Dead Country is the first book in Gladstone's new Craft War series, and set in the same world as his previous craft series, though you don't need to have read that to understand the events in this book. It's a story about grief & about how you can run from the place you grew up but it will always have a hold on you. Tara Abernathy would never return to her childhood home under any other circumstances, but her father's died, and the small minded people she grew up with aren't going to stop her from seeing him buried. On her journey home she finds a young girl who has access to the craft and saves her from certain death, a girl who will irrevocably change Tara and potentially the world, but Tara has to save her hometown first.

Tara Abernathy is a character I instantly bonded with. Someone carrying the unbearable weight of grief, as well as the weight of the world on her shoulders... literally. She is someone who has grown through trauma, first being chased from the only home she knew and then in the school where she learnt her craft. She is reliant on herself first and foremost and isn't someone who shows weakness easily, but once home she finds the walls she has carefully built around herself are wavering. Snarky, sarcastic and certainly not someone to shy away from a fight, she is the kind of MC that I adore, but she also has a softer side, one we see come out the more time she spends with Dawn, the girl she found, and her mother, a side that knows what Dawn is going through and doesn't want this girl to go through the same trauma's that plague Tara's nightmares.

For the first book. Gladstone keeps our cast fairly tight knit. We spend the most time with Tara, Dawn and Connor, a boy that grew up in Edgemont alongside Tara with other villagers making appearances throughout. Through them, Gladstone shows the danger of small minds and how they fear and distrust anything they class as 'different,' but when the time comes, they rely on Tara to get themselves out of danger. There are characters you will like and others you will hate, but they all play a part in the telling of Gladstones story.

The magic system was extremely in depth, and I enjoyed being able to learn about it through Tara's teachings to Dawn. I'm not even going to try and describe it because it is a lot and one of the most intricate magic systems I have ever read, and I do feel it's going to be a system that I will get clearer on the more time I spend in this world. Everything from the Lore and history of the world was expertly woven into the plot, and it was used, not only to give us an insight into Tara's world, how the craft came about, but also used as both an emotional and plot driving device. Though we do spend the majority of this story in Edgemont and it's surrounding area, thanks to Tara's travels we do learn a lot about the world 'outside' of her hometown and I loved the blend of modern and historical that Gladstone brings to his world. There are Dragons and Golums as well as creatures I've never heard of, and I can't wait to continue the series and get a deeper dive into all the world building we got in this book.

Knowing that there are more books out there set in the same world has made me incredibly eager to get my hands on them. Once I find a world and magic system that I enjoy I crave all the information I can get my hands one, so you can bet I will be picking up Gladstone's other craft books, hopefully before the next book in this series comes out. Having not read them, I can't comment whether it would be beneficial to read them before starting this series, I can however say that you have to be a bit willing to go in blind and be ok with getting some rather large quantities of information thrown at you. The story ends on one hell of a cliffhanger, so I'm excited and pretty desperate to see what happens next.

Dead Country is Max Gladstone’s seventh title in his highly recommended CRAFT series (OK, technically, it’s the start of a new trilogy entitled CRAFT WARS), which might make some readers who sadly have yet to wade into the series hesitant to pick it up. But in some ways, Dead Country is oddly a perfect place to enter this universe. Let me explain.

No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

When Craftswoman (i.e. magic wielder) Tara Abernathy is forced to return for her father’s funeral to the small town she ran away from decades earlier — or was driven away from thanks to their fear over her burgeoning magical abilities — she finds that the town, centered in the aptly named Badlands, has seen an uptick the last few years in frequency and intensity of attacks by skeletal, undead Raiders created by “the Curse”, spillover magic from the decades-past God Wars. Before she even enters the town, she rescues a young girl, Dawn, who was the sole survivor of an attack on an outlying farm. Even this doesn’t gain Tara welcome though, and only the intervention of an old friend and her mother prevents her from being turned away or possibly even killed by the townspeople.

Despite the town having forced her out long ago, and despite the obvious ongoing fear and suspicion, Tara takes it upon herself to try and protect them from the Raiders and their new, powerful leader known as the Seer. In addition, she reluctantly takes Dawn — who has the same sort of raw magical aptitude Tara had in her youth — on as a student, though she doubts her ability as a teacher thanks to her own horrible experiences as a student at the Hidden Schools. Finally, she has to deal with all the unresolved issues with the people of the town, including an old flame who might be a potential new flame and a man who loathes her abilities.

As noted, this is the seventh book in this world, and as such there are reference to things Tara has done before. And certainly, if you’ve read the series knowing where she’s coming from will allow the book to carry some more character weight. But also as noted, despite that, Dead Country makes for a surprisingly easy intro to this universe (well, surprising only on the surface; it’s clear Gladstone has worked to make it so, and so I don’t want to trivialize his craft here).

