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thecaptainsquarters's review against another edition
3.0
Ahoy there me mateys! So in previous times, wendy @ thebiliosanctum set me on a series of adventures that led to me reading the first book in The Craft Sequence, three parts dead. I absolutely loved it. This is a review that talks about the fourth published book in the series. Like the others, I read this one without reading the blurb first. Not that would have helped me predicament. No real spoilers aboard but read at yer own peril . . .
So me hearties. I loved this book. But I found when I was readin’ it, something be fishy. Action that was happening in this book seemed to have been discussed in the previous books. I knew it was the correct book in terms of publishing order. But it had been a while since I read book three and me mind be faulty and often drops facts so I was very confused about timelines and such. I knew I was missing something. Eventually, I mentally shrugged and finished this fun tale.
But after I was done, I was even more confused. What in the world was going on? Turns out I can blame all the confusion on the author (more on this below). Arrr! Ye see I was online searching for a recap for full fathom five, the previous book, to help sort things out. I checked out the wiki fandom and some random reviews and was still unclear. So I hopped onto the author’s website. There on “The Craft Sequence” page was a section entitled “What about the chronology.”
Aye matey, what about it? Well, turns out that the publishing order does NOT match the chronology order. Well, shiver me timbers! Apparently the titles hint at the chronology. The books have numbers in their titles. Book four in publishing order is actually book one in chronology. But the books are all meant to be read as standalones even though there be some limited crossover in characters. So does the order in which ye read them matter?
Aye and nay. Ye see the first published book, three parts dead, is the book I read first. And it be me favourite and was a wonderful introduction to the world. I be grateful this was me initial foray into the series. This book, last first snow, is the fourth published book but is set 20 years prior to three parts dead. Is yer noggin’ whirling yet? But this current book is me least favourite of the series so far, even if it happens “first.” In fact, the order in which I like the books is (by publishing order) 1 –> 3 –> 4 –> 2.
Still with me? Now if I had read these books in chronological order then me third favourite (4) would have been read first. And then maybe without knowing how strong the other books were, I wouldn’t have picked up more of the series. And that would have been a shame. At the same time book four confused me because of the jump back in timeline.
Aye, I know I did not read the blurb. But that wouldn’t have helped. There is no indication in the blurb (see below) that this book takes place in an earlier time. And I be sure that the author put clues about time frame into this book. I just missed them. But some of the enjoyment of the book was lightly lessened due to me silly confusion. So the chronological order DID end up being important in the sense of me focus on the book. I wasn’t drawn into the story as deeply as I could have been. I do wish that I would have figured things out sooner.
That said, I always read books in publishing order. I am not sure why that be. The idea of readin’ books in chronological order bothers me.
Side note: Don’t get me started on the order in which the Naria series should be read. I still get angry when I see the box sets “ordered” incorrectly. But I digress . . .
I do know that some members of me crew read things in chronological order. I am not sure if readin’ this series in that order is best. Mehaps some of the crew has opinions on this matter and is up for lively debate on such topics. All I know if that I be glad that I read them in the order I did. Also I be glad that the author issued an apology-of-a-sort on tor.com called “This is How I Numbered My Books and I’m Sorry” where he takes responsibility for the scrambling of me noggin’. And I be grateful that he be crafty enough (hardy har har!) to give me such wonderful readin’ material.
I have been spacing out these books for times where I need a pick-me-up and for when I can savour them. I will be reading the next two books at some point and, no, I won’t be reading the blurb for them either. Wish me luck. Arrrr!!!
Side note no. 2: While searching for the recap, I inadvertently came across a post on Mr. Gladstone’s website called “How to Convince Your Friends to Read My Books.” I, of course, immediately became sidetracked because explaining these books to me crew can be hard. His post was absolutely funny and delightful and explained each book with fun little taglines. For example, the first book published, three parts dead, is described as “For Law, Finance, or Business People: ‘It’s about bankruptcy law, only the entity in bankruptcy protection is a dead god, and the attorneys are necromancers.’ So wonderful.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
So me hearties. I loved this book. But I found when I was readin’ it, something be fishy. Action that was happening in this book seemed to have been discussed in the previous books. I knew it was the correct book in terms of publishing order. But it had been a while since I read book three and me mind be faulty and often drops facts so I was very confused about timelines and such. I knew I was missing something. Eventually, I mentally shrugged and finished this fun tale.
But after I was done, I was even more confused. What in the world was going on? Turns out I can blame all the confusion on the author (more on this below). Arrr! Ye see I was online searching for a recap for full fathom five, the previous book, to help sort things out. I checked out the wiki fandom and some random reviews and was still unclear. So I hopped onto the author’s website. There on “The Craft Sequence” page was a section entitled “What about the chronology.”
