Series: Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone ("Three Parts Dead")

[Kaa]

December 2018: Three Parts Dead (discussion - *spoilers*)
January 2019: Two Serpents Rise (except if you haven't read it yet, I'm now recommending reading this after Last First Snow)
February 2019: Last First Snow
March 2019: Four Roads Cross
April 2019: Full Fathom Five
May 2019: The Ruin of Angels

There's a thread about the first book, Three Parts Dead, already (linked above), so comments about just that book should go there. Discussion of the rest of the books or the world of the Craft Sequence more broadly goes in this thread.

In both threads, please use spoiler tags (the original Three Parts Dead thread had open spoilers, but from the linked comment down, all spoilers should be tagged) and mark spoilers with book name and chapter number.

[Bobby]

I somehow missed this because I read the blurb and instantly added the first to my TBR. I'll be late for the first one but I'll try to jump in soon

[Kaa]

Awesome, it's really casual anyway. Feel free to read ahead or behind of the schedule as needed. It's a great series so I hope you enjoy!

[Oleksandr]

I started Three Parts Dead and I like the 'science magic' approach as well as witty writing. I'll join the discussion after I finish

[Melanie, the neutral party]

I already read Three Parts Dead. I definitely enjoyed the originality of the magic system and slow-burn world-building.

I will join in in January when you start book 2.

[Mimi]

I've read the first book as well and looking forward to joining you all for the second book next month (in a couple days).

I've tried reading Two Serpents Rise twice before, but neither attempts took. Had to abandon early because I couldn't get into the characters. Hoping this time reading with a group will get me further.

[Kaa]

Just started Two Serpents Rise. Personally, this was the book I enjoyed the least the first time I read the series, so I'm really hoping to like it more this time around.

[HeyT]

I think my favorite part of this series is how he takes dry subjects like the law and the stock market and says but what if they are magic. Suddenly they are so much more interesting.

[Trike]

HeyT wrote: "I think my favorite part of this series is how he takes dry subjects like the law and the stock market and says but what if they are magic. Suddenly they are so much more interesting."

Maybe I’m weird, but I find law and the stock market interesting already.

[Kaa]

It turns out I still don't like TSR! (view spoiler)[Mainly I just hated Caleb, Mal, and Caleb's pursuit of Mal - if the story had just stuck to things like law and the stock market (or even risk management, public utilities, and gambling) I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Even the threads about fanaticism and the conflict between tradition and modernity, which I thought were some of the strongest parts of the book, weren't strong enough to keep me distracted from the parts I didn't like. (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

Kaa wrote: "It turns out I still don't like TSR! [spoilers removed]"

Is it worth skipping all together? I haven't started yet, and they seem semi-stand alone... Will I miss anything for later books? Maybe I'll skip to #3 and come back to TSR later?

[Kaa]

Ariana wrote: "Is it worth skipping all together? I haven't started yet, and they seem semi-stand alone... Will I miss anything for later books? Maybe I'll skip to #3 and come back to TSR later? "

(I'm going to put this in spoiler tags in case there's anyone who doesn't want to know in advance how the books are connected, but it won't be very spoiler-y) (view spoiler)[Hmm. Technically, the books are stand-alone, but I don't think I'd advise skipping it? But I think if you wanted to skip ahead, I would actually go to Last First Snow, which is set in the same city with some overlapping characters 20 years earlier. (Caleb, the protagonist of TSR, is the son of Temoc, one of the big characters in LFS, and the Red King makes an appearance in both.) It would definitely change what you know about some of the things going on in Two Serpents Rise, but it might actually make it better? (hide spoiler)]

Also, for anyone who might prefer reading in chronological order rather than publication order, here's a discussion about the pros and cons: https://www.tor.com/2016/08/05/what-o.... Honestly, now I'm debating whether I want to switch up my reading order for the next three...

[Kaa]

I changed my reading order for the Craft Sequence from publication order to chronological for the remaining four books.

