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The Tyrant Philosophers #4
Pretenders to the Throne of God
Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller returns to a world steeped in magic – and the Tyrant Philosophers' campaign to bring reason, logic and 'perfection' to it.
Eres Ffenegh - “the City on the Back of a Crab” - is the next state slated for conquest by the Palleseen, but its citizens won't give up sovereignty easily, and the siege has now dragged into the harsh Eresi winter. The defenders – both locals and Pal renegades – hold an uneasy alliance against the enemy at the gates, while the Pal army is constantly looking over its shoulder for the next self-destructive dictate of their government back home.
Within the city, Devil Jack is the apprentice to the notorious conjurer and bawd known as the Widow, a good man driven to bargaining with hell to get back what he's lost. Meanwhile Kiffel ea Leachan is the city's champion, a child of privilege who's just lost everything to the invaders. We follow the ups and downs of both as they try to survive the siege and make their own destinies in a world that's cut them loose.
Outside the city, the Pals have been desperately waiting for reinforcements so they can finally take the city, but when new soldiers finally march in with the winter it's the worst kind of help, enough to damn the entire army.
THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS
1. City of Last Chances: portrait of Ilmar, a city under Palleseen occupation
2. House of Open Wounds: portrait of the Palleseen war machine at work.
3. Days of Shattered Faith: portrait of a kingdom consumed, piece-by-piece, by Palleseen diplomatic subterfuge.
3.1 Lives of Bitter Rain: a prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, portrait of a life in the Palleseen diplomatic corps.
4. Pretenders to the Throne of God: portrait of a city under siege.
5. The Grave of Perfection: will take us back to Ilmar, the 'City of Last Chances' where our story began.
Eres Ffenegh - “the City on the Back of a Crab” - is the next state slated for conquest by the Palleseen, but its citizens won't give up sovereignty easily, and the siege has now dragged into the harsh Eresi winter. The defenders – both locals and Pal renegades – hold an uneasy alliance against the enemy at the gates, while the Pal army is constantly looking over its shoulder for the next self-destructive dictate of their government back home.
Within the city, Devil Jack is the apprentice to the notorious conjurer and bawd known as the Widow, a good man driven to bargaining with hell to get back what he's lost. Meanwhile Kiffel ea Leachan is the city's champion, a child of privilege who's just lost everything to the invaders. We follow the ups and downs of both as they try to survive the siege and make their own destinies in a world that's cut them loose.
Outside the city, the Pals have been desperately waiting for reinforcements so they can finally take the city, but when new soldiers finally march in with the winter it's the worst kind of help, enough to damn the entire army.
THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS
1. City of Last Chances: portrait of Ilmar, a city under Palleseen occupation
2. House of Open Wounds: portrait of the Palleseen war machine at work.
3. Days of Shattered Faith: portrait of a kingdom consumed, piece-by-piece, by Palleseen diplomatic subterfuge.
3.1 Lives of Bitter Rain: a prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, portrait of a life in the Palleseen diplomatic corps.
4. Pretenders to the Throne of God: portrait of a city under siege.
5. The Grave of Perfection: will take us back to Ilmar, the 'City of Last Chances' where our story began.
493 pages, Hardcover
First published February 12, 2026
About the author
Adrian Tchaikovsky
212 books19.7k followersADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.
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July 2, 2026
I was trying to figure out why I like Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s fantasy books so much when normally I tend to be a bit lukewarm on the genre. And I think for me the trick is in how mature and adult Tchaikovsky’s fantasy seems. Not that “mature” or “adult” that really is little but feeding your inner adolescent – the writing style that relies on overindulgence in gratuitous violence and sexualization — but actual calm and measured writing that is grounded and competent, without any kind of gratuitous anything, with no gimmicks or experimentation or extra flourishes, but just a practiced and skilled storytelling.
This is the fourth novel set in the world where the ever-expansionist state of Pallesand is in the constant war to bring usually unwilling other states under the Palleseen Sway, adding more and more pieces to the ever-growing empire. Pallesand is built on the ideology of “perfection”, on bringing order and rationality and supposed meritocracy to those places that are still “imperfect”, feudal, worshipping very real gods and refusing the subservient position. The expansion seems to be unstoppable in its slow bureaucratic advance aided by brutal conquests and generations of constant wars. But this relentless efficient rationality, running into the inconvenience of magic and large and small divinities and the stubborn resistance of people to being “perfected”, enslaved and murdered in the name of “perfection”, inevitably absorbs exactly what it fights against — as long as it can justify the means and ends, and when those get too inconvenient, is very efficient at brutally disappearing the inconvenient reminders of necessary “imperfection”.
