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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
5.0
Honesty, worth five stars for the line about prophets.
Who would have thought lawyer magical fantasy would be so good?
Who would have thought lawyer magical fantasy would be so good?
marklpotter's review against another edition
3.0
There's just something about combining a pantheon of gods with bureaucracy that says this is either going to work magnificently or fail in a spectacular way. The Craft Sequence manages to be in the former category and while I don't think that Last First Snow is the strongest in the series it's still a very good read and I didn't want to put it down. The mythos/government combination is pulled off so well that I think an RPG based on the way it's laid out in the series as would be a fun game. I recommend this whole series, you do need to start at the beginning though, I don't think you could jump in at a later book and have a full understanding of what's happening.
The Red King is a classic villain, though well done, who honestly thinks he knows what's best for the Skitterskill and it's gentrification. He believes he knows better than the people who live and work there and he'll stop at nothing to insure it happens. Temoc's faction doesn't think so and wants something entirely different. It's a classic story told in a very unconventional manner and set in a very different world.
I absolutely love the setting, the politics, and the story telling. The story line involving Temoc and his son was heart wrenching and at time a little hard to absorb but in the end, understandable.
I felt like this was a little less tight than the other books in the series but it's quite possible that it was necessary for the story. Even with that this was a good story, very involved, and well written. I would advise picking up this series to anyone who wants to real well written fantasy in a completely different setting!
The Red King is a classic villain, though well done, who honestly thinks he knows what's best for the Skitterskill and it's gentrification. He believes he knows better than the people who live and work there and he'll stop at nothing to insure it happens. Temoc's faction doesn't think so and wants something entirely different. It's a classic story told in a very unconventional manner and set in a very different world.
I absolutely love the setting, the politics, and the story telling. The story line involving Temoc and his son was heart wrenching and at time a little hard to absorb but in the end, understandable.
I felt like this was a little less tight than the other books in the series but it's quite possible that it was necessary for the story. Even with that this was a good story, very involved, and well written. I would advise picking up this series to anyone who wants to real well written fantasy in a completely different setting!
jassmine's review against another edition
3.0
Their house, their son, her arms, were fortress walls against the desert night. Their bed was a sacred and secret space guarded by dark arts from history.
So far, I have problematic relationship with the series (I only read [b:Three Parts Dead|13539191|Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence, #1)|Max Gladstone|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333049511l/13539191._SY75_.jpg|19101555] apart from this one.). It always takes me a long time to get into the story and even though it in both cases started to come together around the last third of the book and ended in a spectacular bang it left me strangely cold. Overall, I think I prefer Three Parts Dead, but this book had one feature that I enjoyed to a ridiculous amount (this seems to be unpopular opinion), but I loved Temoc's character arc, I'm just going to put this into spoilers even though you already know all of this if you read the books in publication order.
Spoiler
He's amazingly written grey character. He's mostly likeable in the beginning, even though he is the character type that is usually reserved for bad guys - a populist (may be a little too harsh a word) priest. He has some red flags, but he genuinely tries to do good and then he slowly descends... the flip of his character was absolutely believable for me (even though there was one place where it scratched a little bit). And I was there for the whole emotional journey. Even when he's doing some unforgivable things, we see them done through his eyes and so we can understand where he's coming from and just for a moment before we start to really think about what is happening, we might even agree with him. I adored this part of the book.It is easy, fast, to fight and die beside your brothers in the sun. It is harder to build, to teach, to live, and to remember.
Other than that the book fell a little flat for me, there is a lot of interesting characters outlined, but we don't really get to know them which was a shame. Elayne is still amazing, but she isn't Three Parts Dead level badass. The world is still interesting, but even though we are in a new city, there wasn't enough of the new stuff here to keep me entertained.
To be completely clear, I don't think this book is bad by any means, it just... didn't speak to me, I guess... I don't know what happened, we'll see how I like the next one!
BRed at WBTM: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/21764590-last-first-snow-craft-sequence-2---oct-2022
talvalin's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst it was interesting to get further insight into the characters of the King in Red, Elayne Kevarian and Temoc Almotil, knowing the outcome ultimately robs the book of most of its tension. There is an attempt to stave this off by introducing additional characters whose fates are unknown, but I felt less invested in these new people which was a shame.
Still an enjoyable read and a good addition to the Craft Sequence.
Still an enjoyable read and a good addition to the Craft Sequence.
pavram's review against another edition
4.0
Ono što čini ovu knjigu (i pretpostavljam serijal) toliko zanimljivim je to što uzima za ozbiljno ’problem magije’ odn. na koji način bi se svet razvio samo kad bi magija postojala. Nema više birokratije – napravi prolaz za magičnu birokratiju! Itd. itd. I to je sve uradjeno na tako organski i zanimljiv način da čak i dosadne delove čini podnošljivim. Plus, tu su uverljivi likovi koji se samomrze kroz debate tipa „tradicija v (kapitalistički) progres“ tako da Gledston ume i da čačne i te neke tzv. ozbiljne teme. Jedino je malo mlak kraj, ali šta je tu je.
4+
4+
themattsterofdizatster's review against another edition
4.0
A really awesome prequel that takes you back in time and fleshes out side characters from previous books and makes them feel real and rounded.
knightjpg's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a while since I read this book and I'm still not sure if I like it or not.
It's well written - Max is a terrific writer and there are so many beautiful passages.
And the storyline is well-crafted. It all revolves around one place, and the actions, consequences, and everyone involved in these all feel natural.
I think what the story was about awas just not totally up my lane? Also - I didn't really feel any fondness for anyone. Kelayne is very cool, but unlike Tara and Abelard who I've come to really love after the first book, I couldn't really connect with her.
I felt the most for Mina, probably on account of how much I loathed Temoc. Fuck that guy. Poor Caleb.
It's well written - Max is a terrific writer and there are so many beautiful passages.
And the storyline is well-crafted. It all revolves around one place, and the actions, consequences, and everyone involved in these all feel natural.
I think what the story was about awas just not totally up my lane? Also - I didn't really feel any fondness for anyone. Kelayne is very cool, but unlike Tara and Abelard who I've come to really love after the first book, I couldn't really connect with her.
I felt the most for Mina, probably on account of how much I loathed Temoc. Fuck that guy. Poor Caleb.
duchess's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. So irritated it took me a long time to read this, and it was all because other things were getting in the way. Am glad I got the next book on my iPad before my poor computer died!