Days of Shattered Faith

Starred review from December 2, 2024
Enhancing a taut political thriller with magical elements—including a necromantic conspiracy and a giant frog god—Hugo Award winner Tchaikovsky’s brilliant third Tyrant Philosophers fantasy again explores the tension between secular orthodoxy and religious fervor. Following the events of 2023’s House of Open Wounds, the Palleseen nation attempts to bring its rigid rationality to the city of Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters and capital of Usmai, the largest successor state of the death-worshipping Moeribandi Empire. The Palleseen resident ambassador, Sage-Invigilator Angilly, has started an unapproved romantic relationship with Usmai’s heir apparent, Dekamran. When Dekamran’s father, the Alkhand, disappears into a religious cult, Dekamran and his siblings scramble to either take control of or escape the suddenly dangerous city. Angilly must perform the delicate balancing act of supporting Dekamran as Palleseen’s indebted ally while not exposing herself to charges of theological corruption. Crowding the city streets with free-range demons, interdimensional refugees, and giant war beasts, Tchaikovsky succeeds in turning Alkhalend into a stage that showcases the entanglement of the personal and the political in ways both touching and tragic. It’s an impressive feat.

Starred review from February 1, 2025
The Tyrant Philosophers series is unique in that the main recurring character is the Palleseen Sway (PS), a system of government rather than a person. As the series name implies, the tyrants of the PS purport to perfect the kingdoms they absorb by undermining the use of magic and religion. Pragmatism, however, plays its wicked hand and often requires use of the same magic and superstitions to accomplish various goals. In Sage-Invigilator Angilly, readers will find a truly sympathetic Pal who is an ambassador crossing the lines of her mission, having fallen in love with the second son of the Alkhand of the Royal Usmiat Family. The object of her affections, Dekamran, has seen his fortunes rise as his older brother is on the outs with their father after having sided with Loruthi, which lost the war with the PS as described in The House of Open Wounds (2023). Unfortunately, other Pal players have their eyes on the supernatural resources that can be converted to energy used in Palleseen industries. Once again, Tchaikovsky's breezy, ironic style of writing provides a spectrum of characters with good intentions in a world paved with a multitude of hells to be led into.

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