Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Aug 31, 2012 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: mt-bookpile-2011-2015, old-reads

This may surprise my faithful review followers, but this book should have been the sequel, not the first (or only). Why? Read on...

Fifty years ago there were the God Wars (over what is not quite clear) and when the dust settled, all the gods were dead (or reformed, or something) with the exception of Alt Coulumb, still ruled by Kos Everburning (a fire god). Kos' lover, Seril (a moon goddess... I think) was remade into Justice and her Guardians (aka gargoyles) banished. Instead, Justice has Black ...more

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Feb 18, 2017 Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, fantasy, mystery

The Craft Sequence has been on my radar for a while, but up until a few weeks ago, it hadn't been a contender for reading outside of my normal schedule. That changed for two reasons: a friend of mine recently finished it and gave it a great review; and I read an article by Gladstone where he talked about the importance of character. The article was sharp and on point, and I realized if someone had that innate of an understanding of character, it was probably time for me to read his books.

Three P The Craft Sequence has been on my radar for a while, but up until a few weeks ago, it hadn't been a contender for reading outside of my normal schedule. That changed for two reasons: a friend of mine recently finished it and gave it a great review; and I read an article by Gladstone where he talked about the importance of character. The article was sharp and on point, and I realized if someone had that innate of an understanding of character, it was probably time for me to read his books.

Three Parts Dead is the first of five (so far) novels in the sequence, all told out of sequential order. Here, we meet Tara Abernathy, a woman who recently graduated from what amounts to mage school, but the mages here -- known as Craftsmen -- use their powers to enforce the law. When a god dies, she's hired by a firm to help determine what caused his death, and how they can resurrect him. Simple stuff, right?

The book is touted as a combination urban fantasy and legal thriller, but honestly, it felt more like an urban fantasy mystery to me. I might be splitting hairs with my distinction, but other than the fact that part of the story takes place in court, I wouldn't have thought of this as a legal thriller at all. It's well written, with a complex plot that wraps up without cheating the reader, and it's full of realized characters and creative ideas. It reminded me of China Miéville, though much more approachable and readable.

Gladstone fills this book with a lot of ideas -- gods, vampires, and mages only touch the surface of his well -- so much of the story is world-building. There's a lot of it, but none of it feels out of place. Instead of relying on info-dumps throughout the story, Gladstone lets the details grow organically through dialogue, situations, and characters. It means that it will take a little more time to get the story, but I kind of like that approach to a story anyway.

There were moments in the story where I got lost, thanks in part to how much Gladstone was putting into the story, but it was also due to his getting too poetic in his narrative. He kept making comparisons that weren't concrete (at one point he described something being "black as love", or close to it), and they drew me out of the story. I get the feeling he was trying to avoid cliches, but I prefer similes that aren't vague; they don't make any sense in the end.

Overall, though, this is an impressive story. By the end, I was caught up enough in the story that I had to postpone my bedtime, and as the story drew to a close, the tension grew to the point where I could almost feel it. I had already picked up the remaining books in the series, thanks to all the good I had read about it, so I'm glad it turned out to be as good as I expected. I just hope the fact that they're all published out of order won't affect the rest of the series. ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 Wealhtheow rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, pocmaincharacters

Tara Abernathy wants more than life as a farmer and seeks out a Hidden School to teach her magic. And in the very first chapter, she is thrown down from their school floating in the clouds. Luckily, Tara learned her Craft lessons well while she could, and survives. Shortly she receives a job offer: join the infamous Elayne Kevarian in resurrecting a fire god.

I really like the magic in this world. It operates via contracts and metaphors, and is used to create things like a cadre of law enforceme ...more

