Three Parts Dead

By: Max Gladstone

Narrated by: Claudia Alick

A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, a first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethras, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring him back to life before his city falls apart.

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without him, the metropolis’ steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot.

Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god who’s having an understandable crisis of faith. When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts - and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival.

Set in a phenomenally built world in which justice is a collective force bestowed on a few, craftsmen fly on lightning bolts, and gargoyles can rule cities, Three Parts Dead introduces listeners to an ethical landscape in which the line between right and wrong blurs.

About the author: Max Gladstone went to Yale, where he wrote a short story that became a finalist in the Writers of the Future competition. He lives in Boston.

©2012 Max Gladstone (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Max Gladstone has created a fascinating universe and equally fascinating characters. It’s a world in which magic is craft and religion has some very practical rules, and he shows it through the stories of some very interesting characters. This is his first novel. I can’t wait for his second.” (Jerry Pournelle, New York Times best-selling author)

“This has so many of my favorite things: an intriguing world, fun characters, a puzzle of a story that manages to be both funky fantasy and legal thriller. Three Parts Dead is simultaneously fast paced and thoughtful, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.” (Carrie Vaughn, New York Times best-selling author)

“The story remains suspenseful and fast-paced throughout, and the diverse, female-led cast is a joy to follow through the fascinating and unusual landscape.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Great story, but the narrator was off

I really liked this book. The story was significantly above average in quality, but not perfect. I will be reading the following books in this series in the months to come despite the imperfections. I could consistently see humor and good story telling in the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My one suggestion to the author would be to add more humor in the future, so we had something funny or a joke every two or three pages instead of every ten or twenty.
My main issue was the narrator. She just didn't click with me. I liked 9/10ths of the voices she used, but disliked the voice she used for Tara. She made one of the main characters sound as if she had a lisp, or something. It was super minor, but it bugged me.

An average experience all around.

I listened to the book over the course of 3 weeks for my book club. The story was entertaining enough, but it wasn't tantalizing. It's a weird mix of "who done it", mystery, Sherlock, magic-something. It's not one of those tales that keeps you in your car after you park because you simply MUST know what happens next and you are stuck staring into space for a minute or two with your hand on the ignition. Also, you don't get a lot of explanation about the craft; you are dropped into this world without much background and the twists this story takes don't make much sense or give you a sense of "A-HA!" because you weren't aware that The Craft could do that. It has potential though. Lastly, I couldn't tell if this world was supposed to be some sort of parallel to our known world. The language was "of this earth", and so were the drinks (whiskey, gin and tonic?!). It almost gave me a sense of an alternate earth universe or something.
The narrator was ok... Aside from the two main characters, the voices weren't really distinct. But unlike some other reviewers, I didn't think she was terrible.

Inventive

Three Parts Dead is, as one of my fellow reviewers said, “wonderfully inventive.” I enjoyed the story but felt a little lost in the world sometimes — it’s so inventive that I never felt quite grounded. I did, however, like the characters and the story. I listened to Blackstone Audio’s version which was read by Claudia Alick. It took me a while to warm up to her because at first she has one of those rhythms that sounds like she’s reading to children, but I sped her up a bit and that helped. I also think her reading smoothed out a bit as the story went on. I think we both got more comfortable and compatible a couple of hours into the audio.

Solid Story

Fun story, it was a bit brief compared to what I would have liked but worth the credit. The narration deserves some credit for being fun and engaging. The narrator had a bit of a lisp which was funny for some of the characters but very good overall.

Excelent and Unique World

I was really impressed by the author's ability to create a very unique world with real gods and disbelievers, those who have the craft of magic and necromancy and how they all can coexist and work side by side. The characters are unique, at the plot is predictable with some of its basic ideas, yet wildly unpredictable when it comes to individual situations, problems, and character choices. The narrator did a fair job of creating unique character voices, but her pacing was not always good for me. I preferred to listen to this at 1.5 speed in order to get through it more quickly.

odd story

The narration was hard to listen to and the story disjointed yet entertaining. I really loved the ending and some of the characters.

intersting world building

I have seen this book around for a while. but the real reason I have it a chance was because I was wringing a fanfiction crossover story someone did with an original character from this world working in a Dresden Files world and I was intrigued and the description of the world and its magic. The boos is interesting with a world where magic is the technology for the most part and the world went through the equivalent of a Industrial magic revolution, an actual revolution for independence and a world war all spared by that industrial revelution when it starte using the same resources the gods of that world use to live and do miracles. A fascination group of characters. I hope the second books builds up the world more.

Crisp and clear narration.

What did you love best about Three Parts Dead?

I loved the narration. I can understand that some folk felt the narrator over-enunciated. I listen to audiobooks mostly while exercising, cooking, or other tasks that generate considerable background noise. For me, this narrator was a godsend. I could understand everything perfectly, and didn't have to re-listen to sections as I normally do.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The world is a fantastic and modern take on what could've been useful fantasy. It's not usual at all, though— and the worldbuilding is what has me returning for the sequels.

Interesting genre bender

I loved the world building in this story. Afresh take on the fantasy genre. I did not love the narration: found it off putting and annoying.

Kinda meh, but pretty good

The story was interesting, and the only reason I stuck through til the end. The writing sometimes felt overly descriptive, like the author was trying too hard to be funny or witty, but it was just a minor thing.

My biggest issue was with the narration. While it was easy to distinguish the different characters, everyone sounded very douchey/arrogant/dismissive. I'm sure that was the intention for the antagonists, but they only sounded MORE douchey/arrogant/dismissive.

The narrator also contributed to the previously mentioned overly descriptive text by over emphasizing places that just made me roll my eyes. Might just be me, but it was distracting.

Other than that, the story itself, as well as the magic system, was very interesting.