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Craft Sequence #1-5
The Craft Sequence: The First Five Novels
This discounted ebundle Three Parts Dead, Two Serpents Rise, Full Fathom Five, Last First Snow, Four Roads Cross
“Stunningly good. Stupefyingly good.” —Patrick Rothfuss
Set in a phenomenally-built world in which lawyers ride lightning bolts, souls are currency, and cities are powered by the remains of fallen gods, MAX GLADSTONE's Craft Sequence introduces readers to a modern fantasy landscape and an epic struggle to build a just society.
Three Parts Dead — A god has died, and it's up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.
Two Serpents Rise — Caleb Altemoc—casual gambler and professional risk manager—is sent by Red King Consolidated to cleanse shadow demons from the Dresediel Lex city water supply, and uncovers a scheme to forever alter the balance of power in the city.
Full Fathom Five — On the island of Kavekana, Kai nearly loses her life trying to save one of her creations, a god built to order. But when Kai starts digging into the reasons her creations die, she uncovers a conspiracy of silence and fear—which will crush her, if Kai can't stop it first.
Last First Snow — Craft lawyer Elayne Kevarian and warrior-priest Temoc must fight dark magic, secret agendas, and their own demons to save the peace between the citizens and rulers of Dresediel Lex, before hell opens to swallow the city whole.
Four Roads Cross — Protests rock the city of Alt Coulumb, Kos Everburning's creditors attempt a hostile takeover of the fire god's church, and Craftswoman Tara Abernathy must defend the church against the world's fiercest necromantic firm.
Tor books by Max Gladstone
The Craft Sequence
Three Parts Dead
Two Serpents Rise
Full Fathom Five
Last First Snow
Four Roads Cross
The Ruin of Angels
Other Books
The Highway Kind
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
“Stunningly good. Stupefyingly good.” —Patrick Rothfuss
Set in a phenomenally-built world in which lawyers ride lightning bolts, souls are currency, and cities are powered by the remains of fallen gods, MAX GLADSTONE's Craft Sequence introduces readers to a modern fantasy landscape and an epic struggle to build a just society.
Three Parts Dead — A god has died, and it's up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.
Two Serpents Rise — Caleb Altemoc—casual gambler and professional risk manager—is sent by Red King Consolidated to cleanse shadow demons from the Dresediel Lex city water supply, and uncovers a scheme to forever alter the balance of power in the city.
Full Fathom Five — On the island of Kavekana, Kai nearly loses her life trying to save one of her creations, a god built to order. But when Kai starts digging into the reasons her creations die, she uncovers a conspiracy of silence and fear—which will crush her, if Kai can't stop it first.
Last First Snow — Craft lawyer Elayne Kevarian and warrior-priest Temoc must fight dark magic, secret agendas, and their own demons to save the peace between the citizens and rulers of Dresediel Lex, before hell opens to swallow the city whole.
Four Roads Cross — Protests rock the city of Alt Coulumb, Kos Everburning's creditors attempt a hostile takeover of the fire god's church, and Craftswoman Tara Abernathy must defend the church against the world's fiercest necromantic firm.
Tor books by Max Gladstone
The Craft Sequence
Three Parts Dead
Two Serpents Rise
Full Fathom Five
Last First Snow
Four Roads Cross
The Ruin of Angels
Other Books
The Highway Kind
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
1597 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2017
400 people are currently reading
924 people want to read
About the author
Max Gladstone
120 books2,519 followersMax Gladstone is the author of the Craft Sequence: THREE PARTS DEAD, TWO SERPENTS RISE, FULL FATHOM FIVE, and most recently, LAST FIRST SNOW. He's been twice nominated for the John W Campbell Best New Writer award, and nominated for the XYZZY and Lambda Awards.
Max has taught in southern Anhui, wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia. Max graduated from Yale University, where he studied Chinese.
Max has taught in southern Anhui, wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia. Max graduated from Yale University, where he studied Chinese.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 2, 2020
Fy satan vad bra!
July 14, 2024
It ain't you, Gladstone, it's me.
This had been sitting on the Kindle shelf a few years, an impulse buy after thoroughly enjoying Empress of Forever back in 2020. The pitch was irresistible: a world where magic was so infused into daily life, mages had become the equivalent of bureaucrats, lawyers, and city planners. Five stand-alone novels? Give 'em to me!
In those four years, I expanded my horizons somewhat, and it was about a fifth of the way through the first one, Three Parts Dead, that I kind of understood the vibe: a YA Perdido Street Station. Okay, cool!
By the time I got to the final book of the collection, Four Roads Cross (a direct sequel to the first book's storyline in the city of Alt Coulumb), I was saying "It's YA Perdido Street Station... shit."
Two of the five novels (the Dresediel Lex storyline, comprising of "Two Serpents Rise" and its sequel "Last First Snow") weren't as successful for me, which seems to be the general tenor among the fandom, while a third ("Full Fathom Five") was a stand-alone in a different setting, requiring some time to get into it.
By the time I got back around to the Alt Coulomb storyline, my interest (and the grace I had been extending its modern authorial voice) was running on fumes, to the point where it was almost a mercy to be done with it.
It sounds like I absolutely hated it, and I want to state that I didn't: it's a pacey, snappy read, and the setting is very creative.
