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A review by tsunni
Two Serpents Rise by Max Gladstone
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Two Serpents Rise is the second story in the world of the Craft Sequence, a prequel to the first book in publication order Three Parts Dead. Max Gladstone absolutely got me hooked on the world building in TPD and that continues to be the case in TSR and probably the strongest element of both. It's a world of competing magic and gods, and we see a slice of how that war is progressing in a different city and different time in each; Three Parts Dead takes place in Alt Coulumb at a point of working compromises and tense symbiosis between magic and gods, but Two Serpents Rise is set in Dresediel Lex years before, analogue to real world Los Angeles and fresh on the tail end of conflict with open battle still a possibility. I love that these books really dig into some of the banality of what a world of magic and gods might look like in every day life, when corporations might be headed by incredibly strong magic wielders dedicated to something as day to day as supplying water to a city of millions, with magical contracts on contracts being woven into every single facet of the city. Not that the story is anything boring; the complex magical systems, the religions and cultures being stomped out, the zealots and magical craftspeople coming to odds, serves up a lot of tension that keeps the story engaging.
What I didn't like or liked less in Two Serpents Rise than Three Parts Dead: Caleb our protagonist, the risk assessor working for the water utility headed by an undead, magic wielding skeleton, is much less of an interesting character than Tara was in Three Parts Dead. Caleb is a more reserved and withdrawn character with less of the charm, impetuousness, and energy Tara brought to the first book. The writing in Two Serpents Rise is also a big change from book one. Three Parts Dead was written in a workmanlike straightforward prose, which might be less interesting but allowed the complex world to stand on its own. This book takes a more metaphorical, sometimes flowery approach to the prose, which was hit or miss with me and sometimes left me struggling with the writing and understanding what was going on. It's ultimately a matter of taste, but the combination of less interesting protagonist and prose style I didn't enjoy made this much more of a struggle to get through than book 1. The plot and the world still carry me through and my complaints are pretty minor; the Craft Sequence world is one of the more interesting ones I've read in a while and I'm eager to read the rest of the books in the series.
What I didn't like or liked less in Two Serpents Rise than Three Parts Dead: Caleb our protagonist, the risk assessor working for the water utility headed by an undead, magic wielding skeleton, is much less of an interesting character than Tara was in Three Parts Dead. Caleb is a more reserved and withdrawn character with less of the charm, impetuousness, and energy Tara brought to the first book. The writing in Two Serpents Rise is also a big change from book one. Three Parts Dead was written in a workmanlike straightforward prose, which might be less interesting but allowed the complex world to stand on its own. This book takes a more metaphorical, sometimes flowery approach to the prose, which was hit or miss with me and sometimes left me struggling with the writing and understanding what was going on. It's ultimately a matter of taste, but the combination of less interesting protagonist and prose style I didn't enjoy made this much more of a struggle to get through than book 1. The plot and the world still carry me through and my complaints are pretty minor; the Craft Sequence world is one of the more interesting ones I've read in a while and I'm eager to read the rest of the books in the series.