Scan barcode
rollforlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Paranormal urban fantasy with legal thriller aspects. Who'd a-thunk it? Setting has some good originality too. Looking forward to reading the next one soon.
dubsington's review against another edition
3.0
You know how sometimes you read a book and it's just not your cup of tea. You like the book just fine, and you get how others like it as well, but it just does nothing for you? That was Three Parts Dead for me. If i read it some other time, like in the summer maybe. Then perhaps i'd like it better? Anyway, this book is a solid read. An interesting world with strong characters. It falls into the trap that a lot of big fancy world books do, where the mystery is impossible to solve because the world and it's rules isn't fully explained until the resolution. Which is too bad. So of you like John Grisham novels with a little religion and magic sprinkled in, you're in for a treat. Seriously, the main character is a lawyer.
sherbetmango's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed this book but the magic system was a bit hard to define and it made the reveal to the mystery slightly less satisfying.
winterscape's review against another edition
4.0
I don't normally read books like Max Gladstone's Three Parts Dead. I'm more of a traditional sword and sorcery, high and epic fantasy kind of person. But, this time, the cover drew me in. The art is absolutely beautiful. I really wanted to know that girl's story and explore the city behind her.
For the most part, it delivered! I love the ideas, the twists and mashing together of many different elements of fantasy with a courtroom drama. The city, magic system, and plot all feel very unique.
The characters are brilliant and shine as individuals, not recycled archetypes. Tara Abernathy, Abelard, and especially Raz Pelham were at the heart of my enjoyment of this novel. I could have done without Cat, but the idea of Justice as a sentient force is fantastic. Shale was probably the least developed character and muddled things a bit too much.
The refreshing inventive nature of Three Parts Dead means that nothing ever feels stale or unoriginal. It's got so many good things going for it.
I did, however, have a few minor issues with it. Sometimes there was too much backstory; too many instances of explaining. I felt as though I was wading through so much information that I never fully grasped many elements of the narrative. Stemming from that issue, there were too few instances of action and a tad too much dialogue. Also, the timeline felt off to me. Everything that was supposed to have passed in two days felt as though it should have been a week or more, which was confusing.
Overall, I really liked it. The issues of too much information laying out the world, magic, and characters hopefully shouldn't be a problem in any subsequent sequels, so I'll definitely be checking them out.
For the most part, it delivered! I love the ideas, the twists and mashing together of many different elements of fantasy with a courtroom drama. The city, magic system, and plot all feel very unique.
The characters are brilliant and shine as individuals, not recycled archetypes. Tara Abernathy, Abelard, and especially Raz Pelham were at the heart of my enjoyment of this novel. I could have done without Cat, but the idea of Justice as a sentient force is fantastic. Shale was probably the least developed character and muddled things a bit too much.
The refreshing inventive nature of Three Parts Dead means that nothing ever feels stale or unoriginal. It's got so many good things going for it.
I did, however, have a few minor issues with it. Sometimes there was too much backstory; too many instances of explaining. I felt as though I was wading through so much information that I never fully grasped many elements of the narrative. Stemming from that issue, there were too few instances of action and a tad too much dialogue. Also, the timeline felt off to me. Everything that was supposed to have passed in two days felt as though it should have been a week or more, which was confusing.
Overall, I really liked it. The issues of too much information laying out the world, magic, and characters hopefully shouldn't be a problem in any subsequent sequels, so I'll definitely be checking them out.
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
I had high hopes for this one, and they were almost met. The world building and magic system are creative. The action scenes are on point. It has all the things an urban fantasy book lover could want. Sadly, I couldn’t quite connect to the characters or the story.
Tara, Albrecht and Kat are all good characters with intense personalities, but they didn’t have the charm or wit I hoped they might. Most of those seem to focus on how they could explain the magic system, and why they were doing certain things. There were some points where, it felt like the author wanted to explore a really fun dynamic, but it didn’t really add other than shock value.
The other clearly has fun and lets their imagination take over the story. I really enjoyed this world, the gods, and the way that magic and spellcasting was supposed to operate. Literally anything is possible here, which makes it a veritable playground for the author to explore and exploit.
That said, there were a lot of terms, and there was a lot going on that made it difficult to follow sometimes. There’s also a lot of conveniences, and then in twist that I think would’ve resolve the entire plot hadn’t been revealed earlier.
Still, if you’re a fan of crazy urban fantasy with weird magic and inventive worlds, this would be a good one to try.
Tara, Albrecht and Kat are all good characters with intense personalities, but they didn’t have the charm or wit I hoped they might. Most of those seem to focus on how they could explain the magic system, and why they were doing certain things. There were some points where, it felt like the author wanted to explore a really fun dynamic, but it didn’t really add other than shock value.
The other clearly has fun and lets their imagination take over the story. I really enjoyed this world, the gods, and the way that magic and spellcasting was supposed to operate. Literally anything is possible here, which makes it a veritable playground for the author to explore and exploit.
That said, there were a lot of terms, and there was a lot going on that made it difficult to follow sometimes. There’s also a lot of conveniences, and then in twist that I think would’ve resolve the entire plot hadn’t been revealed earlier.
Still, if you’re a fan of crazy urban fantasy with weird magic and inventive worlds, this would be a good one to try.
sandygx260's review against another edition
5.0
I bow to Gladstone's insane imagination. He grabs the reader by the ankles and tosses them right into the middle of everything. Confusing? Yes, at first until you settle in and just let it sweep you along.
Also, this book has one absolutely amazing reveal toward the end which bumps it to five stars. A dizzying, dazzling read.
Also, this book has one absolutely amazing reveal toward the end which bumps it to five stars. A dizzying, dazzling read.
syllareads's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
squirrelsohno's review against another edition
4.0
Took two tries to read this, but once I got into it, I really loved it. But taking off a star because it didn't grab me the first time.