The Craft Sequence Buddy Read Book 3: Full Fathom Five, Review, Discussion Part 1 and a Giveaway!
Full Fathom Five by Max GladstoneMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The third book in The Craft Sequence takes us to the island of Kavekana and introduces us to Kai Pohala, a female priest who creates tailor-made gods, or more accurately idols, to order. When she takes a terrible risk to (unsuccessfully) save one of her firm's creations, she encounters serious harm, as she almost dies, and a mystery. Idols aren't alive in the conventional sense and shouldn't be able to speak. So why did Seven Alpha, the idol she failed to save, utter the phrase "Howl, bound world" in its final death throes? This story ties together the first two books of the Sequence by giving us characters we know, who have traveled to Kavekana for various reasons.
From my 2017 reading:
My favorite of The Craft Sequence thus far, I loved Full Fathom Five for its four (full five, if we count Elayne) strong female characters who, though they came from differing perspectives, worked collaboratively to effectively problem solve, in addition to talking with each other about their philosophies, lives and not guys. What a concept!
There are enough summaries of this book out there that review readers probably don't need another review detailing the basic premise of the novel. What I can give you is a description of why Kai Pohala and this novel were so striking to me. Kai is one of the least angst-y transgender characters that I have had the pleasure of reading. She is happy with herself and, instead of suffering about being transgender, is working on regular things, like heartache and questions over the breakup of a long-term relationship, and worrying about justice for her community and some of her company's creations. This made me so happy, I can't tell you.
The other central female characters, Izza, Cat, Teo, and of course, Elayne Kevarian, who is like a thread woven through each of these books, each embody strengths, and, in some cases, poignant vulnerabilities. Splendid character diversity here. I'm also fascinated by Mako's backstory and wonder if we will learn more of him.
The world building in The Craft Sequence has gained further depth in this story set in Kavekana. Of all the things I've read thus far in the Craft world, the Penitents are some of the most harrowing forms of magic Max Gladstone has created. The imagination on display, as we tour the various parts of the Craft world- from Alt Coulomb to Dresediel Lex to Kavekana- is truly amazing.
Looking forward to moving forward in the Craft World! Though, most of all, I look ahead to Ruin of Angels, which publishes in September, with more Kai and hopefully Izza!
From my 2018 reading:
This book remains my favorite in the series (I still haven't read Ruin of Angels. I'm saving it!). I love the female character diversity in this book. Each of these characters is drawn with such detail, and complexity of motivation. They are such strong women. I adore Kai and hopefully, this is the book that convinces readers that Elayne Kevarian is a relatively benevolent truthseeker.
The threefold balance between gods, deathless kings and idols is an interesting construct. The backstory that gets us to this point, told in the two subsequent books, is bound to be an interesting exploration for the reader.
Before we get to our discussion, I wish I could again ask Tor.com Why are there no audiobooks for this full series? A recent Pew Research poll estimated that almost 1 in 5 books are now read as audiobooks. You can see a further discussion of the growing significance of audiobooks here.
And so, let's get to our discussion of Full Fathom Five!
a relevant image Golden Lasso)
Alex, Jenni and Marzie's Buddy Read Discussion of Full Fathom Five
Marzie: So Jenni, I hope you’re now probably feeling more at home in the Craft Sequence world. What were your first thoughts about this book?
Jenni: I feel like there’s an incredibly complex structure to this world, and that I’m not quite seeing the whole. It’s both intriguing and frustrating.
Alex:I totally get that. I really love this book. It’s the first time where I feel like books 1 and 2 intersect.
Jenni: I’m not sure I follow. I see the intersection between books 2 and 3, and was glad to see it, but book one? That takes place so much later, doesn’t it?
Alex: Three Parts Dead takes place after Two Serpents Rise, but before Full Fathom Five. Seril and Kos are whole and together again when Full Fathom Five takes place.
Jenni: Ah, yes, of course, they are. I’m not sure how I got it into my head that Three Parts Dead takes place a VERY long time after Two Serpents Rise.
Alex: The chronology of the series is something I struggle with. I had to pause for a moment when Teo mentions that Two Serpents Group was "founded four years ago”
Jenni: I admit, I wasn’t looking for such a direct connection between the stories, since there hadn’t been one between books 1 & 2, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to connect Teo and Cat with who they actually were. (I’m bad with names.)
