What an awesome book. I really enjoyed this! This is not hyperbole - I'm honestly having trouble putting into words just how much I enjoyed reading this. I won't go into the plot, as I don't want to give anything away, but at this point whenever I see a new book by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it immediately goes to the TOP of my list of books to read. I was in the middle of reading a bunch of other books, but stopped reading them as soon as I downloaded Ogres.

Thanks to Rebellion Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for me to review!

This is my first time reading something by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but I can safely say that “Ogres” has blown my actual mind.
I am a sucker for books with unusual structures or writing styles, and this book certainly has them, but the stunning story, set in a pseudo-feudalistic, secret-filled future, is all the better for the author’s clever tricks.
It’s hard to nail it down to any particular genre as it cleverly changes style so often. It’s dystopian sci-fi then it’s fantasy with a touch of horror; all this in what is quite a short book. This is testament to Tchaikovsky’s skills as a writer that he can keep control of all these spinning plates to create such a superb story.
With vivid world-building, striking characters and a jaw-dropping ending, “Ogres” is a triumph for Adrian Tchaikovsky and a must-read for sci-fi fans and lovers of nonconformist fiction.

Everyone who has been fortunate enough to read this book has given it 5 stars, guess what ? Me too! I find the authors work a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it, now I am most definitely a fan of marmite and do love a good book, my only complaint being no spiders 😉

Ogres

[Blurb goes here]

At first I was a bit let down by the way this books is written. This is an account of a third person view of events, narrated as if you, the reader, where the protagonist. I know that sounds weird, but thats how it felt to me. Soon after, maybe fifteen percent into the book, I was loving it. Adrian Tchaikovsky is definitely a master at his craft.

I can't say enough good things about Ogres, but maybe this will give you a clue: after reading it, I bought a few of Tchaikovsky's titles, knowing that this is one author worth following.

Thank you for the free copy!

Absolutely incredible story from a master craftsman. Ogres sucked you in from the beginning and refused to let go, culminating in the extraordinary and unexpected ending. I want more!!!

I’ve had such a strange experience with this author. To quote Drake (a first for me) Started from the bottom, now we’re here. Which is to say the first two books I’ve read of his I didn’t like, almost at all. Practically enough to quit reading him for good and yet somehow, I decided third time might be the charm and, lo and behold, it was, for the third book I’ve read of his was excellent, an excellent time travel adventure for a person who doesn’t especially like time travel adventures. It was just so fun and original and clever. In fact, it became my favorite time travel book.
So now here we are, with Ogres, the author’s latest. Another novella, I love that he writes so many novellas, love the format. But fantasy? I wasn’t sure. Time travel may go either way, but fantasy is really, really not a genre for me. I barely sat through the first episode of Wheel of Time. I mean, sure, GOT was great, but that was an exception. And I certainly don’t read fantasy…or apparently, I don’t until Adrian Tchaikovsky writes it. And then, not only do I read it, but I also enjoy it. A lot.
I mean, this novella has a classic fantasy setup…a remarkable village boy, strong and tall, dares to stand up to the evil Ogre landlord and is subsequently jettisoned into a life far outside the small bounds of the only world he knew. A boy who’ll become a man, who’ll become a rebel. A boy with a destiny. A world divided between Ogres and people/Economics/monkeys, the masters and the serfs.
But then, there’s so much more. For one thing, Tchaikovsky (primarily a science fiction author) throws some terrific apocalyptical-genetic sociopolitical backstory in there that’s a total game changer. For another, there’s such a clever plot twist in the end. Ok, the entire ending is clever, awesome, apt, just perfect. It’s like a page out of “this is how you end a book” textbook.
On top of it, the writing’s good, the characters are great, the plot’s intricate, the world-building is impressive, there’s so much to enjoy here. It’s an absolutely awesome adventure with excellent (and subtly presented) message. The sociopolitical commentary is Ogres is…well, it’s exactly how fiction, especially speculative fiction, should handle such things. It’s timely, it’s smart, it’s inspiring. And it’s pure fun too. Not sure what the deal with the tophats is, but then again the Ogres are flamboyant dressers.
Adrian Tchaikovsky once redefined (made me enjoy) time traveling fiction for me, now he’s done the with fantasy. Gotta love it. Read this book. It’s a great read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

I happened to read Ogres right after Elder race, and it is obvious that the two novellas are connected.
The setting is completely different, but they are nonetheless the result of the same reflection on the coexistence of two communities with a different technological level.
In Elder race the point of view is that of the more advanced community, while in Ogres it is that of the challenged one. The results, Tchaikovsky seems to tell us, are equally possible:
either a cohabitation in which the the most advanced group offers protection to the other, or a tyranny from which one can only relieve oneself by laying hands on superior technology by force.

