A great entry back into fantasy from a master of the craft. Mixing the best parts of both his fantasy and sci-fi novels, Tchaikovsky stands out as a voice to not be reckoned with.

An interesting political fantasy about an occupied city on the cusp of rebellion. Like usual, Tchaikovsky employs excellent and unique world-building and a varied cast of characters that gives the reader a lot of different perspectives from which to view the conflicts throughout the story. There's a good mix of action and intrigue, and the fantasy elements add a extra dash of mystery that keep you guessing about what's going to happen next.

That said, I did have some trouble connecting with the characters. There were so many POVs that I didn't get spend very time with each character before the story jumped to a different one to keep the plot moving. And especially at the beginning of the book, each character's chapters include a little too much backstory dumped into the present narrative, which slowed the pace a bit too much.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it's not my favorite offering from Tchaikovsky.