Scan barcode
accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition
4.75
I stayed up way too late reading this book - gripping, intense, characters I love, a fantastic plot, the worldbuilding as always is deep & fascinating - this book has it all!
elros451's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A few of the plotlines in this book kind of fizzled out for me towards the end but others easily had the best moments of the series so far. As an ending to the first Craft Sequence arc Four Roads Cross was phenomenal, I just wish it added some new things to the usual Craft formula.
A few of the plotlines in this book kind of fizzled out for me towards the end but others easily had the best moments of the series so far. As an ending to the first Craft Sequence arc Four Roads Cross was phenomenal, I just wish it added some new things to the usual Craft formula.
annie_lulu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookslikegranola's review against another edition
5.0
A triumph return to the setting and characters of book 1. Books 2-4 were fine, but why does Gladstone write them when he could write books like this?
A year after the resurrection of fire god Kos and secret return of moon goddess Seril, Tara Abernathy has her hands full as the in house craftswoman for the church. If you’ve made it to book five, you know the drill: high stakes magic courtroom battles, ancient gods with modern liabilities, and a lot of techno-babble. This also had the strengths of book 1: the strange, vibrant city of Kos and a rag tag group of the supernatural that is pluckier than Gladstones other casts. I think Tara is a great POV, she’s capable, sorcerous, and plagued by student debts. The rest of the gang is also great: Cat finally is working through her issues, Raz is brooding yet useful (now with extra ocean vampire cults), Abelard and Kos go to couples therapy, and the gargoyles are generally sassy. I just had so much fun. I understand the entire project of the series, each book really add context and characterization to the others, but books 2 and 4 especially were a bit of a drag for me. I frankly think reading just book 1 and then 5 (which functions as a direct sequel to 1), would be totally appropriate and probably even advisable. If, after that, you desperately need more craft sequence, then I’d say read the rest.
Highly, highly recommend this book, either as book five or directly after book 1 (the series time jumps a lot - trust me, 5 is a direct sequel to Three Parts Dead).
trashbadger's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
elusivity's review
4.0
Another exciting continuation of the Kos and Seril story in Alt Coulumb, featuring Tara Abernathy the young Craftswoman; Abelard, beloved priest-friend of Kos, Raz the vampire and Catherine the ex-junkie/current cop.
One year after having been revived and freed, Seril and Her gargoyles are tired of being hidden and weak. The gargoyles have began to answer citizens' prayers to help them in dangerous situations in dark alleys. Once the news of Her revival breaks open, the story becomes another Craft (legal & financial) fiasco where Seril, being weak and beloved of Kos, represents a fragile and erratic hidden drain on Kos' assets, which could potentially cause Him higher interests in the godly/financial transactions and undermine the financial interrelationship of the entire world, to the point where demons could creep through fractures in reality. To minimize this disaster, the Craftspeople of the world are well justified to descend on Alt Coulumb/Kos, kill Him, and replace Him with a mechanical entity whose only purpose is to uphold the giant set of contracts that was the bulk of Kos' power.
I continue to marvel at how fascinating a world can be when law and finance are predicated on Gods and their contracts to provide miracles and sustain various infrastructures. When a law suit can be a very structured fight to the death. When godhood is predicated on having a sufficient number of believers, and when souls are liquid currency for all commercial transactions. The implications of that are just utterly fascinating.
In this instance, how one can be deliberately hooked on drugs, then have to go into debt-bondage because they've used up all their soul. This happens in our world too, except it does not lead us to become soul-less zombies, or empty vessels in which one can hide demons...
A really great addition to the story. I secretly ship Shale and Tara, I love their barbed bickering, but that probably has a slim chance of happening. Tara does get to lower her wall and reach out to him to be friends, though. And the ex-vampire junkie consummates her relationship with the vampire, which is sweet. I wonder if we will hear more about the Grimwald family next?
One year after having been revived and freed, Seril and Her gargoyles are tired of being hidden and weak. The gargoyles have began to answer citizens' prayers to help them in dangerous situations in dark alleys. Once the news of Her revival breaks open, the story becomes another Craft (legal & financial) fiasco where Seril, being weak and beloved of Kos, represents a fragile and erratic hidden drain on Kos' assets, which could potentially cause Him higher interests in the godly/financial transactions and undermine the financial interrelationship of the entire world, to the point where demons could creep through fractures in reality. To minimize this disaster, the Craftspeople of the world are well justified to descend on Alt Coulumb/Kos, kill Him, and replace Him with a mechanical entity whose only purpose is to uphold the giant set of contracts that was the bulk of Kos' power.
I continue to marvel at how fascinating a world can be when law and finance are predicated on Gods and their contracts to provide miracles and sustain various infrastructures. When a law suit can be a very structured fight to the death. When godhood is predicated on having a sufficient number of believers, and when souls are liquid currency for all commercial transactions. The implications of that are just utterly fascinating.
In this instance, how one can be deliberately hooked on drugs, then have to go into debt-bondage because they've used up all their soul. This happens in our world too, except it does not lead us to become soul-less zombies, or empty vessels in which one can hide demons...
A really great addition to the story. I secretly ship Shale and Tara, I love their barbed bickering, but that probably has a slim chance of happening. Tara does get to lower her wall and reach out to him to be friends, though. And the ex-vampire junkie consummates her relationship with the vampire, which is sweet. I wonder if we will hear more about the Grimwald family next?
zozoisgolden's review
5.0
What's close to perfection?
This damn series.
Max Gladstone knows exactly what to deliver and I hate it so much. Happy screams.
This damn series.
Max Gladstone knows exactly what to deliver and I hate it so much. Happy screams.
roostercrows3's review
3.0
This had a little bit of a slow start as it pieced together the different characters (and I slowly remembered who they were) but I ended up really enjoying this one down the stretch.
jukaschar's review
5.0
Awesome continuation of the series with Tara Abernathy, Alt-Coulomb and the splendid gargoyles! There is so much going on, but somehow Gladstone makes it quiet easy to stay on top of everything. Looking forward to the next book!
tmikerx's review
5.0
Ahhh.. Back to what I love about this series. I can't think of too much to say about it (still processing events, to be honest), but I will say that Max's writing is beautiful. Describing a battle in terms of functions and legality and mathematics sounds terribly dull, but the way the war in this book is described is quite possibly one of the best battle scenes I've ever read. 5 stars, without a doubt.