Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

6 reviews

allcapspyrex's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Tchaikovsky is very good at writing in ways you've never seen before, and that comes to the fore here. City of Last Chances is a story told through a dozen different perspectives, which still manages to keep a plot running which is not only cohesive, but enthralling. There's all sorts of magic and fantasy elements in the world that's beautifully built up throughout this book, but all of it works, and the reader always gets just enough to satisfy without removing the desire to know more.  I could see this book not being for everyone, but personally I loved it, and I highly recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ecster's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This book could have been half as long, and the first half was a slog, and it all ended very inconclusively.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and War

o_romeo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Racism

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Ableism, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

cybergoths's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

laurareads87's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

This is my fourth book by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and my first of his fantasy books. I thoroughly enjoyed it! City of Last Chances has a lot I love in fantasy: multiple POVs, compelling world-building with complex political dynamics, characters who are ethically ambiguous at best, and and a significant element of strangeness. Tchaikovsky has created a great ensemble case of characters, perhaps none of whom are straightforwardly likeable but many of whom I was really interested in. This is absolutely a fantasy book, with elements of magic, fantastical technologies, and mysterious portals between worlds, but the institutions and factions moving against each other were what interested me most. The dynamics between the regime established by the colonizing Palleseen in Illmar — including, to name a few, the School of Correct Erudition, School of Correct Appreciation, and School of Correct Speech — as well as the resistance groups (Shrikes, Vultures, Herons) and workers’ organizations (the Siblingries) were the most compelling aspect of the story for me. Illmar itself also comes alive on the page, and the plot contained enough twists to keep my interest while unfolding gradually. Tchaikovsky has helpfully provided a list of characters and factions at the beginning of the book — this is the kind of fantasy that warrants this inclusion, with many characters and factions to keep track of. Definitely recommend.

Content warnings: murder, violence, death, gore (though not especially graphic), execution by hanging, colonization, police brutality, war, injury detail

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus / AdAstra for providing an ARC in exchange for this review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, War, Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Gore

rubyhosh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Police brutality, Death, and Hate crime

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Violence

Minor: Torture