City of Last Chances Audiobook By Adrian Tchaikovsky cover art

City of Last Chances

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City of Last Chances

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: David Thorpe
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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 Action & Adventure Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Paranormal & Urban Urban Fiction Crime Paranormal
Richly Developed Characters • Creative Worldbuilding • Darkly Humorous Elements • Unpredictable Plot • Great Voice Acting
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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.

From 4 stars to 5 stars

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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.

Worth reading

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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.

This is an Abridged Audiobook. A Vital Chapter too

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I have no idea if that is an accurate description, but it was the most persistent correlation I had in my head throughout the book.

Pros
Good World building focused on a city and its mystic grove of trees A plethora of different characters who were well developed, and some interesting magic mechanics I thought was interesting. I enjoy when multiple magical systems are introduced.

Cons:
the way the view jumped from a large number of characters both major an minor, caused the plots and timelines to be hard to follow sometimes. Found it hard to get attached to any of the characters and, maybe due to the fact there were so many perspectives, I had a hard time finishing the book.

Occupied Paris during WW2 In Fantasy World?

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Some authors get stuck in a rut, but definitely not Adrian Tchaikovsky. I was expecting to enjoy a great sci-fi that challenges our assumption about sentient life, like many of his other works. But, this was entirely different. I loved the narration, but the story never grabbed me.

Great Narration, not my favorite A.T. Story

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I really look forward to the next. I think this might in some ways be an answer to his first major series, or, rather, his thoughts on the reality of many of the characters?

it's rare an author is so prolific, and produces so many gems. But not every book by him is a gem (they do all have good points, though, imo)

At the top of his list I'd still suggest Children of Time, dogs of war, and cage of souls (those books, not series, specifically) But I'm really excited about what he'll do here.

not the best by this author, but great world building

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Interesting world and characters which has a consistency to it and a few open questions but the story was engaging and flowed well. I look forward to book 2

Took a bit to warm up to but enjoyable!

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The audiobook is missing one of the last chapters that is in the book, Mentioned in Reports.

Missing a chapter

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The story is well crafted, the performance is great. It takes a little too long with getting us to care about the characters (more specifically: who we should view as a protagonist). Scattered beginning, engaging middle, satisfactory ending.

Interesting

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Although this is not a genre I typically enjoy, this was a very engaging book. When a well written book partners with an exceptional narrator, you can’t help but be entertained.

Very entertaining

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