City of Last Chances, Review

I love a Adrian Tchaikovsky book; it feels like I've read more from him in the last year than any other author. And I know the old saying is that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but if you can look at the cover of City of Last Chances and not want to buy and read it, then I don't know what's wrong with you. It's stunning. But we're not here to discuss the cover, however beautiful that is. Is the actual book any good?

The book focuses on the city of Ilmar, where there's always been a darkness. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse. Something, some bad decision or poor chance, will lead to the downfall of Ilmar.

Unlike Tchaikovsky's sci-fi offerings, it took me a little while get fully invested with the happenings in City of Last Chances. There are a few odd happenings, and the city is full of strange and often unlikable characters in a decidedly unpleasant city. All waiting for a tiny spark that'll set off a chain of disasters. Despite that, it's a nice change of pace to a lot of fantasy books, as there's no hero. No one to really root for. You're waiting for a disaster thinking that it's not undeserved.

The story touches on a lot of subjects. Colonialism and oppression. Exploitation and subjugation. Naive youths and calculating greedy adults. You aren't going to get the well-deserved feel-good moments or comeuppance for all the bad people. It's fantasy, but there's a touch of realism in knowing that not everything will turn out okay. There's not always a good guy. Sometimes, there are just bad people making bad choices, and it'll all come crashing down.

If you're a fan of books having big payoffs, then City of Last Chances probably isn't the book for you. You're right in the middle of it people looking out for their own interests or going for the lesser of evils when it comes to choices. They're not all flawed characters, but they're certainly not good. Greyish, I suppose you'd say. Characters are often shown in unflattering ways, and the constantly changing POVs make the story a hard follow at times. But the further you're dragged into the world, the more you're taken in and can weave the POVs together.

City of Last Chances is an ambitious book epic fantasy book that contains many quality elements and memorable characters. Some aren't memorable, but I'm not entirely sure that they are all meant to be memorable. It's not all about the characters, so not all the attention should be on them. It's about the city, too. The ending is satisfying, and as this is a standalone epic fantasy, it all wraps up in a rewarding manner. I'm not sure I need more, so I'm happy to see it wrapped up as it was.

Rating: 4/5.