I've finished: House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
House of Open Wounds wasn't what I expected.
It's not a middle book in a trilogy, it has an ending. It's not about the mysterious Woods at the edge of Ilmar that were so promenant at the end of City of Last Chances.
It's about my favorite characters from that novel, Yasnic and his God. It's about the healers that are allowed to work their miracles at the periphery of the Pall war camp because they are useful. It dangles the promise of healing in return for pacifism at a humanity that can't stop fighting.
Like City of Last Chances, it's about the people stuck in the gears of the Palleseen Empire's ambitions. Not about kings and emperors.
Tchaikovsky has grown allot at a writer since the Shadow of the Apt series and has written a very compelling story that concentrates on engaging characters.
I couldn't put it down, I listened at every opportunity. It did sometimes feel repetitive and perhaps could have been shorter. But the ending clinched it all and most of it payed off brilliantly.
A friend of mine told me that the characters in this series remind him of Pratchett characters and that House of Open Wounds reminds him of Monstrous Regiment. Now that he has brought my attention to it, I can't unsee it.
Tchaikovsky isn't Pratchett and isn't trying to be Pratchett. He is not trying to be funny, but the social commentary, humanism and satire are reminiscent of Pratchett.
Aus Gesprächen mit Freunden und Bekannten weiß ich, dass ich nicht alleine damit bin, #Realität und #Satire kaum noch unterscheiden zu können.
Passend dazu sagt der Wahl-O-Mat, dass ich die größte Übereinstimmung mit #DiePartei und den #Piraten habe. Wobei die Fragen (und fehlenden Erklärungen) des Wahl-O-Maten mir seltsam oberflächlich erschienen. Das Parlament behalten? Ja? Nennt sich Demokratie?
The Russian government warned Ukraine that Ukraine’s new fleet of F-16 fighter jets will be treated as a "nuclear-capable threat" by Russia, and “nuclear-capable threat” is also the nickname Putin has given his tallywacker.
Today's #WaferThinBook: Faustine by Emma Tennant (1992, 140p.)
A retelling of the Faust legend, set in 1990s London with a female cast. Doormat Muriel becomes rich, sexy, envied Lisa through the machinations of a Satanic Gran. "An entertaining tract for the times," said the TLS.