The follow up to city of last chances Wow it is deeper, darker, more gory. The author humanizies a host of characters whom could just be called villans, it extends to demons, dark lords, magicans and necromancers. Do not be put off by the many POVs, I think this adds to the depth of the story. The only never changing evil is the war itself. I loved this book. This series was my first by this author and I already want to reread them as so much happens.

Book one took place in a single city, book 2 here takes place in an army camp, and it is a very different atmosphere. Somehow, it's bleaker than the first, but in a way that makes you desperately want to read on. Theres the feeling you know something is coming, but what you don't know. And you definetely don't know when till it hits you. I loved the new characters in this, and of course, its Tchaikovsky so both the characters and scene setting are phenomonal. Despite the darker tone to this book, there is still an underlying sense of dark humour, and it is oddly heart-warming at the same time. We also get a greater understanding of the war, and itr's place in the world. Overall i loved it as much as the first book!

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a very well written book. The world building is absolutely incredible, you really feel like you are there within the world watching the story unfold.

This book was fast paced and the story was so gripping that I didn't want to put it down.

This was my first book from Adrian Tchaikovsky but I will definitely be reading his other work in the future.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this arc.

Technically, this book is yet another master stroke from one of the best writers in science fiction and fantasy. Technically, the prose is gripping and engaging, artful enough to draw a brutally vivid picture, but never so dense that reading it becomes a chore. Technically, this book grapples with some seriously heavy topics (pacifism, colonialism, war) in a way that is engaging and insightful.

The thing is, as much as I really should have, I didn't actually love it, which to be honest is exactly the same response I've had to more or less everything Adrian Tchaikovsky writes, the point where I'm not sure whether I'm the problem or the book is. There's no arguing that this book isn't an extremely well put together piece of work, but yeah it didn't quite scratch the itch for me.

What I liked:
- The worldbuilding is, of course, phenomenal. And the idea of a military fantasy book with a sworn pacifist for a main character is obviously compelling.
- There's a lot of elements that are just very likable - I loved all the stuff with the gods, and the sections where they're actually doing magic field hospital stuff are as fun as they are gory, with a use of omniscient POV masterful enough that it's sure to birth an entire cult of beginner writers who think that actually, omniscient POV is super easy to do and should be inflicted on as many unwilling critique partners as possible.
- There's a lot of great dramatic moments and fantastic set pieces - if you like your fantasy big and impressive, you'll love this.
- This book is just good, if you've enjoyed other Tchaikovsky stuff, you'll be sure to enjoy this one.


What I didn't like:
- Towards the end, a lot of the stakes were really starting to fall flat for me. There were a lot of times where things *almost* go horribly wrong, only for it to be fine, actually, with very little in the way of meaningful consequences.
- I feel like it maybe didn't go quite deep enough into its characters' psychology. Again, there's a lot of alluding to complexity and torment and how world weary all these people are, but for all the time in this book spent cutting people up, I don't feel like we really get to root around very much in the innards.
- It had kind of that feeling of being maybe a little bit old fashioned with regards to character relationships that I think is pretty common to a lot of Tchaikovsky books. There a lot of moments of 'romantic tension' that feel very shoehorned in - like Tchaikovsky went 'ah shit, my MC needs a love interest, quick, this one'll do'. And similarly, 'Oh damn, I need a background couple stat!'. The love interest in particular was shallowly written and boring, and there were some weird threats of sexual assault from the love interest (she's being pressured into it, so it makes sense in context) that felt extremely unnecessary and made me definitely not route for them to get together. I cared a lot more about the friendships between the main cast, and it seemed a lot like there was maybe an attempt at a found family vibe? But then the book makes it very clear at several points 'these people aren't as important to each other as you want them to be', and emotionally it ended up feeling very cold.

Ultimately, I know there are people out there who will absolutely love this. But for me it felt a touch disappointing, with some really good moments that were never fully followed through on.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was straight balm into the world of the Palleseen - ‘Marci Jack’, the gods, the expanded world of cultures and religions and magic. Absolutely enjoyable

I liked the cover and I really liked the beginning part with all the information on who and what people/things are I find that helpful. I found this book quite difficult to read. I think I prefer the authors science fiction. I didn't really care for any of the characters and wasn't overly bothered about what happened. The world building was brilliant though. I could picture it very well.

