Dead Country by Max Gladstone

"Discover the destiny of the Craft in Dead Country, the beginning of the end of Max Gladstone's beloved fantasy epic. BOOK ONE OF THE CRAFT WARS SERIES Since her village chased her out with pitchforks, Tara Abernathy has resurrected gods, pulled down monsters, averted wars, and saved a city, twice. She thought she'd left her dusty little hometown forever. But that was before her father died. As she makes her way home to bury him, she finds a girl, as powerful and vulnerable and lost as she once was. Saving her from raiders, twisted by a remnant of the God Wars, who haunt the area, Tara changes the course of the world. Max Gladstone's world of the Craft is a fantasy setting like no other. When Craftspeople rose up to kill the gods, they built corporate Concerns from their corpses and ushered in a world of rapacious capital. Those who work the Craft wield laws like knives and weave chains from starlight and soulstuff. Dead Country is the first book in the Craft Wars Series, a tight sequence of novels that will bring the sprawling saga of the Craft to its end, and the perfect entry point for this incomparable world. Also Available by Max Gladstone: The Craft Sequence 1. Three Parts Dead 2. Two Serpents Rise 3. Full Fathom Five 4. Last First Snow 5. Four Roads Cross 6. Envy of Angels Last Exit Empress of Forever This is How You Lose the Time War (with Amal El-Mohtar)"--

Pros: interesting characters, some good fight scenes, great magic system

Cons:

Tara Abernathy never intended to return to the town that ran her out as a teenager. But she can’t miss her father’s funeral. Nor can she turn away the young, untrained woman with craft abilities. Nor can she leave her old hometown at the mercy of Raiders and the curse that drives them.

This is the first book of the Craft Wars series. While it comes after the 6 books of the Craft Sequence, and focuses on Tara Abernathy (who features in several of the Sequence books), it’s designed as a new entry point and gives you all the background you need in order to enjoy this book.

It’s a much smaller book in scope than the Sequence books, dealing with a small cast as it takes place in a small town in the middle of a desert. Tara’s forced to revisit her past, not just the town and its antagonism towards her, but also her time at school to know how to teach and what information to give.

The craft is always a delight, with its mix of occultism and the arguments of law. There are some good fight scenes.

This is a book about coming to terms with your past and deciding who you want to be going forward. If you haven’t read Max Gladstone, this is a good place to start.