The best fantasy book I’ve read in a long long time.

Authors often start rocky, and then improve in time. Some reach their potential early, then understandably fall into grooves. Tchaikovsky is neither of these types of author - his first book started a fire in me, then has innovated and expanded with every following book he wrote. And City of Last Chances sits atop that pinnacle.

This book, like all his work, is a rare find. An unpredictable, superb story set in a world that’s equally so. The characters both mesh into a truly strange setting and get feel real, with a stellar performance from the VA.

So I’m genuinely jealous of you, currently reading this review - you’ve probably not read this book yet. I wish I could go back and experience for the first time - and you can do that right now.

8 people found this helpful

Didnt quite hit.

Felt like a series of short stories with no real investment to any of the characters involved. Dissapointed.

Narration was on point though.

3 people found this helpful

A very good fairytale

Adrian Tchaikovsky does it again. Defies expectations, that is! A strange story with some wonderful ideas and characters, flawed (though not all readers will concur) by being slightly too self-consciously ironic for its own good - it's certainly not a parody, but the author is very aware of playing up tropes, and with such a long book it was treading very close to the line. Performance-wise, Thorpe is very good at characterisation but somehow a little heavy on the narration; shades of public information film or something. A star knocked off both story and performance as a result. There's also a lot to love here, though.

3 people found this helpful

Highly Recommended

Excellent, even by Adrian Thchaikovsky's extremely high standards. A thoroughly engrossing and engaging story full of rounded, utterly believable characters, in an unforgettable city.

Superb narration by David Thorpe too, lending each character a unique and distinctive tone.

3 people found this helpful

Great story, read by an expert

Brilliantly plotted, densely woven and unique fantasy tale, brimming with ideas and novel juxtapositions, twists and unexpected development. Narrator is brilliant!

3 people found this helpful

Confusing

Huge fan of Adrian and after devouring the empire in black and gold series (which is truly epic) I had high hopes for this book. It starts hopeful but I found it hard to follow and was left not quite sure what had actually happened at the end! On reflection I believe it’s due to the disjointed character changes and background histories that are never fully explained. Love this guys work but this was a no no for me so won’t be seeking out the second book

1 person found this helpful

An amazing book!

I absolutely loved this book, it was dark but hopeful, grim but humourous. I hardly knew what was going to happen next and even when I did I was still somehow surprised by it! The narrator also did an excellent job and was a true pleasure to listen to, a good range of voices and great intonation. I want more books like this!

1 person found this helpful

Didn't work for me at all

Difficult to follow. Confusing and seemingly disjointed. His other works are far better. Try others.

Didn’t work for me.

I got two thirds of the way through and realised I didn’t really know what was happening, I didn’t care about any of the characters and the narrator’s “Scottish” accent was making me wince.
However, I can see why people have praised the narrator because he transitioned seamlessly between characters, the emotion was spot on and he was very engaging. I just couldn’t take the accent any more.
The story was complex and I think if I was reading it myself I could get into it. It was just too complex for me personally as an audio book but I can see how fans of political fantasy would be enamoured with this book.

Hard to follow

Like others I had a hard time keeping track of all of the characters and storylines early on. The performance was outstanding though and there are many elements of the story I really like but I too often had to go back and listen to old chapters to keep events in context and re-familiarise myself with current characters.