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House of Open Wounds cover image
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House of Open Wounds cover image
2024
608 pages
Fiction
Fantasy
Adventure

Behind the front lines of a crusade to scour the world of magic, the crew of a field hospital confront the horrors of war. A companion novel to Adrian Tchaikovsky's award-winning fantasy novel 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 front line.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. Theirs is an unspeakable trade: 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 Yasnic'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' SFX'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

Top Reviews
Cat T
February 3rd, 2026
This was my second Adrian Tchaikovsky book (after 'Alien Clay') and his skill in writing such different genres absolutely knocked me off my feet. This is fantasy like I have not seen since the supremely original Malazan series, and it was a true pleasure to spend time in its pages.

I didn't initially realize that this was a sequel to previous adventures, and immediately shot out to buy Book 1. I wasn't lost at all, though - the setup of the society, war, races and 'magic' is perfectly clear, and the characters are easily distinguished despite their complexity. A certain scrapper reminded me of the Sharpe books, which seems a good parallel to this series, while at the same time being very different!

Loved it. I've already been recommending it to those who like in-depth, smart fantasy that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty.
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