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j_the_human's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book deserves to be talked about more because it is such a masterful examination of a city under occupation. Is it better to keep your head down and do what you need to in order to survive, or to risk rebellion and all the bloodshed that entails? When a city is built on the bones of a forest that has its own magic and people, was the city always an occupation, even before it changed hands? And does a city that treats refugees with disgust, distaste, and prejudice deserve to be saved? There are no clear answers here, but a wonderfully built fantasy world, a really unique method of fleshing out a whole city of people, and a story that keeps you wanting more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: War and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
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.
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
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
afion's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Self harm, Torture, and Religious bigotry
iono's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Colonisation
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Police brutality
Minor: Torture and Sexual content
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, War, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Gore
onthesamepage's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book honestly stands out a bit from all the other fantasy I've read this year, because of its structure and because of the ambitious and fascinating world the author created, but I think the execution didn't entirely work for me.
The first 40-50% feel like a collection of short stories all set in the same universe. Sure, there's some kind of red thread connecting them, but on the surface the stories don't seem related at all. We're introduced to a big cast of characters throughout these stories, and it isn't until we get further into the book that the connections begin to appear. I thought the second half was a lot better than the first, probably because I could see the plot and where everything was leading. That said, structuring the book this way allowed the author to show as many different parts of Ilmar, the titular city, that we maybe wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Ilmar makes for a great setting. It feels like any big city—a mish-mash of cultures and districts, and everyone is suffering under occupational rule. There are different refugee groups, gangs, religions being practiced in secret, and an oppressive regime trying to normalize it all so that everyone follows their standards. But even though there are different factions all supposedly working against the occupiers, the city isn't on the brink of revolution, until, suddenly, it is.
And if that doesn't sound complex enough, there's also the Reproach, a section of the city that will possess anyone who enters it long enough, and a forest that acts as a gateway to other worlds. I found Ilmar extremely compelling, but I also think the author maybe tried to do too much. Because the setting is so vast, it's difficult to focus on specific characters, which means I had less emotional attachment to the people I was supposed to care about. I do think this improves after we're done getting introduced to everything this world has to offer, however, and there were definitely characters that I cared about by the end. The story didn't unfold the way I expected it to, and the way it did might not satisfy everyone, but I think that is what sets it apart for me.
This book honestly stands out a bit from all the other fantasy I've read this year, because of its structure and because of the ambitious and fascinating world the author created, but I think the execution didn't entirely work for me.
The first 40-50% feel like a collection of short stories all set in the same universe. Sure, there's some kind of red thread connecting them, but on the surface the stories don't seem related at all. We're introduced to a big cast of characters throughout these stories, and it isn't until we get further into the book that the connections begin to appear. I thought the second half was a lot better than the first, probably because I could see the plot and where everything was leading. That said, structuring the book this way allowed the author to show as many different parts of Ilmar, the titular city, that we maybe wouldn't have seen otherwise.
Ilmar makes for a great setting. It feels like any big city—a mish-mash of cultures and districts, and everyone is suffering under occupational rule. There are different refugee groups, gangs, religions being practiced in secret, and an oppressive regime trying to normalize it all so that everyone follows their standards. But even though there are different factions all supposedly working against the occupiers, the city isn't on the brink of revolution, until, suddenly, it is.
And if that doesn't sound complex enough, there's also the Reproach, a section of the city that will possess anyone who enters it long enough, and a forest that acts as a gateway to other worlds. I found Ilmar extremely compelling, but I also think the author maybe tried to do too much. Because the setting is so vast, it's difficult to focus on specific characters, which means I had less emotional attachment to the people I was supposed to care about. I do think this improves after we're done getting introduced to everything this world has to offer, however, and there were definitely characters that I cared about by the end. The story didn't unfold the way I expected it to, and the way it did might not satisfy everyone, but I think that is what sets it apart for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
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