These books are really mosaics, equally divided between a ensemble cast of characters from all sides. Some we have met before, many are new, and the setting is brand new, although still in the world we have familiarized ourselves over the last few books (which you really should read before starting this one as at this point treating them as standalones would not do justice to this series).
Eres Ffenegh, a city built of the back of a long-dead crab god, is besieged by the Palleseen, former allies turned conquerors in the way these things often do. There are demons and the Pandaemonium, and the Pope of the Fisher God, and necromancy with the undead army, and the Hospitaliers under the blessing which is also a curse, and the struggles of the hierarchy - be it hereditary or bureaucratic. And above it all, it is a story of people doing what they can to survive and sometimes bend the rules a little or to the breaking point, and power and oppression and subjugation and the small fires of resistance of all kinds.
It’s very human to its core even if not all the characters are.
There’s both seriousness and slight humor, and a lot of thoughtful empathy. And if you ever find any justifications for any kind of wars, then this series is great for persuading you otherwise.
And you may reconsider the concept of “wickedness and misery”. And it’s a good thing. Seriously.
4.5 stars.
——————
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA | Head of Zeus for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“In the end the greatest threat to Palleseen perfection was not gods. It was not cults, ancient folkways, opposing nations. Not sorcerer-lords or archmages; not the temptation of demons or the ambitions of other polities. It was that every single one of them knew exactly what perfection looked like, and no two of them saw the same thing in their mind’s eye.”
This is the fourth novel set in the world where the ever-expansionist state of Pallesand is in the constant war to bring usually unwilling other states under the Palleseen Sway, adding more and more pieces to the ever-growing empire. Pallesand is built on the ideology of “perfection”, on bringing order and rationality and supposed meritocracy to those places that are still “imperfect”, feudal, worshipping very real gods and refusing the subservient position. The expansion seems to be unstoppable in its slow bureaucratic advance aided by brutal conquests and generations of constant wars. But this relentless efficient rationality, running into the inconvenience of magic and large and small divinities and the stubborn resistance of people to being “perfected”, enslaved and murdered in the name of “perfection”, inevitably absorbs exactly what it fights against — as long as it can justify the means and ends, and when those get too inconvenient, is very efficient at brutally disappearing the inconvenient reminders of necessary “imperfection”.
“The thing is that they’re *useful*, even as they pull threads from the fabric of perfection. They corrupt because they can help. But to accept their help you have to accept the rest: sharing a world with these ideas and principles that cannot be filed neatly away in the Commission’s relentless ordering of the world.
Also, Dantell is well aware, sometimes their usefulness is exactly why you cast them off, afterwards. Because the things you have them do are things you don’t want to think about, and their continuing presence only serves as a shameful reminder.”
These books are really mosaics, equally divided between a ensemble cast of characters from all sides. Some we have met before, many are new, and the setting is brand new, although still in the world we have familiarized ourselves over the last few books (which you really should read before starting this one as at this point treating them as standalones would not do justice to this series).
Eres Ffenegh, a city built of the back of a long-dead crab god, is besieged by the Palleseen, former allies turned conquerors in the way these things often do. There are demons and the Pandaemonium, and the Pope of the Fisher God, and necromancy with the undead army, and the Hospitaliers under the blessing which is also a curse, and the struggles of the hierarchy - be it hereditary or bureaucratic. And above it all, it is a story of people doing what they can to survive and sometimes bend the rules a little or to the breaking point, and power and oppression and subjugation and the small fires of resistance of all kinds.
It’s very human to its core even if not all the characters are.
There’s both seriousness and slight humor, and a lot of thoughtful empathy. And if you ever find any justifications for any kind of wars, then this series is great for persuading you otherwise.
And you may reconsider the concept of “wickedness and misery”. And it’s a good thing. Seriously.
“You can’t escape me, run where you will. Only know that, where you wander, wickedness will follow.”
“And misery?” he asks, though his chest is so tight he can hardly get the words out.
“And joy,” she says. Joy in wickedness? Joy in misery? A hard-edged joy if Hell’s own revolutionary feels it, but his life’s been short on joy of any kind, and so he’ll take it.
