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A review by winterscape
Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
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.