City of Last Chances Review

(PUT 5 STARS) There are some books so good they completely redefine your idea of what a book can be, and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s City of Last Chances is without a doubt one of them. Set in the fictional city of Ilmar, it follows the emergence of a revolution against the colonial state newly in power. These occupiers are the Palleseen, and they have taken control of Ilmar’s country with the goal of creating a world in which everyone is as uniform as possible. Each chapter switches the focus to a new character, allowing readers to understand the city from the perspectives of all of its inhabitants. Tchaikovsky’s world is infused with an old and dying magic, wherein forgotten gods roam the streets invisible and captured demons work the city’s factories. Although mainly a fantasy novel, the author borrows from his background in writing Sci-Fi to explore how new advancement in technology has impacted Ilmar, mixing magic with modern machinery. Throughout the novel there is a theme of the struggle between the city’s magic and Palleseen officials, who want to harvest it for their weapons and subsequently exterminate it. As the plot stakes mount, an element of horror is introduced, when characters venture into an abandoned part of the city, inhabited by a horrible curse. Without even meaning to be a horror novel, City of Last Chances introduced me to the most bone chilling writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading, keeping me constantly on the edge of my seat. Overall, City of Last Chances creates a fascinating and incredibly detailed world, and acts as a deeply intriguing illustration of the political turmoil of a city and people controlled by a power which wants their culture dead.