Aye matey, what about it? Well, turns out that the publishing order does NOT match the chronology order. Well, shiver me timbers! Apparently the titles hint at the chronology. The books have numbers in their titles. Book four in publishing order is actually book one in chronology. But the books are all meant to be read as standalones even though there be some limited crossover in characters. So does the order in which ye read them matter?
Aye and nay. Ye see the first published book, three parts dead, is the book I read first. And it be me favourite and was a wonderful introduction to the world. I be grateful this was me initial foray into the series. This book, last first snow, is the fourth published book but is set 20 years prior to three parts dead. Is yer noggin’ whirling yet? But this current book is me least favourite of the series so far, even if it happens “first.” In fact, the order in which I like the books is (by publishing order) 1 –> 3 –> 4 –> 2.
Still with me? Now if I had read these books in chronological order then me third favourite (4) would have been read first. And then maybe without knowing how strong the other books were, I wouldn’t have picked up more of the series. And that would have been a shame. At the same time book four confused me because of the jump back in timeline.
Aye, I know I did not read the blurb. But that wouldn’t have helped. There is no indication in the blurb (see below) that this book takes place in an earlier time. And I be sure that the author put clues about time frame into this book. I just missed them. But some of the enjoyment of the book was lightly lessened due to me silly confusion. So the chronological order DID end up being important in the sense of me focus on the book. I wasn’t drawn into the story as deeply as I could have been. I do wish that I would have figured things out sooner.
That said, I always read books in publishing order. I am not sure why that be. The idea of readin’ books in chronological order bothers me.
Side note: Don’t get me started on the order in which the Naria series should be read. I still get angry when I see the box sets “ordered” incorrectly. But I digress . . .
I do know that some members of me crew read things in chronological order. I am not sure if readin’ this series in that order is best. Mehaps some of the crew has opinions on this matter and is up for lively debate on such topics. All I know if that I be glad that I read them in the order I did. Also I be glad that the author issued an apology-of-a-sort on tor.com called “This is How I Numbered My Books and I’m Sorry” where he takes responsibility for the scrambling of me noggin’. And I be grateful that he be crafty enough (hardy har har!) to give me such wonderful readin’ material.
I have been spacing out these books for times where I need a pick-me-up and for when I can savour them. I will be reading the next two books at some point and, no, I won’t be reading the blurb for them either. Wish me luck. Arrrr!!!
Side note no. 2: While searching for the recap, I inadvertently came across a post on Mr. Gladstone’s website called “How to Convince Your Friends to Read My Books.” I, of course, immediately became sidetracked because explaining these books to me crew can be hard. His post was absolutely funny and delightful and explained each book with fun little taglines. For example, the first book published, three parts dead, is described as “For Law, Finance, or Business People: ‘It’s about bankruptcy law, only the entity in bankruptcy protection is a dead god, and the attorneys are necromancers.’ So wonderful.
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
unwisely's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciate the author's ability to create immersive worlds very different from anything else. I read the previous book 8 years ago, so I only barely remembered any details, although some things seemed familiar. So I appreciated that you didn't have to know everything that previously happened in order to follow this book.
That said, how do you feel about progress? "Development"? Gentrification? Because that was what I felt like this was about. And the lawyer was not the bad guy, which was interesting and different.
That said, I didn't like the plot; things did not go how I wanted. But that doesn't make it a bad book, it just isn't a fun beach read. It *did* make me want to go to Mexico City, though.
That said, how do you feel about progress? "Development"? Gentrification? Because that was what I felt like this was about. And the lawyer was not the bad guy, which was interesting and different.
That said, I didn't like the plot; things did not go how I wanted. But that doesn't make it a bad book, it just isn't a fun beach read. It *did* make me want to go to Mexico City, though.
rophdofr's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written, but suffers from the out-of-sequence publishing of the series. The tragedy is less tragic when you know what happens next, the suspense deflated by that same knowledge. The characters are well rounded, and the plot of municipal bureaucracy and corruption novel in the form of magic, myth, gods, and monsters. If you liked the other books, you'll probably like this one. It is much better than Two Serpents Rise, so it's got that going for it.
samjpetto's review against another edition
4.0
“Your son," she said, "needs a father." "He needs a world less broken than this. All the sons need that. And the daughters, too."
Last First Snow is fourth in the Craft Sequence but first chronologically, so that's where I started. Coming in completely new to Max Gladstone's world, I enjoyed every second and never felt too lost as Gladstone tells a dramatic story involving a community uprising in an impoverished stretch of land called the Skittersill and the powerful magic interests seeking greater ownership and control over the land.