Put it like this: when I watch Reacher, I feel like I'm watching a Conan show in spirit, smuggled into a package that will reach a modern general audience. Reading the Craft sequence, I feel like I'm watching a CBS sexy doctors/lawyers/prosecutors show that happens to have magic and creatures in it. Ain't nothing wrong with that, just that I wasn't fully prepared, and I probably would have had a better time if I'd just read the first book.
Ohh, here's actually another one that's perhaps more apt/damning (depending on where you stand): do you want an un-problematic HP replacement for a slightly older audience? I think this series is probably a good bet!
This had been sitting on the Kindle shelf a few years, an impulse buy after thoroughly enjoying Empress of Forever back in 2020. The pitch was irresistible: a world where magic was so infused into daily life, mages had become the equivalent of bureaucrats, lawyers, and city planners. Five stand-alone novels? Give 'em to me!
In those four years, I expanded my horizons somewhat, and it was about a fifth of the way through the first one, Three Parts Dead, that I kind of understood the vibe: a YA Perdido Street Station. Okay, cool!
By the time I got to the final book of the collection, Four Roads Cross (a direct sequel to the first book's storyline in the city of Alt Coulumb), I was saying "It's YA Perdido Street Station... shit."
Two of the five novels (the Dresediel Lex storyline, comprising of "Two Serpents Rise" and its sequel "Last First Snow") weren't as successful for me, which seems to be the general tenor among the fandom, while a third ("Full Fathom Five") was a stand-alone in a different setting, requiring some time to get into it.
By the time I got back around to the Alt Coulomb storyline, my interest (and the grace I had been extending its modern authorial voice) was running on fumes, to the point where it was almost a mercy to be done with it.
It sounds like I absolutely hated it, and I want to state that I didn't: it's a pacey, snappy read, and the setting is very creative.
Put it like this: when I watch Reacher, I feel like I'm watching a Conan show in spirit, smuggled into a package that will reach a modern general audience. Reading the Craft sequence, I feel like I'm watching a CBS sexy doctors/lawyers/prosecutors show that happens to have magic and creatures in it. Ain't nothing wrong with that, just that I wasn't fully prepared, and I probably would have had a better time if I'd just read the first book.
Ohh, here's actually another one that's perhaps more apt/damning (depending on where you stand): do you want an un-problematic HP replacement for a slightly older audience? I think this series is probably a good bet!
November 7, 2017
I've said a lot about these books in other places. I highly recommend this series.
Edited on 7th November to remove dates and add:
While there are many places on Goodreads that I've spoken about these books, there's one place off Goodreads I wanted to link - I wrote a review of sorts on /r/Fantasy recommending the Craft sequence to fans of Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan. I'm reproducing it below.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished a re-read of the series because of the nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Series, and because the new book is coming out in September, and even though I thought it might not hold up to re-reading, I cannot stop raving about it.
Gladstone has everything that a Sanderson or Jordan fan wants - deft world-building that he subtly interlaces into every aspect of the book, from characterization, to language, to plot; a rule-based magic system with enough detail that the resolution of the plots of several books (most particularly the first one, Three Parts Dead) hinges on the readers understanding of the magic; and tight plotting and excellent pacing (I speak more of Sanderson than Jordan here :P ), which usually starts at a slow-burn building the characters up, until it reaches a tipping point after which you really cannot stop reading. He also has, from his very first book, several things that Sanderson lacked in his early books, - for example, Gladstone's characters are amazingly well-rounded, and seem much more real and relatable than Sanderson's early characters (like Sarene or Raoden).
Here's a short list of reasons why I recommended at least checking the first book out:
1. The first five books of his series (which form a complete sequence) are all out [and, are in fact available for $4 on Amazon as an omnibus].
2. His first three books are written as standalones (a la Terry Pratchett) - you could pick any of them up as a starting point. Book 4 is a prequel to Book 2, but it can be read as a standalone as well; Book 5 is really the only one that requires you to have read at least Books 1, 2 and 3 to fully grasp everything that happens. However, since not all of them are as detailed about their explanations about the magic system, I recommend reading 3PD first.
3. Like Sanderson (who plotted out the entire Cosmere sequence, which used to be much less well-known as a single unit until The Way of Kings came out), Gladstone has big plans for his series, even while he endeavors to keep his books modular so that they may individually be enjoyed. The wacky chronology is a good example - each of the first five books has a number in the name which represents their actual position in the internal chronology of the world - their published out of order, giving a lot of room for interesting callbacks and references that are very subtle, and enhance the enjoyment of re-reading the series (such a style is very reminiscent of Sanderson, and even Robert Jordan). This is speculative, but Gladstone has also indicated (in a "I'm joking/no I'm not" manner) that he's planning to eventually take the Craft sequence to space in some way (there's definitely parts of the book that outright state that), quite similar at least in idea to how Sanderson is planning to make the Mistborn world evolve.
4. Gladstone's world-building is immensely grounded in reality in two ways - the first is that the nations in his books are based on real world myths and cultures, very like Jordan's. When you read about Dresediel Lex, it's obvious that it's a juxtaposition of Mesoamerican culture on the Los Angeles metropolitan area, when you explore Kavekana'ai, it's evident that it's a weird melding of Hawaii and the Polynesian cultures with a Swiss tax haven, and so on. On the other, and much more obvious hand, Gladstone's world is based on the real world (for good reason - he says a major inspiration for his books was the 2008 economic crisis) and it shows, both in the world-building, the characters and the magic. To give an example of what I mean, the main characters of the first three books, are respectively a black woman who is an associate at a law firm, a hispanic man who is a mid-level risk manager at a water utilities firm, and a trans-woman who is a hedge fund employee - and he makes all these roles fit with, and in fact, be central to his magical world!
