His characters are mostly well fleshed out and interesting, and that was not easy I guess, considering there is a myriad of them.

This is a demanding novel, one that rewarded me with some of the most beautiful scenes I've read, but in the end left me exhausted, though still pretty satisfied. Body Surf: The reason why no-one ever kills an Indweller. The other Indwellers will demand compensation through someone else, preferably the slain Indweller's killer, wearing the dead Indweller's mask, which causes the Indweller's spirit to possess the new body.If you are in the market for a superbly written, complex and intricately woven standalone fantasy, with a large cast of stand-out characters, world-building that is metered out at a brilliant pace and a plot that will keep you effortlessly intrigued throughout, then this will be one to read. We witness happenings that relate to the criminal underworld, academia, workers and demons, refugees and outsiders, forgotten gods, and magical artefacts from a wide range of perspectives. Ilmar is the novel’s main character though, and this includes distinct and atmospheric areas such as The Reproach, The Hammer Districts, and The Anchorage. I found The Reproach to be a haunting and intensely interesting part of the city and I adored my time reading about that area and its inhabitants most of all.

Hot as Hell: The circle houses are Allorwen brothels specializing in this; their human workers are able to summon demons who customers can sleep with. The titular City of Last Chances is the city of Ilmar, a disparate and dangerous place where the local population are occupied by the Pallseen, a nation of serial invaders intent on unifying the world into conformity by insidiously replacing language and customs, and eradicating the history and culture of each land that they touch.

Senior Editors

What you do get though, is to know a city and a set of characters that all feel – despite the fantastic setting – entirely human, and very real. The author describes in one chapter a set of paintings – small canvases, but epic scenes, with a knight dwarfed by darkness and yet resolute in his determination to face it down. His own words captured the feeling of this book best for me. I really loved it, thought it was executed so cleverly, and will be thinking about it for a long time yet. Picture a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution. Imagine the streets teeming with discontent and bubbling with anger. Delve into each shadowed alcove and underground lair to discern who will light the first match and set fire to the masses, urging them to overrule the Palleseen regime. Portal Crossroad World: The Anchorwood becomes one on nights when the moon is full. Travelling through it is extremely dangerous due to the monsters that live there, so unless you're an extremely capable fighter (such as Hellgram), a traveler will need powerful, rare protective charms to pass through.

I felt like there was much more story that could be told by the time I finished, but also felt that the ending was satisfying,

Read City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Dragon: While Sage-Invigilator Culvern is the most powerful Palleseen official in Ilmar, he spends most of his time suffering the effects of his curse, leaving Fellow-Inquirer Hegelsy to be the main face of the Palleseen occupation. Ruslav; a street thug of moderate renown. His character undergoes multiple huge changes over the course of the story, and despite his straight forward set up, he became one of the most unique and nuanced characters of the book. That’s just a very small flavour of everything Tchaikovsky has crammed into the story. There’s so much about Ilmar to discover and every single section of the city we explore is as captivating as the last. 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.