Three Parts Dead

On the one hand, Gladstone has created something entirely unique, here: a magico-legal thriller about apotheosis set in a steampunk theocracy. So far, so good. I love a lot of the little touches: the Seril/Justice story in particular is extremely well-done, as is his handling of the workings of magic. I found the wry humor in several parts charming. Gladstone's characters are a little thin, but well-loved and the ensemble cast overall works well. On the one hand, the ruse of “character X is so naive, I have to tell them about setting point Y” is over-used and very obvious; on the other, it gets the reader up to speed quickly on the (really lovely) world-building.

However, there are some books one can only get through on a plane. This is one of them. Gladstone shifts perspectives approximately once every 2-3 pages and it's completely jarring. This is especially true because there is so much world-building that the reader has to keep in mind, that to remember “OK, she's using the Craft for which she needs her special knife and blah-glyph and there are clouds, so it will be less powerful” for long enough to get back to the scene where that information is relevant is difficult.

I might read more books from the series, but only if the perspective-shifting is substantially better – it's too bad, because it does overwhelm the otherwise good writing.

This happens to be a fairly old book and I'm not known to read older books much, feeling much more comfortable with the writing styles of recent releases. However, I stumbled upon the reviews for this book when I was browsing and I was fascinated. And I'm actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

As soon as I got into the book a bit, the first thing that came to mind was how similar the premise felt to City of Stairs - that's one of my all time favorites, so my interest increased exponentially and I wasn't disappointed. The author drops us smack dab into the middle of the story, and we get to know the world and it's magic system called Craft as we go on. I'm not always a fan of that kind of writing style, but it somehow worked here and I didn't feel lost, so hats off to the author's skills. The whole idea is also very imaginative, a world which has gods and deities who provide sustenance so that their cities can run, Craftsmen and women who use starlight and earth to wield their magic and work for Craft firms (similar to law firms) to solve when issues rise across kingdoms. I thought the use of business contracts as the way how the exchange between gods and other entities works was ingenious. As this story is essentially a murder mystery/ legal thriller, I really enjoyed the way the characters unraveled the mystery and built their case. While I really loved the different uses of Craft throughout the story, I thought the scene at the Court of Craft was phenomenal and has left an impression on my mind that I won't soon forget. When the confrontations between different Craft users occur, I can't call them action sequences but more like battle of wills and they were stunning to read about. While some part of the murder mystery was fairly easy to guess, it was very interesting to read other twists as well as find out the various motivations. And I still can't get over the brilliant final chapter and the epilogue - they were truly epic.

Tara is our main protagonist, a new associate working on her first case and is very much invested in solving it perfectly so that she can make her job permanent. She is strong willed, tenacious, confident and good at thinking outside the box when things aren't going her way. She is also open minded and willing to look at all the evidence as well as the bigger picture before making judgments, despite strong evidence pointing her in a particular direction. Abelard on the other hand wants to believe in god and his faith, is feeling a bit shaken due to the god's death and just wants everything to return to normal. This leads to some very interesting discussions between them about faith and justice, idealism vs practicality, an engineer's view of the world vs that of a Craftswoman. They don't always understand each other's perspective, but trust enough to work together towards their common goal. Elayne is the mentor figure to Tara and while we only get a little of her POV, her mind works in brilliant ways and it was masterful the way she makes sure everything happens the way she wants it to. There are other side characters we meet along the way and we are intrigued initially because we don't know why we need to follow along with them, but the author ties up everybody's storyline amazingly well towards the end and we quickly realize how each of them had an important role to play. I ended up loving every one of them and it's nice to see the small bonds that developed between each of them too.

Finally, I have to say that this is one of the most unique fantasy worlds I've read in a while. If you are a fan of the Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett, or love your fantasy worlds to have steampunk elements while also featuring gods and magic and discussing economics and trade etc, then this book is perfect for you. The magic system can be a tad bit too convenient, but it didn't in anyway hamper my enjoyment of the story. It also works well as a standalone, so you will be very satisfied. There seem to be quite a few books in this series, but I'm not in a hurry - I might just decide to pick up the sequel the next time I'm confused about what to read.

Intense and Engrossing!

Picture Law and Order Mixed with magic, and you can't help but be drawn to this tale. I'm not normally into Urban Fantasy, save for Dresden files, but this is easily as good and even better in some respects. Gladstone weaves visuals like an artist, painting the scene in your mind. Can't wait to read the next installment.

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 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.