5. The exploration of faith and godhood is a central theme in all of the books in the Craft sequence - he deals with it in a very different manner than Sanderson himself, Gladstone's books are much more scientific in their treatment, more like an application of comparitive mythology to fantasy than Sanderson's style, but the presentation of faith seems fairly nuanced and accurate to me (though you might want to take this with a pinch of salt, since I'm not a believer myself). However, for a myth geek like myself, perhaps the best comparison I can make is that these books are to Tolkien what modern studies in mythology are to classical myth - as many characters in these books believe as are largely indifferent to outright antagonistic towards the gods, and it makes for a very different kind of mythopeia than classical fantasy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There you have it! I hope this review convinces you to read the books!
Edited on 7th November to remove dates and add:
While there are many places on Goodreads that I've spoken about these books, there's one place off Goodreads I wanted to link - I wrote a review of sorts on /r/Fantasy recommending the Craft sequence to fans of Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan. I'm reproducing it below.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished a re-read of the series because of the nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Series, and because the new book is coming out in September, and even though I thought it might not hold up to re-reading, I cannot stop raving about it.
Gladstone has everything that a Sanderson or Jordan fan wants - deft world-building that he subtly interlaces into every aspect of the book, from characterization, to language, to plot; a rule-based magic system with enough detail that the resolution of the plots of several books (most particularly the first one, Three Parts Dead) hinges on the readers understanding of the magic; and tight plotting and excellent pacing (I speak more of Sanderson than Jordan here :P ), which usually starts at a slow-burn building the characters up, until it reaches a tipping point after which you really cannot stop reading. He also has, from his very first book, several things that Sanderson lacked in his early books, - for example, Gladstone's characters are amazingly well-rounded, and seem much more real and relatable than Sanderson's early characters (like Sarene or Raoden).
Here's a short list of reasons why I recommended at least checking the first book out:
1. The first five books of his series (which form a complete sequence) are all out [and, are in fact available for $4 on Amazon as an omnibus].
2. His first three books are written as standalones (a la Terry Pratchett) - you could pick any of them up as a starting point. Book 4 is a prequel to Book 2, but it can be read as a standalone as well; Book 5 is really the only one that requires you to have read at least Books 1, 2 and 3 to fully grasp everything that happens. However, since not all of them are as detailed about their explanations about the magic system, I recommend reading 3PD first.
3. Like Sanderson (who plotted out the entire Cosmere sequence, which used to be much less well-known as a single unit until The Way of Kings came out), Gladstone has big plans for his series, even while he endeavors to keep his books modular so that they may individually be enjoyed. The wacky chronology is a good example - each of the first five books has a number in the name which represents their actual position in the internal chronology of the world - their published out of order, giving a lot of room for interesting callbacks and references that are very subtle, and enhance the enjoyment of re-reading the series (such a style is very reminiscent of Sanderson, and even Robert Jordan). This is speculative, but Gladstone has also indicated (in a "I'm joking/no I'm not" manner) that he's planning to eventually take the Craft sequence to space in some way (there's definitely parts of the book that outright state that), quite similar at least in idea to how Sanderson is planning to make the Mistborn world evolve.
4. Gladstone's world-building is immensely grounded in reality in two ways - the first is that the nations in his books are based on real world myths and cultures, very like Jordan's. When you read about Dresediel Lex, it's obvious that it's a juxtaposition of Mesoamerican culture on the Los Angeles metropolitan area, when you explore Kavekana'ai, it's evident that it's a weird melding of Hawaii and the Polynesian cultures with a Swiss tax haven, and so on. On the other, and much more obvious hand, Gladstone's world is based on the real world (for good reason - he says a major inspiration for his books was the 2008 economic crisis) and it shows, both in the world-building, the characters and the magic. To give an example of what I mean, the main characters of the first three books, are respectively a black woman who is an associate at a law firm, a hispanic man who is a mid-level risk manager at a water utilities firm, and a trans-woman who is a hedge fund employee - and he makes all these roles fit with, and in fact, be central to his magical world!
5. The exploration of faith and godhood is a central theme in all of the books in the Craft sequence - he deals with it in a very different manner than Sanderson himself, Gladstone's books are much more scientific in their treatment, more like an application of comparitive mythology to fantasy than Sanderson's style, but the presentation of faith seems fairly nuanced and accurate to me (though you might want to take this with a pinch of salt, since I'm not a believer myself). However, for a myth geek like myself, perhaps the best comparison I can make is that these books are to Tolkien what modern studies in mythology are to classical myth - as many characters in these books believe as are largely indifferent to outright antagonistic towards the gods, and it makes for a very different kind of mythopeia than classical fantasy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There you have it! I hope this review convinces you to read the books!
May 21, 2017
The Novels Craft Imagination's Negotiation
Reading the books in the order they were written negotiates a willing contract to the great imagination of the Craft Sequence. Every book is a solid narrative. The character introduced along the way are all solid and have a special suspenseful role in the fifth book (Four Rows...). I got more excited as I reached that climax because I cared much for those people and their desire to build their world.
Reading the books in the order they were written negotiates a willing contract to the great imagination of the Craft Sequence. Every book is a solid narrative. The character introduced along the way are all solid and have a special suspenseful role in the fifth book (Four Rows...). I got more excited as I reached that climax because I cared much for those people and their desire to build their world.
