This novella is a great story that comes after Days of Shattered Faith. I loved that it gave us more insight into Sage-Invigilator Angilly, essentially the protagonist of the book Days. I feel this book was able to move well throughout various settings seamlessly. I love a character driven book, and getting to understand more of Angilly was a huge bonus! Definitely don't sleep on this novella!

The first two books of the Tyrant Philosophers series are epic in scope: the first giving a panoramic view of a city under occupation, and the second following a group of magic-wielding medics in the chaos of war. With this novella Tchaikovsky narrows the focus to one person, Angilly, a diplomat of the ever-conquering Palleseens.

We are given vignettes of Angilly from her childhood through different postings of her career, with each step showing more of how the Pals operate and the larger world. Although I think starting with the first book is best, <i>Lives of Bitter Rain</i> would probably be an okay entry place for those new to the series.

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher.**

This is my favorite fantasy series going right now and this entry does not disappoint. It's a slight deviation from the formula, this is the first prequel of the series and the first to explicitly and fully follow a character we've already met but it adds so much depth to Angilly's character as seen in Days of Shattered Faith that it's hard to feel like that's a problem. Highly recommended, same as every book in the Tyrant Philosophers series.

I am a big fan of the Tyrant Philosopher series, and this small look into a character's past before they make their debut in the third book is a very welcome addition to the story. Angilly's life is certainly not a happy or easy one, but I felt that this exploration of her character helped my understanding of the choices she made in Days of Shattered Faith. I hope to see more of these novellas in the future!

This prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, following Angilly “Gil” from her childhood to events leading up to where we meet her in Days, is wonderful. The depth Tchaikovsky gives Gil makes her character even more compelling while also giving new depth to the themes explored in Days of Shattered Faith. The parallels of life and circumstance between Lives and Days is beautifully told here.

Honestly I hope there are 10 more books and/or novellas in this series. Each installment, including this one, expands the world and adds so much to the characters of Tchaikovsky's Tyrant Philosophers series. I love the dark, ironic humor of these books.

The best way I can describe this book is it's a dark bio of person in a broken fascist world with magic and monsters. Par for the course Mr. Tchaikovsky, He makes very dark worlds that for some reason or another you can get very comfortable in. I enjoyed this but it you can tell its only part of bigger story. I can't fully judge it without reading Days of Shattered faith. It was a bit long to be included in the novel I understand but it feels like part that I'm missing until I read the next book.
Despite my misgivings this book is really worth reading.

As always I will always read Adrian Tchaikovskys work and this series I hope never ends! Such amazing writing style and I loved the peek into the backdrop of the history of book 3 before you read it. I will continue reading all this

Lives of Bitter Rain is the most narrow-focused and character-driven of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Tyrant Philosophers series. This is both a strength, and a slight distraction because the book feels unfinished without his previous book.

The protagonist Angilly is morally complex, but sometimes I found her too much on the side of an unjust system of colonization. This may be the point of the novella, but it pushed me out of the work in a way that I've rarely been pushed out of a Tchaikovsky book.

One of the things I love about the Tyrant Philosopher books is that they showcase Tchaikovsky's subtle humour in a way that many of his other works don't, and that continues here. Not so much laugh-out-loud moments, but lovely turns of phrase that provide a genuine wry smile.

Overall, this is a book that makes a strong case for this series as a Hugo-worthy contender.

There is a trend for authors to write short stories/novellas set in their fantasy worlds, and this novella is no exception. When done well, as in this case, the overall stories are enhanced and readers are given a chance to learn more about the characters and spend time in a detailed and rich world.

Lives of Bitter Rain was everything I hoped it would be and more. From the very first chapter, I was pulled into the raw emotion, the high stakes, and the quiet heartbreak woven between the lines. This story moves you.

The characters felt so real, flawed and hurting, but still fighting in their own ways. The writing struck that perfect balance between beautiful and brutal, and there were moments that genuinely stopped me in my tracks. It’s one of those books that stays with you after the final page, heavy but meaningful.

This was a standout in the series for me. Painful, powerful, and beautifully done.