In this world there are gods, new and fallen. And most magic users seem to be Craftsmen, people who can use a highly sophisticated and legalistic form of magic called Craft.
This fast-paced novel follows two main characters. The first, Elayne, is effectively an arcane attorney who is helping her clients navigate an agreement involving the future of the Skittersill. The second, Temoc, is a father and a priest. Without revealing too much, much of the drama focuses on Temoc being pulled between his duties as a father and his duties to the community, people he believes are under his care.
The writing is beautiful ("The conversation they were not having filled the room. Branching vines of unsaid words tangled and knotted and rotted between them.") and the story feels personal and grounded despite the sweeping power and just... delightful weirdness... of the characters and plot. For example, one of the major characters is a talking skeleton who ascended from his human form years ago.
Last First Snow caught my attention and left me hungry for more. Solid 4/5. I'd give it a 4.5/5 if Goodreads allowed it.
Last First Snow is fourth in the Craft Sequence but first chronologically, so that's where I started. Coming in completely new to Max Gladstone's world, I enjoyed every second and never felt too lost as Gladstone tells a dramatic story involving a community uprising in an impoverished stretch of land called the Skittersill and the powerful magic interests seeking greater ownership and control over the land.
In this world there are gods, new and fallen. And most magic users seem to be Craftsmen, people who can use a highly sophisticated and legalistic form of magic called Craft.
This fast-paced novel follows two main characters. The first, Elayne, is effectively an arcane attorney who is helping her clients navigate an agreement involving the future of the Skittersill. The second, Temoc, is a father and a priest. Without revealing too much, much of the drama focuses on Temoc being pulled between his duties as a father and his duties to the community, people he believes are under his care.
The writing is beautiful ("The conversation they were not having filled the room. Branching vines of unsaid words tangled and knotted and rotted between them.") and the story feels personal and grounded despite the sweeping power and just... delightful weirdness... of the characters and plot. For example, one of the major characters is a talking skeleton who ascended from his human form years ago.
Last First Snow caught my attention and left me hungry for more. Solid 4/5. I'd give it a 4.5/5 if Goodreads allowed it.
sayitagainjen's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
coslyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kaa's review against another edition
4.0
What an amazing book. As ever, the world of the Craft Sequence is beautifully drawn and completely fascinating. I enjoyed Elayne's role in Three Parts Dead, but I like her even better in this book as a younger woman growing into her power and making some hard decisions. Fantasy politics are always my jam, and I think Last First Snow does an exceptional job of creating a political story full of people and nuance. There are a few minor things within the book that I don't love, but honestly my biggest disappointment about it is that Two Serpents Rise doesn't do a better job in telling the story of the future of Dresediel Lex - even Temoc is a much more interesting character in this book than in that one.
madimattei's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with how to rate Last First Snow, waffling between three and four stars only to settle on the lower number if only because--while the story is compelling and enjoying--I enjoyed it less than the other titles in the Craft Sequence series.
As with all of the others, I managed to devour this title within a matter of two or three days. The pacing is great, the characters are interesting (i.e., flawed but compelling), and the setting is unique and evocative. While we are returning again to the same city that we explored in Two Serpents Rise, it is a different part and only enhances the beautiful world-building that Gladstone did in the previous title.
Unfortunately, for all the good things I can say about it, LFS still falls short. While it's great to see how Temoc and the conflicts of Two Serpents Rise came to be, I don't know that I necessarily needed this story told. I almost would have preferred to explore a new part of Gladstone's brilliant world or return to another character (maybe Tara from Three Parts Dead) since there was already some cross-over with TSR and Full Fathom Five. All in all, Last First Snow is a great tale I enjoyed, but it pales in comparison to the author's previous work in this series.
As with all of the others, I managed to devour this title within a matter of two or three days. The pacing is great, the characters are interesting (i.e., flawed but compelling), and the setting is unique and evocative. While we are returning again to the same city that we explored in Two Serpents Rise, it is a different part and only enhances the beautiful world-building that Gladstone did in the previous title.
Unfortunately, for all the good things I can say about it, LFS still falls short. While it's great to see how Temoc and the conflicts of Two Serpents Rise came to be, I don't know that I necessarily needed this story told. I almost would have preferred to explore a new part of Gladstone's brilliant world or return to another character (maybe Tara from Three Parts Dead) since there was already some cross-over with TSR and Full Fathom Five. All in all, Last First Snow is a great tale I enjoyed, but it pales in comparison to the author's previous work in this series.