4.5 Stars (June 2017)

So much love for this book, in which the protagonist, necromancer Tara Abernathy, gets to follow her own path, and gets to talk to other women characters about life, work and sense of self rather than relationship problems. (So refreshing!) Other characters, even more peripheral ones, are richly drawn with complex motivations. Elayne Kevarian, Tara's supervisor, is especially fascinating and inscrutable. Gladstone's magical world, shackled to contracts, legislation, compensation and the required jurisprudence to make it all work, was engrossing to dive into. Can't wait to continue with Two Serpents Rise!

N.B. The omnibus ebook edition of the first five books is available at an absolute steal of a price.

Second reading rating: 5 of 5 stars (January 2018)

I have come to appreciate Max Gladstone's amazing world building and character development even more, as I read through the Craft Sequence. I'm really not sure I can think of another male writer that writes women characters as wonderfully as Gladstone does. His books pass the Bechdel test with flying colors.