ashnight's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great world building novel and the twist that it takes make you stay up late to read.
mirroroftoomanybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
doctabird's review against another edition
I tried twice to get through the audiobook for this book. Something about the narrator's voice couldn't keep me engage throughout the book, despite being overall interested in the story. I need to read again because I missed so many details.
maxed's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting "magicpunk" setting. I kept wondering if the author was initially a database programmer or accountant by trade, but apparently he studied Chinese literature, and his hobbies include none of the above. So, props for making magic (and gods!) work in a manner that would probably make Brandon Sanderson or Neal Stephenson proud!
tynathereader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maleesha's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This is my first Gladstone novel and I really enjoyed it. It was very well written and descriptive. I love Tara and Abelard, and the rest of the characters were very interesting. I will definitely get book 2.
ssung's review against another edition
4.0
really novel, er... magical legal fantasy... set in a world in which dead gods are rather like giant sifis and their deaths necessitate rather elaborate bankruptyesque proceedings. although this is a first in which i've seen creditor committees that don't actually seemingly pester their counsel at all. (quite possibly overlooked as our heroes and heroines are busy running around the city doing other much more magical and less mundane things.) still, a really nice debut novel.
madisongturner's review against another edition
2.0
The plot itself was fine, I think I just did not like the writing style. The book itself was not very engaging, there was a lot of extraneous information. Several parts felt like they had been attacked with a thesaurus unnecessarily. If there had been more conciseness and explicit world-building, I would have enjoyed it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Drug abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
yokorie's review against another edition
4.0
I love fantasy books with legal systems/ rules/ codes of conduct regarding magic and everything not-otherwise-reality based. The Ministry of Magic scenes are some of my favorite in Harry Potter, and sometimes I like all of the technical jargon more than I do the plot of a story itself. Thankfully in Three Parts Dead, I get to enjoy both.
The most important thing about TPD is even though I love legal bullshit (sorry!), it's just... fun. Nothing in that book felt superfluous or forced; the multiple main characters simultaneously drive the plot while comfortably riding the waves of the others. Though Tara is on the cover, and is arguable the "main character," the other major characters have their own clearly defined belief systems/ motivations/ fears/ etc. while never feeling forced into their positions for the purpose of driving one specific action/ storyline.
The world-building is excellent as well. Maybe I've just lowered my expectations with SFF after SFF with simply nouns/ adjectives where there should be more complex names* (sorry, The Hunger Games and it's "Capitol"), but I was very delighted with all of the originality that TPD brought in terms of not only naming, but (again) legal systems, religious beliefs and methods of worship, origins of conflict, etc. It was dense with detail without ever feeling too bogged down.
To wrap up my review with a line from Rachel Hartman's** review, "A fun book. I said that. Maybe that was enough."
*Granted, there is a goddess named "Justice," but I feel as though the simplicity of her name high-lighted her narrow/ singular mission to bring just that to the city, for better or worse
**Another great author!
The most important thing about TPD is even though I love legal bullshit (sorry!), it's just... fun. Nothing in that book felt superfluous or forced; the multiple main characters simultaneously drive the plot while comfortably riding the waves of the others. Though Tara is on the cover, and is arguable the "main character," the other major characters have their own clearly defined belief systems/ motivations/ fears/ etc. while never feeling forced into their positions for the purpose of driving one specific action/ storyline.
The world-building is excellent as well. Maybe I've just lowered my expectations with SFF after SFF with simply nouns/ adjectives where there should be more complex names* (sorry, The Hunger Games and it's "Capitol"), but I was very delighted with all of the originality that TPD brought in terms of not only naming, but (again) legal systems, religious beliefs and methods of worship, origins of conflict, etc. It was dense with detail without ever feeling too bogged down.
To wrap up my review with a line from Rachel Hartman's** review, "A fun book. I said that. Maybe that was enough."
*Granted, there is a goddess named "Justice," but I feel as though the simplicity of her name high-lighted her narrow/ singular mission to bring just that to the city, for better or worse
**Another great author!