Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Tor Books (2016), 416 pages
Description
"The great city of Alt Coulumb is in crisis. The moon goddess Seril, long thought dead, is back--and the people of Alt Coulumb aren't happy. Protests rock the city, and Kos Everburning's creditors attempt a hostile takeover of the fire god's church. Tara Abernathy, the god's in-house Craftswoman, must defend the church against the world's fiercest necromantic firm--and against her old classmate, a rising star in the Craftwork world. As if that weren't enough, Cat and Raz, supporting characters from Three Parts Dead , are back too, fighting monster pirates; skeleton kings drink frozen cocktails, defying several principles of anatomy; jails, hospitals, and temples are broken into and out of; choirs of flame sing over Alt Coulumb; demons pose significant problems; a farmers' market proves more important to world affairs than seems likely; doctors of theology strike back; Monk-Technician Abelard performs several miracles; The Rats! play Walsh's Place; and dragons give almost-helpful counsel."--Syndetics… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pwaites
Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence is one of the smartest, most imaginative fantasy series out there, and if you’re not reading it, you should be. It’s one of the best fantasy worlds I’ve ever encountered, and both the prose and characters are brilliant. Seriously, go read it. This series
Four Roads Cross is a direct sequel to Three Parts Dead and returns to Alt Coulumb and Tara Abernathy. Unlike the other books of the series, it’s not really one you can read as a stand alone. You need to at least have read Three Parts Dead, although I’d suggest reading Last First Snow and Two Serpents Rise as well. This review will contain some unavoidable spoilers for Three Parts Dead.
Four Roads Cross starts soon after the end of Three Parts Dead but mostly takes place a year later, when news of Seril’s revival begins to spread. This creates problems, for Kos’s creditors see Seril as an off the books liability. If creditors lose faith in Kos, the magic based world economy would be severely damaged. So the creditors are plotting a hostile take over, and it’s up to Tara and her allies to stop them and save, Seril, Kos, and Alt Coulumb.
If you’re already familiar with Three Parts Dead and the Craft Sequence, do I really need to keep singing the praises of this series? The amazing world building, awesome female characters, genre mixing… you would already know all about it. Instead I’m going to focus on how Four Roads Cross builds upon Three Parts Dead.
“You’re a master of the universe. Congratulations. I thought I wanted that, too. Turns out I didn’t.”
While I don’t think Tara was necessarily underdeveloped in Three Parts Dead, I got a much better feel for her in this book. She’s gone against every path and expectation for craftswomen, and she’s now working directly for a goddess. She’s also someone with immense courage and perseverance, who’ll never give up and always keep fighting. However, she doesn’t always realize that she doesn’t have to fight on her own. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to admit that you’re not invulnerable. That’s why she has friends.
“Time’s one jewel with many facets. Tara leaned against the desk. A year ago she stood in a graveyard beneath a starry sky, and the people of her hometown approached her with pitchforks and knives and torches and murder in mind, all because she’d tried to show them the world was bigger than they thought.
Admittedly, there might have been a way to show them that didn’t involve zombies.”
Additionally, I think Gladstone’s prose has been steadily improving over the course of the series. Again, it’s not like Three Parts Dead was badly written, but Four Roads Cross just feels like it’s at a whole other level. Gladstone’s prose becomes beautiful as well as effective, painting a vivid portrait of Alt Coulumb and our central cast.
If this book has one fault, it’s that I think the pacing slows down too much in the second half. There’s some scenes involving a trip to another setting that felt like they dragged somewhat, although on the other hand I could see how they were important for Tara’s characterization and some of the thematic material.
But overall, I just really loved this book. It’s an excellent installment in an excellent series.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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deserves way more attention.Four Roads Cross is a direct sequel to Three Parts Dead and returns to Alt Coulumb and Tara Abernathy. Unlike the other books of the series, it’s not really one you can read as a stand alone. You need to at least have read Three Parts Dead, although I’d suggest reading Last First Snow and Two Serpents Rise as well. This review will contain some unavoidable spoilers for Three Parts Dead.