I'm not one of those effusive reviewers who fills their reviews with exclamation marks and gifs and claims to be crying and laughing and screaming, but I will say I gave a sharp intake of breath when I saw that City of Last Chances was now a series. Back when I read it, the information said it was going to be a standalone, and when I reviewed it, I wrote:

"I'm incredibly upset that this is currently written as a standalone. This is a world that I need to explore. I need to know what happens to these characters, I want to follow their journeys, I want to visit their homelands. Please write more in this world! "

So. Yeah. House of Open Wounds is book 2 in the City of Last Chances series and I absolutely loved it. If has the same chaotic feel to it, where every second something could go horribly wrong and you never know what's around the corner. But whereas Book 1 is based in a single city, Book 2 takes place in an Army camp, with Yasnic (and God) being forced into servitude in the medical team of the Pel Army. As you can imagine, having your healing skill come with the snag that you'll never be able to do harm again isn't that useful for soldiers... but I can't say much more without revealing anything.

House of Open Wounds has a whole host of brand new odd characters, some with special abilities and Gods of their own, all playing an odd part in the Pel war-machine, and we get a deeper understanding of the Pel Army and its war to bring Correctness to the world. It's a proper page-turning fantasy with deep world-building and amazing characters. Like book 1 the plot isn't really the central point - we're just thrown into this melting pot of craziness and wait for something to happen on every page. The characters reacting to their unfolding situation is the hook, and I simply couldn't put it down. The writing is witty, heart-warming, dark and desperate all rolled into one. This series is probably the closest reminder to Pratchett that I've had, which is some of the highest praise I can give.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is already on my fantasy favourite authors list and I've read everything he's published to date, but I honestly think that this series might be my favourite. And one of the amazing things about being an Adrian Tchaikovsky fan is you never have to wait that long for a new book! Bring on book 3 and pleeeeeease make this a long series, not a trilogy!

House of Open Wounds
Adrian Tchaikovsky

[complimentary pre release review copy from NetGalley]

The Butcher in Hell.
The Necromancer in Grey.
For atheists the Palleseen sure dabble in the darkest of occult to strive toward Perfection.

This is the second volume in Adrian Tchaikovsky's most recent fantasy series. It's one where an atheist empire strives to achieve Perfection and to bring everyone else with them, like it or not. After all, the Ends justify the Means, don't they?

This book and the book before are modern books. I don't mean modern as in mundane today. They are fantastical, dripping with magic and ghosts and gods. However they are modern in the sense that they are about rationalism, ideology, the intersection between ideology, totalitarianism, idealism and corruption. It's 19th Century Europe, the French Revolution takes on a wizardly ancien regime and inevitably becomes a proto Soviet state. In this sense Tchaikovsky is treading a similar Eastern European vibe as Sapowski does in his Witcher books, the decay of idealism into crushing military force weakened by internal corruption.

Now that does sound heavy, doesn't it?

It's not, Tchaikovsky writes beautifully with wit and humour not unremiscent of Pratchett or Gaiman and plots are as inventive and satisfying as either. You laugh at and with unsavoury characters who are both petty, human, awful and with which you have to admit one has a lot of empathy. For example the necromancer who hates the dead and just wants a good cup of tea.

The story is about the Palleseen army at war, an army and war rather like the Great War but also maybe the Great Patriotic War or Desert Storm. It's about the compromises that ideology makes in the face of the unutterable savagery of war; compromises that allow all that the state denounces to exist and be tolerated as long as it advances the cause.

In this bubble exist magisters, necromancers, demonologists, sonorists from all the cultures of this broad canvas Tchaikovsky has prepared for these sagas. Amongst them is Maric Jack, late of Ilmar, and the little dovecote he wears on his back.

This was a great read.

I have no idea why Adrian Tchaikovsky decided the obvious​, obvious follow-up to a ​500-page riff on Les Miserables was​ a fantasy​ version of M*A*S*H​, but ​I'm so glad he did. House of Open Wounds is tighter, more approachable, and bleaker than its predecessor, ​and independent enough to almost work as a standalone.​ Like the battlefield surgery it describes in sometimes-florid detail, House is brutal, and not always completely successful, but its literary torments are all meant to rebuild you, eventually. It's uncut catharsis, and if that's what you're looking for, this is the place. 4.5/5 rounded up.

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Of course, one good explanation for why Tchaikovsky has taken this particular narrative detour is (*gestures everywhere, especially towards Eastern Europe*), and the narrative's switch from resistance against occupation to gory, inconclusive trench stalemate corresponds neatly to the state of the war in Ukraine even if he never rubs the reader's face in it. It helps that Tchaikovsky's choice to set the story in the camp (if not on the side of) the imperialist Palleseen takes some of the obviousness off the parallel, as does his willingness to humanize many characters who could easily be written off as villains.

