A surprise, a pleasant surprise. I was lured in by the urban-fantasy-ness and blown away by the setting, fantastical elements, and world building. As a rule, I have low expectations for all urban fantasies, regardless of hype. So I went into this book expecting it to be average at best, but the depth and scope of Gladstone’s world and the war that ravished the land won me over. Looking forward to continuing this series.* * * * *The actual order of these books according to the author: http://www....

Fun, sometimes edgy. At first glance, I wasn't sure how legal urban fantasy was going to be exciting, but then I remembered all of the legal thrillers I've seen over the years. After reading, now it seems like a perfect match. Looking forward to the next in the series.

This is a weird book that some people may not like, but I REALLY liked it, so there. It's not romance-y, it's steampunk/religious/thriller/alt-verse/fantasy. It's gritty and a bit complicated but I enjoyed it a LOT because it was DIFFERENT.I love the idea of Living/Dead Gods (PC HODGELL'S GOD STALK is one of my faves) and this book really is intriguing in its dealing of the subject, and immense magical power harnessed by humans. I dunno, I just really liked it, the lead woman was ruthless and dr...

Executive Summary: I'm not much of a fan of urban fantasy, but this one was different enough than many I've read such that I'll be happy to pick up the next one. 3.5 stars rounded up for its uniqueness. Full Review One of my reading goals the last few years has been to not get suckered in by daily deals and continue to add books to my owned and unread shelf. So of course I bought 5 books in this series when they were on sale last year based on the strength of some of my friend's reviews of thi...

It isn’t often that I find a book that hits that fantasy sweet spot. An interesting lead character who rises above gender stereotypes, world-building inventiveness, a storytelling style that keeps me engaged, a clever little mystery, a willingness to poke at authority, and did I mention inventiveness? Three Parts Dead? has a few bumps, certainly. But it was one of the better fantasies I’ve read this year, and if you’ve been considering it, I suggest giving it a try. It exceeded my expectations.N...

Imaginative and unique, think of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett with a little touch of Sanderson’s magic system and you’ll get Three Parts Dead.Three Parts Dead is Max Gladstone’s debut novel and it’s the first installment in his Craft Sequence series. Ever since I finished and loved The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett, I’ve been craving for a similar kind of urban fantasy series to read. Readers and reviewers have directed me towards this series and I’m really glad the...

4.5 stars. Fingers crossed I get the review out this time lmaoRTC later!LMAO that review really never came, huh? Hopefully I'll actually write one out after I finish this re-read. I ordered Ruin of Angels a week or so ago, can't wait to finally finish this series.3.75-4 stars, I think!RTC.... hopefully, lmao

A really original fantasy read . The author has built a fantastic world including living breathing gargoyles and the ability to steal a face! It was a story that compelled me to carry on reading and where I needed to concentrate to figure the world out. I believe the next one has a whole set of different characters which will be interesting too..I've read a few great 'living Gods' fantasies this year and this is just as good.

Earlier this year, I met Max Gladstone. We were both attending a convention in Boston.Simply said, I really liked him. He was funny, articulate, and smart. He'd traveled the world and had interesting stories to show for it. So I picked up his book. Because when I meet an interesting author, I like to see what they've written. To be completely honest, this isn't the best way to pick up new books. Someone who is funny in person isn't always funny in print. A person might be delightfully verbally a...

I have for a while wanted to read this book so when I found it one Scribd I just had to read it. Tara has been thrown out from her the Hidden School, fallen to the earth. You don't get to know why, at least not yet. She returns home to her family and resumes her life there until the chance comes to her in the form of Elayne Kevarian who hires her to work for the necromantic firm: Kelethres, Albrecht and Ao and her first job is to bring the God Kos Everburning back to life. Together with Elayne a...

quick review of TPD: this novel meets my expectation for mystery/thriller dark urban fantasy. The mystery is still good enough to fool me in a fair game, with an excellent fantasy setting.===========I can't help myself comparing this debut novel with another novel with similar theme: City of Stairs (COS)*. Both novels combine mysteries and untraditional fantasy universe with dead gods. Both are excellent reads with well thought setting (I believe both authors care with the settings, both are the...

I read and discussed this one with a couple friends, and though all three of us have very different reading personalities, we pretty much all felt the same way about this book: It had potential, but was ultimately just a mess. There was just too much going on in this book, and not nearly enough story to support it. It felt manic, like the author tried to cram every cool idea he had into it, but didn't explain anything in a way that felt natural or even coherent. Everything was just presented, wo...

CAUTION: Long ReviewThree Parts Dead defied my expectation. I took a risk on this seemingly boring book and it paid off!I thought it was Urban Fantasy because of the blurb and cover.... Okay, mostly because of the cover. And technically it wouldn't be inaccurate to say it is because there were vampires and Craftsman (mages), a kick-ass heroine and a chain-smoking hero among many parts of the book.However, the book was Fantasy. TDP was set in a completely different world where gods and godly Craf...

The cover says it all! A sexy, strong, fierce Black woman with natural hair and it's a different take on steampunk. What more could a black geek chick possibly ask for?How do I love this book? \m/ Seriously, this book is just so many types of AWESOME *sings AWESOME at the top of my lungs* The cover rocks and just for the record New York publishing, people BOUGHT IT so stop with the whitewashing, okay?It's taken me awhile to craft a full review because I was still trying to put into words just ho...

Fascinating plot. Great worldbuilding. Excellent audio performance by Claudia Alick. Very entertaining!4 plus StarsListened to the audiobook. Excellent!!

This book has a fantastic and highly imaginative world-building. If you're a fan of "sense of wonder", like I am, this is the book for you.It reads a bit like Robert Jackson Bennett's "City of Stairs", although Bennett's prose flows a bit more organically. But for a debut novel, this is a very well written and constructed book.The world is a colorful mix of traditional fantasy ideas with Steampunk elements set against the backdrop of an urban metropolis filled with gargoyles, vampires and skelet...

OMG this really hit the spot. I expected an UF with an interesting premise about the Craft which seemed part witchcraft and part necromancy with something to do with gods, but I didn't expect a sharp exploration of a kind of magic-users who DEFINED and held gods to LAWS. lolSo yeah. As far as I can tell, it's one part courtroom drama, one part epic necromantic universal magic-struggle, and one part pure awesomeness.I didn't expect to have the coolness of Gaiman's god-system turned into a crafty

When your god has died, who ya gonna call? Why, the thaumaturgical firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, of course.At least that's what the priesthood of Alt Coulumb does when their fire deity, Kos, snuffs it (a rather embarrassing turn of events for a god billed as "Kos the Everburning"). Without his power driving the steam engines of the city, Alt Coulumb will eventually come to a grinding halt, so it is up to Tara Abernathy (the newest recruit of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao) to unravel the cir...

I wasn't sure on what shelf to put it on. World reminds me of steampunk and gunpowder fantasy except there are little of steam engines and no gunpowder. I'm calling it urban high fantasy and rolling with it. Big reason for that are modern corporations and corporate etiquette built into high fantasy settings but instead of inflow of money they are fighting for inflow of divine power with gods, deathless kings and great craftsman (mages) as CEOs. Sounds weird but it's well crafted world and despit...

The city stretched there, a teeming metropolis beneath slate-gray skies, beating heart of commerce, bridge between the god-benighted Old World and the Deathless Kingdoms of the West. Millions breathed, worked, prayed, copulated in those palaces, parks, and tenements, sure in the knowledge that Kos Everburning watched over them. If their faith was strong, they could feel the constant presence of his love, sustaining and aiding them in a thousand ways, breaking fevers and checking accidents and po...