City of Last Chances

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Arthur C. Clarke winner 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.

©2022 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2022 Head of Zeus

From 4 stars to 5 stars

I would like to adjust my rating from the original 4 star to now 5 stars. The more I have reread and revisited the story, as well as the second book in the series (that is very, very good btw) the more I feel inclined to grade this first installment with a 5/5 grade. And I look forward to the third book coming out and hopefully even more to follow that.

Loved the different factions and all their little details

Awesome! And also so sad but also good!! If you keep making these, I will buy them!

Worth reading

I really enjoyed this book. It had some great characters and a well developed world. The setting is pretty unique. It is a little hard to pin down, but it is reminiscent of the industrial revolution and WWI.

I also appreciated that it was pretty clean and wasn't overly dark or overly angsty. A lot of fantasy books are way over the top, and this one was not like that. My only complaint is that the ending was a bit sudden. I wish there was a sequel.

This is an Abridged Audiobook. A Vital Chapter too

The audiobook omits the next-to-last chapter of the novel ('Mentioned in Reports')! It's a crucial chapter telling the fate of Fellow-Inquirer Hegelsy, among the other Pals. Why omit it? I'd never have known the chapter was missing if I hadn't been reading along with the ebook. What a pisser!

That aside, the book is a masterpiece of literature. It takes a long time to get into it but it's well worth it.

Richly and beautifully written.

I stumbled into this, having enjoyed the author's science fiction writing. I wouldn't have sought this genre, but WHAT I WOULD HAVE BEEN MISSING!
For personal reasons I enjoyed the second book the most (especially the opening), but this one and the third book are very worthwhile listens.
I'm sure that the narrator's performance only added to my enjoyment.
And there's more to come!