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Tom Doherty Associates
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: A god has died, and it's up to Tara, a first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethras, 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' 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 justice is a collective force bestowed on a few, craftsmen fly on lightning bolts, and gargoyles can rule cities, Three Parts Dead introduces listeners to an ethical landscape in which the line between right and wrong blurs.… (more)
Media reviews
contracts define the structure, accessibility, and use of magic, called Craft. The world also includes familiar fantasy elements–from magical boarding schools to vampires to almighty gods–but gives them a fresh take that immediately draws you in.
Gladstone’s world-building involves magical
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takes on fields that aren’t typically addressed in fantasy—in this case, litigation. Gods, rather than being mysterious, unknowable, and omnipotent, have direct relationships with their followers. Their abilities bring happiness and joy to believers, create rain in the desert, cure illnesses—but also fuel metropolitan transit systems, back military operations, and promote trading partnerships with multinational corporations. Like all powerful people, then, the divine are always in need of good legal representation.
That’s where firms like Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao come in: to negotiate the tangled web of deals that gods enter into. When one of these gods, Kos Everburning of Alt Coulomb, turns up dead, Tara and Ms. Kevarian are on the case. They have to prove that the god didn’t irresponsibly default on his contract, but was murdered, and they have to do it fast, before word of Kos’s death prompts his creditors worldwide to demand restitution, and the people of Alt Coulomb riot over the loss of their god.
Gladstone explained his take on divinity in the world of Three Parts Dead during a recent sit-down interview. “How would a world work in which you actually felt every morning, when you prayed to that god, your furnace would turn on?” he said when we met earlier this month. “That was how you turned your furnace on?” Grounding the metaphysical only highlighted what he felt was most important in the book: “In a world where those contracts are external and not just implied, how would that change the relationship between you and your god?” Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member snat
When your god has died, who ya gonna call? Why, the thaumaturgical firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, of course.
At least that's what the priesthood of Alt Coulumb does when their fire deity, Kos, snuffs it (a rather embarrassing turn of events for a god billed as "Kos the Everburning"). Without
Welcome to Three Parts Dead, a novel set in an unclear time and an unclear place populated by Stone Men (gargoyles that can shift into human form), vampire pirates, Justice personified, fallen gods, deified humans and all other manner of weird and wonderful things held together by the Craft, the magic of starlight and earth wielded by Craftspeople like Tara. It's a world where gods use their power to barter with other cities and other gods, and where the death of one god can leave the whole world in a precarious position indeed. It's also a world still feeling the effects of the God Wars, a war between gods and Craftspeople that took place decades before and led to deep distrust between religious factions and practicioners of the Craft. All of this creates a complex mythology and political structure that hopefully author Max Gladstone has just begun to dip into as there's enough at work here to keep a well-written series going for several more books.
Gladstone's inventiveness is impressive and, despite a sometimes baroque attention to detail, the narrative never gets bogged down and moves along at a brusque pace. Unlike many fantasy novels, he largely avoids the "infodump" in favor of just dunking your ass into the deep end of the pool and seeing if you can swim, a method of storytelling I much prefer as it leaves the reader to assimilate himself while exploring the world he has created.
If I have one complaint with the novel, it's that there is a lot going on, with a lot of people involved, and all at a breakneck speed. Frankly, I could have done with 50 more pages if it would have slowed things down a bit as a whole lot goes on over the span of what is apparently two days. The ultimate villain is also a little obvious, but the manner in which the villain is discovered and dealt with more than makes up for it.
Overall, this was one weird little ride that I enjoyed the hell out of. So much so that his next book, Two Serpents Rise is already on my pre-order list.
At least that's what the priesthood of Alt Coulumb does when their fire deity, Kos, snuffs it (a rather embarrassing turn of events for a god billed as "Kos the Everburning"). Without
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his power driving the steam engines of the city, Alt Coulumb will eventually come to a grinding halt, so it is up to Tara Abernathy (the newest recruit of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao) to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of Kos and determine if there is enough of the deity left to resurrect a remnant of his power to keep Alt Coulumb moving. To complicate matters, Tara suspects that Kos did not just die--he was murdered.Welcome to Three Parts Dead, a novel set in an unclear time and an unclear place populated by Stone Men (gargoyles that can shift into human form), vampire pirates, Justice personified, fallen gods, deified humans and all other manner of weird and wonderful things held together by the Craft, the magic of starlight and earth wielded by Craftspeople like Tara. It's a world where gods use their power to barter with other cities and other gods, and where the death of one god can leave the whole world in a precarious position indeed. It's also a world still feeling the effects of the God Wars, a war between gods and Craftspeople that took place decades before and led to deep distrust between religious factions and practicioners of the Craft. All of this creates a complex mythology and political structure that hopefully author Max Gladstone has just begun to dip into as there's enough at work here to keep a well-written series going for several more books.
Gladstone's inventiveness is impressive and, despite a sometimes baroque attention to detail, the narrative never gets bogged down and moves along at a brusque pace. Unlike many fantasy novels, he largely avoids the "infodump" in favor of just dunking your ass into the deep end of the pool and seeing if you can swim, a method of storytelling I much prefer as it leaves the reader to assimilate himself while exploring the world he has created.
