden. Sei es nun das Thema Rasse oder die allseits (un-)beliebten Genderrollen, in Max Gladstones Welt sind alle gleich. Hautfarben spielen in der Gesellschaft überhaupt keine Rolle und werden nur beiläufig als körperliches Merkmal genannt. Genderprobleme gibt es nicht. Männer denken im maskulinen Wortschatz, Frauen im femininen. Gibt es z.B. einen unbekannten Täter mit unbekanntem Geschlecht, so denkt Tara »die Täterin war vermutlich…« während ein männlicher Kollege mit »der Täter war vermutlich…« beginnt. Wer nun glaubt das müsse verwirrend sein, der täuscht. Es funktioniert völlig unproblematisch und ist wunderbar zu lesen.Three Parts Dead ist ein absolut gelungener Roman. Er bietet eine große Vielfalt und komplexe Inhalte, die so nahtlos ineinandergreifen, dass der Roman auf eine fiktive Art realistisch wird. Er versucht nicht »historisch korrekt« zu sein, sondern logisch durchdacht, um in einem eindeutig als Alternativwelt erkennbaren Setting überzeugend zu werden.Es gibt eine Fortsetzung (Two Serpents Rising), die im kommenden August erscheinen soll. Bisher scheint es aber nur eine Geschichte in der selben Welt mit anderen Charakteren zu sein. Ob dort auch bekannte Figuren auftauchen oder Aspekte der Handlung aus Three Parts Dead wieder aufgegriffen werden ist noch nicht bekannt. Three Parts Dead ist daher zunächst einmal als Einzelroman zu betrachten.Nebeninfo:Das Buch ist zwar inzwischen Teil einer Reihe, ist aber in sich geschlossen und lässt keine offenen Fragen, so dass Freunde des Einzeltitels beherzt zugreifen können. (Noch so eine Seltenheit im inzwischen Reihenverliebten Buchwesen).
    • 3/5
      An interesting and engrossing mix of urban fantasy and magic peopled with unusual, striking characters. One of the driving forces of this book is its fast pace and the author's choice of throwing his readers right in the middle of things, never lowering the tension.
      I will certainly read the next installments in this series.
    • 4/5
      This book is really a mystery. It's one with magic, gargoyles, a touch of steampunk, and gods who loan out their power for a return plus interest, but it's a mystery all the same. Tara, an apprentice on probation with a magical firm is brought along to assist her mentor in bring a god back to life, but first they have to find out how he died. Her mentor is intimidating; her partners are a chainsmoking priest, a seafaring vampire, and an addict cop; the gargoyles are mad at her; and her old nemesis is now her business rival.

      This story takes a look at how and why gods exist, what happens when Justice really is blind, and brings up questions of morality and faith. It was a great read and I'm looking forward to the next books in the series.

