''The Craft Sequence'' is a series of
urban fantasy novels by American author
Max Gladstone. It currently consists of six novels, beginning with ''Three Parts Dead'' (2012). The sequence received critical acclaim. It was nominated for the 2017
Hugo Award for Best Series
The Hugo Award for Best Series is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The award is available for series of science fiction or fanta ...
.
Plot
Three Parts Dead
Forty years before the start of the novel, Craftspeople and gods fight in the God Wars. Seril, the moonlight goddess of the city of Alt Coulumb, is killed. The Guardians of Seril, gargoyles, are exiled from Alt Coulumb. Alexander Denovo, a powerful Craftsman, is hired to resurrect Seril. He uses Seril's corpse to create a replacement goddess named Justice.
As the novel begins, Tara Abernathy is a student of the Craft. The Craft is a system of magic based on contracts and laws. She discovers that Professor Denovo has been stealing his students’ powers and controlling their minds. She burns Denovo's laboratory and is exiled from the school as punishment. Tara is hired by Elayne Kavarian, a Craftswoman and rival of Denovo's.
Kos, the fire god of Alt Coulumb and former lover of Seril, dies under mysterious circumstances. Kavarian is hired by the clergy to investigate, and she brings Tara to the city with her. Their companions include Abelard, a priest of Kos, as well as Catherine, a servant of Justice. They are opposed by Denovo, who is representing the creditors to whom Kos had pledged his power. A local judge is murdered, and Justice suspects that the exiled gargoyles are the perpetrators. Tara, believing that the cases are linked, investigates further.
Tara discovers that Denovo murdered Kos and plans to take his place as the city's god. Elayne and Tara resurrect Kos and reunite the spirit of Seril with Justice. Denovo is arrested, and Tara decides to remain in the city to assist with the aftermath of the case. Elayne visits Denovo in prison and murders him with his own shadow, leaving no evidence.
Two Serpents Rise
In the desert city of Dresediel Lex, Caleb Altemoc works as a
risk manager
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
for Red King Consolidated (RKC), which controls the flow of water in the city. His friend Teo also works at RKC. Caleb has a contentious relationship with his father Temoc. As a priest, Temoc was responsible for
human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...
, a practice which has been outlawed since the priests lost the God Wars. Temoc is now a guerrilla fighter and a wanted terrorist. RKC is led by the King in Red, a powerful undead Craftsman. The King in Red had fought in the God Wars to avenge his lover, who was killed as a human sacrifice. Caleb investigates after a guard is killed by a demon in an RKC reservoir. He finds a woman named Mal trespassing at the scene, but she escapes.
The King in Red asks Caleb to represent the firm in a potential deal to acquire Heartstone Company. Heartstone is drawing power from two massive, slumbering serpents, which were once worshipped in Dresediel Lex. When the deal is signed, Caleb learns that Mal is a high-ranking Heartstone executive. One of the conditions for the Heartstone acquisition is that RKC will never allow the serpents to wake.
Demons begin appearing in the city’s water supply, leading to social unrest. Mal and Caleb are instructed to fix the contamination. Together, Caleb and Mal defeat a rogue Craftswoman from Heartstone who had damaged the city’s water. They grow close and begin a romantic relationship, but they quarrel after Caleb learns that Mal still worships the old gods.
Mal awakens the serpents. As a follower of the old gods, she plans to force RKC out of the city. RKC has been substantially weakened by its contractual obligation to keep the serpents asleep. Caleb, Teo, and Temoc break into RKC headquarters. Caleb and Teo want to destroy the Heartstone contract. Temoc believes that the best way to send the serpents back to sleep is to resume human sacrifice instead. He prepares to sacrifice Teo, but she escapes and destroys the contract. The King in Red regains much of his strength, and Temoc flees. Caleb feeds RKC's power into the serpents, sating them and sending them to sleep once again. Mal disappears, presumably killed in the conflict. Caleb retires from RKC and starts his own firm, desiring peace between theists and Craftspeople.
Full Fathom Five
The island of Kavekana lost its native gods in the God Wars. Now, Priestess Kai builds artificial gods for her clients. Kai risks her life to save a dying idol named 7 Alpha, but fails. As 7 Alpha dies, Kai hears her speak, which should be impossible as idols are not supposed to be intelligent. Kai’s boss Jace demotes her for her recklessness. Kai is assigned to sell an idol to Teo of the Two Serpents Group.
Ms. Kavarian represents 7 Alpha’s clients and is hired to investigate her death. At a poetry competition, Kai hears a man named Edmund recite 7 Alpha’s dying words and decides to investigate. She asks her ex-boyfriend Claude, a police officer, to take Edmund into protective custody.