This authorial generosity goes beyond obvious anti-hero candidates like the comic relief trickster, Banders, or The Butcher — the chief medico, and a toned-down evocation of Blood Meridian's Judge — but extends to demons, dark gods, Pals pillaging the world of the divine to make more ammunition, mercenary magicians, necromancers, and petty criminals besides. This isn't to say that there are no villains (what would be the fun in that?) or no more-or-less-heroes, but that morality in House lives more in characters' specific actions and attitudes than in fixed identities of "good" and "evil". Perhaps the only unambiguous evil is the war itself, a tremendous, wasteful fire fuelled by life and beauty that leaves behind only mud and bones.

Of course, this is only just one cut through the book, and there's more to House than a reasonable review can cover; I'm still trying to sort out what I think about the story's various call-outs to all three Abrahamic religions, the Catch-22 references, what to make of a slightly saggy patch when the crew changes theatres, or a few somewhat predictable twists at the end. And some of it is unquestionably hard going, even for readers with a tolerance for the literary equivalent of 90% dark chocolate.

But in the end House is a book that's willing to try to break things in the reader in order to set them right, and the world probably needs more of that, when so many things are already broken.

Cities fall, kingdoms fall under the Palleseen rule. They have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. As their legions scour the world of superstition with the bright flame of reason until all that is left behind is a mountain of ragged, holed and scored flesh.

This is where Yasnic, one time priest, healer and rebel finds himself. Reprieved from the gallows and sent to war clutching a box of orphan Gods, he has been sequestered to a particularly unorthodox medical unit. These people are no strangers to the horrors of war. Theirs is an unspeakable trade: they have a first hand understanding of wounds caused by flesh-rending monsters, arcane magical weaponry and emitted enemy soldiers.

This is an expression of where science meets magic and the bloody war that ensues where one attempts to subdue the other. It poignant, terrifying and unbelievably horrific. But you just cannot look away and will find yourself turning the page to continuously find out what happens next. Filled with a mix of strange characters, and even stranger magic, this is a world that will pull you in and leave you stranded at the same time.

Adrian Tchaikovsky has done it. again! Wonderful writing and continuing fantastic character development. I’m very much looking forward to reading more of his work

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “House of Open Wounds” is a dark and haunting exploration of the human psyche. The book takes readers on a chilling journey through the depths of fear, trauma, and the unsettling nature of our own minds.

Tchaikovsky’s protagonist is a deeply complex and psychologically rich character, guiding us through a house that becomes a twisted labyrinth of memories and nightmares. The author’s portrayal of the human mind is nothing short of masterful, delving into the darkest corners of consciousness.

The plot is a psychological thriller that pushes the boundaries of reality and delves into the surreal. Tchaikovsky keeps readers on the edge of their seats, as the house itself seems to become a character with a malevolent agenda.

The writing style is both poetic and disquieting, creating an atmosphere that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page. The pacing is deliberately slow, allowing the story’s tension to build to a crescendo.

“House of Open Wounds” is a provocative and thought-provoking work of psychological horror, showcasing Tchaikovsky’s storytelling prowess. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers that delve into the depths of the human psyche, this book is a must-read, but be prepared to confront the unsettling truths that lie within the house’s open wounds.

