Second, this book didn’t really mesh into a coherent whole for me. First is that this book is far from Tchaikovsky’s best, but “Tchaikovsky’s best” is a high enough standard that this book is still much better than average. I want to compare it to the Mel Brooks film History of the World, Part I, for two reasons. Overall, this was enjoyable, but not Tchaikovsky’s best. I got about 10% into the book, was having trouble keeping track of everyone, and went back and restarted and paid better attention.) You meet a lot of the chief characters very quickly in those two scenes. (Pro tip: pay attention during the first two chapters - dinner at the priest’s cheap boarding house and a game of chance at the Anchorage, respectively. More and more get added as the story goes on, providing a mosaic view of events. The keeper of the Anchorage, an inn by the Wood that serves as a waypoint. The last priest of a nearly-forgotten god. The academic she idolizes, who talks about patriotism but mainly does a good job of self-promotion. A student girl brimming with patriotic enthusiasm. The story unfolds from a variety of different POVs. Our story begins when the #2 of the occupiers sets out to cross the Wood (because whatever is on the other side could undoubtedly do with some good old fashioned perfecting), yet the magical totem that will let him pass has been mysteriously stolen, with unfortunate consequences for him. If you have the right protections that will let you past the monstrous guardians.

But other times it becomes a vast and mysterious forest, and a path to … elsewhere.

Sometimes it’s just a stand of trees you can cross in a few strides. And you have the city’s criminal element, who are against whoever is in charge.Īnd you have a mysterious Wood on the edge of the city. You have the workers, for whom the new boss is pretty much the same as the old boss and needs to be reminded of where their wealth comes from. You have the old aristocracy, who is all about supporting a rebellion so long as they end up back on top. You have students talking about glorious revolutions in lecture halls and taverns.

The occupiers have the goal of “perfecting” the world, so naturally anything not already “perfect” according to their rigid standards must be … perfected. This book, which is standalone, is set in a city that’s been under foreign occupation for several years.

Adrian tchaikovsky city of last chances