Dead Country by Max Gladstone : A Review

Since her village chased her out with pitchforks, Tara Abernathy has resurrected gods, pulled down monsters, averted wars, and saved a city, twice. She thought she’d left her dusty little hometown forever. But that was before her father died.

As she makes her way home to bury him, she finds a girl, as powerful and vulnerable and lost as she once was. Saving her from the raiders that haunt the area, twisted by a remnant of the God Wars, Tara changes the course of the world.

Max Gladstone’s world of the Craft is a fantasy setting like no other. When Craftspeople rose up to kill the gods, they built corporate Concerns from their corpses and ushered in a world of rapacious capital. Those who work the Craft wield laws like knives and weave chains from starlight and soulstuff. Dead Country is the first book in the Craft Wars Trilogy, a tight sequence of novels that will bring the sprawling saga of the Craft to its end, and the perfect entry point for this incomparable world.

After starting Dead Country by Max Gladstone, I realized that I need to be more careful when selecting what books to review for the Arched Doorway. While Gladstone’s name sounded vaguely familiar to me, I had assumed that this was the start of a new series not the beginning of the final trilogy in an already established one. Fortunately, I found that it was still possible to enjoy this book without having read the previous installments. Despite my initial confusion, Dead Country drew me in from the start and I was hooked until the very end. Gladstone’s writing is engaging and his characters are well-developed, making for an enjoyable read.

Although I did enjoy reading this book and feel like I was able to follow it pretty well, I can’t help but feel like I missed out on some important details by not having read the previous books in the series. The protagonist, Tara Abernathy, is a fascinating character, but there were several flashbacks and references to her pat actions that left me feeling a bit lost at times. Despite this, I was captivated by the story and found myself eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next. In fact, I’m now even more eager to go back and read the previous installments in the series, even if it means spending money I should be saving. I’m curious to see how Tara’s journey has led her to where she is now and to fill in the gaps in my understanding of her character and the world she lives in.

I’m thrilled that I decided to request this book for review and I highly recommend it to anyone in search of a new read. While it’s not necessary to read the rest of the series before diving into this book, I believe that doing so would enhance the reading experience. That said, I found the book to be well-written and engaging, and I was quickly drawn into the story. I’m eager to read the next installment in the trilogy as well as the previous books in the series, and I’m also interested in exploring other works by Max Gladstone. All in all, this was a satisfying read that left me wanting more.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.