4.5 stars.
——————
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA | Head of Zeus for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 21, 2026
Tchaikovsky notes in the brief afterward that he really enjoys writing this series; that makes me happy because I love reading them and hope for many more! The one common thread in the series character wise is Yasnic, AKA Maric Jack, AKA Happy Jack, and here, AKA Devil Jack. Many other characters from previous volumes also periodically appear in the series, however, and Tchaikovsky brings back one of my favorites here--Banders, now AKA Anders.
Pretenders to the Throne of God takes place in a new part of the world, Eres Ffenegh, a city build upon the top of a dead crab god, but also a city under threat from the Palleseen Sway. Eres Ffenegh, once a pronounced city of learning and magic, has become something of a backwater for the last few centuries, and roughly 60 years prior to the story here, became a colony of the Lor Sway, primarily due to it providing a good, strategic port. Well, the Pals 'liberated' Eres Ffenegh after the war (the big Lor/Palleseen one), but the town rebelled and kicked the Pals out. When the story starts, the Pals have been besieging Eres Ffenegh for many months, but the city still holds; all the Pals have to siege with are the remains of the garrison they had occupying the city before the revolt. So, like the last volume of the series (Days of Shattered Faith), a different city, different culture, and also one under threat by the Pals.
Perhaps the thing I enjoy most about the series (besides the wit and charm) concerns the world building and the Palleseen Sway. The Pals were once a 'tribe' if you will of sea raiders/traders until roughly 300 years ago they united in their drive for perfection. The Pals ditched their own god, the Fisher King, and sought to rationalize their society. Religion must be stamped out and order established, not just in their own lands, but everywhere. Thus, for the last 300 years, Palleseen, lead by their 'temporary commission of ways and means' (temporary until perfection is achieved) have subjugated other peoples and lands brutally. Fighting the Lor Sway, however, started (or accelerated) some changes in the Pal empire, however. The Lor proved to be a formidable foe indeed, and many new 'specializations' emerged in the Pal war machine to subjugate them, things like necromancers, demonologists and other arcane things supposedly rationalized of their superstitions. Another change occurred due to the 'revival' of their old Fisher King god and the healing God of which Yasnic was the only priest and follower when the entire saga began.
Well, the Palleseen soldiers, being rational after all, eventually worked a deal with the healing God; in the case they ever receive mortal wounds in battle, their 'oath' kicks in and they not only are healed, but become extreme passivists. By extreme, I mean that if they intentionally harm another person, their old, mortal wounds will return with interest. Well, as you might imagine, quite a few soldiers of the Pals took such an oath and when the Lor war concluded, many of these soldiers found their way home, presenting the ruling Philosophers with a problem-- what to do with them, along with the new followers of the Fisher King? Well, they rounded them up in camps, exterminated them and then wove them out of their history. Then, doubling down, the ruling Philosophers/professors decided that many of the special, arcane new sciences developed during the war were also imperfect and needed to be culled.
Whew, long set up, but key for the story here. The 'rebels' in Eres Ffenegh contain not only the city's inhabitants, but Pal 'traitors' of both the passivist and Fisher King sort, who know they will be killed sooner or later by their own country. The Palleseen Sway is definitely showing some cracks at the seams! It seems many of the old sea cults/gods have been uniting to defy the Pals, which is why requested reinforcements to the siege at Eres Ffenegh have not arrived. Further, the former garrison Pal force has several 'specialists' who know their days are numbered and shortly after the story starts, they are joined by the Lich Queen, a Pal officer who marched 1500 dead soldiers from the hinterlands (the Old Empire) and just wants to go back home.
So, the story centers on Eres Ffenegh but remains well nested in the overall saga. Devil Jack came to Eres Ffenegh to somehow bring his lover back from Hell (she is/was a demon) and now works in a brothel as an apprentice to the Madam there, and elderly Allorian. Banders/Anders is also on Eres Ffenegh where she serves as the 'mouth of the seas', or the direct underling for the Pope of the Fisher King. I loved the drama, the humor, the no-so subtle jabs at imperialism, the humanness-- Tchaikovsky really hit his stride with this series. 4.5 glowing stars, rounding up!!
