Nina's Reviews > Full Fathom Five

Slow. Very slow. I'm not sure why other reviews I've said seem to think this ramps up faster than the previous two books, but I found this much more of a chore than them. The setting also didn't really feel as characterful as the other two books (Two Serpents Rise especially), and I felt like I lost track of what was happening in quite a few parts because it became very sparse in detail. I had to stop and re-read a page or two to try and orient myself more than twice.

Still, I enjoy the wider world that Gladstone has created - it's a really interesting setting that I'd actually love to see in a graphic novel or in a movie.

So yeah, not as enjoyable as the previous two books, but worth it just to see how the events in the previous novels are perceived in the wider world, and what the consequences are.

My other gripe was that I puzzled over who the characters on the front cover were. With the fringed/ragged looking clothes and the bag, I thought that was supposed to be Izza (though she looks much older than Izza is described and Izza isn't a Craftswoman) and then that it was meant to be Teo Batan - a woman I always pictured to be more ethnically native Central American than black. Maybe my mistake. I also had to double take at Kai, who didn't quite fit my mental image of a Hawai'ian. But again, maybe my mistake.

edit: On further consideration, the green magic marks don't mesh with Teo's priest-scar, but they do match the 'green light' that Izza uses at the very end. It confused me so much because all through the book Izza has no magic, so I don't understand the decision to show her with magic on the cover - the magic is in the very end of the book! Literally. It's part of the denouement. And the lady on the cover is not the 15 year old street kid Izza is meant to be, she looks too old and mature. Oh well.

Bonus points for a book with a main character who is trans for whom her trans identity is not the reason for her troubles, the source of her despair, or A Big Deal at all. She's mostly worried about foreigners not understanding, but no one says a cross word to her. Which is nice.

tl;dr Didn't really get into this as much as the other books, but still going to pick up any more books in this world that Gladstone releases, because I loooooove his worldbuilding. I also want to see more Craft. And Deathless Kings (so badass).