On Kavakana, convicted criminals are placed into statues called Penitents and forced to serve as law enforcement. A street urchin named Izza helps rescue a woman from Penitents. This woman is Catherine, a servant of Seril from Alt Coulomb. Izza tells stories about the Blue Lady, a dead goddess who used to protect street children. It is eventually revealed that the Blue Lady is 7 Alpha. Edmund is killed by a Penitent. Izza and Kai begin working together. Kai learns that Jace is killing any idols who exhibit consciousness. All of these idols are mouthpieces for a larger goddess, who is still alive and is being kept prisoner. Jace places Kai and Teo inside Penitents; Izza helps them escape. Teo reveals she and Catherine are working for Seril, hoping to retrieve a piece of Seril’s soul that Kavekana’s priests had stolen from Alt Coulomb.
Claude arrests Jace. Cat and Teo retrieve the stolen piece of Seril’s soul before leaving the island. Izza becomes the priestess of Kavekana’s new goddess. Izza and Kai work to end the Penitent system and bring Kavekana into a new future together.
Major themes
In the novels, magic is real and works similarly to
corporate law. The series drew inspiration from James C. Scott's book ''
Seeing Like a State
''Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed'' is a book by James C. Scott critical of a system of beliefs he calls high modernism, that centers on governments' overconfidence in the ability to design and ...
'' to explore the definition of corporations and governments. The magical system of the novel is used to explore
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
,
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
, and
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
.
Liz Bourke describes ''Last First Snow'' as an "intensely political book". She writes that the novel explores the conflict between conservatism and progress by contrasting the age of gods with the age of commerce. It also explores
community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest.
Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...
and
mass protest
A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...
.
Publication History
Each novel is a standalone set in the same universe, so the novels can be read in any order. The numbers in the titles of the first five novels indicate the internal chronological order of the series.
Gladstone states that this stemmed from his experience growing up in a small town in Tennessee, where the local bookstore often did not stock complete book series all at once.
Reception
''Publishers Weekly'' gave ''Three Parts Dead'' a starred review, praising the "suspenseful and fast-paced" story as well as the "diverse female-led cast".
A review in ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' praised the strong female characters in ''Three Parts Dead'', as well as the creative worldbuilding. The same review found that the novel's conclusion was "slightly clumsy", but otherwise praised the plot.
''Publishers Weekly'' also gave a starred review to ''Two Serpents Rise'', calling Caleb an "engaging protagonist" and comparing the city of Dresediel Lex to an alternate
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, complete with "its own versions of ethnic tensions and environmental strain".
''Kirkus Reviews'' called the setting "
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
-inspired", and suggested that Gladstone's descriptions of the city may offer "a metaphor for
end-stage capitalism". Their review called the novel "highly unusual" and "worth a try".
Writing for
NPR, author
Amal El-Mohtar
Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine ''Goblin Fruit'' since 2006.
El-Moht ...
praised the cover art for ''Full Fathom Five'', stating that she was drawn to a novel that portrayed two women of color without falling into the sexualized stereotypes common in
urban fantasy novels' cover art. El-Mohtar wrote that the series contained "some of the smartest, most original and sophisticated world-building I've read in years", and particularly praised the female-led cast of ''Full Fathom Five''.
Liz Bourke wrote that ''Full Fathom Five'' is "engaged in a conversation" with the fantasy genre, due in part to its modernity and the diversity of its cast. She called the novel "his best yet". ''Publishers Weekly'' gave a starred review to ''Full Fathom Five'', praising the novel for its
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
heroine Kai in addition to the other diverse cast members. The review praised the novel and stated that Gladstone "continues to trump his already considerable accomplishments".
''Publishers Weekly'' wrote a starred review for ''Last First Snow'', praising its "sly satire of current socioeconomic issues" and writing that the novels of the ''Craft Sequence'' are "always enthralling and somehow consistently improving with every book".
''Four Roads Cross'' also received a starred review from ''Publishers Weekly'', applauding the return of Tara Abernathy and the cast from ''Three Parts Dead''. The review commended Gladstone's "storytelling, worldbuilding, and character development", calling the novel "a splendid continuation of a fascinating series".
''The Ruin of Angels'' received a starred review as well, which particularly praised the way the novel handled its transgender characters. The same review also wrote that the novel was "surprising" and made the setting "feel even more vivid and real than it did before".
''Three Parts Dead'' was nominated for the 2014
Mythopoeic Award.
''Full Fathom Five'' was nominated for the 2015
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by ''Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards.
Winners
References
External links
The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries o ...
.
The entire series was nominated for the 2017
Hugo Award for Best Series
The Hugo Award for Best Series is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The award is available for series of science fiction or fanta ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft Sequence, The
American fantasy novel series
LGBT speculative fiction novels
Novels with transgender themes