      [John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer Nominee]
    • 4/5
      Three Parts Dead is the novel that started Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence, which is proving to be one of my all time favorite fantasy series. Gladstone has created one of the most compelling fantasy world I’ve encountered and filled it with diverse and well developed characters. Although Three Parts Dead isn’t my favorite book in the series, it’s a good introduction to the world of the Craft Sequence.One of the best ways to describe Three Parts Dead is that it’s where fantasy meets legal thriller. After all, this is a book containing the phrase “pro bono zombies.” Tara Abernathy, a recent graduate of the Hidden Schools, has been offered a place at the firm Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, but only if she’s able to prove herself in their latest case. Kos, the fire god of Alt Coulumb, has died under mysterious circumstances, and without him the engines that drive the city of four million people will shut down and chaos will ensue. Under the oversight of her new boss, Elayne Kevarian, Tara must work to resurrect Kos and find out how he died in the first place. And it’s looking like it might be a murder…The reason I keep describing this series as “magical lawyers” is because the world of the Craft Sequence was inspired by the 2008 recession. In short, magic = the economy, gods = corporations, death of gods = bankruptcy, craftsmen/craftswomen = lawyers. With me so far?This unconventional take on fantasy fiction leads to a highly original world and series. It’s inventive and imaginative at every turn. More than that, it feels vivid and life like. There’s clearly been lots of thought put into its development, and I love the connections that span different stories in different parts of the world. There’s even two text based games in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure, if you’ve gotten as obsessed with this world as I have.The originality of the world extends to the protagonists as well, who tend to be equivalent to attorneys or risk assessors or financial investors. They also tend to be diverse in race, gender and sexuality. Tara is clearly described as black, and I love that the mentor type figure, Elayne, was female (especially that she was an older, childless career women, since you don’t see many of those depicted positively in SFF).Elayne was probably my favorite character of the book, but I liked the others as well. Tara felt young and sort of naive. She’s ambitious but hasn’t yet given up her humanity in exchange for power. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops in future books where she leads, as I think she’s got a lot of potential character development in front of her.On this second read through of Three Parts Dead, I noticed a lot more of the details of the world. I’m pretty sure that it’s a highly alternate version of our own, so far apart that there’s more differences than similarities. I’d previously been thinking that Alt Coulumb was somewhere in Europe, but now I think that it’s somewhere on the east coast of North America. Likewise, the timeline is probably earlier than I’d initially thought, with the technology level being more equivalent to late 1800s or early 1900s. I’d love to see a map of the series world, but I haven’t found one so far.While I’d probably point to Full Fathom Five or Last First Snow as being my favorite Crafts Sequence novels, Three Parts Dead remains a strong start to the series, and I look forward to returning to Tara and Alt Coulumb in Four Roads Cross. Three Parts Dead is a book I’d recommend for anyone looking for well written female characters or original fantasy fiction.Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
    • 3/5
      Not a bad book but not exactly great either. It was just okay for me. The main protagonist, Tara, is a breath of fresh air. She's not overly powerful, a smart ass, or have a chip on her shoulder like many UF characters. She's not sexualized or treated inferior just because she's a woman, which made for a much better read.

      The main problem I did have with this book is the magic system. It sounds extremely interesting, but it is very undefined. From what I read, it's cleared up in subsequent novels, but in this one, there are no set rules or limitations as to what it can and can't do. For me, it made every situation feel like no matter what was going on, the Craft will rescue them somehow.

      Overall, the story was good. I'll continue to read more since I think there is potential. But there's nothing particularly memorable about this one.
    • 3/5
      The premise is very intriguing, as this imagining of a polytheistic society that is simultaneously urban, modern, and technology-focused goes some interesting directions. More contract law in fantasy! The characters are also competently drawn, with different motivations, but the portrayal of their backstories or motivations seemed a little by-the-numbers to me. I also became _less_ interested in the main characters as I continued reading, as more interesting side characters popped up. Ultimately it was rather a disappointment. The plot and the ending are much more conventional in nature than the premise had prepped me for.
    • 3/5
      When I first set eyes on the synopsis of Three Parts Dead I was really excited. A whole new world built on the idea that the Craft (magic) rules the world? Definitely cool. Add in crazy gods, a murder mystery, and an awesome sounding main character, and you have a book that sounded right up my alley. Suffice it to say that I had high hopes when I dove into this book headfirst.

      Sadly, Max Gladstone's book baffled me from the beginning. Three Parts Dead reads much more like a sequel in a series, than it does like the opening book. I was instantly thrown into Tara's world. Barely introduced to her before she set off on a series of events that completely confused me. Before I even had time to adjust to the world that was being built, the book was already off and running. It was all very disconcerting.

      The unfortunate part is that there really is a great story line under all the confusion. Tara is indeed a pretty fabulous main character, and following her is a lot of fun. She's witty, strong, and willing to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of things. The city of Alt Coulumb sounds vast and gorgeous. Plus it is inhabited by some rather unusual characters. Long story short, there is a lot that is good here. Sadly, the lack of allowing the reader to take it all in makes for a tough read.