The major way this serves as such an easy on-ramp is the teacher-student relationship between Tara and Dawn, who is the classic Confused-Character-as-Audience-Stand-In. And so much more overtly than in the prior books (I think — I’m working from vague memory so could be wrong), Gladstone is able to fill in the reader as to how the Craft works, what happened during the God Wars, and so on. To be fully honest, it was a little too overly expositional for me at times; I never feel I need a novel’s elements fully understood to follow engaging-compelling characters and/or interesting plots. I like a little discomfort as info is doled out in bits and pieces, while here it’s all laid out in clear bold type (well, not literally bold). But, while not my personal preference, I will acknowledge it’s a smart move if one wants new readers to pick up a seventh book in a created world series, as well as that lots of people do in fact like things clearly laid for them. You know where you fall in any of those categories and can predict your mileage accordingly.

Another way this is a fine jumping off point is how focused the narrative is. While it absolutely broadens (and does so greatly) toward the very end, for most of the novel we’re in a tightly localized setting amidst a very small number of characters enacting a deeply personal story that focuses on relationships: between Tara and her mother, Tara and her possible lover, Tara and her unresolved relationship with her father, and others. Tara has to find a way to make her peace with these individuals, her hometown as a whole, and her own past. In that way, and also in the way it explores the idea of going home along with the plusses and minuses of life in a small, isolated community (particularly for those who are different, and, even more particularly for women who are not only different but who also have power), Dead Country is a more domestic type of novel than a lot of fantasy.

Of course, that’s if one broadens the definition just a little to include calling down lightning from the sky, undead warriors impaled atop their skeletal steeds, a desert filled with unnamed and hungry monsters, gods (or their kin) and things bigger than gods. As I said, it's only a domestic novel for “most” of its length. And even that portion includes a major, vividly portrayed battle and several fight scenes and deaths. We’re not talking Jane Austen domestic here.

The CRAFT series is one of my favorite ongoing series, and Dead Country both fulfills the promise of the series’ quality to those like me who have read every book and also acts as an open-armed welcome to those who haven’t read any. But while you can read this as an entry point, I’d personally recommend going through the prior six books instead. First, because they’re so damn good. Second, because while you don’t really need to know anything in them to enjoy Dead Country, it will make for a somewhat richer reading experience. And finally, because once you’ve read those six and then this one, your wait until the sequel to Dead Country will be all the shorter. Though of course, you could always do a re-read in between, which this book has quite possibly enticed me into.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclosure: I have not previously read any of the other works in Gladstone’s Craft Sequence, so I guess I was a good test of the statement that this book was a good entry into the universe. And for the most part, that statement held true. The magic system and technology was pretty well explained, and the characters were well developed, along with their relationships to each other. There were times that off-page associates and past adventures were mentioned that might have been in other books and knowing them might have given more depth to the text, but overall I didn’t feel too lost.

This isn’t my usual type of read, but I’m always happy to read outside my comfort zone and find new series, authors, and genres to enjoy, and I’m glad I read this one. I’m curious to see what happens in future installments (that cliffhanger!) and may even go back and read the other books in the universe to get that added depth.

This was a very interesting and enjoyable read for me. It had me hooked on to it since the beginning. I so loved the concept and the word building. But, more than I loved the character development, and in my humble opinion it was quite exceptionally and beautifully done. Definitely, it’s a full 5 stars read for me.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of this first book in a fantasy series set in the world of the Craft Sequence series.

Setting is important in any kind of fiction as it does a lot of the hard lifting in helping a reader get an idea what the characters might be like. Fiction and mysteries have it easy because the names New York City, Los Angeles, even Anytown, Southern State tells the reader certain things about the people they might meet, even what the story might be about. Fantasy doesn't have those preconceptions sometimes a lot of things have too be told just to get an idea in a reader's head. Or you can show them. Say a young woman going to the airport with her rolling luggage, but her flight is a dragon, and instead of landing she just jumps and lands on the ground. Well that makes me as a reader want to know more. Dead Country by Max Gladstone has lot of these familiar moments, that turn out to be far different than expected. And makes for a very enjoyable start to a new series.

Tara Abernathy last saw her hometown as the people she knew and grew up around were trying to stab her with pitchforks and screaming for her death. Over the years Tara has accomplished much, saved lived, Gods, cities, made friends, tried to kill friends, made up with said friends, and much more. Tara has given her home no thoughts at all, until receiving word that her father has passed, and Tara must go back to bury him. So Tara was not in the best of moods when she rescues a young woman, Dawn from Raiders on her way to her town. Dawn, it seems is in as many ways as powerful as Tara, in the art of the Craft, and Tara decides to train her in the Craft, though Tara has doubts about her abilities and her patience in training. However soon Tara has other problems as she finds her home is under the influence of the Curse, and things might be going from bad to much, much worse.