July 3, 2017
Clever, gripping, and astonishingly original! These books are set in a world similar to our present day, except that gods are real, and magic works, and as a result technology never developed the same way as ours. Cultures are obviously different, too, and place names also. However, the descriptions of gods and people in various places give clues, and I had a lot of fun trying to map the places named in the books onto their real-world correspondences.
The series doesn't follow a linear chronology (the number in the title gives its internal order), so it's easy to think when reading a chronologically earlier book that you know where things are going, because you've already seen some later consequences of the events in progress. I at least was often wrong.
These five books together would probably be more than 800 paperback pages, maybe as many as a thousand. That sounds like a slog, but it was a real treat, and I ripped right through. There is a sixth book coming out in 2017, and I'm torn between reading it as soon as it's released, or waiting for the whole next five—I suspect I'll end up doing both!
The series doesn't follow a linear chronology (the number in the title gives its internal order), so it's easy to think when reading a chronologically earlier book that you know where things are going, because you've already seen some later consequences of the events in progress. I at least was often wrong.
These five books together would probably be more than 800 paperback pages, maybe as many as a thousand. That sounds like a slog, but it was a real treat, and I ripped right through. There is a sixth book coming out in 2017, and I'm torn between reading it as soon as it's released, or waiting for the whole next five—I suspect I'll end up doing both!
April 25, 2017
The sequence, so far, consists of five books, which came to me as a discounted bundle on Kindle (£5.39). Some time later, I was prompted to write a review by some spam from Amazon purporting to be selling "Kindle books like The Craft Sequence"
No! There are no books like The Craft Sequence! Max Gladstone has a very strange mind (but with some admirable qualities!)
The collection began with the author's foreword - which showed a nice dry sense of humour that only partly came across in the actual books, but partly is better than nothing. Then there was an analysis of which books had been written first, set against the chronological sequence, and advised reading in publication order . . . I disagree, but each book can stand alone, so it doesn't matter that much - except that I would recommend reading "Three Parts Dead" first - it sets the world scene rather well.
And after that . . . Max Gladstone as done some weird, but rather impressive world-building. He has come up with a world where Gods exist - and can be killed. And some of the top businessmen are undead (but not in any conventional sense!). And the economy is built on a concatenation of conventional finance with the complexities of 'soulstuff' (magical 'Mana'?) and legalistic binding contracts and obligations - I won't try to explain, it would count as spoiler material if I did, just take my work for it, it can get complicated! Cross an accountant with a contracts lawyer and a magic-user, then add a few drops of blood for magical enforcement . . . Yes, you're getting the idea!
And in this world he has written some stories! Stories that flow, stories that hold the reader's interest, and leave the reader wondering what strange twists might follow . . .
Since I am trying to be balanced here, I must throw in one negative comment. Near the end of each book, particularly Last First Snow and Four Roads Cross, the author got a bit too fond of complex combat scenes - not necessarily in the conventional sense. One of them is against a demon and set in a virtual (magical) space created during a courtroom battle! (Yes, the world really is that complicated!).
As for a summary of how good these books were . . . I have a problem here. I read five books in a row, and they are none of them particularly short, in less than a fortnight. That is pretty immersive, and anything that can hold me that intensely deserves at least four stars. Even so, by the end of it I needed a break, and it will be some time before I go back and read the sixth book in this world, recently released. So on balance, let's stop at the four stars.
I liked this world, with its detailed world-building and impressively complex characters, and will return to it eventually.
No! There are no books like The Craft Sequence! Max Gladstone has a very strange mind (but with some admirable qualities!)
The collection began with the author's foreword - which showed a nice dry sense of humour that only partly came across in the actual books, but partly is better than nothing. Then there was an analysis of which books had been written first, set against the chronological sequence, and advised reading in publication order . . . I disagree, but each book can stand alone, so it doesn't matter that much - except that I would recommend reading "Three Parts Dead" first - it sets the world scene rather well.
And after that . . . Max Gladstone as done some weird, but rather impressive world-building. He has come up with a world where Gods exist - and can be killed. And some of the top businessmen are undead (but not in any conventional sense!). And the economy is built on a concatenation of conventional finance with the complexities of 'soulstuff' (magical 'Mana'?) and legalistic binding contracts and obligations - I won't try to explain, it would count as spoiler material if I did, just take my work for it, it can get complicated! Cross an accountant with a contracts lawyer and a magic-user, then add a few drops of blood for magical enforcement . . . Yes, you're getting the idea!
And in this world he has written some stories! Stories that flow, stories that hold the reader's interest, and leave the reader wondering what strange twists might follow . . .
Since I am trying to be balanced here, I must throw in one negative comment. Near the end of each book, particularly Last First Snow and Four Roads Cross, the author got a bit too fond of complex combat scenes - not necessarily in the conventional sense. One of them is against a demon and set in a virtual (magical) space created during a courtroom battle! (Yes, the world really is that complicated!).
As for a summary of how good these books were . . . I have a problem here. I read five books in a row, and they are none of them particularly short, in less than a fortnight. That is pretty immersive, and anything that can hold me that intensely deserves at least four stars. Even so, by the end of it I needed a break, and it will be some time before I go back and read the sixth book in this world, recently released. So on balance, let's stop at the four stars.
I liked this world, with its detailed world-building and impressively complex characters, and will return to it eventually.