      I'd like a map, and possibly an area that explains characters and places. In fact, I'd honestly classify this book as more of a regular Fantasy than UF since it has such a strong influence of a brand new world. At the end, I was ready for more but it definitely took me a bit to get there. I'm hoping that Gladstone's next book in the series will shed more light on everything that takes place in Three Parts Dead.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic in every regard.
    • 4/5
      Wild ride -- very original world, and basically a lawyer procedural in a dystopian magic world post-God wars (in which most gods died). That's a nouthful but it's something like that. There's a mystery detective side, there's a creepy necromantic magic side, there are many ethical debates and well. It's interesting. I'd give it 5 stars for blowing my mind, but I think I just didn't love any of the characters enough to go there -- they are compelling, but not necessarily likeable.
    • 5/5
      This series takes the old Sorcery/Magic Fantasy Universe and moves the time wheel forward. In the usual fantsy settings, you have a medieval set-up of Lords, Peasants & Wizards and everything stays the same for THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of years. And that just ain't Human Nature.This series take the notion of magic and shows you what would happen is Man's insatiable penchant for experimentation and scientific improvement looks at Spells and Gods as...just RESOURCES to be chained and utilized. Magic becomes a Codex of Rules & Agreements, and Sorcerers become Dangerous Lawyers.Best of all, the writing of this Universe of all-encompassing. A World with Politics and Power factions interwoven with modern Legalistic interpretations of what a GOD actually is. And thru it, it asks the questions of What is the place of Humanity, Gods and Ambition.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Fantasy with a steampunk feel. A murder mystery. A courtroom drama. A young, magically talented female protagonist. Vampires. Gargoyles. This story has all of those. The prose and pacing are quite good. The setting is imaginative. The characters are well constructed. I appreciate the wit, occasional light banter, and the obvious skill of the writer. Yet somehow, this story wasn't as appealing to me as I expected. It's a bit too dark for my taste, and the world it creates certainly is not a place I'd like to visit. I didn't connect with it or the characters. I can't honestly say I enjoyed the time I spent visiting them in the pages of this book. That's all a matter of personal taste, of course. Mine is just mine, as is this short review. Goodreads ratings are about how much I liked the book, and this one I did, but not enough to read the next in the series. There are more enjoyable fictional worlds in which I can spend my limited free time.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      A world with gods, Craftspeople, Vampires and all sorts of inhabitants. Some characters are interesting, some not so much. I like the different, more modern take to magic that is almost like steampunk but not quite. The story had humour and interesting twists in it, but I still felt I would have hoped for more substance, not just a law and order Supernatural style. But a nice start to a series, will probably read more.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book!

      I didn't read this as critically as some of the things I've read recently (nothing drew me out enough that I had to start analyzing why I didn't like it).

      Gods are like giant conglomerates who loan out their power (with interest rates!), and the craft users are lawyers. Legal battles are fought with magic. It's AWESOME.
    • 5/5
      Picked it up and didn't put it down. The delightful world he's built does occasionally get in the way, but more often it moves the story along and provides something interesting for the characters to push against. Basically just a lot of fun.
    • 4/5
      I came to this because I loved "This Is How You Lose The Time War." It justified that in every way: inventive, exciting, memorable.
    • 4/5
      I have for a while wanted to read this book so when I found it one Scribd I just had to read it.

      Tara has been thrown out from her the Hidden School, fallen to the earth. You don't get to know why, at least not yet. She returns home to her family and resumes her life there, until the chance comes to her in the form of Elayne Kevarian who hires her to work for the necromantic firm: Kelethres, Albrecht and Ao and her first job is to bring the God Kos Everburning back to life. Together with Elayne and Abelard, the chain-smoking priest of Kos she must now resurrect Kos before His city falls apart.

      Max Gladstone has created a wonderful and interesting world where ordinary people have discovered that they also can have the power of Gods, or at least some of it with led to the Gods War and the world that Tara is living in now is the result of the war. Tara has the Craft, she can bring people back from the dead. Now one of the last great Gods have died, and now it's up to Tara to bring him back, but she must also figure out how he died because it's not easy thing to kill a God...

      I liked this book, sometimes I found the story about heavy, probably because I had to get to know a new world and its history, but as the story progressed and I learned more about the world and characters the more I liked the story. Also, the ending, it was great. I never that coming and I love getting surprised when I read a book!
    • 4/5
      An excellent new approach to magic and theurgy, and and brand new world, with brand new avatars and styles.