If I have one complaint with the novel, it's that there is a lot going on, with a lot of people involved, and all at a breakneck speed. Frankly, I could have done with 50 more pages if it would have slowed things down a bit as a whole lot goes on over the span of what is apparently two days. The ultimate villain is also a little obvious, but the manner in which the villain is discovered and dealt with more than makes up for it.
Overall, this was one weird little ride that I enjoyed the hell out of. So much so that his next book, Two Serpents Rise is already on my pre-order list.
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LibraryThing member Strider66
Pros: fascinating and unique blend of technology, religion and magic; interesting and personable characters; subtle humour; self-contained novel; brilliant ending
Cons:
Tara Abernathy has been cast out by the Hidden Schools, but not before she graduated as a Craftswoman, able to use soulstuff to
In the city of Alt Coulumb the God, Kos Everburning, has died. Ms. Kevarian, hired by the clergy to oversee his resurrection, must contend against her former associate, and Tara's former professor and the reason she was kicked out of school, Alexander Donovo.
Helping the two women in their investigation of why Kos died, is the last person to see Him alive, Novice Technician Abelard.
This is a novel with a lot going on. There are several interconnected plots set up by various people for various reasons. They take place in a city that's a fascinating mix of technology, religion and magic. The city, for example, has trains and elevators that run off steam produced by Kos. The Craft is an attempt by humans to recreate the power of the Gods by using the stars and soulstuff, either their own or that stolen from others. Use of the Craft is centered around dealing with legal contracts regarding the use of the power of the Gods for different purposes (like powering elevators) and for raising the dead. But it can also be used for protection and myriad other things. It's never fully explained and while it has limits, the limits are not examined in much detail.
The book has been marketed as an urban fantasy novel, probably because it takes place in a city - though a fantasy one (a throwaway line in the book implies that this world is in an alternate dimension). But the tone, feel and use of magic are all traditional fantasy, if fantasy with a heavy mystery slant. The complex ending reminded me of James Knapp's Revivors books, with several seemingly unimportant details actually being crucial to the story. And for those looking for fantasy novels that aren't parts of giant series, this book is entirely self-contained. There's plenty of room for the author to continue the story, but readers get a finished plot arc in this volume.
Tara's a great character, strong but still learning and always looking for approval from her Boss. My only complaint with her is that she's quite smart and yet does something remarkably stupid at the beginning of the book. She hides the fact that she's a Craftswoman, but then uses craft in a major way that was bound to cause trouble for her. I liked that she was a dark-skinned character, though, beyond the occasional descriptions there was nothing that indicated she was different from the others (which could just be because this world doesn't have the same cultural/racial divisions our world has). It was nice to see a POC protagonist without being a stereotype of one kind or another. Tara was definitely her own woman.
All of the characters in this novel feel three dimensional. They each have failings, though Ms. Kevarian is more of an enigma than the others up to the end. I really liked Cat and her addiction, and how that played out in the novel at large.
I really enjoyed Gladstone's writing style, with its occasional bouts of subtle humour and subversion of expectations. Gladstone uses the occasional 'big word', but if you don't have a dictionary handy (or don't want to look the words up) it's easy to understand the meanings from context.
This book is well worth reading for the plot and characters. It has one of the most brilliantly tied up endings I've read in quite some time. If you're looking for a different kind of fantasy, one with excellent world building and a complex mystery, here's your book.
Cons:
Tara Abernathy has been cast out by the Hidden Schools, but not before she graduated as a Craftswoman, able to use soulstuff to
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perform God-like tasks. She's hired by Ms. Kevarian of the firm of Kelethras, Albrecht, and Ao, to help with a delicate legal case.In the city of Alt Coulumb the God, Kos Everburning, has died. Ms. Kevarian, hired by the clergy to oversee his resurrection, must contend against her former associate, and Tara's former professor and the reason she was kicked out of school, Alexander Donovo.
Helping the two women in their investigation of why Kos died, is the last person to see Him alive, Novice Technician Abelard.
This is a novel with a lot going on. There are several interconnected plots set up by various people for various reasons. They take place in a city that's a fascinating mix of technology, religion and magic. The city, for example, has trains and elevators that run off steam produced by Kos. The Craft is an attempt by humans to recreate the power of the Gods by using the stars and soulstuff, either their own or that stolen from others. Use of the Craft is centered around dealing with legal contracts regarding the use of the power of the Gods for different purposes (like powering elevators) and for raising the dead. But it can also be used for protection and myriad other things. It's never fully explained and while it has limits, the limits are not examined in much detail.
The book has been marketed as an urban fantasy novel, probably because it takes place in a city - though a fantasy one (a throwaway line in the book implies that this world is in an alternate dimension). But the tone, feel and use of magic are all traditional fantasy, if fantasy with a heavy mystery slant. The complex ending reminded me of James Knapp's Revivors books, with several seemingly unimportant details actually being crucial to the story. And for those looking for fantasy novels that aren't parts of giant series, this book is entirely self-contained. There's plenty of room for the author to continue the story, but readers get a finished plot arc in this volume.