A well written, even better well thought out start to a fantasy series, that has many great ideas, and Gladstone is very good at showing them. This is the first book in the Craft Wars Series, which does follow the Craft Sequence, but one doesn't have to read the earlier books to understand or appreciate what is going on, though based on this book, I am sure they are really good reads also. The story unfolds well, showing a lot more than telling, which is nice, and yet filling in blanks when needed. The plot starts moving from the first chapter, which really sets the mood and the feeling of the book. Tara is an interesting character, funny, brave, with an almost God-like strength, but is very much a teen goth in attitude. Dawn is mysterious, as is fitting. The book does a good job in setting up the good and the bad people, and what is going to happen, and really keeps readers interested. I do like the world, the mix of modern, with just enough differences to make the reading fun. The Craft as explained has a lot of potential, and it further makes me want to read the earlier books, and this series. Very well done.

This is the first book that I have read by Max Gladstone as a solo writer, I did read the This is How You Lose the Time War written with Amal El-Mohtar, and enjoyed that, as I enjoyed this one. The world building is intriguing and the characters are very interesting. Recommended for people who need a new fantasy series to get behind and for people who like strong female characters and lots of magic in their storytelling.

I wanted to enjoy this but overall found the story, characters, and plot to be something not what I was longing for or one that I would pick back up.

Having never read Max Gladstone or his Craft Sequence, I was intrigued by the description of Dead Country. I do think this is a good place for new readers to explore the series and familiarity with the world will only increase the enjoyment.
Dead Country is a beautifully written book with vivid prose and intense, well-drawn characters who act out their drama in complex world. The fantastic elements were fascinating, and the characters’ growth and evolution were compelling. The book built slowly to a powerful and fast paced conclusion. A very intelligent and well-written fantasy novel. Highly recommended. Five stars.

This book is the kick off to a new series in Gladstone's existing Craft universe. I thought this was a solid book, and a fun addition to the Craft universe. I don't have anything...too much more to say. I loved getting to visit the world once more. I do think that this was one of the better written installments in the series, though! I highly recommend this fun read.

I don't have much to say about this novel since it hadn't made a huge impression on me compared to other fantasy novels with similar premises. It has a more significant focus on the world and the descriptions that aid the novel's worldbuilding, but the character's personality and struggles are dampened due to that focus. That doesn't mean it's bad at all since there are plenty of people that love fantasy for that vast and descriptive writing but I prefer reading stories with a huge focus on character and character dynamics. I overall don't have any complaints about the novel but I don't have praise for it either.

Driven from her village when she was revealed to be a Craftswoman, Tara Abernathy is on her way home after receiving word that her father died. On her journey, she finds an untrained Craftswoman, Dawn, and takes her as a student - into her village, which is both hostile to her and in danger from Raiders. Complicating this is her almost lover, Connor, and her desire to repay the village for being her home - and maybe also make them pay.

This is the first in a series and there was a lot of world-building, setting up the story, and creating a true nemesis, plus planting the roots of Tara’s past. The setting up of the longer plot often pushed the plot of this novel to the back, and so while it was ultimately interesting, it was definitely a building block. I’m curious but this was a little flat.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

This story was captivating, I originally kept reading because I couldn’t put together the modernness of her life in Alt Columb with how simply the people in Edgemont lived. I found Tara’s teaching of Dawn, and in the process the people of Edgemont, to be interesting in how she explained concepts and how arguments can make magic work. I definitely want to know more about the Craft, and the God Wars, and what comes next for who Dawn is now and how Tara will fight the footsteps in the dark. I did have one issue that made this a little frustrating at times, which was how detailed some things that felt unnecessary were. I wanted more detail about the bigger events, but those were given in sort of vague terms while small details were dragged out and made overly long. When is the next one coming? Because I will absolutely be reading it.

Tara is a practitioner of the Craft. It is magic but more than that it is a part of her very being, She has just received some somber news from home. She must return to a place that she ran from years ago. She is unaware of the growing threat to the very people she loves until she starts her journey across the barren landscape. She encounters Dawn on her way. She is a young woman who has power like hers but no control, Tara decides to take her on as her pupil but she questions if she is up to the task. As she approaches her home, it is evident the Curse, a corrupted form of magic, has been attacking the people she holds dear. Can Tara save her loved ones without losing herself? This review was given in exchange for a free copy of the book from the publisher.

This book is the best of the ones written in this world view. Better yet, it is the first of three more books. Tara's return to her birthplace to bury her father, and the discovery of a powerful young "witch" opens up some of the unpinnings of the world of magic that she inhabits. Good character development and genuine human emotions make this a brilliant addition to this saga.

The cover and the synopsis read middle-grade to me - oops! This is being billed as adult but the protagonists feel really young. I stopped at 10%. I can't see this going over well in our libraries.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.