podanotherjessi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Definitely my favorite of the series! The characters in this one interested me immediately, and the stakes were so personal for them that it was really easy to get invested quickly. Plus the themes of perception of reality and how belief and truth interact were really brilliantly done. I love Gladstone's exploration of theology in a fantasy setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
FULL FATHOM FIVE is a mystery at heart, one of disappearances, murder, and corporate skullduggery. This series turns financial discrepancies into catalysts for desperate struggles, last chances, and tortured screams.
The worldbuilding is heavily influenced by the effects of settler-colonialism on island nations, and does some interrogation of what it can mean to continue after the cultural disruption brought by outsiders and the continued threat of force. The particular situation is one which fits the existing Craft Sequence universe, but based on a comment in the acknowledgements this specifically was influenced by Hawai’i, at minimum.
As for the magic and gods, this introduces the idea of idols which function similarly to gods in terms of contracts but don’t have an underlying consciousness. The bureaucracy surrounding this is specific to the island. The characters refer to some differences but generally they speak as though the idols they’re familiar with are their main reference, they don’t much refer to the Mainland gods (nor do they usually have reason to). There's also a disturbing form of punishment in the form of the Penitents, where a criminal (or anyone the people in power decide need correction) is put into a living statue which both forces their will to align with its justice-driven perception of the world. It's torture-as-correction, both mentally and physically, and it's explored in several ways throughout the book.
This doesn't specifically wrap up anything I can think of from the last book in original publishing order. It does feature an organization from that book so it follows naturally as a sequel in tone if not in plot. It has a new storyline where a bunch of major things are both introduced and resolved. It isn't the last book (not even in the canonical order as the fifth book, since there is a unambiguous sixth to follow), and it leaves open the question of what happens in the broader universe due to what happens at the end. The POV characters are new to this book and their voices are distinct from previous narrators in the series. It might make sense to start here, though there's a lot of worldbuilding which has been done in previous books (depending on reading order, two at minimum). It would probably still be enjoyable, but the characters take for granted a lot of information which is more explicitly untangled elsewhere, and having that information would make it much easier to appreciate this book's plot. Part of why this could stand alone is that there’s minimal focus on the Mainland gods, but also very little explanation of how the system of contracts as both worship and investments actually functions.
The worldbuilding is heavily influenced by the effects of settler-colonialism on island nations, and does some interrogation of what it can mean to continue after the cultural disruption brought by outsiders and the continued threat of force. The particular situation is one which fits the existing Craft Sequence universe, but based on a comment in the acknowledgements this specifically was influenced by Hawai’i, at minimum.
As for the magic and gods, this introduces the idea of idols which function similarly to gods in terms of contracts but don’t have an underlying consciousness. The bureaucracy surrounding this is specific to the island. The characters refer to some differences but generally they speak as though the idols they’re familiar with are their main reference, they don’t much refer to the Mainland gods (nor do they usually have reason to). There's also a disturbing form of punishment in the form of the Penitents, where a criminal (or anyone the people in power decide need correction) is put into a living statue which both forces their will to align with its justice-driven perception of the world. It's torture-as-correction, both mentally and physically, and it's explored in several ways throughout the book.
This doesn't specifically wrap up anything I can think of from the last book in original publishing order. It does feature an organization from that book so it follows naturally as a sequel in tone if not in plot. It has a new storyline where a bunch of major things are both introduced and resolved. It isn't the last book (not even in the canonical order as the fifth book, since there is a unambiguous sixth to follow), and it leaves open the question of what happens in the broader universe due to what happens at the end. The POV characters are new to this book and their voices are distinct from previous narrators in the series. It might make sense to start here, though there's a lot of worldbuilding which has been done in previous books (depending on reading order, two at minimum). It would probably still be enjoyable, but the characters take for granted a lot of information which is more explicitly untangled elsewhere, and having that information would make it much easier to appreciate this book's plot. Part of why this could stand alone is that there’s minimal focus on the Mainland gods, but also very little explanation of how the system of contracts as both worship and investments actually functions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Blood, Violence, Medical content, Torture, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Cannibalism, Ableism, Transphobia, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, Animal death, and Colonisation
bluejayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
It's a little weird of a decision to jump into the middle of a series without reading the previous books, but I had good reasons. First, the Craft Sequence is a bunch of stand-alone books (and a few games, weirdly) in the same world with a few repeating side characters but no overarching plot across books. Second, I read the descriptions of some of the other books but Full Fathom Five sounded the most interesting. I'm a sucker for unique takes on deities, and a person who makes gods to order was too good of an idea to pass up.
That said, the Craft Sequence doesn't seem to be a great book to jump into wherever. The world in this book is rich and fascinating and well fleshed out ... somewhere that isn't on the page. Things are thrown in here and there that hint at there being much more history and culture and technology and whatnot than you actually get to see, and I ended the book mostly confused about whether this . Honestly, reading Max Gladstone's explanation of the genre and playing one of the Craft Sequence choose your own adventure mobile games helped me understand more about the world than this entire book did. I highly recommend both; the game is free with ads.
That is my only criticism of the book, though, and it probably is partially my fault for skipping the first few books. I adored the idea of building gods, and Kai as a priestess who creates made-to-order idols for people to keep their souls safe from the more dangerous actual gods. I loved seeing Kai work in her job and work to uncover what exactly is going on with all of these idols dying. There's a lot of twisty turns and surprises, and Kai is stubborn and a rulebreaker and that makes her fun. She somehow manages to be shocked and surprised a lot yet still end up plotting three steps ahead of everyone else. I can't really put into words all the coolness that is Kai in this story.
Izza is another point-of-view character who isn't even mentioned in the back cover. She's a street kid who steals in order to eat, and she wants to leave the island because she's almost old enough that getting caught would get her put in a Penitent - horrific stone exoskeletons that subject you to physical and mental torture until you submit to the law. She's also the street kids' storyteller, the one who talks to the gods that come to them and leads the mourning ceremonies when those gods die. She's not essential to Kai's plot, but she has her own story and provides more perspectives on the central issue of gods and idols and maybe-deities dying, plus another interesting cast of characters and settings on this god-creating island.
There is a lot to this book, and in some ways I'm not surprised worldbuilding got mostly left out because everything else wouldn't have fit otherwise. Even lacking much of the context of the world, it was a fantastic adventure with a fantastic premise and fantastic characters, and I love so many of the ideas that went into this book and this world. I may read some other Craft Sequence books just to see what happens. (And maybe play some more of the mobile games. The one I linked previously is a TON of fun and very replayable.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Medical content
Unreality, mind control/outside forces controlling your bodytroisha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
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