My new reading order:
Last First Snow in Feb
Four Roads Cross in March
Full Fathom Five in April
Ruin of Angels in May

And if you haven't started the series at all, or have only read Three Parts Dead, I would probably recommend reading Last First Snow before Two Serpents Rise.

This was already a very casually scheduled read anyway, so if you wanted to continue to read in pub order that's fine. And I've already read all but Ruin of Angels in the past, so I can provide at least some discussion on any of the other books whenever.

[Ariana]

Kaa wrote: "I changed my reading order for the Craft Sequence from publication order to chronological for the remaining four books.

My new reading order:
Last First Snow in Feb
Four Roads Cross in March
Full..."

I have been torn about where to go next, so I think I may do Last First Snow and then Two Serpents Rise (chronological, not pub. order), so then at least we'll match up for the next book. That was a great article you posted about the pros and cons of different reading orders!

[Kaa]

Awesome, I really liked Last First Snow, so hopefully you do too! I found the article really helpful for thinking about how the series fits together.

[Ariana]

I started Last First Snow last night! Happy to spend more time with Elayne.

[Kaa]

Yay! I love young Elayne. I probably won't get to Last First Snow for a few days, but I'm excited to hear what you think.

[Sid]

Reading Three Parts Dead right now! Took me till chapter 3 to get into it, and now I'm in

[Kaa]

I am way behind on this, but I did finally get to Last First Snow. I like it SO MUCH better than Two Serpents Rise. I love Elayne, probably for a lot of the same reasons I love Tara. Even Temoc is a more interesting character in LFS. The biggest thing, though, is that the plot is actually good, which I would not say is the case for TSR.

[Kaa]

Ok, updated thoughts on the necessity of reading Two Serpents Rise after reading Four Roads Cross: (view spoiler)[Some of the characters from TSR appear briefly in FRC, and some of the events of TSR are mentioned a couple times. It's still probably not completely necessary to have read TSR to follow what's happening in FRC, but you will understand some of the events in the latter book better if you have already read the former. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I liked Four Roads Cross a lot - Tara is back and just as awesome as ever, and I liked that some of the characters who were more secondary in Three Parts Dead got bigger and better roles in this book.

[Kaa]

I finished Full Fathom Five last night. I enjoyed it a lot, and at this point I feel pretty strongly that these books are better served by being read in mostly chronological order, rather than pub order. I think I'd still recommend starting with Three Parts Dead, but going from there to Last First Snow and then on through series in title/chronology order. I'm looking forward to Ruin of Angels, which is the only book I hadn't already read once!

[Cheryl]

Way late here, but I'm going to join if I like the first one, going to that thread now.

[Oleksandr]

Cheryl wrote: "Way late here, but I'm going to join if I like the first one, going to that thread now."

I plan to read it starting from Last First Snow so maybe a BR?

[Cheryl]

Is that internal chronology? I'm going to start w/ first published, and I have no idea if I'll like it or not. So, to answer your question, I don't know....

[Oleksandr]

Cheryl wrote: "Is that internal chronology? I'm going to start w/ first published, and I have no idea if I'll like it or not. So, to answer your question, I don't know...."

Yes the internal, just as the author planned. The publishers fouled it up, but originally each next book in the series had the next number in its title

[Cheryl]

Oh. Well, if you're sure the author had it planned that way. But I don't know if I can get Last First Snow... it didn't turn up in any of the library searches for me.

[Kaa]

If it helps, Cheryl, I think Three Parts Dead is a better introduction to the series, but if you do decide to continue, I recommend proceeding to Last First Snow (if you are able to get it) and then in internal chronological order after that.

[Cheryl]

Thank you so very much, Kaa, that will work great for me! I can always make a Special Request if I need to for LFS.

[Ariana]

I have only read Three Parts Dead and Last First Snow, but I would definitely recommend starting with 3PD, which I loved. I liked LFS also, but the plot wasn't as engaging for me.