Alex: I had a similar experience the first time I read them. It took me a while to figure out that Cat’s silvery suit was Justice.
Jenni: It took me absurdly long to realize that Cat the fugitive was the same person, even, let alone that her silvery suit was Justice. Oh, well. She made a lot more sense after I got my brain wrapped around that.
Marzie: I talked to someone the other day who didn't connect the dots until their second reading, too!
Alex: It continues in later books. Characters keep popping up.
Marzie: I think the changing timelines between the three books makes it more challenging to the reader. With the fourth book in the series we take a big step back, to the Skittersill Uprising. You'll see more of Temoc and the King in Red. Then in the fifth book we step forward to just before the events of Full Fathom Five and reconnect with Tara Abernathy.
Jenni: I’m going to need a spreadsheet...
Alex: Hehehe. Yeah, that might help.
Marzie: Back to Full Fathom Five, someone needs to tell me when they have read a book, written by a man, with five strong female central and secondary characters like this. Even on the second readthrough, I marvel at it. They are all so diverse, each has her own complex motivations for good and they feel very real. I feel like I know them.
Alex: It really is something spectacular. Max has built such a rich internal landscape for all of these women. I particularly appreciate how he handles Kai and her trans status. It’s one of the things that made me put the book down the first time and stare in wonder into space for a few minutes.
Marzie: I also loved it that we can have a transgender character who is angsting over something other than her gender situation. Kai is happy with herself, her body. Her doubts about herself are the same anyone could have- Why did I like that guy? Am I doing the right thing with work? So refreshing.
Alex:Yes! I loved that. Her transition comes up here and there, but it’s never the focus of the story. It’s visible, and can’t be ignored. Max beautifully walks the line between making the story about her transition, and making it so much of a non-issue that it’s narratively ignored.
Jenni: I was so incredibly happy for Kai, that her transition could be so easy and complete, and at the same time, so unremarkable. She submerged herself in the pool, and remade her body so that it matched who she was inside. And that was that.
Alex: It’s pretty magical, pardon my pun, that she could just be herself inside and out like that.
Marzie: I loved that Elayne doesn't even bat an eyelash at Kai's explanation.
Jenni: The way that her transition was handled so matter-of-factly, neither ignored nor dominating the plot, was perfect. I can’t think of a better way to treat the subject in fiction, I really can’t. I’ve read stories that handled people’s transitions, and they weren’t nearly as deft, despite wanting to normalize the subject matter. It still felt like a bit of a sore thumb.
Alex: I agree. I can’t think of another piece of fiction I’ve read that handled the subject so well. (Readers, if you have suggestions for other books that have well written trans characters, feel free to suggest them in the comments!)
Marzie: So you know I love Elayne. She is so complex and yet in this book, in the nightmare with Kai, she truly tries to help Kai. Yes, it’s in service of her actual client, but she does right by Kai, too.
Alex: Elayne is a spider. She looks terrifying on the outside, but ultimately she’s working for the good of the universe. She just manages to make the system work for her, as much as she’s working for it.
Jenni: I think it’s more that she’s finally attained a position of power so great that she can finally heed her inclinations to serve the greater good. She’s gotten to the point where she has a great deal of latitude in how she represents her clients, and can afford to only take cases that allow her to pursue her personal agenda of righting wrongs.
Alex: I think that’s a great take on the situation, and I agree.
Jenni: To go back to Marzie’s point about how Elayne tries to help Kai in the nightmare - I think that’s an example of Elayne’s extremely sharpsighted ability to judge people. She intuited that Kai was not her opponent, not involved in whatever shady shenanigans was going on, and she recognized that Kai could be a valuable ally in uncovering the rot Elayne was trying to clean up.
Marzie: She treated Kai quite kindly. Elayne has a lot of perspicacity. I'm not sure I really think of her as a spider, though. Although, I'm not afraid of spiders, so...
Check out Part 2 of our discussion, where we get into Hawai'i, Mordor, and recognizing gods over on Alex's blog, and don't forget to enter our giveaway of the Kindle Bundle of The Craft Sequence!
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PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: SOME OF THE CATEGORIES ARE MANDATORY (LEAVING A COMMENT ON EACH BLOG AND FOLLOWING ON FACEBOOK) LAST TIME ONLY ONE PERSON COMPLETED THE MANDATORY STEPS!
Hi! Alex sent me for the GA! I’ve read Three Parts Dead, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
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