Tara's a great character, strong but still learning and always looking for approval from her Boss. My only complaint with her is that she's quite smart and yet does something remarkably stupid at the beginning of the book. She hides the fact that she's a Craftswoman, but then uses craft in a major way that was bound to cause trouble for her. I liked that she was a dark-skinned character, though, beyond the occasional descriptions there was nothing that indicated she was different from the others (which could just be because this world doesn't have the same cultural/racial divisions our world has). It was nice to see a POC protagonist without being a stereotype of one kind or another. Tara was definitely her own woman.
All of the characters in this novel feel three dimensional. They each have failings, though Ms. Kevarian is more of an enigma than the others up to the end. I really liked Cat and her addiction, and how that played out in the novel at large.
I really enjoyed Gladstone's writing style, with its occasional bouts of subtle humour and subversion of expectations. Gladstone uses the occasional 'big word', but if you don't have a dictionary handy (or don't want to look the words up) it's easy to understand the meanings from context.
This book is well worth reading for the plot and characters. It has one of the most brilliantly tied up endings I've read in quite some time. If you're looking for a different kind of fantasy, one with excellent world building and a complex mystery, here's your book.
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LibraryThing member jasesq
Mixing religion with business deals that look a heck of a lot like modern capital markets where the currency is divine power? Why not. And it works.
LibraryThing member cissa
This is an excellent genre novel, in several genres (mystery, fantasy, and possibly steampunk, for starters).
The characters are very well-drawn, and even when their choices seem weird at first, they are internally consistent, while still letting them grow.
The world is amazing! I've never read
The murder mystery (mysteries) are nicely handled and paced, too. The resolutions are coherent and satisfying.
But- while the rest of the novel was excellent, I am totally intrigued by spiritual capitalism, with soul-stuff as the asset bought, sold, traded, and invested- by gods, men, and others.
The characters are very well-drawn, and even when their choices seem weird at first, they are internally consistent, while still letting them grow.
The world is amazing! I've never read
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anything much like it, except maybe China Mieville- but his world is less coherent than this one. As we progress through the novel, we learn more about how the gods and magic work... which is, oddly, on a capitalist system. I've never seen that before!The murder mystery (mysteries) are nicely handled and paced, too. The resolutions are coherent and satisfying.
But- while the rest of the novel was excellent, I am totally intrigued by spiritual capitalism, with soul-stuff as the asset bought, sold, traded, and invested- by gods, men, and others.
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LibraryThing member MadameWho
This is the second time I'd read this book, and I think I enjoyed it more this time around. There's a lot of very dense mythology, and Gladstone is of the "learn by immersion" school rather than the "explain everything" school of fantasy. It's essentially John Grisham by way of China Mieville, an
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unusual combination that only works because of Gladstone's excellent prose. Show Less
LibraryThing member NineLarks
Tara is just trying to live as a normal girl in her village, except that she knows she can help out so much more if she can use her Craft. But when she does and is kicked out, she has the opportunity to travel to a city where gods still reign. Or, well.. used to reign. Because it's up to her and
The initial start to the book is a little rocky because Gladstone never really tries to explain anything. There are a lot of random things that are capitalized so we know that they are Important. But very little explanation, very little world-building. Instead, this book is all about the forward push, the action, and plot.
We hardly get to know our main character Tara when we are shoved into a situation of life and death - and then also told that she has to save a city from its god's death.
I love the idea of these Craftswomen as a strange cross between detectives, magicians, and lawyers. It makes for an extremely interesting read as they go around the city searching for clues and details, utilizing Craft, and then finally presenting their findings in a quasi-"court".
The climax and the ending. Spectacular. Everything I ever wanted in a conclusion of a book. Everything came together. That cigarette, the green eyes of the gargoyles, the dropped hints about the two gods as lovers, etc. Beautiful.
My only disappointment in this book is that it never gave us enough depth in anything. I feel that the villain was not fleshed out nearly enough. I don't think the background flashback did the emotional trauma justice. Or the explanation of Craft. Everything was just sketched out, never filled out. I would have loved another 50-100 pages to just give us more depth in this world and for these characters.
Three stars. Very nearly 3.5 stars. Recommended for those who want a younger type of Dresden Files.
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her new Boss to revive this dead god. The initial start to the book is a little rocky because Gladstone never really tries to explain anything. There are a lot of random things that are capitalized so we know that they are Important. But very little explanation, very little world-building. Instead, this book is all about the forward push, the action, and plot.
We hardly get to know our main character Tara when we are shoved into a situation of life and death - and then also told that she has to save a city from its god's death.
I love the idea of these Craftswomen as a strange cross between detectives, magicians, and lawyers. It makes for an extremely interesting read as they go around the city searching for clues and details, utilizing Craft, and then finally presenting their findings in a quasi-"court".
The climax and the ending. Spectacular. Everything I ever wanted in a conclusion of a book. Everything came together. That cigarette, the green eyes of the gargoyles, the dropped hints about the two gods as lovers, etc. Beautiful.