Adrian Tchaikovsky, a singularly prolific author, is one of the most interesting voices in science fiction today, and a master of the novella form, ranging across all SF tropes with fresh and novel results.
I admit that as much as I have a soft spot for his writing, not everything is on the same level. And I have to say that Ogres is not among my favourite novellas.
The idea is very interesting, but there is something unconvincing about it. The first is probably the use of 'you' as the narrator, undoubtedly the most difficult form to handle.
There are of course great examples in literature, but the risk is that the architecture is a bit cumbersome at times.
And then there are some gaps in the story, which leave me a little perplexed and vaguely unsatisfied when I compare it to masterful Elder race.

I thank Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a frank review.

"They've always been there, your masters the ogres...your father and his father have been wise stewards, no pestilence to blacken the fields...You've never known real privation. You have milk, eggs, wool. Meat is for the masters." Torquell's father, Tomas was the village headman. He prepared all accounts for the Landlord. Each bushel, each sheep on the hillside must be counted. "Woe betide the headman who cheats his Landlord, or even miscounts."

Landlord Sir Peter Grimes, a ten foot tall ogre, approached the village in his motorcade with his retinue. The second vehicle contained his favored servants-his beaters-"a quartet of humans with clubs" ready to mete out justice and punish transgressors. "Blessings to the masters for their protection." The Landlords have come to collect the tithes owed to the top 1% of society. All larders and barns must open. A feast for "the ravenous appetites of a pair of ogres" was prepared. Sir Peter's son Gerald, a landlord -in-training, was a cruel, contemptuous ogre, always ready to demean any and all those beneath his station. Torquell, the headman's son was the village's "lovable rogue" whose pranks included plucking apples from a neighbor's orchard to share with a band of outlaws on the fringes of society. The leader of the outcasts, Roben, was "a scarecrow of a man, having survived seven winters in the forest."

A clash between Torquell, the human and Gerald, the ogre ensued. Torquell was forced to flee his village. By losing his temper, the unthinkable was unleashed. He had now been "stripped down to the bones of who [he was]." He had "earned his outlawry...become an outlaw...one of a variety of skins [he'd] wear throughout [his] life."

"Ogres" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is Sci-Fi/ Fantasy at its best, a cautionary tale told through second person narration. It is a social commentary about the haves and have-nots in a society controlled by genetic manipulation. Will the quest for knowledge and enlightenment help reverse the rules that govern the human populace? Highly recommended!

Thank you Rebellion/Solaris and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I so wish to give 0GRES 36 Stars! Not only is this book perfect, but the ending (not trick but nonetheless INTENSE) exploded my imagination. OGRES is seamless. I come to any Adrian Tchaikovsky work expecting profundity, expecting "what we know" to be immensely inverted [think of CHILDREN OF TIME, CHILDREN OF RUIN, ELDER RACE, as examples). I venture to offer that perhaps OGRES is of an even higher order of magnitude. THAT INCREDIBLE INTENSE TURNED-ME-INSIDE-OUT ENDING!!!

Forget everything you think you know about History, Genetics, Society, and the Why-of-life. Start anew.


I also venture to say that this is 5th dimensional quantum- stepped-up Adrian Tchaikovsky.

When I saw the new book by Adrian Tchaikovsky, I had to read it! The author writes unique stories and Ogres sounded fantastic!

There aren't many people who could pull off writing in second person, yet this book is written perfectly. Everything is smooth and works together, the story flows. I'm sure that the writing needed lots of work, but the reading is so pleasurable.

The action takes place in a weird world, when you start reading you think it's sometime around fantasy middle ages just with ogres running the world (I know, odd) and little humans fulfilling their wishes.
It was fascinating to see a place where we couldn't eat animals and their blood could give us rash. That gave me the first clue of what is really going on, but man, when you get to the reveal point it still blows your mind.

There were moments when I thought I'd hate to live in the world as in the book, and moments when I thought that some of the ideas weren't completely bad! It's definitely thought-provoking narrative and I think it's another must-read.

I loved it and it's hard to say anything without writing spoilers. I'll just say that you have to pre-order.

Ogres is a like a master class on genre bending. Just as you think it's one thing it deftly turns into something totally new and unexpected. It presents a bleak world with some fantasy and dystopian trappings that becomes the stage for a heroic struggle against oppression and injustice. At the heart of it all is a great mystery, with Tchaikovsky doing what he does better than almost anyone. Dropping you cold into a strange yet eerily familiar world, slowly peeling back the incongruities, the horrors and the unknown to reveal the shocking hidden truth.

I am new to Adrian Tchaikovsky and have only read five or six of his books, which I have found uniformly excellent. Ogres is no exception. The story hooked me immediately, starting in an unexplained bucolic future, neatly introducing the protagonist, and introducing a catalytic event which precipitates the methodical series of revelations about the setting of the book. It reminded me in some ways of an adult version of John Christopher’s old YA books - perhaps The Prince in Waiting. There are slow reveals and some good twists - some predictable and some less so. The second person voice is often off-putting in books but works well here; I think it is challenging for a writer to execute and a measure of Tchaikovsky’s skill that it isn’t overtly obtrusive but, rather, an effective structural choice. Bravo overall.