Days of Shattered Faith is still an excellent adventure in Pal-world, but one that can’t decide whether it wants to be about familiar faces or bold new horizons and falls in the space between. Come for a deftly worked tour through the moral compromises of merchant imperialism (straight out of a really fraught game of John Company), stay for Tchaikovsky’s compelling action and character beats, but pine for the tautness and focus of House of Open Wounds.

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After two brilliant but nearly stand-alone predecessors, Days of Shattered Faith marks Pal-world’s transition to a proper series, for good and for ill. Where House of Open Wounds (barely) followed a single POV from City of Last Chances into a new setting, Shattered Faith recycles a host of characters from the earlier books, to mixed effect. Some of the returnees are enriched by interesting continuations of their arcs, some are there mostly for the ‘memberberries, and a couple are wedged in because of the Rule of Cool, plausibility and seemingly-final goodbyes be damned.

Which is a pity, because focusing on the rear-view mirror makes Tchaikovsky’s world look smaller than it should, and dilutes some intriguing new elements. The first half of Days spins up the sprawling, South Asian-inflected kingdom of Usmai and its too-)well-meaning heir apparent; a disarmingly sympathetic Pal ambassador; and Palleseen versions of Doctor Aphra, Flashman, and the whole East India Company besides. Yet Tchaikovsky seems to lack conviction in these fresh creations, shifting the narrative’s focus towards the old guard exactly when his new characters’ story should be building to a head, partially fizzling the cathartic spell he wove so well before.

Days’ broad scope has upside too, of course, and I particularly enjoyed its suggestion that the past books have not just been isolated stories, but events that are already reshaping the stories broader world. And while Days’ parallels to the real-world history of British colonialism in India are obvious, they’re presented intelligently, with Tchaikovsky winkling out ambiguities and ironies that a heavier-handed treatment would smash straight through. The book also sets up unexpectedly clear signposts towards follow-up plots, right down to a Marvel-style stinger in the final pages, breadcrumbs which will hopefully make any future continuity feel more organic. I’m not sure I want the Tyrant Philosophers to turn into another long-running series (with inevitably diminishing returns), but if it has to, Days is a perfectly fine way to start.

I was lucky enough to get an E-arc of House of Open Wounds so I was really excited to also get one for this book.

The start was strong. I was quickly invested in the characters and it felt quite easy reading. We follow these new characters for a short while before events link us nicely back to se characters we recognise from the previous book.

As much as I enjoyed House of Open Wounds it was a little slow paced. In comparison this book jumps pretty quickly into the politics of a succession battle and follows how a range of characters respond to the coming strife.

I don't like to spoil plots in my reviews so all I can say is from their the plot becomes a bit like a fever dream in the best way. I never quite knew what was coming next and it was brilliantly absurd whilst examining the impact of a authoritarian regime.