My only disappointment in this book is that it never gave us enough depth in anything. I feel that the villain was not fleshed out nearly enough. I don't think the background flashback did the emotional trauma justice. Or the explanation of Craft. Everything was just sketched out, never filled out. I would have loved another 50-100 pages to just give us more depth in this world and for these characters.
Three stars. Very nearly 3.5 stars. Recommended for those who want a younger type of Dresden Files.
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LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba
This is one of the best Fantasy Books I read all year - It has an almost perfect heroine, who saucy, but takes direction, Intelligent, and while having a rather rough background, it doesn't drag the story down.
The World Building is just fantastic - we have an interesting premise in the gods and
Tara is such an interesting character. She has power, she has intelligence, she is also young and just starting her career. Also, she choose her life. Its not very often where you find a character, especially female, who chooses what she wants to do rather than be forced into it. This makes for a very well written character who makes believable decisions.
The secondary characters are also well written, although a bit more one dimensional. You have the chain smoking novice engineer priest who is a true believer, to the Cat, who works as Justice during work hours. Tara's Mentor, Ms. Kevarian, is the least sketched out in this book. Her motives are mysterious, why Tara and what is her relationship to the Church of Kos. What I find most interesting is that any of these secondary characters can be fleshed out to have a full backstory - while secondary, a bit cardboard, they have lots of life.
This is such a good story. Not deep - it won't leave you thinking for days after, but full of action, intrigue, mystery, and a very interesting world. I hope that Max Gladstone writes many books in this universe.
The World Building is just fantastic - we have an interesting premise in the gods and
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magic - People worship God, God gets power, the power goes back to the people to help their lives, whether it be be using God Power to heat homes, or defending a nation. This has built up an in interesting economy - Non-worshipers can contract with a God, for a fee. So, when a God dies, its up to Tara and her Mentor to figure out why - was it due to overextended contracts... or something else.Tara is such an interesting character. She has power, she has intelligence, she is also young and just starting her career. Also, she choose her life. Its not very often where you find a character, especially female, who chooses what she wants to do rather than be forced into it. This makes for a very well written character who makes believable decisions.
The secondary characters are also well written, although a bit more one dimensional. You have the chain smoking novice engineer priest who is a true believer, to the Cat, who works as Justice during work hours. Tara's Mentor, Ms. Kevarian, is the least sketched out in this book. Her motives are mysterious, why Tara and what is her relationship to the Church of Kos. What I find most interesting is that any of these secondary characters can be fleshed out to have a full backstory - while secondary, a bit cardboard, they have lots of life.
This is such a good story. Not deep - it won't leave you thinking for days after, but full of action, intrigue, mystery, and a very interesting world. I hope that Max Gladstone writes many books in this universe.
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LibraryThing member devilwrites
My Review: 8 - Excellent
What an utterly fascinating yet deceptive book. I love the cover to pieces, but the cover led me to assume I'd be getting a standard kick-assitude urban fantasy. That was still my assumption after reading the premise, but now that I've sunk my teeth into this book? Oh, it's
What an utterly fascinating yet deceptive book. I love the cover to pieces, but the cover led me to assume I'd be getting a standard kick-assitude urban fantasy. That was still my assumption after reading the premise, but now that I've sunk my teeth into this book? Oh, it's
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so not THAT. It's urban fantasy only in that it's a fantasy story in an urban setting. Imagine N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms mixed with her The Killing Moon, and then imagine she's writing urban fantasy instead of epic fantasy. Scratch any romance, add a lot of magical lawyering and a dash of steampunk, and you've got something utterly unique and fascinating. Definitely worth considering for the Hugo, and you can bet your butt I'll be keeping an eye on Gladstone's sequel, Two Serpents Rise. This was just so imaginative and compelling, and given that I have a friend who is a lawyer, there were many moments that had me cackling in understanding. The book wraps up wonderfully neatly too with a very solid yet disturbingly satisfying end. Show Less
LibraryThing member IAmChrysanthemum
How disappointing. Three Parts Dead began with promise; a God has died and it is up to Tara, a young woman who can bend energy and spirit into magic, to figure out the circumstances of his death.
The mechanics of the Craft (what Gladstone uses as his label for magic) and of the gods (who basically
I think Three Parts Dead would've benefited from more explanation and less description. I got about 130 pages in and realized I just couldn't take it any longer; I understood practically nothing and the characters were flat. I had no idea where the plot was going and I frankly didn't care. I rarely fail to finish books, but when I have zero investment in a story 100 pages in, I suppose I have to call it quits.
The mechanics of the Craft (what Gladstone uses as his label for magic) and of the gods (who basically
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live and die in a complex investment scheme, where the amount of worshippers correlates to their power which may then be loaned away) were incredibly interesting. But the thing is, I never fully understood these mechanics because it is all so poorly explained. Each word became a chore in this book, because I could barely keep track of the plot and characters but I desperately needed to do so in order to appreciate the world and story. I think Three Parts Dead would've benefited from more explanation and less description. I got about 130 pages in and realized I just couldn't take it any longer; I understood practically nothing and the characters were flat. I had no idea where the plot was going and I frankly didn't care. I rarely fail to finish books, but when I have zero investment in a story 100 pages in, I suppose I have to call it quits.