      A well planned world with complex heroes, protagonists, sly villains, and twists that stay hidden until the moment they come due. Well worth the read.
    • 5/5
      Well written and a finely crafted world.
    • 4/5
      A good detective story and I rather like the feel of the theology / magic system as something which isn't overly-explained but feels like something that a lot of “engineering” has gone into, as you'd expect of a long-running, powerful civilization.
    • 5/5
      Amazing book and author. The reader has no real chance to avoid being sucked into an artfully crafted world that while foreign seems so real.
    • 4/5
      Read this 3rd, in chronological rather than publication order. Makes sense and plays well that way, but this one gives some details on the Craft that the first two lacked because they were written later.
    • 5/5
      Three Parts Dead is a tale set in a startlingly different universe where gods and Craftspeople use magic (Craft), and where Craft users are scholars and lawyers. Magic often deals with contracts, negotiations, payments, soulstuff, raising the dead… the usual legal matters. Tara is a recent attendee of the Hidden Schools, graduated and then tossed out—literally tossed out—due to issues with the staff. She is picked up by a Craftswomen to join the prestigious law firm Kelethras, Albrecht, and Ao, and is quickly introduced to her first case. Kos Everburning, one of the most significant gods on the planet, is dead. His priests want him back, and soon. His creditors want him brought back, but may want him resurrected quite different than he was before. Soon Tara is on a mission to determine how a god died when no contract made by the priests shows negligence, what Kos was doing prior to his death, and why Stone Men and Stone Women have returned to the city for the first time in decades. She is joined by Abelard, the young priest on duty when Kos died who is terrified by his city’s loss and enduring an (understandable) crisis of faith.The people and the universe are thoroughly fascinating and easy to fall into. Readers are led through a world where magic is dangerous and disturbing to common folk, but simply another way to live for Craftspeople, a world where some people worship gods and others view them as a level to try to attain (or beat) someday in the future. It is a world where Craft is both beauty and disturbing, powerful and deadly, and where, as a Craftperson, being logical and quick on your feet is the best way to stay alive. Even then, ‘alive’ and ‘human’ are both spectrums rather than states, and it is not unusual to find older Craftspeople missing things… like skin and muscles and tissue-- everything that isn’t bone. It is a world where the priests of Alt Coulumb are highly trained engineers, seeing their god in the pipes and valves that heat a city, and where years ago huge parts of the planet were destroyed in the God Wars where men and women fought with gods.This is a tale that twists and turns, that keeps the reader guessing. It is a quick, albeit detailed, read, and will be fun for readers who enjoy worldbuilding and diving into universes and societies vastly different from our own.
    • 5/5
      I haven't been this impressed by a new series in a long time. The worldbuilding and magic system are fantastic; the characters rounded, deep, and interesting; the prose beautiful; the structure elegant. I can't wait to inhale the rest of this series.
    • 3/5
      A fantasy murder mystery in a modern world where gods are real and physically present. The world is incredibly interesting and unique. It is filled with magic, magical creatures, gods, and modern settings such as a court system. I love the setting and always wanted to know more The story itself wasn't as good and it jumped around quite a bit. It also didn't help that the audiobook narration wasn't good. I can see this series becoming quite good and excited to read the next one.
    • 4/5
      I read this in a read along and it was an interesting book to discuss with others. There are a lot of interesting fantasy elements tossed together and some I liked (necromancy serving as legality?) and some I could have done without (vampire). I would have been happier with just Tara's perspective on things because she's awesome. Definitely a fantasy to grab if you like unique fantasy and Law and Order ;-).
    • 3/5
      There was a LOT going on in this debut novel, and some of it was pulled off better than other stuff.Pluses:--kick-ass protagonist. Tara is a young woman of color who's been expelled from a school of Craft (magic using power from the stars, souls, and other sources), who is hired by....--a kick-ass secondary character. Ms. Elayne Kevorian is a private investigator from a well-respected firm, who's been engaged to discover how and why a god named Kos has been killed. As it turns out, sometime in the past she had had a relationship with a ...--kick-ass creepy character, which Did Not End Well. I pictured this guy as an evil George Clooney--smooth, manipulative, charming, but COLD underneath. He's representing clients who are protesting the provisions of Kos' "will," so to speak (commitments that the god made that must be honored upon his death).--All of this action takes place in a port city called Alt Coulumb, which I pictured as a gothic Gotham--there are gargoyles on the buildings, and a central temple dedicated to Kos the Everburning, the recently departed god. I especially liked the details of the economics of this city, which many fantasy books overlook. The universe as a whole is a mishmash of vampires, god(esse)s, supernatural shapeshifters, humans, shades, etc., but I thought it worked.Minuses:--the uneven pacing. It never felt like the book settled down into a rhythm of steadily building tension, which is what you want in a mystery investigation. The switching POVs weren't always done well, either.--the main character (Tara) was a bit of a Mary Sue. It didn't feel like she was in actual mortal danger sometimes. --In the end, it didn't seem to me to be Tara's story at all. Turned out that two of the other characters were actually calling the shots behind the scenes. That's fine, and I've seen that done well, but it felt like a bit of a cheat, like Tara wasn't the hero of her own story. I liked the universe, so I was glad to see that this is the first in a series set there. I think the author shows great promise--I'll be interested to see what his later books are like (3 of them, at last count). I'd recommend this book to fans of fantasy, urban fantasy, and possibly paranormal romance, although that's not a particular focus of this book.
    • 4/5
      The magic system is this book is both disturbing and kind of disgusting - but once I adjusted to it, it became backdrop to a fascinating and original story, full of really great characters. It reminded me a little of an urban fantasy version of C.S. Friedman's Magister books, but whereas I found those books compelling but also appalling and, in the end, so unpleasant to read because of their bleakness that I never finished the series, this book is full of heart and humor, in addition to a gruesome magical system and a broken world.
    • 5/5
      (Originally posted at bigpapageek.wordpress.com)