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Jun 09, 2014 Christina rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I always feel that reviews of first novels (or first successful novels) that say "x author is off to a good start" or "this is a promising beginning" are just a wee bit condescending. The author probably doesn't feel it was a good start, the author, after writing the damn thing in the first place, probably thinks it was a good finished product, thankyouverymuch. Those reviews come across as a little bit "well, okay, but you can do better next time, right?" and kind of make you want to slap the r I always feel that reviews of first novels (or first successful novels) that say "x author is off to a good start" or "this is a promising beginning" are just a wee bit condescending. The author probably doesn't feel it was a good start, the author, after writing the damn thing in the first place, probably thinks it was a good finished product, thankyouverymuch. Those reviews come across as a little bit "well, okay, but you can do better next time, right?" and kind of make you want to slap the reviewer with a fish.
Well, ready the halibut, because this book DOES seem like a promising beginning and the author probably CAN do better next time. There was a lot to really like about it: the world is unique and interesting, gritty without being a complete dystopia, and for the most part was established well. The opening scenes were paced just right, throwing out enough information to intrigue without feeling like an exposition explosion. Tara was also, I thought, done just right, a tough, slippery heroine whose morality is kind of close to what you might expect but not 100% straight-up hero. Every scene she had with her mentor, too, was a winner. I really enjoyed both of them and both of them together.
But...yeah. About midway through things started to spin out of control. We had a character explosion; actually, what we HAD was a perspective explosion. All of the characters had been introduced already, but suddenly we were bouncing from perspective to perspective every page when previously we'd just had Tara and occasionally Abelard (who to me was about two-thirds of a decent character, but there was something unfinished about him). The quick-change perspective seemed like a gimmick to increase suspense, or as if the author was imagining quick cuts on film. At first it increased my suspense, after I got past the "wait, why are we in Catherine's head, now?" confusion. However, it went from suspenseful to irritating very, very quickly.
Also, not all of the characters were winners. Some of them just weren't fully developed, and then there was (sigh) a vampire, who didn't really NEED to be a vampire, and had nothing about his character that a thousand other vampires haven't done before (although I will acknowledge that he didn't sparkle). The villain was also abysmal, but good villains are hard to find anywhere.
Really, it was a good start. There was a lot of good stuff here, it was just lacking some skill that will probably come with practice.
Okay, bring on the fish slaps. I'll go quietly.
...more

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Jan 17, 2017 emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: magic-witches-occult, mystery-and-crime, fantasy-urban-fantasy, why-is-this-not-a-movie-yet, 2017, audiobook, to-purchase

I loved this book. Tara is a great protagonist; I love her hubris and her intelligence, and the scrapes she gets into are a lot of fun. I loved Kat and Abelard too, and I hope we'll see them again. So cool to have a woman of color protagonist in an urban fantasy novel, too. I listened to this on audiobook, and at times my attention wandered because I was working while listening, which isn't the fault of the book at all-- I definitely plan to read it in hard copy to fill in some of the gaps. Real ...more

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May 13, 2014 Lorena rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I really liked the world-building, which was enough to give you a sense of a totally different place, but still left plenty of questions to explore as the series develops. The characters were wonderful, too, and I enjoyed the concept of the very rational and legalistic way in which the gods in this world contract their obligations to their followers and others. The question of who killed a god (and why) makes for an enjoyably high-stakes plot.

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Jul 20, 2015 Josianne Fitzgerald rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, ebooks, clams_overdrive

Excellent read. Was a little bewildered at first by the world building, but it emerges slowly and exquisitely. Will be returning to this world soon. Hope there's lots more to explore. ...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, fantasy, ebook, witches_wizards, gods

Tara was a talented student of magic until she managed to simultaneously graduate and get kicked out of the hidden schools. living back home with mom & dad just isn't going to work out, but fortunately an opportunity to work with a very prestigious firm opens up when the god of a foreign city dies under mysterious circumstances.

after reading some fairly mediocre stuff on airplanes lately, i was hoping for a comfort-food-type actioner UF thingy, and got this twisty little mystery instead. i was c ...more

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Sep 18, 2017 Cait marked it as abandoned

This was recommended to me because I loved the Peter Grant books, and I admit I can see the familial resemblance.
But, I do not have any patience for books that require me to learn a new language, as if by creating new words, you have somehow created new ideas. Everything just felt too convoluted to me.
Also: no humor- or not enough humor- eveything just took itself so seriously.

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Apr 30, 2014 Cairnraiser rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, ebook

Fascinating mix of different fantasy subgenres.

Urban fantasy with gods and some steampunk flavor.

Enjoyed Tara's mission as new employee of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao.

Next book in the Craft sequence is on my virtual shelf already. ...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides marked it as maybe-read-sometime

Shelves: theme-religion, fantasy-fiction

I was expecting something more typically urban fantasy-ish ... and this seems more intense and serious. Not bad, but not what I'm in the mood for right now. ...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Phoenix rated it really liked it

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Shelves: speculative-fiction

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Oct 05, 2013 katayoun Masoodi marked it as tbr-ebook

Shelves: fantasy, ebook

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Nov 29, 2013 Paige marked it as to-read

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Dec 10, 2013 Punk marked it as find-and-read

Shelves: urban-fantasy

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Jan 12, 2014 Sharon marked it as b-list

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Jun 22, 2015 Sharon marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Feb 10, 2016 Misha rated it really liked it

Shelves: doorway-plot, female-protagonist, fantasy, doorway-prose, debut, doorway-people, poc-characters, read-2016, doorway-place

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May 08, 2020 Bryan457 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: borrow-library-audio, fantasy, vampires, young-prodigy, wizards-n-magicians, immortals, crime-mystery-detective, zombies, juv-ya, shapeshifters

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