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A review by morganpk7
Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone
3.0
I enjoyed this book and it is a good followup to the events in Three Parts Dead. However, the ending lacked much closure. What is this 'partnership' that Tara and Seril work out? Did Cat become a priestess, and what does that entail? What is Abelard's role in the church? What about the reporter / Corbin's daughters / Adorne / Bede / Aev? There were several points where interesting moral conversations were almost had, but then backed away from - even in Tara's last conversation with Ramp! I also didn't like the villains, who seemed very self righteous as they murdered people because Ramp... doesn't like gods? Is afraid of demons, so she summons many of them and creates conditions for an unbound one?
I also felt, much more than in the first book, that the entire legal system was terrible. Ramp wants to prove that Seril is an unlisted liability for Kos, so if someone were to attack Seril this would be a risk to Kos's power... and to prove it, she tries to kill them both, which is totally fine with the court. I guess if she can kill them then her point has somehow been legally proven? Also, casualties in the city are never taken into account or discussed by the court. It seemed to me that if Seril is, essentially, a new financial liability of Kos's as is argued by Ramp, then the price of Kos's power should decrease, reflecting this new instability... like actual credit markets work. It is never pointed out - by anyone - that Kos and Seril are sentient beings who maybe have the right to love on another. Simply killing them to stabilize a credit market seems obviously evil.
Overall, I enjoyed spending more time with Tara, Abelard, and Cat. However, I'm not really able to visualize their lives after the end of this book, which is a bit disappointing.
I also felt, much more than in the first book, that the entire legal system was terrible. Ramp wants to prove that Seril is an unlisted liability for Kos, so if someone were to attack Seril this would be a risk to Kos's power... and to prove it, she tries to kill them both, which is totally fine with the court. I guess if she can kill them then her point has somehow been legally proven? Also, casualties in the city are never taken into account or discussed by the court. It seemed to me that if Seril is, essentially, a new financial liability of Kos's as is argued by Ramp, then the price of Kos's power should decrease, reflecting this new instability... like actual credit markets work. It is never pointed out - by anyone - that Kos and Seril are sentient beings who maybe have the right to love on another. Simply killing them to stabilize a credit market seems obviously evil.
Overall, I enjoyed spending more time with Tara, Abelard, and Cat. However, I'm not really able to visualize their lives after the end of this book, which is a bit disappointing.