Four Roads Cross

Four Roads Cross takes us back to the (publishing order) beginning of The Craft series, taking up a year after Three Parts Dead with Tara Abernathy as in-house counsel to the Church of Tos Everburning, barely treading water on her student loans while trying to untangle the mess of the first book. When the resurrected goddess Seril starts saving lives in the middle of the night, the security of investments in Tos is threatened once again, and Tara and Cat and Raz have to stop a very hostile take-over by correcting the ancient sins of the God War.

It’s a good Craft book, and I have to admit that I just like Tara more than the other protagonists. She’s smart, strong, wicked, and totally overmatched by the forces against her. Gladstone really finds a rolling rhythm here, with his meditation on faith and what brings us together as humans. Tos and Seril are the only real gods left in his world, and from the perspective of this atheist, they aren’t all that bad. The return to form is appreciated, especially after Last First Snow. I’m excited to see what follows.