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LibraryThing member zjakkelien
Three parts dead is one of the most original books I've read in a while. It is sort of urban fantasy in a made up world (for those who are not familiar with the terms: urban usual consists of fantasy in our world). It has a strange mixture of magic and lawyers, gods and technology. How does all of
The story: Tara becomes an associate at something reminiscent of a law firm. This particular firm specializes in resurrections. Her first job is a big one: the god Kos has died, and together with her boss she needs to find out how it happened...
To me, the main attraction of Three parts dead is the world and its magic. The characters are sympathetic and competent. The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5, is that the book contains relatively little emotion. It is like it describes all the moves in a match, but doesn't focus on the participants's emotions very much. It is not at all distracting when reading the book, but it does make it easier to put it away. I believe this book is a debut, so I'm sure the author can still improve in this respect, and other than that, it really is a very good book. I have high hopes for the author's next works!
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this fit together? Well, magic is performed using soulstuff, and soulstuff can be exchanged between people (and gods). When soulstuff changes hands, a contract is drawn up, and with contracts come loopholes and lawyers... As for the technology, well, the magic is not necessarily used for magic purposes, but is often used for the mundane. For instance, the magic of the god Kos keeps the city running, since he provides the heat for all the machinery. Part of the service of his priesthood consists of managing all the valves and pressure gauges, and his priests are therefore called things like Novice Technician or Maintenance Monk. The story: Tara becomes an associate at something reminiscent of a law firm. This particular firm specializes in resurrections. Her first job is a big one: the god Kos has died, and together with her boss she needs to find out how it happened...
To me, the main attraction of Three parts dead is the world and its magic. The characters are sympathetic and competent. The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5, is that the book contains relatively little emotion. It is like it describes all the moves in a match, but doesn't focus on the participants's emotions very much. It is not at all distracting when reading the book, but it does make it easier to put it away. I believe this book is a debut, so I'm sure the author can still improve in this respect, and other than that, it really is a very good book. I have high hopes for the author's next works!
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Set in a world where magic is a lot like contract law—so one studies the Rule Against Perpetuities and the seven orthodox uses of the spleen—this story follows a young woman kicked out of a magic school who’s offered a chance to work with an important firm on the resurrection of a god. I
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loved the worldbuilding, the occasional flippancy, and especially magic as contract that can be stretched to the breaking point if you have the right advocate on your side. While Brandon Sanderson’s magic systems are enjoyable, the videogame-like rules aren’t as fun for me (even when you figure out an exploit) as rules that have to be rubbed the right way to produce the results you want—that’s magic as law, or law as magic. There’s not actually a lot of discussion of the rules in this book; instead there are gargoyles and great magic-powered steampunkish engines, seafaring vampires and vampire addicts, and faceless minions of Justice who happens to be the resurrected corpse of the dead god’s lover—so I think the book will be enjoyable even for people without my specific legal interests. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pabkins
A-MA-ZING! - Three Parts Dead introduces readers to a fresh and new fantasy world that I could almost picture as our own. It has a quality that feels almost as if it takes place in more than one time. You have steam power, ships, and newsboys that sing the news rather than hawk papers, but then on
Craftsmen and women wield power that they gather from starlight and earth, or the soulstuff of others. They can do undreamt of things that once only gods had the power of doing. These same gods function now essentially like a credit system. Followers of a god can extract power on credit in return for their devotion and parts of their own soulstuff. So when humans can now do what only gods before them could, what need do they have for them if they have have such power themselves?
We mostly follow the perspective of Tara, a young craftswoman who was expelled from the hidden schools of craft upon her graduation. Luckily for her, Elayne Kevarian of the firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao thinks she has moxy and not an inconsiderable amount of talent. She takes her on a case to revive a recently deceased god in the city of Alt Coulumb. So when I saw 'firm' it makes you think of a law firm right? Well you wouldn't be too far off on your thinking. A lot of things in this world in regards to the powers of craft as well as divine power are treated like contracts. Interested parties sign contracts in exchange for goods, in this case some service or power related to craft or the divine. So when a god dies fulfilling a contract Tara and Elayne are hired by the Church of Kos Everburning to determined how and why he died and to resurrect him in the closest form possible to his original self before his creditors can have their way.
I have to say right from page 1 this is a mad dash ride of twists and turns with ever building mystery. I had absolutely no idea what was going to come next and I reveled in the fact that I didn't care, I wasn't even trying to figure it out - I was just loving every minutes of it, that's right, loving - every - minute - of - it! *hums*
While I felt like Tara was the real main character, Three Parts Dead was not solely from her perspective. It seems as if we pretty much got a taste of perspective from all key characters. Each one captivated me as much as the next and I really hope we get to see more of these characters in the future.
As I come to understand it - Three Parts Dead appears to be a stand alone novel. I don't know if the author, Max Gladstone plans to revisit some of these characters in future novels. The second book Two Serpents Rise is already released and looks like it features an entirely new cast of characters. I am extremely thrilled by this prospect. While I love series fantasy I also love stand alone novels. So perhaps I might end up getting the best of both those things with this series. Only time will tell. What I do know is that this book refuses to be categorized. It has a bit of an urban fantasy feel, with a high fantasy flair.
