Review: Two Serpents Rise, by Max Gladstone

[Russ Allbery]

Two Serpents Rise
by Max Gladstone

Series:    Craft #2
Publisher: Tor
Copyright: October 2013
ISBN:      1-4668-0204-9
Format:    Mobi
Pages:     350

This is the second book in the Craft Sequence, coming after Three Parts
Dead, but it's not a sequel. The only thing shared between the books is
the same universe and magical system. Events in Two Serpents Rise were
sufficiently distant from the events of the first book that it wasn't
obvious (nor did it matter) where it fit chronologically.

Caleb is a gambler and an investigator for Red King Consolidated, the
vast firm that controls the water supply, and everything else, in the
desert city of Dresediel Lex. He has a fairly steady and comfortable
job in a city that's not comfortable for many, one of sharp divisions
between rich and poor and which is constantly one water disturbance
away from riot. His corporate work life frustrates his notorious
father, a legendary priest of the old gods who were defeated by the Red
King and who continues to fight an ongoing terrorist resistance to the
new corporate order. But Caleb has as little as possible to do with
that.

Two Serpents Rise opens with an infiltration of the Bright Mirror
Reservoir, one of the key components of Dresediel Lex's water supply.
It's been infested with Tzimet: demon-like creatures that, were they to
get into the city's water supply, would flow from faucets and feed on
humans. Red King Incorporated discovered this one and sealed the
reservoir before the worst could happen, but it's an unsettling attack.
And while Caleb is attempting to determine what happened, he has an
unexpected encounter with a cliff runner: a daredevil parkour
enthusiast with an unexpected amulet of old Craft that would keep her
invisible from most without the magical legacy Caleb is blessed (or
cursed) with. He doesn't think her presence is related to the attack,
but he can't be sure, particularly with the muddling fact that he finds
her personally fascinating.

Like Three Parts Dead, you could call Two Serpents Rise an urban
fantasy in that it's a fantasy that largely takes place in cities and
is concerned with such things as infrastructure, politics, and the
machinery of civilization. However, unlike Three Parts Dead, it takes
itself much more seriously and has less of the banter and delightful
absurdity of the previous book. The identification of magic with
contracts and legalities is less amusingly creative here and more
darkly sinister. Partly this is because the past of Dresediel Lex is
full of bloodthirsty gods and human sacrifice, and while Red King
Consolidated has put an end to that practice, it lurks beneath the
surface and is constantly brought to mind by some grisly artifacts.

I seem to always struggle with fantasy novels based loosely on central
American mythology. An emphasis on sacrifice and terror always seems to
emerge from that background, and it verges too close to horror for me.
It also seems prone to clashes of divine power and whim instead of
thoughtful human analysis. That's certainly the case here: instead of
Tara's creative sleuthing and analysis, Caleb's story is more about
uncertainty, obsession, gambling, and shattering revelations. Magical
rituals are described more in terms of their emotional impact than
their world-building magical theory. I think this is mostly a matter of
taste, and it's possible others would like Two Serpents Rise better
than the previous book, but it wasn't as much my thing.

The characters are a mixed bag. Caleb was a bit too passive to me,
blown about by his father and his employer and slow to make concrete
decisions. Mal was the highlight of the book for me, but I felt at odds
with the author over that, which made the end of the book somewhat
frustrating. Caleb has some interesting friends, but this is one of
those books where I would have preferred one of the supporting cast to
be the protagonist.

That said, it's not a bad book. There are some very impressive set
pieces, the supporting cast is quite good, and I am wholeheartedly in
favor of fantasy novels that are built around the difficulties of water
supply to a large, arid city. This sort of thing has far more to do
with human life than the never-ending magical wars over world
domination that most fantasy novels focus on, and it's not at all
boring when told properly. Gladstone is a good writer, and despite the
focus of this book not being as much my cup of tea, I'll keep reading
this series.

Followed by Full Fathom Five.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Reviewed: 2017-03-31

-- 
Russ Allbery (eagle at eyrie.org)              <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>