March 4, 2019
Maybe I shouldn’t have committed to reading all five of these books back to back. It took me two months, and I have forgotten what the hell else I was meant to be doing with my bookish life. But, on the other hand? This world deserves total immersion.
Would I recommend undertaking this marathon readthrough? Depends how you like to experience your sprawling SFF series. Reading all five in sequence, you catch every cross-reference, picking up more easily on the shape of the loose arc these books describe, and understanding perhaps the shape of things to come.
Individually, each book in the Craft Sequence is a funky little dip into Gladstone’s fascinating world. As a series, these books are a masterpiece. Each book is a different view on Gladstone’s orrery, and characters and events revolve into and out of view through each one. It’s only through the series as a whole you begin to understand the universe, its actors and its currents. It’s through these trans-instalment events that Gladstone evokes the power of the structures of the world, capitalism and commerce and bureaucracy in motion as powerful as gravity, as magic (which it in fact is).
I don’t know if I recommend reading all five books in a row, but if you’re thinking of reading one? Read all of them.
Would I recommend undertaking this marathon readthrough? Depends how you like to experience your sprawling SFF series. Reading all five in sequence, you catch every cross-reference, picking up more easily on the shape of the loose arc these books describe, and understanding perhaps the shape of things to come.
Individually, each book in the Craft Sequence is a funky little dip into Gladstone’s fascinating world. As a series, these books are a masterpiece. Each book is a different view on Gladstone’s orrery, and characters and events revolve into and out of view through each one. It’s only through the series as a whole you begin to understand the universe, its actors and its currents. It’s through these trans-instalment events that Gladstone evokes the power of the structures of the world, capitalism and commerce and bureaucracy in motion as powerful as gravity, as magic (which it in fact is).
I don’t know if I recommend reading all five books in a row, but if you’re thinking of reading one? Read all of them.
October 13, 2018
Summary: Approximately 150 years ago, the people of the New World rose up against their gods (who were, for the most part, deserving of being risen against - think of gods in the ancient Aztec mold). After nearly a century of all-out warfare, the humans were victorious, and the gods were defeated, dismembered, destroyed, and other unpleasant things starting with “D.” In the wake of the so-called “God Wars,” humans (and former humans) have built a society based on the Craft, a system of high-powered sorcery through which humans (and former humans) can modify the laws of the universe.
In this setting, law and magic and economics and religion are all intertwined, and Gladstone uses it to tell stories of a sort which are not usually seen in fantasy literature: a junior Craft associate investigates the murder of a god who controls the infrastructure of an entire city; a magical risk management consultant secures a water supply for a desert metropolis; an engineer designs and builds artificial gods-to-order, the last true priest of a bloodthirsty pantheon strives to defend his people from the forces of urban renewal and social change; the resurrection of a goddess spawns a credit crisis which threatens one of the world’s greatest cities.
Thoughts: These books are not “urban fantasy” in the usual sense of “fantasy stories set in cities (usually modern cities).” They are something much rarer: fantasy stories about modern cities. “Metropolitan fantasy,” one might call it. The only other books I can think of like this, which use a secondary fantasy world to explore the issues and experiences of modern urban life are the Discworld books set in Ankh-Morpork, but Gladstone’s approach is very different from Pratchett’s. Pratchett riffs on standard fantasy tropes like pointy-hat wizards and dwarfs and suchlike, and you never forget that derivative aspect of the Discworld; Gladstone’s setting is something quite different and original. (That being said, I think that Lord Vetinari and the Red King might get along, provided they stayed out of each other’s domains.)
Like a lot of the things I’ve reviewed here, the Craft Sequence books aren’t “escapist” in the traditional sense of lightweight distraction. They are, however, “escapist for me” due to the fascinating setting, and the way it is used to tell original, thought-provoking stories about modern urban life. While I did find most of the books to be a bit slow to start off (there is a lot of establishing to do in each of them), they all drew me in completely by around 1/3 the way through.
Although this is a five-book, ongoing series, each book tells a complete story, and with the exception of Four Roads Cross, the stories are pretty much independent of one another. That being said, I do recommend reading in publication order, because earlier books establish/explain things about the setting which are built upon in the later books.
Escapist Rating: 4/4
Recommended for: People who like unusual fantasy settings, people who like stories about cities (not just set in cities), people who wonder what fantastic analogs of modern New York or Los Angeles would look like
Dis-Recommended for: People looking for straightforward escapist fare, people who don’t want to put in a lot of mental work to understand an unusual setting, people who are not interested in urban issues
In this setting, law and magic and economics and religion are all intertwined, and Gladstone uses it to tell stories of a sort which are not usually seen in fantasy literature: a junior Craft associate investigates the murder of a god who controls the infrastructure of an entire city; a magical risk management consultant secures a water supply for a desert metropolis; an engineer designs and builds artificial gods-to-order, the last true priest of a bloodthirsty pantheon strives to defend his people from the forces of urban renewal and social change; the resurrection of a goddess spawns a credit crisis which threatens one of the world’s greatest cities.
Thoughts: These books are not “urban fantasy” in the usual sense of “fantasy stories set in cities (usually modern cities).” They are something much rarer: fantasy stories about modern cities. “Metropolitan fantasy,” one might call it. The only other books I can think of like this, which use a secondary fantasy world to explore the issues and experiences of modern urban life are the Discworld books set in Ankh-Morpork, but Gladstone’s approach is very different from Pratchett’s. Pratchett riffs on standard fantasy tropes like pointy-hat wizards and dwarfs and suchlike, and you never forget that derivative aspect of the Discworld; Gladstone’s setting is something quite different and original. (That being said, I think that Lord Vetinari and the Red King might get along, provided they stayed out of each other’s domains.)