Admittedly, I have fallen hard for Max Gladstone's writing as much as I ever did for Brandon Sanderson. If you recognize that name then you know I mean business and you should just go out and pick up Three Parts Dead right now.
What you're still here? Ok...I do have one final thought to add. I had the awesome experience of both reading and listening to this book on audio. If I had my hands too full to pick up the book at that moment I would pop in my earbuds and continue to listen instead. Indeed, I would even listen to the parts I had just read so I could hear the marvelous narration job making my reading time twice as long as it normally would be because I just couldn't get enough. So you know those people who finish a book, turn around and immediately read it over? The same could be said here for what I did. I highly recommend either format, readers will not be disappointed.
Oh yes...and did I mention there are vampires and gargoyles and other creatures? I know...it just keeps getting better and better - you can thank me later.
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the next page you will read about advancements in technology that aren't due to technology but to craft - which is a form of magic.Craftsmen and women wield power that they gather from starlight and earth, or the soulstuff of others. They can do undreamt of things that once only gods had the power of doing. These same gods function now essentially like a credit system. Followers of a god can extract power on credit in return for their devotion and parts of their own soulstuff. So when humans can now do what only gods before them could, what need do they have for them if they have have such power themselves?
We mostly follow the perspective of Tara, a young craftswoman who was expelled from the hidden schools of craft upon her graduation. Luckily for her, Elayne Kevarian of the firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao thinks she has moxy and not an inconsiderable amount of talent. She takes her on a case to revive a recently deceased god in the city of Alt Coulumb. So when I saw 'firm' it makes you think of a law firm right? Well you wouldn't be too far off on your thinking. A lot of things in this world in regards to the powers of craft as well as divine power are treated like contracts. Interested parties sign contracts in exchange for goods, in this case some service or power related to craft or the divine. So when a god dies fulfilling a contract Tara and Elayne are hired by the Church of Kos Everburning to determined how and why he died and to resurrect him in the closest form possible to his original self before his creditors can have their way.
I have to say right from page 1 this is a mad dash ride of twists and turns with ever building mystery. I had absolutely no idea what was going to come next and I reveled in the fact that I didn't care, I wasn't even trying to figure it out - I was just loving every minutes of it, that's right, loving - every - minute - of - it! *hums*
While I felt like Tara was the real main character, Three Parts Dead was not solely from her perspective. It seems as if we pretty much got a taste of perspective from all key characters. Each one captivated me as much as the next and I really hope we get to see more of these characters in the future.
As I come to understand it - Three Parts Dead appears to be a stand alone novel. I don't know if the author, Max Gladstone plans to revisit some of these characters in future novels. The second book Two Serpents Rise is already released and looks like it features an entirely new cast of characters. I am extremely thrilled by this prospect. While I love series fantasy I also love stand alone novels. So perhaps I might end up getting the best of both those things with this series. Only time will tell. What I do know is that this book refuses to be categorized. It has a bit of an urban fantasy feel, with a high fantasy flair.
Admittedly, I have fallen hard for Max Gladstone's writing as much as I ever did for Brandon Sanderson. If you recognize that name then you know I mean business and you should just go out and pick up Three Parts Dead right now.
What you're still here? Ok...I do have one final thought to add. I had the awesome experience of both reading and listening to this book on audio. If I had my hands too full to pick up the book at that moment I would pop in my earbuds and continue to listen instead. Indeed, I would even listen to the parts I had just read so I could hear the marvelous narration job making my reading time twice as long as it normally would be because I just couldn't get enough. So you know those people who finish a book, turn around and immediately read it over? The same could be said here for what I did. I highly recommend either format, readers will not be disappointed.
Oh yes...and did I mention there are vampires and gargoyles and other creatures? I know...it just keeps getting better and better - you can thank me later.
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LibraryThing member patrickgarson
Three Parts Dead received rave reviews on release. It is indeed a very promising debut novel, but I couldn't help feeling it had a little more promise than it actually delivered; Gladstone still has some structural and narrative issues to work through, I think.
Tara is a kind of magic contract
I immediately liked this book for its abundance of strong - and interesting - female characters. It's depressingly unusual in fantasy novels and Gladstone doesn't make a big song and dance about it.
The prose was reasonable, a little bit on the heavy-handed side but nothing too terrible, and the world-building is wildly imaginative - really very creative and unique without (mostly) feeling gimmicky.
My problem was the way the world-building intersected with the narrative. The book suffers from a bit of China-Mieville syndrome - incredibly fecund and creative setting; strip away the dressing and the narrative is pretty standard.
Gladstone is clearly a rigorous planner, and there was a sense of 'hitting the marks' that I felt all through the book. Major plot points which should have been surprising were instead somewhat predictable and I found myself waiting for them. This is also meant that the MacGuffins (of which there are more than a few) felt very obvious to me.
