The Tyrant Philosophers Series by Adrian Tchaikovsky

FROM THE BSFA AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF CITY OF LAST CHANCESCity-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. As their legions scour the world of superstition with the bright flame of reason, so they deliver a mountain of ragged, holed and scorched flesh to the field hospital tents just behind the frontline.Which is where Yasnic, one-time priest, healer and rebel, finds himself... moreFROM THE BSFA AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF CITY OF LAST CHANCESCity-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. As their legions scour the world of superstition with the bright flame of reason, so they deliver a mountain of ragged, holed and scorched flesh to the field hospital tents just behind the frontline.Which is where Yasnic, one-time priest, healer and rebel, finds himself. Reprieved from the gallows and sent to war clutching a box of orphan Gods, he has been sequestered to a particularity unorthodox medical unit.Led by 'the Butcher', an ogre of a man who's a dab hand with a bone-saw and an alchemical tincture, the unit's motley crew of conscripts, healers and orderlies are no strangers to the horrors of war. Their's is an unspeakable elbow-deep in gore they have a first-hand view of the suffering caused by flesh-rending monsters, arcane magical weaponry and embittered enemy soldiers.Entrusted – for now – with saving lives deemed otherwise un-saveable, the field hospital's crew face a precarious existence. Their work with unapproved magic, necromancy, demonology and Yansic's thoroughly illicit Gods could lead to the unit being disbanded, arrested or worse.Beset by enemies within and without, the last thing anyone needs is a miracle…Reviews for City of Last Chances :'Paints a vivid detailed backdrop' SF X'Brilliant chaos ensues' Daily Mail'Some of Tchaikovsky's best prose' SF Crowsnest'An intriguing tangle… ingenious' Locus'Endlessly creative' Patrick Ness'Rich, inventive worldbuilding' Publishers Weekly'Ilmar is vividly alive' David Towsey'A master at the height of his powers' Ian Green'An ambitious epic fantasy read' Grimdark Magazine less

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow's frontline in the Palleseen's relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she's here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly... moreWelcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow's frontline in the Palleseen's relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she's here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly - Gil to her friends - needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade.THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS SERIES'Endlessly creative . . . so much invention peeking around every corner - Patrick Ness'Dense, dark, ingenious, ironic, complex, often funny, and always smart' Locus'A master at the height of his powers. This is epic symphonic fantasy, weaving a breakneck plot through a sumptuously dangerous world' Ian Green less