There's precedent for stories following the mismatched personnel of wartime field hospitals, of course, but while I've never seen M*A*S*H, I'm fairly sure it didn't have this much in the way of blood and guts, let alone demons and zombies. Also, given the Palleseen Sway is devoted to rationality and perfectibility - by any means necessary - it would have had to be a medical unit on the North Korean side. The twist being that in a fantasy world, all sorts of messy things like magic and miracles do actually work, so even for a power which officially disapproves of them, in war the ends will often tend to justify the means - at least until they draw the wrong kind of attention, anyway. Which is why the experimental hospital unit finds itself playing host to the one returning character here from City Of Last Chances, Yasnic, last priest of a cantankerous god of healing. I say that; his god is here too, albeit invisible to everyone else. And soon enough Yasnic isn't even called Yasnic anymore. And also there's the slight issue that anyone his god heals can never act violently again, or else their wounds instantly reopen, which in a military hospital is clearly suboptimal. That's the obvious ticking clock of the plot, but the beauty of the ensemble cast is that Tchaikovsky can hide other stories in plain sight, such that you don't even realise there was a mystery until it gets resolved with spectacular results. The looming Chief; opportunistic Banders*; Alv, literally taking the pain of others on to herself; Tallifer and Lochiver, last priests of cults which were each other's sworn enemies, then rebels together against an empire which ground down both, and now an old, bickering couple, awkwardly conscripted into its service - they're so engaging as the most reluctant and bloodstained of found families that it almost comes as a surprise that there's a plot at all, let alone a war on. And such a war it is, Tchaikovsky transposing our own horrible ingenuity with science to a world of magic in order to remind us that humanity never found a wonder it couldn't somehow twist into a way to make other humans die horribly. From the off, there's the tension that the hospital needn't necessarily be too successful, because their necromancer commanding officer can make good military use of patients who don't make it, but compared to some of the bold new thinking coming down the line, before long that approach feels positively benign in comparison. With all the viscera sloshed everywhere, and other, more inventive ways to suffer, it took me a while to spot something very Pratchett lurking just under the surface - not just in the exasperation and the (often black) humour, but that willingness to think fantasy premises through to their logical conclusion, and then apply them. Leaving something strangely reminiscent of Monstrous Regiment or Jingo, except without the bit where sense prevails more or less in time.

*If you know Bluestone 42, I pictured Banders as Bird throughout. And poor studious Cosserby, with his automata, was the vicar from This Country.

(Netgalley ARC)

Tchaikovsky does it. again! Really great book with beautiful writing and continuing fantastic character development.

Aunque la primera entrega de esta saga de Adrian Tchaikovsky me gustó, también le vi algún que otro fallo, que el autor corrige sobradamente en House of Open Wounds, una magnífica novela que se puede leer de forma independiente.


El escenario de House of Open Wounds es un hospital de campaña y para que no nos confundamos el primer capítulo se recrea en el sufrimiento humano y la carnicería que provoca una guerra. Además, sirve como carta de presentación al elenco de personajes que desarrollarán la novela, un variopinto conjunto de “sanitarios” que, unidos por el instinto de supervivencia, dedican sus habilidades especiales a intentar salvar a los heridos en la batalla.

El escenario es muy cruel y esto se refleja en las personalidades y las acciones de los miembros del hospital. Y quiero destacar muy especialmente la caracterización de estos, con un pasado que influye en el futuro y con unas características comunes que nunca hubiéramos imaginado. La novela funciona como un mecanismo de relojería, con revelaciones que influyen en los siguientes capítulos y con una intriga que se mantiene durante toda su longitud, algo que es muy meritorio. Todo esto sin dejar de lado la crítica social de la que el autor ha hecho gala sobre todo en sus obras de ciencia ficción pero también en la fantasía y que es una de sus características definitorias.

Tchaikovsky se marca con esta novela un alegato pacifista parecido al que intentaba llevar a cabo K.J. Parker con Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead, pero de una forma mucho más exitosa y legible. Pero también resultan muy interesantes sus reflexiones sobre la religión y sobre todo sobre el coste material e inmaterial de la guerra. Resulta especialmente aleccionador ser testigos de cómo cualquier avance mágico o científico, por más benigno que pueda parecer, se puede retorcer y tergiversar para transformarlo en un arma mortífera. La reflexión sobre la doble moral necesaria para seguir adelante con tu vida mientras perteneces al ejército me parece especialmente acertada, aunque a veces el escritor carga demasiado las tintas en la maldad de los altos mandos, es una cosa tan exagerada que puede llegar a parecer excesiva.

Recomiendo encarecidamente la lectura de House of Open Wounds tanto si eres seguidor habitual de Adrian o simplemente quieres disfrutar de una buena lectura. Te aseguro que no te arrepentirás.

"House of Open Wounds" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a breathtaking journey through a meticulously crafted world that combines stunning imagination with intricate storytelling. From the award-winning author of "City of Last Chances," Tchaikovsky transports readers to a realm where the pursuit of Perfection and Correctness reigns supreme, and the price of progress is measured in blood and agony.

Set city-by-city and kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen are on a mission to eradicate superstition and replace it with the unassailable light of reason. Their relentless crusade takes them to the frontlines of war, where they deliver the broken, burnt, and maimed to field hospital tents. It's within this harrowing setting that we meet Yasnic, a one-time priest, healer, and rebel, given a second chance at life and a mission like no other.