Like a lot of the things I’ve reviewed here, the Craft Sequence books aren’t “escapist” in the traditional sense of lightweight distraction. They are, however, “escapist for me” due to the fascinating setting, and the way it is used to tell original, thought-provoking stories about modern urban life. While I did find most of the books to be a bit slow to start off (there is a lot of establishing to do in each of them), they all drew me in completely by around 1/3 the way through.
Although this is a five-book, ongoing series, each book tells a complete story, and with the exception of Four Roads Cross, the stories are pretty much independent of one another. That being said, I do recommend reading in publication order, because earlier books establish/explain things about the setting which are built upon in the later books.
Escapist Rating: 4/4
Recommended for: People who like unusual fantasy settings, people who like stories about cities (not just set in cities), people who wonder what fantastic analogs of modern New York or Los Angeles would look like
Dis-Recommended for: People looking for straightforward escapist fare, people who don’t want to put in a lot of mental work to understand an unusual setting, people who are not interested in urban issues
January 27, 2019
Money really is magical. It allows us to feed ourselves, to feed others, to build and form and enjoy. Deployed properly, it can influence, and even bind others to our will. But the Craft Sequence asks, "well, that's all well and good, but what if magic were money?".
In that case, it suggests, then wizards would be lawyers, and Gods would be banks, and contracts would bite in more than a purely symbolic sense. Students would go to universities in the sky and learn to carve their names into souls so that they can pay their student loans and own a nice flying wizard's tower all of their own, and local people in down-and-out neighbourhoods would fight to pray to their own Gods and not the new shiny ones that are owned by the nice men and women in suits and which offer a reasonable rate of return in stopping you from suffering a workplace accident. The world would be stunningly similar, and stunningly different.
Sitting in this world is fun, and is strange, partly because complicated finance packages seem a lot simpler to understand when they have magic involved. It helps that the writing is up to the task, with occasional flashes of brilliance. But it's really the world that is fascinating here, and it's one to savour.
In that case, it suggests, then wizards would be lawyers, and Gods would be banks, and contracts would bite in more than a purely symbolic sense. Students would go to universities in the sky and learn to carve their names into souls so that they can pay their student loans and own a nice flying wizard's tower all of their own, and local people in down-and-out neighbourhoods would fight to pray to their own Gods and not the new shiny ones that are owned by the nice men and women in suits and which offer a reasonable rate of return in stopping you from suffering a workplace accident. The world would be stunningly similar, and stunningly different.
Sitting in this world is fun, and is strange, partly because complicated finance packages seem a lot simpler to understand when they have magic involved. It helps that the writing is up to the task, with occasional flashes of brilliance. But it's really the world that is fascinating here, and it's one to savour.
April 20, 2021
Superb fantasy analogy in fascinating city-scapes
It's so rare to read truly original fantasy, but Gladstone has managed to put together a world brimming with clever ideas. And the stories in this mega-volume are intelligent: they demonstrate that fantasy can provide allegories for contemporary politics and society, but without being on-the-nose about it. My only (minor) gripe is that Gladstone has a tendency to have his tales devolve into massive showdown set pieces. If this were a series of Marvel stories, every one would end with the obligatory CGI battle and a sky beam. But everything else is just a delight. Even after 1800 pages, I still wanted to spend more time in this world and with its characters. Superb.
It's so rare to read truly original fantasy, but Gladstone has managed to put together a world brimming with clever ideas. And the stories in this mega-volume are intelligent: they demonstrate that fantasy can provide allegories for contemporary politics and society, but without being on-the-nose about it. My only (minor) gripe is that Gladstone has a tendency to have his tales devolve into massive showdown set pieces. If this were a series of Marvel stories, every one would end with the obligatory CGI battle and a sky beam. But everything else is just a delight. Even after 1800 pages, I still wanted to spend more time in this world and with its characters. Superb.
October 13, 2017
Reading all 5 books in one book was a truly pleasurable experience. I enjoyed immersing myself into the world of Craft, fascinating characters and interesting stories. I particularly like how every book is part of the same universe, but set in a different time period or a geographical location. I loved when main or supporting characters from one book got to know the characters from the other books... I'm really looking forward to seeing more of that and reading more from this series. Max Gladstone did an amazing job with this world and created some amazing characters.
July 7, 2023
After I read Gladstone's newest novel (Dead Country), I decided to go back and read the rest of the Craft sequence (had already read Three Parts Dead) so that I could be caught up in time for the ARC of the next book to come out. And, luckily for me, five of the six are in this omnibus! I'm honestly surprised at the sheer range of how Gladstone chooses to move from setting to setting in this world, and seeing characters from other books in the series pop up in ones down the line with different capacities, and how they end up interacting with the main plot. Hell, Tara doesn't even show back up until book 5, or start to deal with a bunch of the immediate fallout from Three Parts Dead till then. Gladstone's writing continues to be gorgeous as hell. Onto Ruin of Angels now, which looks to be an entirely new setting but featuring Kai (whose book was one of my favorites within this collection).
