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The Last First Snow by Max Gladstone
I can't remember what books I read in this series (I believe it's books 3 and 4) but it definitely wasn't this one. I also believe that Gladstone didn't write the books in order either, it's only now that he's done with the Craft sequence that he put out the order.
When I read the other books I did feel a little adrift as I didn't quite know what is going on. Gladstones basis for Gods is the Aztec but his society is modern so there is a great mix of magic and technology Robot golems and soldiers riding dragons into battle. The sorcerers are more like lawyers arguing to enforce contracts and everything is paid for with bits of soul.
This books is about a property dispute between Temoc who does bloodless sacrifices and the King in Red, a walking skeleton who fought Temoc in earlier battles. Temoc represents the Skittersill section of town. The King in Red wants to gentrify the impoverished area and make some money. Elayne is there to write the contracts. The first two thirds of the book are a bit of slog as most of the action is about contract negotiations. But then all hell breaks loose and the pace picks up.
Lots of fights.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm
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I really enjoyed his "Craft" series, but this one was a bit slow. It was nice to see some original world building.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone
I will be starting a Craft Sequence thread to keep all these reviews and discussions in one place. The series kind of warrants it. Especially since I have five more Craft Sequence books waiting.
This book was so much more action packed than The Last First Snow. The book revolves around Temoc's son, Caleb. Caleb now works for Red King Consolidated which is owned by the Red King, Temoc's enemy. Caleb must navigate the contract to acquire Hearthstone and it's water rights, contract negotiations are the basis for many great fantasy novels. Things go awry when demons start getting into the reservoirs which leads to them coming out of faucets in Dresediel Lex, the main city. Things get worse from there.
It helped a lot to have read The Last First snow first, because many of those characters play roles in Two Serpents Rise. Although, Temoc in Last First Snow is a much more sympathetic character than he is in Two Serpents Rise. Oddly the first book I read in the Craft Sequence is Three parts dead, which I'm reading now.
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Three Parts Dead is the first book in the series.
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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That's the one I had read initially. I also think I read Two serpents rise, too, because I vaguely remember the bits about the reservoirs.
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Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
This was the one that made me a fan of the Craft Sequence. The gods of this religion in this story seem more Catholic. Kos is the main God of the city of Alt Columb. But he is missing and it is up to apprentice Tara and Evelyn from Book 1 of the Craft sequence to straighten out the mess. Lots of great world building. Gargoyles in human form. Vampires. And a priest who can't stop smoking. There are a bunch of plots and sub-plots going on here and it works really well. I'm glad I'm rereading the series and it helps to be reading them in order of timeline rather than when they were written. As the Yeti mentioned, this book came out first.
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Four Roads Cross by Max Gladstone
This books is closely related to Book three, much like one and two are connected. Tara is still on her quest to fix Alt Columb's God problems. Cat still tries to determine her ongoing relationship with the God Seril and her Vampire Boyfriend. Abelard still fights for Kos, ever burning. The opposing Craftspeople have come to town to prove that Kos is defaulting on his debt by helping out Seril.
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Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
The series continues to be good. In this book, the Gods are of a Pacific Islander bent. Once again the effects of the Gods wars continue to be felt. the island of Kavekane lost it's Gods and now makes money selling idols that take the place of Gods. But when the idols fails, people lose money and lawsuits occur.. Kai tries to save the idol and is injured and banished for her trouble. Izza, a street urchin who calls on the Gods for fellow urchins notices the Gods keep dying and wants to do something about it.
It's another good story in a really different fantasy realm.
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Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone
Best book yet. So much action happening. And tentacles. So many tentacles. What if Cthulu was your God and his aim was to bring order to your city or something like that. There is also the ghost of one city sitting under the actual city. And people go to the Ghost city to hunt for artifacts. It's all very confusing. And into this mess comes Kai from Full Fathom Five and her Polynesian Gods to save her sister Ley who is trying to bring balance to the Ghost City and the Actual City. The world building is phenomenal. It's a great strange book but you kind of need to read the other books in the series to see what is going on. But worth it.
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Agreed. Still have images in my mind from this story. The city overlaying the older city reminded me of "The City and The City" by China Mieville (and excellent read if you haven't already).
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Yep. The City and The City. But Gladstone did it better. I think Richard Kadrey was written a book with this theme as well but my library has yet to carry it.
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