Three Parts Dead

Written by Max Gladstone

Narrated by Claudia Alick

Audiobook Published by Blackstone Audio, Inc
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The Skinny: A high-magic fantasy novel that eschews the royal court for the courtroom.

Terra Abernathy is a craftswoman, a graduate of the Hidden Schools, and a young woman of incredible power, even if they did literally kick her out after graduating her. But she survived the long fall to the ground as well as the perilous desert crossing that followed.
After a brief visit home, she’s rescued/headhunted by the mysterious Ms. Kavarian, a partner at a prestigious craft firm. Craftspeople aren’t merely wielders of mystical powers fueled by starlight and the stolen secrets of the gods. They’re also professionals, offering their services in negotiation, arbitration, and other meta-legal matters. Ms. Kavarian is looking to recruit Ms. Abernathy, but first they have a difficult case ahead of them: settle the affairs of a dead god, and if possible, secure his resurrection.
The first novel in Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence, Three Parts Dead is set in a world where magical contracts function like legal contracts, with wizards and liches acting much as lawyers and judges do in the real world. It’s a fascinating system, and Gladstone’s world-building is rich and detailed without becoming dry and overbearing on the story. The setting of Alt Calum and its surroundings is vibrant and bustling, with divine-powered technology, mystical architecture, and a colorful cast of mystics, priests, monsters and others.
No matter how strong the world-building, a story lives or dies based on its plot and characters, and Gladstone presents us with a city full of legalist magicians, shady priests,  outcast gargoyles, vampire-chasing club kids, and love-sick gods. These are unique, and more importantly, well-realized characters that will worm their way into your heart and break it. Contracts have two sides, after all, and not everyone negotiates in good faith. Often characters are left considering if their goals are worth the costs.
I listened to Three Parts Dead as an audiobook read by Claudia Alick and produced by Blackstone Audio. Alick does an excellent job bringing the characters to life from nervous, chain-smoking acolyte Abelard to the terrifyingly professional Ms. Kavarian.
Three Parts Dead is a rollicking start to Max Gladstone’s Craft Sequence. It is available in print from your local independent book store, digitally from the usual suspects, or in audio from Audible.com.