July 26, 2017
A great way to start reading the Hugo nominated Craft Sequence
Reading this Kindle ebook is a great way to start reading the Craft Sequence. The books collected in this Kindle ebook are well-written, with realistic characters, great themes, and great endings. I highly recommend this Kindle ebook: five stars.
Reading this Kindle ebook is a great way to start reading the Craft Sequence. The books collected in this Kindle ebook are well-written, with realistic characters, great themes, and great endings. I highly recommend this Kindle ebook: five stars.
October 20, 2023
A uniquely legal view of magic
This was a fascinating series that applied a logistical, scientific look at magic systems that I've never seen before. I was totally drawn into the idea, if you're looking for a realistic view of magic you haven't seen before I highly recommend this series.
This was a fascinating series that applied a logistical, scientific look at magic systems that I've never seen before. I was totally drawn into the idea, if you're looking for a realistic view of magic you haven't seen before I highly recommend this series.
June 27, 2017
Here's my review of this 5 books series! I'm not doing the usual copy paste here this time because it's quite long, but I gave this 5 stars so I guess it speaks for itself!
April 24, 2018
At first, I kept...
... Reading because I found the concepts of God and Craft fascinating. However, somewhere around a third of the way through, the of stories and characters twined into each other in a way that caught the rest of my attention, too.
Builds steadily throughout.
... Reading because I found the concepts of God and Craft fascinating. However, somewhere around a third of the way through, the of stories and characters twined into each other in a way that caught the rest of my attention, too.
Builds steadily throughout.
June 15, 2018
I don't think this is poorly written - I just personally don't enjoy mystery novels, and this is more mystery than fantasy. I also feel that the magic system is too detailed and mechanistic, which makes it uninteresting.
December 19, 2019
It's a bit sad how much I love books where people go to work in offices and deal with beauracracy despite magic and dragons and necromancy! Some great worldbuilding explored through connecting stories.
August 16, 2017
I have no idea why I found this a lot less engaging than my friends said. And that still frustrates me!
September 30, 2017
A very interesting world of magic and power, gods and faith, contracts and soulstuff. I look forward to reading more.
(P.S. Goodreads, you know this is an omnibus; it should count as five books!)
(P.S. Goodreads, you know this is an omnibus; it should count as five books!)
October 19, 2017
inventive and solid world-building, excellent characterization. I particularly enjoyed the vampire addicts, a plausible and piercing note of horror. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2018
[used as placeholder for entire series]
September 17, 2019
The world crafted by Max is very vivid and unique. If you read the stories in the "titled" order not the published order, the stories flow very well together.
April 7, 2020
Absolutely fantastic. Necromancer lawyers and godly banks, this is one of the most imaginative settings in modern fantasy.
December 29, 2017
So, the good news with buying all five craft novels at once is you save some money.
And, generally speaking, they're pretty good.
With that said, some of them are much better than others. I definitely liked the books with Tara as the protagonist most, and there's one three star review in there.
Because I didn't love all the books, I only gave this set three stars, but it might be worth checking out.
And, generally speaking, they're pretty good.
With that said, some of them are much better than others. I definitely liked the books with Tara as the protagonist most, and there's one three star review in there.
Because I didn't love all the books, I only gave this set three stars, but it might be worth checking out.
December 19, 2021
My best fantasy find of 2020 – mindblowing
I love genre bending. So when an author combines horror, fantasy, legal thriller, religious thriller, murder mystery... (I could go on) But to show why this is exceptional I’ll approach from another angle.
Many fantasies imitate (or respond to) Lord of the Rings, with a hero/savior from West-European mythologies. They often mirror Tolkien’s yearning for a pastoral idyll, hate of modernity and technology, and his views of ‘lesser races’. I do not want to belittle LOTR, because I love that book, but Tolkien was a man of his time, with its prejudices and worldviews.
George Martin’s and grimdark’s main innovation is taking away the hope that defines LOTR and mistaking cynism for realism. Urban fantasy is set in a city environment and is much more genre bending. But it too has become pretty generic.
Where is a truly original new fantasy? One with its own invented mythology? With cultures and settings that are rich and deep, not templates? With a true sense of wonder? With realistic and diverse characters? With a manageable size instead of doorstopping bloat? With precise descriptions and good dialogue? With relevance to our lives, not mealy allegory nor yearning for a past that never was?
This is all that and more. Max Gladstone writes about a world remade by rebels after a war against gods. A world in wich disruptors have become inhumanly rich and powerful, by building huge companies and creating dehumanizing webs of law, finance, and bureaucracy. Seems familiar?
Gladwell is not interested in a prophesied savior. He writes about little people who try to make do, who incrementally, collaboratively, try to engage their world’s ills – one personal choice after another. Seems familiar?
Gladwell writes about philosophy, religion and atheism, about ideologies similar, but not identical, to our own. A powerful person’s rant about reaching for other worlds and discarding this one before it is used up: seems familiar?
Places in this world are old, huge and diverse, with palpable histories. They are theaters of repression and riots; of refugees and indentured workers; of rich and poor lives; of cultures, religions and communities; of tourists and demons; of water shortages, interdependencies and environmental collapse; of tears and laughter, hope and despair, and love in many forms.
Despite their regular size, these books are dense reads, worth rereading, and I was so invested in the characters that I sometimes even had to stop reading because it became too much!