Four Roads Cross starts soon after the end of Three Parts Dead but mostly takes place a year later, when news of Seril’s revival begins to spread. This creates problems, for Kos’s creditors see Seril as an off the books liability. If creditors lose faith in Kos, the magic based world economy would be severely damaged. So the creditors are plotting a hostile take over, and it’s up to Tara and her allies to stop them and save, Seril, Kos, and Alt Coulumb.
If you’re already familiar with Three Parts Dead and the Craft Sequence, do I really need to keep singing the praises of this series? The amazing world building, awesome female characters, genre mixing… you would already know all about it. Instead I’m going to focus on how Four Roads Cross builds upon Three Parts Dead.
“You’re a master of the universe. Congratulations. I thought I wanted that, too. Turns out I didn’t.”
While I don’t think Tara was necessarily underdeveloped in Three Parts Dead, I got a much better feel for her in this book. She’s gone against every path and expectation for craftswomen, and she’s now working directly for a goddess. She’s also someone with immense courage and perseverance, who’ll never give up and always keep fighting. However, she doesn’t always realize that she doesn’t have to fight on her own. It’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to admit that you’re not invulnerable. That’s why she has friends.
“Time’s one jewel with many facets. Tara leaned against the desk. A year ago she stood in a graveyard beneath a starry sky, and the people of her hometown approached her with pitchforks and knives and torches and murder in mind, all because she’d tried to show them the world was bigger than they thought.
Admittedly, there might have been a way to show them that didn’t involve zombies.”
Additionally, I think Gladstone’s prose has been steadily improving over the course of the series. Again, it’s not like Three Parts Dead was badly written, but Four Roads Cross just feels like it’s at a whole other level. Gladstone’s prose becomes beautiful as well as effective, painting a vivid portrait of Alt Coulumb and our central cast.
If this book has one fault, it’s that I think the pacing slows down too much in the second half. There’s some scenes involving a trip to another setting that felt like they dragged somewhat, although on the other hand I could see how they were important for Tara’s characterization and some of the thematic material.
But overall, I just really loved this book. It’s an excellent installment in an excellent series.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
In Gladstone’s world, law is magic is higher math, so magic flows through contracts and their loopholes can be deadly. I no longer read this for the plot—palace politics are less interesting when I don’t connect emotionally with any character—but for the worldbuilding and Gladstone’s
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awesome turns of phrase that pop up every once in a while, like how insects wear their shells on the outside but humans only reveal their structure under pressure. (The insect comparison is plot-appropriate.) Also I like the description of the harried associate life which turns out to be not very different than it is here, even if the bosses are actual living skeletons. Show Less
LibraryThing member lavaturtle
Another fantastic book in the Craft sequence. Tara Abernathy is instantly relatable, using law/magic to save her city and its gods while struggling to pay off her student loans. Everything about the world is like this, a modern society entwined with magic and gods, and it works amazingly well. The
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supporting cast is compelling too, each wrangling their own very human problems. I love this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member adamwolf
I really liked this! It's a direct sequel to the first book, but we needed all the other stuff to happen in the other 3 books in order to get here.
LibraryThing member adamwolf
I really liked this! It's a direct sequel to the first book, but we needed all the other stuff to happen in the other 3 books in order to get here.
LibraryThing member Caragen87
Back in the city of Coulomb-- a God thought dead turns out to be very much alive. The problem is that her existence threatens the contractual and financial obligations of her Lover, the Fire God of the City.
To say anything more is just a waste-- The complexities of everything must be read to be
Just READ it.
To say anything more is just a waste-- The complexities of everything must be read to be
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unravelled.Just READ it.
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LibraryThing member jercox
My favorite of these so far, for the most part. Ties together a lot of loose ends and pieces from the first 3 books (chronologically) and flows well.
LibraryThing member Tikimoof
Sadly, not as good as Three Parts Dead. I still definitely prefer Tara and Alt Coulomb to Dresediel Lex, but this wasn't quite as harebrained, and it was a little too widespread. I would kind of prefer to keep both sets of characters contained so that you can understand references within each
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setting. Show Less
LibraryThing member grahzny
If I have a complaint, it's that this seems a bit "more of the same" compared to the previous novel. On the other hand, I like that "same" just fine--a return to some favorite characters and settings, plus a fun tiny cameo I noticed from Gladstone's interactive fiction stories.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016-07
Physical description
8.49 inches
ISBN
0765379422 / 9780765379429