Lives of Bitter Rain is another enthralling entry to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Tyrant Philosophers series filled with captivating worldbuilding and interesting characters.

So far this year, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Tyrant Philosophers series has had me in a choke hold. It has everything anyone could want—and more—from an epic fantasy series, executed masterfully. Lives of Bitter Rain is a novella and should be considered a companion piece to the third book in the series, Days of Shattered Faith. As the author himself notes, it can be read before or after the third book. It follows Angilly’s character from childhood up until the very beginning of Days of Shattered Faith as she rises through the ranks of the Palleseen empire as a member of the Outreach division, which is a colonizing force that primes foreign kingdoms to join the Palleseen Sway through bribery, political intrigue, and strategic destabilization. Gil is a fascinating character to follow, and her depiction in Lives of Bitter Rain is consistent with what we know of her from the main series.

This novella contains all the elements that make the Tyrant Philosopher series great: richly developed characters, inventive worldbuilding, humor, complex moral dilemmas, and sharp observations about human character and history all wrapped in a gripping plot. I noted in my review of Days of Shattered Faith that Tchaikovsky’s prose seems to take a fairly big step down in the third installment; I was relieved to find that this isn’t an issue with Lives of Bitter Rain.

If anything, I wanted this book to be longer so we could spend more time with the characters and explore the world a bit more. But alas, that’s what you get with a novella! I’m so excited to read the rest of the series when it comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Angilly ended up being one of the breakout characters from the most recent Palleseen book, and I love that Tchaikovsky ended up sketching out her life after she took such prominence in the novel, and we get to see the absolutely insane decisions she made to get to this point. Hell of a ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the E-arc!

This is my first ever Tchaikovsky and oh boy did it hit just right. After reading a few works that were not for me, this absolutely was.

We follow one Angilly, a young orphan in the Palleseen Empire. In a world of gods and magic, they are basically fantasy 1984 with a bit of the Culture mixed in for good measure.

Angilly experiences a lot as she climbs the ranks of the Empire, including surprise success, setbacks, heartbreak, and tragedy. The story moves at a brisk pace but covers a lot of ground- it’s hard to believe this is only 144 pages.

The magic, politics, and people of this world feel entirely fleshed out and real. Everyone, even the most stringent of believers, come with human flaws and don’t always make decisions based on the ideology their culture imposes on them.

It appears this series deals with the industrialization of magic. And while many authors would take this down a hard magic route, Tchaikovsky goes for a soft magic that absolutely works in the context of the story.

I basically read this straight through, that’s how good it was. I was worried I would not understand a lot due to it being part of a series, but I found I was not lost at all and was able to follow the plot and understand the world with ease.

I’d like to call attention to Tchaikovsky’s prose as well. It’s very good and descriptive, and he knows when to use a shorter sentence to make a point rather than just blathering on all the time.

I’m now going to dive in to the three Tyrant Philosophers books already out, and I have feeling I will be very, very excited for books 4 and 5. If you like high magic and flawed, relatable characters, this is for you.

Another beautiful entry in the Tyrant Philosophers series, this one a perfect addition to Days of Shattered Faith as we follow young Angilly through the most harrowing episodes of her youth.

It is very rare that a book can move as quickly as this one does, and through such a multitude of settings, without making the environments in which it takes place feel like simple set dressings. Instead, each memory of our protagonist Angilly stands out and serves to deepen our understanding of her character.

Each section of this book focuses on a pivotal moment in Angilly’s life/career. These moments logically build out her character in such a way that each decision she makes can be clearly traced back to an earlier point of the story. Additionally, Tchaikovsky spends time not only developing our main character, but also the environment around her. The descriptions paint such vivid images in my head, that even with the novella finished, I still have a picture of the otherworldly waterfalls of Usmai in my head.

My only selfish wish, is that instead of certain time skips, we could have spent more time with some of the side characters introduced to us. However, I realize that would quickly turn this novella into a novel and entirely defeat its purpose as the prequel to the final installment of “The Tyrant Philosophers“ series.

With the quick pace of this novella allowing Tchaikovsky to efficiently cover the character development of Angilly, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a character driven book that can be enjoyably consumed in one sitting. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.