The omnibus arranges 5 books in order of publication instead of chronologically – an explanation of sorts is in the foreword. It made sense to me: as a father, I was stuck in book 4 (chronologically part 1) because I could not bear what a father does to his son. It is done with the best intentions, always the road to hell. However, because I had read book 1 (chronologically part 3), I knew what became of these people. Therefore I could continue – after dealing with the heartache, that is. Yes, there is heartache and horror here and if you don’t want that in your fiction, this is not for you. But if you want intense, original, relevant and moving reads... Well, you are in for a treat.
Upon rereading my descriptions seemed rather dry, which these books are not at all! They are thrilling and shivery, full of sleeping gods, undead kings, horse golems, obsidian knives, eagle knights, chain-smoking saints, animated statues, hive mind policewomen, beggar children, demonic infestations, necromantic accountants, miracles, sacrifice and strife!
I love genre bending. So when an author combines horror, fantasy, legal thriller, religious thriller, murder mystery... (I could go on) But to show why this is exceptional I’ll approach from another angle.
Many fantasies imitate (or respond to) Lord of the Rings, with a hero/savior from West-European mythologies. They often mirror Tolkien’s yearning for a pastoral idyll, hate of modernity and technology, and his views of ‘lesser races’. I do not want to belittle LOTR, because I love that book, but Tolkien was a man of his time, with its prejudices and worldviews.
George Martin’s and grimdark’s main innovation is taking away the hope that defines LOTR and mistaking cynism for realism. Urban fantasy is set in a city environment and is much more genre bending. But it too has become pretty generic.
Where is a truly original new fantasy? One with its own invented mythology? With cultures and settings that are rich and deep, not templates? With a true sense of wonder? With realistic and diverse characters? With a manageable size instead of doorstopping bloat? With precise descriptions and good dialogue? With relevance to our lives, not mealy allegory nor yearning for a past that never was?
This is all that and more. Max Gladstone writes about a world remade by rebels after a war against gods. A world in wich disruptors have become inhumanly rich and powerful, by building huge companies and creating dehumanizing webs of law, finance, and bureaucracy. Seems familiar?
Gladwell is not interested in a prophesied savior. He writes about little people who try to make do, who incrementally, collaboratively, try to engage their world’s ills – one personal choice after another. Seems familiar?
Gladwell writes about philosophy, religion and atheism, about ideologies similar, but not identical, to our own. A powerful person’s rant about reaching for other worlds and discarding this one before it is used up: seems familiar?
Places in this world are old, huge and diverse, with palpable histories. They are theaters of repression and riots; of refugees and indentured workers; of rich and poor lives; of cultures, religions and communities; of tourists and demons; of water shortages, interdependencies and environmental collapse; of tears and laughter, hope and despair, and love in many forms.
Despite their regular size, these books are dense reads, worth rereading, and I was so invested in the characters that I sometimes even had to stop reading because it became too much!
The omnibus arranges 5 books in order of publication instead of chronologically – an explanation of sorts is in the foreword. It made sense to me: as a father, I was stuck in book 4 (chronologically part 1) because I could not bear what a father does to his son. It is done with the best intentions, always the road to hell. However, because I had read book 1 (chronologically part 3), I knew what became of these people. Therefore I could continue – after dealing with the heartache, that is. Yes, there is heartache and horror here and if you don’t want that in your fiction, this is not for you. But if you want intense, original, relevant and moving reads... Well, you are in for a treat.
Upon rereading my descriptions seemed rather dry, which these books are not at all! They are thrilling and shivery, full of sleeping gods, undead kings, horse golems, obsidian knives, eagle knights, chain-smoking saints, animated statues, hive mind policewomen, beggar children, demonic infestations, necromantic accountants, miracles, sacrifice and strife!
May 9, 2022
Read the first book. I liked the premis, but the getting there took too long for me. A lot of unnessary and long tangents that dont add or aid in the storytelling. They detract from the trajectory of the storyline. Not currently planning on reading the next book.
February 13, 2019
This is as good of a series as any I've read and better than most. I like the way the magic works, a transactional metaphysical power bound by rules. There's some really bad-assed wizard battles like you may have first seen in Sword in the Stone.
Alas it is all over
BUT WAIT! I'm excited to announce that I already have the sixth book because I promise you I'll be reading it.
For your knowledge, they seem to be paired into duets (I like that better than 'duology' right now). I recommend reading Three Parts Dead before Four Roads Cross. Last First Snow before Two Serpents Rise. You probably want to read Full Fathom Five before The Ruin of Angels but I haven't read the latter yet, so I don't know for sure. Learn from my mistakes: I was distracted when reading LFS by waiting for the events of TSR--once I realized I was reading them out of chronological order, which wasn't immediately apparent because there had been a gap in between reading them and I kept trying to figure out why things were so backwards (I thought dad was son because I initially only remembered there was a guy with runes carved into him).
Alas it is all over
BUT WAIT! I'm excited to announce that I already have the sixth book because I promise you I'll be reading it.
For your knowledge, they seem to be paired into duets (I like that better than 'duology' right now). I recommend reading Three Parts Dead before Four Roads Cross. Last First Snow before Two Serpents Rise. You probably want to read Full Fathom Five before The Ruin of Angels but I haven't read the latter yet, so I don't know for sure. Learn from my mistakes: I was distracted when reading LFS by waiting for the events of TSR--once I realized I was reading them out of chronological order, which wasn't immediately apparent because there had been a gap in between reading them and I kept trying to figure out why things were so backwards (I thought dad was son because I initially only remembered there was a guy with runes carved into him).
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