NOT A BAD BOOK.

Quite the contrary, it was a really captivating book. The worldbuilding was astonishing—super detailed, super immersive, and definitely my favorite part of the book. That being said, I couldn’t really tell what the storyline was; this also could be because I hadn’t read enough (see below), though, so this isn’t a major concern.

Unfortunately, I started this book when I was really busy in school, so I DNF-ed it. Maybe someday I’ll read again.

Wow. This is a complex and slow read, but in my opinion the build up is totally worth it. The world building in here is done so well that I'll actually be confused if Tchaikovsky doesn't set more books in this universe. The characters go through major arcs, I don't think they'd believe you if you told them at the start!! And I adored the commentary on how groups attempting to overcome colonisation may have the same overall goal, but different endings in mind, as well as different methods! Definitely here for more fantasy by this authors and I might have to try out his sci-fi works too!-

This book was an absolute delight to read. I loved every second of it. It was my first Tchaikovsky book and I will for sure be reading more of his works.

I was kindly provided an ARC to review through NetGalley with thanks to the publishers.

I read this book at totally the wrong time. Adrian Tchaikovsky is an excellent writer and I'm sure this is a much greater book than I was able to appreciate. Tips for young players, don't read an intricate fantasy novel just after giving birth. The post-partum brain does this book no favours. There are so many characters and aspects of the city which I could not wrap my head around. It was a fascinating exploration of a city in flux which I'm sure was better appreciated by people without baby brain!

This started really well—fresh premise, engaging characters, tight plot—then suddenly went awry. The plot abruptly becomes very confusing once you hit the 30% mark. Names and places and factions and objects get thrown around without explanation or background. There are politics and rebels and traitors and it quickly becomes impossible to keep track of things.

Excellent book! Tchaikovsky is a genius! The book starts slow as each chapter follows a different pov, but it's telling a rich tapestry of a rebellion in a very complex, interesting city. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. Will definitely be recommending wildly.

An interesting take on fantasy, Tchaikovsky creates a 3d display of his fantasy world with every characters point of view, a run down of their history and reaction to events. It was a very in depth way to build an epic fantasy. Unfortunately I don't think it'll be for everyone, there's a lot of information but it is interesting and I would recommend it to epic fantasy readers

As much I have enjoyed Tchaikovsky's other titles, this one did not grab me. The writing was wonderful, but the cast of characters was sprawling and felt disconnected. Every time I became invested in a story line... whoosh.. off into another direction.
Just not the book for me this time.

Sadly this didn't work for me. I had the audiobook and maybe this was part of the problem. But I struggled to tell the difference between any of the characters. Which in turn made me care even less about the story.
The world itself did nothing for me.
I couldn't tell you the plot either.

I tried reading this book twice and I couldn't get past the 20% mark. It was a very slow start and the worldbuilding didn't feel as innovative as other Tchaikovsky works that I have read. I also found the multiple povs to be excessive. If you are going to have that many point of view characters I need to care about them from fairly early on in the book and I just didn't get that. All I cared about was the magical forest with the monsters that eat people and instead we had to follow very mundane every day activities of characters living in this city. I just knew that this book was not going to work for me and that is why I am giving it 2 stars.

For my full thoughts check out my video on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dol8sevMKkw&t=1070s

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review*

"City of Last Chances" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a spellbinding journey into a world where possibilities abound and destinies are intertwined. Tchaikovsky's storytelling mastery shines as he paints a vivid tapestry of a city filled with secrets, magic, and unexpected twists. The book's intricately developed characters and richly imagined setting create an immersive reading experience that transports readers to a realm where anything is possible. Tchaikovsky's ability to blend elements of fantasy and mystery adds depth to the narrative, keeping readers enthralled from beginning to end. "City of Last Chances" is a must-read for fans of speculative fiction, offering a captivating escape into a world where every choice could lead to an entirely new destiny.

It took me a long time to get into this as i picked it up, read a few pages, and stopped because it just didnt grab me at all. I found it a bit tedious in parts, and i found it difficult to continue with it, but i did finish in the end.

Whilst I liked reading this I got so far and stopped. It wasn't holding my attention but I do hope to come back to it in the future, as it's more likely me than the book. Mood reader problems.

I was really enjoying this book for the first half, but unfortunately the last half (specifically the last quarter) fell flat for me. I keep giving Adrian Tchaikovsky's books a chance because the plots are really interesting to me, but everytime I read one of his books, I think his writing just isn't for me. In this book, I really liked most of the characters but I felt as though they were just One Thing and not very complex. Despite that, I enjoyed exploring this world were everything is "perfect" and if there were more books set in this world, I would absolutely check them out. I'm not giving up on Adrian! Maybe the next book of his I read will be The One!

I loved the Doors of Eden, so I was looking forward to this read. I don’t know how I feel about it to be honest. It’s really heavy going, I’ve had to put it down a couple of times to have a rest.

I like the story, not sure if I like how it’s set out?

I’m struggling with my thoughts on it- good story, just heavy going?

As ever, my thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the copy

I found this novel very difficult to read, follow and undestand. There were more characters and factions in this city than I have had hot dinners. Far too many to enable any sort of narrative to build in between the reams of description. I struggled through but really gave up any attempt to fully understand at the halfway point.

City of Last Chances is a political fantasy adventure by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Released in electronic format in Dec 2022 by Head of Zeus, it's 545 pages and is now also available in hardcover and audio formats in addition to ebook. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

The author is an often astoundingly adept wordsmith and this is a complex and immersive fantasy against a brobdingnagian tapestry of intrigue and a city-under-brutal-occupation. The prose seethes, and despite its impressive doorstopper brick of a page count, it's eminently readable and readers will find themselves surprised at the passing of time immersed in the story.

Although it's not derivative (at all!), readers who love Neal Stephenson, China Miéville, and Ann Leckie will likely find a lot to enjoy here. It's decidedly dark in places and the characters aren't so much black and white as varying shades of smudgy grey. The background and settings are also quite dark and disquieting and it's clearly by intent.

Four and a half stars. It's a big complex book, and very well written. For fans of political/campaign fantasy.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

City of Last Chances is my first experience of Adrian Tchaikovsky's fantasy writing and I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it. As expected, the writing is good and draws you into this new world. The world is an interesting one and keeps you engaged with the story. My one main issue with this was the cast of characters - there is a fair few character perspectives throughout and I struggled keeping track of them all, as well as finding a few that I just didn't really care about. Overall thought I would recommend checking this one out.

This is a dnf for now. I might get back to the book in the future but for now I could not get into the story and will have to set it down.

i wasn't sure what to expect from my first Tchaikovsky book but this was a very interesting read. it took me a bit longer to get through which i attribute to the overall tone of the book. i loved the Mosaic chapters and found them to be very helpful as the book progressed. I did find that there were parts of the book that seemed to stall out, this isn't uncommon in an epic fantasy of this size. So while i didn't mark down for it i know that that could be an issue to those that are not quite familiar with this genre subset. I found the characters to be well written and fitting for the story. The multiple pov were fun. i was happy to see that for a stand alone it wrapped up quite nicely. over all i think that any fan of high fantasy would definitely enjoy this dark adventure.