Tchaikovsky's narrative unfolds within an unorthodox medical unit led by 'the Butcher,' a character as enigmatic as he is skilled with a bone-saw and alchemical tinctures. The unit's motley crew of conscripts, healers, and orderlies is thrust into a nightmarish world where they confront the horrors of war head-on. Their trade is unspeakable, their experiences elbow-deep in gore as they witness the devastating consequences of monstrous creatures, arcane magic, and embittered foes.

What sets this book apart is its exploration of unconventional themes, including unapproved magic, necromancy, demonology, and the forbidden Gods that Yasnic carries with him. The unit's existence hangs by a thread, constantly threatened by internal strife and external enemies.

Tchaikovsky's world-building is nothing short of remarkable. Every detail, from the intricacies of the justice system to the themes of colonization, is meticulously crafted, immersing readers in a vibrant and multifaceted world that feels both authentic and otherworldly. The depth and complexity of the characters evoke shades of the renowned "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series, making each person in the story a compelling and multi-dimensional figure.

In "House of Open Wounds," Adrian Tchaikovsky proves himself to be a master storyteller with a unique gift for world-building and character development. The narrative's rich tapestry, filled with themes of justice, colonization, and the pursuit of perfection, captivates readers from start to finish. This is a novel that not only entertains but also challenges and leaves a lasting impression. If you're a fan of immersive fantasy with unforgettable characters and a thought-provoking narrative, then "House of Open Wounds" is a must-read. Adrian Tchaikovsky once again showcases his exceptional talent in this remarkable work of fiction.

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky is the standalone sequel to City of Last Chances, which I read and greatly enjoyed last year (review here). While they share a setting, a prominent POV character and a general narrative style, they do very different things in that space. The biggest difference is one of scope - City of Last Chances spotlights characters of a multitude of factions across the titular city. House of Open Wounds instead focuses on a single company of medics within a Palleseen battalion using the ten or so characters that it contains for the majority of the POV chapters, and even the mosaic chapters tend towards showing their POVs the most.

These medics are an unconventional sort - unconventional in that they use forbidden magical abilities and divine gifts to heal their charges, tolerated because the Palleseen need for living bodies on the field is only slightly more so than their need to break down or suborn anything that doesn't fit into the perfection that they wish to force upon the world. So we find a cast of misfits living on a knife's edge, waiting for the time that their pasts or their abilities will put them in the firing line. And they're an entertaining cast of misfits, each with their own secrets and motivations, somehow coming together to be an efficient and effective crew despite their individual flaws.

The prose is evocative and darkly witty as we see the horrors of war from behind the front line. Some chapters are prefixed 'Hell' - and those deal with the events in the medical tent during a battle, as they have to quickly prioritise and treat a variety of different wounds, magical and mundane. These are some of the best chapters of the book as the protagonists are forced up against their own mortality and the limitations of their abilities.

The setting for these stories is both fantastical, slightly humorous and pretty dark, with all sorts of magical powers being forced into systematic and violent ends. There's the demonology of Maserley, where complex contracts are drawn up with the Lords of Hell to use their subjects as cannon fodder, the varied uses of necromancy by Prassel, one of which involves flinging angry ghosts behind enemy lines and letting them wreak havoc via a series of violent possessions, or even the sympathetic magic of Alv, whose ability to take on the wounds of others and slowly slough them off at some unknown cost is eyed by the army for less charitable uses. The focal point is Maric Jack, whose forgotten God can heal almost anyone from the brink of death - so long as they promise to do no harm and take no action knowing that it will cause harm - with the consequence of breaking that promise being the instant return of said wounds. As you might expect, this does not exactly endear him to the leadership of the Palleseen army.

The pacing is interesting and reminds me of a boiling pot of water, with events bubbling up consistently and more dangerously as the book continues until it boils over in the last several chapters to a satisfying finale. This gives the book an almost slice of life feel at times, albeit a life where violent death is often just around the corner and these characters who have all compromised parts of themselves in some way find their bonds growing as they work for an empire that barely tolerates them.

It almost feels bleak at times, the death of the POV characters an inevitability, but while Pal might seem to be a monolith of aspiring perfection, the very existence of the medics in this story are just one example of the many contradictions that suffuse its culture. People are still people, no matter what they have been indoctrinated to believe.

I loved this book, and I think readers will find it more accessible than City of Last Chances. The fact that it stands alone is a big bonus (although those who read the first book will understand more of the throwaway references to Ilmar. House of Open Wounds shows an author at the top of his game, and I can't wait to see if we get any more stories in this world.