Outside of Tara and her boss/mentor, other characters were both familiar, and thin. The travails of an addict meant to inspire sympathy felt very ho-hum and predictable, whereas a vampire who barely featured was far more interesting.
I felt that Gladstone was prepared to sacrifice a lot of the creativity and ambiguity in the book to a narrative he was determined to adhere to, and wasn't *especially* complex or original. This was compounded by the florid world-building; there were several points where I felt Gladstone could have backed off the pace a bit and given me time to luxuriate in his locale, but was instead reduced to ramming flavour down my throat in order to keep the action going and move on to the next thing.
I suppose I'm really saying I felt the book wanted to concentrate on what I thought was its weakest aspects - characterisation, especially motivation and action-y narrative - instead of its best parts (terrific world-building, two strong leads with interesting histories).
This is not to say that Three Parts Dead was bad - it's a fine enough book and I will likely read his next one - just that the rhapsody it received was not entirely justified.
Tara is a kind of magic contract
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lawyer, for lack of a better description, and her first case on the job is a doozy. A god has died, and she needs to find out the whys and hows, before she follows suit. I immediately liked this book for its abundance of strong - and interesting - female characters. It's depressingly unusual in fantasy novels and Gladstone doesn't make a big song and dance about it.
The prose was reasonable, a little bit on the heavy-handed side but nothing too terrible, and the world-building is wildly imaginative - really very creative and unique without (mostly) feeling gimmicky.
My problem was the way the world-building intersected with the narrative. The book suffers from a bit of China-Mieville syndrome - incredibly fecund and creative setting; strip away the dressing and the narrative is pretty standard.
Gladstone is clearly a rigorous planner, and there was a sense of 'hitting the marks' that I felt all through the book. Major plot points which should have been surprising were instead somewhat predictable and I found myself waiting for them. This is also meant that the MacGuffins (of which there are more than a few) felt very obvious to me.
Outside of Tara and her boss/mentor, other characters were both familiar, and thin. The travails of an addict meant to inspire sympathy felt very ho-hum and predictable, whereas a vampire who barely featured was far more interesting.
I felt that Gladstone was prepared to sacrifice a lot of the creativity and ambiguity in the book to a narrative he was determined to adhere to, and wasn't *especially* complex or original. This was compounded by the florid world-building; there were several points where I felt Gladstone could have backed off the pace a bit and given me time to luxuriate in his locale, but was instead reduced to ramming flavour down my throat in order to keep the action going and move on to the next thing.
I suppose I'm really saying I felt the book wanted to concentrate on what I thought was its weakest aspects - characterisation, especially motivation and action-y narrative - instead of its best parts (terrific world-building, two strong leads with interesting histories).
This is not to say that Three Parts Dead was bad - it's a fine enough book and I will likely read his next one - just that the rhapsody it received was not entirely justified.
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LibraryThing member kaipakartik
A good read. Some fantastic world building going on. A bit slow in places but well worth the read.
LibraryThing member Violetthedwarf
Deeply impressive. What would I even call this? Corporate high fantasy? This is a world where the promises made by gods are treated like financial obligations - if the god gets in 'debt' and can't meet it's obligations, it dies. Wonderful.
Loved it.
Loved it.
LibraryThing member Iira
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
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hoped for more substance, not just a law and order Supernatural style. But a nice start to a series, will probably read more. Show Less
LibraryThing member SpaceandSorcery
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
I will certainly read the next
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installments in this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Violetthedwarf
Deeply impressive. What would I even call this? Corporate high fantasy? This is a world where the promises made by gods are treated like financial obligations - if the god gets in 'debt' and can't meet it's obligations, it dies. Wonderful.
Loved it.
Loved it.
LibraryThing member SChant
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
There was too much jumping between character POVs - especially at obvious cliffhangers moments - and a lot of
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member bigpapageek
(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
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?
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
Show More
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?
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LibraryThing member anyaejo
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
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on things because she's awesome. Definitely a fantasy to grab if you like unique fantasy and Law and Order ;-). Show Less
LibraryThing member Ailinel
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
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.
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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.
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LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
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.
LibraryThing member DarkFaerieTales
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: An intensely creative world and descriptive writing make Three Parts Dead a must read for fantasy fans.
Opening Sentence: God wasn’t answering tonight.
The Review:
Humans have mastered the powers of a god. Craftsmen and women train for years to
Kos Everburning has recently died and before long his magic will begin to wear off leaving the city of Alt Coulumb in the dark unless Tara can raise him in time. Tara gets sucked into an investigation with a chain-smoking priest named Abelard. She learns all about the underground world of Alt Coulumb which includes gargoyles and a Justice (police) who is addicted to the bite of a vampire.
Three Parts Dead is essentially a courtroom drama and Tara is a lawyer trying to prove why the Kos Everburning should be raised from the dead. Much of the drama and some action take place in the courtroom but there is plenty of action, mystery and intrigue built throughout the entire story that will keep you glued to this novel. The story is told through the eyes of several different characters as they each have a part to play in the resurrection of a god. Each character does come off a little full of themselves but with the power of a god it is kind of expected but not Abelard, he is a dutiful priest and even sticks up for his god when needed, especially when Tara doesn’t understand and she doesn’t understand quite often. Everyone has their own mystery and secrets that they don’t want revealed.
