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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
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

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 ...more
Three P ...more

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
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

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
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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
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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.

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.
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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
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

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.
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.

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
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

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.
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Nov 29, 2013
Paige
marked it as to-read

Dec 11, 2013
Mir
marked it as to-read

Jan 12, 2014
Sharon
marked it as b-list

Jul 17, 2014
karen
marked it as soon-to-buy


Mar 07, 2016
Kellan
marked it as to-read

Jul 26, 2016
Shanthanu
marked it as to-read

Sep 21, 2017
martha
marked it as to-read


Dec 25, 2020
Nadine in NY Jones
marked it as to-read

Jul 28, 2021
Jennifer
added it

Oct 22, 2021
ScottK
marked it as to-read