      My list of truly great fantasy debuts isn't that long.

      Coming out of the gate with something basically unimpeachable is a monumental task, something some of my favorite authors (Brandon Sanderson, China Mieville) didn't accomplish. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch all make the cut.

      Today I'm going to add one to the list; Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone, the first in a series known as The Craft Sequence.

      (In the interest of brevity I'm going to review the three books together, as I read them all in swift succession...and I am lazy)

      Fantasy as a genre often gets maligned (fairly at times) as being derivative and lazy. That makes it all the more refreshing that Three Parts Dead hit the ground with ideas and innovations to spare.

      1. A female lead who is also a woman of color (rarity enough.)

      2. A truly original mix of courtroom drama, police procedural, Lovecraftian horror, romance, and ...economic primer?

      3. Did I mention that there is a female, non-white lead? And she is neither a man-in-all-but-genetalia or a generic "tough/strong female character?" She is, shockingly enough, a competent, human, flawed character where the flaws feel real, not shoehorned in to make a superhuman feel "relatable."

      4 This list is getting too long, so let me sum up. It has,

      Deathless kings. CEO's who are also skeletons. Living gargoyles. A hive-mind police force which are the anonymous avatars of justice. Fire gods. Deified humans. Vampire pirates. Magic that is Business that is Magic. Nightmare telegraphs.Souls used as currency. Gargoyle poets.

      Like I said. Original.

      Other than being a little "infodumpy" in the last forty pages or so, Three Parts Dead is basically everything I look for in a fantasy novel; smart, innovative, it respects my intelligence as a reader, it has characters that represent a wide range of ethnicities, sexual orientations and professions.

      Wonderful.

      The second and third entries in The Craft Sequence, Two Serpents Rise and Full Fathom Five, suffer only by the fact that they weren't my first, so they can never really measure up. The are both fantastic though.

      Two Serpents Rise takes place in a quasi-Central American land with heavy shades of Aztec and Mayan mythology and centers around water use rights and risk management, of all things. Full Fathom Five, on the other hand, concerns itself with currency manipulation on a Hawaii-esque island country that has set itself up as an offshore banking haven, a la the Cayman Islands.

      Yep, you heard that right...offshore banking fantasy. And it is AWESOME.

      I can't recommend these books highly enough. The only warning I can give is that Gladstone, the author, clearly assumes that you are willing to roll with him and trust that all will eventually be clear. He definitely rolls on the "show" side of the "show don't tell" line. The plus side is a genuinely immersive world. The downside is getting overwhelmed if you didn't know what you were in for.

      How about you? Have you read any of The Craft Sequence? Do you have a favorite installment?
    • 3/5
      A bit of a disappointing mixture of steampunk and magic, with gods as a sort of battery storing power generated by worship and selling bits of it off under contract to various concerns.There was too much jumping between character POVs - especially at obvious cliffhangers moments - and a lot of running around aimlessly, which was rather dull. That said it was readable with a few interesting plot twists, but I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel.
    • 5/5
      Um. Wonderful? I'll try to write a more thoughtful review this weekend.