City Of Last Chances

By (author) Tchaikovsky, Adrian
Description:

2024 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST, BEST FANTASY NOVEL
WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

''Endlessly creative... so much invention peeking around every corner'' Patrick Ness

Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller Adrian Tchaikovsky''s triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution.

There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. 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.

What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?

Despite the city''s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.

Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar, City of Long Shadows.

City of Bad Decisions.

City of Last Chances.

''Ilmar is vividly alive with ideas, conflicts, and a sense of its own history – a truly breathtaking fantasy city, down every street a compelling story.'' David Towsey
''A master at the height of his powers. This is epic symphonic fantasy, weaving a breakneck plot through a sumptuously dangerous world.'' Ian Green
''A wonderful twisty stew of a book with a cast of fascinating characters, set against the brilliantly realized city of Ilmar.'' Django Wexler
''A triumph of a book: wildly imaginative, immediately immersive and hypnotically compelling.'' Sharon Emmerichs

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Finesse and clarity of detail in the world building is the rock on which Tchaikovsky has built the City of Last Chances . . . the beauty of the story is in the slow and gentle unfolding of how the unrelated combine
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Paints a vivid detailed backdrop and populates it with colourful personalities and elaborate religious, political and economic systems . . . making a location the main character is a considerable challenge and it''s testament to Tchaikovsky''s skill that he can make it work
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When things start to unravel, brilliant chaos ensues
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Has some of Tchaikovsky’s best prose . . . an absolutely fascinating study in human behaviour
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An intriguing tangle, dense, dark, ingenious, ironic, complex, often funny, and always smart
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Endlessly creative . . . so much invention peeking around every corner
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The rich, inventive worldbuilding and nuanced intrigues will have fantasy readers on the edges of their seats
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Ilmar is vividly alive with ideas, conflicts, and a sense of its own history – a truly breathtaking fantasy city, down every street a compelling story
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A master at the height of his powers. This is epic symphonic fantasy, weaving a breakneck plot through a sumptuously dangerous world
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An ambitious epic fantasy read that contains many quality elements and memorable characters . . . a unique reading experience
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A powerful story about romanticism versus the truth of rebellion . . . It resonates with the world we live in today and is well worth investing your time in more than once
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A gritty adventure fantasy of uncommon breadth, fashioning a universe brimming with magic and treachery
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Ilmar will live up to