Pretenders to the Throne of God takes place in a new part of the world, Eres Ffenegh, a city build upon the top of a dead crab god, but also a city under threat from the Palleseen Sway. Eres Ffenegh, once a pronounced city of learning and magic, has become something of a backwater for the last few centuries, and roughly 60 years prior to the story here, became a colony of the Lor Sway, primarily due to it providing a good, strategic port. Well, the Pals 'liberated' Eres Ffenegh after the war (the big Lor/Palleseen one), but the town rebelled and kicked the Pals out. When the story starts, the Pals have been besieging Eres Ffenegh for many months, but the city still holds; all the Pals have to siege with are the remains of the garrison they had occupying the city before the revolt. So, like the last volume of the series (Days of Shattered Faith), a different city, different culture, and also one under threat by the Pals.
Perhaps the thing I enjoy most about the series (besides the wit and charm) concerns the world building and the Palleseen Sway. The Pals were once a 'tribe' if you will of sea raiders/traders until roughly 300 years ago they united in their drive for perfection. The Pals ditched their own god, the Fisher King, and sought to rationalize their society. Religion must be stamped out and order established, not just in their own lands, but everywhere. Thus, for the last 300 years, Palleseen, lead by their 'temporary commission of ways and means' (temporary until perfection is achieved) have subjugated other peoples and lands brutally. Fighting the Lor Sway, however, started (or accelerated) some changes in the Pal empire, however. The Lor proved to be a formidable foe indeed, and many new 'specializations' emerged in the Pal war machine to subjugate them, things like necromancers, demonologists and other arcane things supposedly rationalized of their superstitions. Another change occurred due to the 'revival' of their old Fisher King god and the healing God of which Yasnic was the only priest and follower when the entire saga began.
Well, the Palleseen soldiers, being rational after all, eventually worked a deal with the healing God; in the case they ever receive mortal wounds in battle, their 'oath' kicks in and they not only are healed, but become extreme passivists. By extreme, I mean that if they intentionally harm another person, their old, mortal wounds will return with interest. Well, as you might imagine, quite a few soldiers of the Pals took such an oath and when the Lor war concluded, many of these soldiers found their way home, presenting the ruling Philosophers with a problem-- what to do with them, along with the new followers of the Fisher King? Well, they rounded them up in camps, exterminated them and then wove them out of their history. Then, doubling down, the ruling Philosophers/professors decided that many of the special, arcane new sciences developed during the war were also imperfect and needed to be culled.
Whew, long set up, but key for the story here. The 'rebels' in Eres Ffenegh contain not only the city's inhabitants, but Pal 'traitors' of both the passivist and Fisher King sort, who know they will be killed sooner or later by their own country. The Palleseen Sway is definitely showing some cracks at the seams! It seems many of the old sea cults/gods have been uniting to defy the Pals, which is why requested reinforcements to the siege at Eres Ffenegh have not arrived. Further, the former garrison Pal force has several 'specialists' who know their days are numbered and shortly after the story starts, they are joined by the Lich Queen, a Pal officer who marched 1500 dead soldiers from the hinterlands (the Old Empire) and just wants to go back home.
So, the story centers on Eres Ffenegh but remains well nested in the overall saga. Devil Jack came to Eres Ffenegh to somehow bring his lover back from Hell (she is/was a demon) and now works in a brothel as an apprentice to the Madam there, and elderly Allorian. Banders/Anders is also on Eres Ffenegh where she serves as the 'mouth of the seas', or the direct underling for the Pope of the Fisher King. I loved the drama, the humor, the no-so subtle jabs at imperialism, the humanness-- Tchaikovsky really hit his stride with this series. 4.5 glowing stars, rounding up!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Jack at his finest 👌🏻
"Pretenders to the Throne of Gods" is a story of a siege. Eres Ffenegh is about to be occupied by the Palleseen army. In the city walls locals and Palleseen renegades are trying to do what they can to achieve some compromise and save their homes.
It's not a story only about politics and tactics. Tchaikovsky once again shows a complete picture of a town through the eyes of its inhabitants. Each of them gets its own narrative that connects and intertwine with the others. I'm still greatly impressed how the author creates such stories, and from small pieces shows a full panorama of Eres Ffeneghm, as if it was its own character.
My favourite part was the story of Jack, who every time just happens to be in the worst place possible. His decisions, even though arising from his own wishes and needs, are impacting everyone immensely. After the ending, I really wonder where the story will take us in the next volume..
