I am constantly confronted with how much great fantasy there is that I haven't read yet. Three Parts Dead was first published in 2012, and there are already five entries in the Craftworks Sequence way out here in 2017, five years later. I think that's another thing that gives me such heartburn when I read things I end up not liking, because I know that there's so much waiting for me out there that I'm probably going to greatly enjoy. 

Three Parts Dead is a great first entry. It's got great worldbuilding and scene setting on par with anything contemporary. A story that never takes itself too seriously as it weaves the fantastic in with the mundane. A cast of characters that are decidedly human in their inhumanity. By that I mean, that no one is normal in this world. Which is fascinating for a book that takes on the stability of society as one of its primary themes. 

Everyone in this novel is on a path to stretch themselves beyond what mundane humans could even dream of. A pursuit that stretches both their bodies and minds in ways that often enter the realms of the phantasmagorical. Allowing for development of both plot and character in directions that just aren't possible for books rooted here on Earth. It's one of the reasons that I love fantasy. Why be normal?

As the plot moves forward I did find that the wide scope of the story doesn't come together as cleanly as I would have liked. At it's heart the story is a detective story, and in some ways solving that simple story of "Who dun it?" contrasts to sharply with the more extravagant reaches of the story. But it holds on to it's heart long enough to send me off to the second instance with a lot of anticipation about what's coming next. Three Parts Dead gets three out of five.