Three Parts Dead is filled with overly descriptive information that you can clearly see this clever world but sometimes may have to reread a paragraph or two to pick up all the details. Max Gladstone has created a magical new world where gods powers are limited by the deals they make with humans, vampires aren’t quite what they seem and gargoyles are the enemy or are they? There are some steampunk elements to the story but I wouldn’t label this a steampunk.
Overall, Three Parts Dead is a deep, heavy read for those who like fantastical new worlds. The sequel Two Serpents Rise will be out next June. I will definitely be picking up the sequel. I can’t wait to see what is next in this world. I hope to see more of Tara since she has already done some growing up in the space of one novel.
Notable Scene:
None of the contract holders with claims against Kos Everburning had come in person, unsurprising considering that they were Deathless Kings and other gods. They would send envoys in the coming weeks to observe negotiations, but for now they merely hung immanent in the air about the desk to the right of the circle, where Alexander Denovo sat alone in his tweed jacket. His attention was bent on a yellowed scroll, and he didn’t seem to notice Tara’s arrival.
She had expected to feel more upon encountering him for the first time since her graduation: a dryness in her mouth, anger curling like a fire in her breast, a sour taste at the back of her throat, the bright purple pulse of fear behind her eyeballs. When she saw him, though, she just felt dead.
“Tara?” Abelard’s voice. Focus on it.
“What?”
“You looked funny for a second there.”
“Funny?”
“Scared, almost.”
“Not scared.” She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but it wasn’t fear. Fear was weakness, and if she had been weak, she would have died a long time ago. “But almost.”
FTC Advisory: Tor/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Three Parts Dead. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: An intensely creative world and descriptive writing make Three Parts Dead a must read for fantasy fans.
Opening Sentence: God wasn’t answering tonight.
The Review:
Humans have mastered the powers of a god. Craftsmen and women train for years to
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harness their soulstuff (powers). Tara Abernathy has been given an early graduation from the Hidden Schools and thrown back to earth to for an unknown reason (which is later revealed but I’m not spoiling that!). Tara has an affinity for raising the dead so it doesn’t take long before she is recruited by Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao for a big case, to raise a dead god.Kos Everburning has recently died and before long his magic will begin to wear off leaving the city of Alt Coulumb in the dark unless Tara can raise him in time. Tara gets sucked into an investigation with a chain-smoking priest named Abelard. She learns all about the underground world of Alt Coulumb which includes gargoyles and a Justice (police) who is addicted to the bite of a vampire.
Three Parts Dead is essentially a courtroom drama and Tara is a lawyer trying to prove why the Kos Everburning should be raised from the dead. Much of the drama and some action take place in the courtroom but there is plenty of action, mystery and intrigue built throughout the entire story that will keep you glued to this novel. The story is told through the eyes of several different characters as they each have a part to play in the resurrection of a god. Each character does come off a little full of themselves but with the power of a god it is kind of expected but not Abelard, he is a dutiful priest and even sticks up for his god when needed, especially when Tara doesn’t understand and she doesn’t understand quite often. Everyone has their own mystery and secrets that they don’t want revealed.
Three Parts Dead is filled with overly descriptive information that you can clearly see this clever world but sometimes may have to reread a paragraph or two to pick up all the details. Max Gladstone has created a magical new world where gods powers are limited by the deals they make with humans, vampires aren’t quite what they seem and gargoyles are the enemy or are they? There are some steampunk elements to the story but I wouldn’t label this a steampunk.
Overall, Three Parts Dead is a deep, heavy read for those who like fantastical new worlds. The sequel Two Serpents Rise will be out next June. I will definitely be picking up the sequel. I can’t wait to see what is next in this world. I hope to see more of Tara since she has already done some growing up in the space of one novel.
Notable Scene:
None of the contract holders with claims against Kos Everburning had come in person, unsurprising considering that they were Deathless Kings and other gods. They would send envoys in the coming weeks to observe negotiations, but for now they merely hung immanent in the air about the desk to the right of the circle, where Alexander Denovo sat alone in his tweed jacket. His attention was bent on a yellowed scroll, and he didn’t seem to notice Tara’s arrival.
She had expected to feel more upon encountering him for the first time since her graduation: a dryness in her mouth, anger curling like a fire in her breast, a sour taste at the back of her throat, the bright purple pulse of fear behind her eyeballs. When she saw him, though, she just felt dead.
“Tara?” Abelard’s voice. Focus on it.
“What?”
“You looked funny for a second there.”
“Funny?”
“Scared, almost.”
“Not scared.” She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but it wasn’t fear. Fear was weakness, and if she had been weak, she would have died a long time ago. “But almost.”
FTC Advisory: Tor/Macmillan provided me with a copy of Three Parts Dead. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
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LibraryThing member DLMorrese
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,
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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. Show Less
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2014)
Massachusetts Book Award (Must-Read (Longlist) — Fiction — 2013)
Original publication date
2012-10
Local notes
Craft Sequence, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Gladstone |