Overall, "Pretenders to the Throne of God" is another great work written by Tchaikovsky in which you can feel the ongoing pressure. This time it's the siege that impacts the city's resources and makes people act defensively, emotionally and brutally. There's the constant sense of time running out and and for sure there's no time to carefully think through every single decision...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
"Pretenders to the Throne of Gods" is a story of a siege. Eres Ffenegh is about to be occupied by the Palleseen army. In the city walls locals and Palleseen renegades are trying to do what they can to achieve some compromise and save their homes.
It's not a story only about politics and tactics. Tchaikovsky once again shows a complete picture of a town through the eyes of its inhabitants. Each of them gets its own narrative that connects and intertwine with the others. I'm still greatly impressed how the author creates such stories, and from small pieces shows a full panorama of Eres Ffeneghm, as if it was its own character.
My favourite part was the story of Jack, who every time just happens to be in the worst place possible. His decisions, even though arising from his own wishes and needs, are impacting everyone immensely. After the ending, I really wonder where the story will take us in the next volume..
Overall, "Pretenders to the Throne of God" is another great work written by Tchaikovsky in which you can feel the ongoing pressure. This time it's the siege that impacts the city's resources and makes people act defensively, emotionally and brutally. There's the constant sense of time running out and and for sure there's no time to carefully think through every single decision...
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 18, 2026
Can I give this ten stars?
Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite authors. The Tyrant Philosophers is my favourite of his series. Yasnic is my favourite of his characters. So give me a book that centres around him, and what can I do but love it?
I'm always amazed at how this world can balance so many stories but still feel cohesive. I'm amazed at how I care about every character, not just including but especially the most flawed. I thought the previous books in the series were faultless, but this might be my new favourite.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing, but mostly thanks to AT for creating such a masterpiece. (I swear I'd read a book of Yasnic and God watching paint dry.) More, please!
Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite authors. The Tyrant Philosophers is my favourite of his series. Yasnic is my favourite of his characters. So give me a book that centres around him, and what can I do but love it?
I'm always amazed at how this world can balance so many stories but still feel cohesive. I'm amazed at how I care about every character, not just including but especially the most flawed. I thought the previous books in the series were faultless, but this might be my new favourite.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing, but mostly thanks to AT for creating such a masterpiece. (I swear I'd read a book of Yasnic and God watching paint dry.) More, please!
March 5, 2026
THERES ANOTHER ONE????????????
🎉 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
YES AND IT’S FANTASTIC
YOU GUYS
THIS BOOK IS TOO GOOD
(Look I’m not sure why I got access to this book at the library before Goodreads says that it came out, but whatever it is I read it was fantastic and I’m pretty sure it’s the normal published version so I’m doing a review for that)
I rented and raved about house of open wounds, and this, the fourth book in the series, is around equally as amazing, with extreme fun and awesome world building and great characters and an interesting setting and love to hate bad guys and really satisfying epic resolution to multiple complex plot threads!
I feel like this one was much more dramatic and in your face than the third one or the first, but the payoff was excellent and the entire time I was just kicking my feet with joy at how amazing of a read this was. I queued up phenomenal soundtracks from my favorite movies just so I could be more fully immersed in the extremely goodness.
I want to email Tchaikovsky and tell him what a great three weeks this has been. I want to scream at everybody about how cool Demons are. I want to quote some wry British humor about the subtle genius of the Pals as the villains. I want to whale about seeing characters as I thought we left behind pop-up again, more interesting than ever. If I don’t calm down this review will be 10 pages long. Heck, I apparently highlighted 8% = over 40 pages of the book, so I guess I really do have an inordinate amount to say about how much I liked it.
I wasn’t even expecting a fourth book in the series, and it ended up being so much of a treat that I am over the moon, look there’s me 🚀 🌕. Current mood:
Extremely excited for the fifth book and ready to yodel over rooftops and mountains and into the depths of hell about how excellent the series is. Misery and wickedness!
🎉 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
YES AND IT’S FANTASTIC
YOU GUYS
THIS BOOK IS TOO GOOD
(Look I’m not sure why I got access to this book at the library before Goodreads says that it came out, but whatever it is I read it was fantastic and I’m pretty sure it’s the normal published version so I’m doing a review for that)
I rented and raved about house of open wounds, and this, the fourth book in the series, is around equally as amazing, with extreme fun and awesome world building and great characters and an interesting setting and love to hate bad guys and really satisfying epic resolution to multiple complex plot threads!
