A review by bookslikegranola
Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone

5.0

A triumph return to the setting and characters of book 1. Books 2-4 were fine, but why does Gladstone write them when he could write books like this? 

 

A year after the resurrection of fire god Kos and secret return of moon goddess Seril, Tara Abernathy has her hands full as the in house craftswoman for the church. If you’ve made it to book five, you know the drill: high stakes magic courtroom battles, ancient gods with modern liabilities, and a lot of techno-babble. This also had the strengths of book 1: the strange, vibrant city of Kos and a rag tag group of the supernatural that is pluckier than Gladstones other casts. I think Tara is a great POV, she’s capable, sorcerous, and plagued by student debts. The rest of the gang is also great: Cat finally is working through her issues, Raz is brooding yet useful (now with extra ocean vampire cults), Abelard and Kos go to couples therapy, and the gargoyles are generally sassy. I just had so much fun. I understand the entire project of the series, each book really add context and characterization to the others, but books 2 and 4 especially were a bit of a drag for me. I frankly think reading just book 1 and then 5 (which functions as a direct sequel to 1), would be totally appropriate and probably even advisable. If, after that, you desperately need more craft sequence, then I’d say read the rest. 

 

Highly, highly recommend this book, either as book five or directly after book 1 (the series time jumps a lot - trust me, 5 is a direct sequel to Three Parts Dead).