I feel like this one was much more dramatic and in your face than the third one or the first, but the payoff was excellent and the entire time I was just kicking my feet with joy at how amazing of a read this was. I queued up phenomenal soundtracks from my favorite movies just so I could be more fully immersed in the extremely goodness.
I want to email Tchaikovsky and tell him what a great three weeks this has been. I want to scream at everybody about how cool Demons are. I want to quote some wry British humor about the subtle genius of the Pals as the villains. I want to whale about seeing characters as I thought we left behind pop-up again, more interesting than ever. If I don’t calm down this review will be 10 pages long. Heck, I apparently highlighted 8% = over 40 pages of the book, so I guess I really do have an inordinate amount to say about how much I liked it.
I wasn’t even expecting a fourth book in the series, and it ended up being so much of a treat that I am over the moon, look there’s me 🚀 🌕. Current mood:
Extremely excited for the fifth book and ready to yodel over rooftops and mountains and into the depths of hell about how excellent the series is. Misery and wickedness!
March 11, 2026
Absolutely amazing, as if there was any doubt. If you've loved the first 3 books in this series you will definitely love this one.
As with the previous books, expect to find some returning characters. One of those characters was expected but there were several familiar faces that I hadn’t expected to see again and that was a pleasant surprise. As for the tone of this story, I'd say it feels a bit like books one and two combined, with the plethora of many point of view characters like in City amongst a chaotic battlefront like in House.
Despite all of the returning characters, my favorite stand out in Pretenders is definitely The Widow. If there is ever a live action adaptation, please let her be played by Gwendolin Christy.
While my favorite of the series is still House of Open Wounds, I can't give any of these books less than 5 stars. They are just too much fun and do such s great job at poking fun of European imperialism. Tchaikovsky may not excel at making any one character particularly in depth, but all of these characters in the Tyrant Philosophers series are incredibly colorful and so full of delightful quotes and memorable motivations that I can't help but love all of them.
I cannot wait to see what he will do with the 5th and final (maybe) installment.
5/5
As with the previous books, expect to find some returning characters. One of those characters was expected but there were several familiar faces that I hadn’t expected to see again and that was a pleasant surprise. As for the tone of this story, I'd say it feels a bit like books one and two combined, with the plethora of many point of view characters like in City amongst a chaotic battlefront like in House.
Despite all of the returning characters, my favorite stand out in Pretenders is definitely The Widow. If there is ever a live action adaptation, please let her be played by Gwendolin Christy.
While my favorite of the series is still House of Open Wounds, I can't give any of these books less than 5 stars. They are just too much fun and do such s great job at poking fun of European imperialism. Tchaikovsky may not excel at making any one character particularly in depth, but all of these characters in the Tyrant Philosophers series are incredibly colorful and so full of delightful quotes and memorable motivations that I can't help but love all of them.
I cannot wait to see what he will do with the 5th and final (maybe) installment.
5/5
April 17, 2026
It's yet another story about totalitarian Pals at the gates of a doomed, defiant city (sorta-Dublin?), but Mr T gets super-metal about it this time. I mean, even if you somehow ignore the title, Pretenders boasts The Lich Queen, God, The Kings Below, a Lycanthropist, and Devil Jack, and that's just the Dramatis Personae. Not everything hits that promised intensity, but Pretenders takes some big swings and mostly lands them, horns held high. 4.5 rounded up for attitude.
———————
Perhaps unsurprisingly for the fourth book in a series, Pretenders doesn't have particular pretensions to breaking new ground, and while that sounds like a biting criticism, it's really not. There's the exotic-but-familiar-cityscape setting from Last Chances and Bitter Rain, the Palleseen outcasts-and-misfits from Open Wounds (and Bitter Rain again), the ubiquitous light touch of (doomed) romance, plus cameos from every other entry so far. So to rights it should feel like a retread, the literary equivalent of the clip shows that would pad out old 23-episode TV seasons. Instead, Tchaikovsky somehow manages to make it all feel natural, an organic summation of almost all the themes and characters he's been picking at for two thousand-plus pages. War turns its heroes into monsters, forgiveness and revenge twist around each other until they cannot be torn apart, and the wretched of the earth finally throwing off their shackles is appropriately both utterly liberating and absolutely terrifying. There are some memorable new additions, especially the luckless champion Kiff, and circumstances have twisted some returnees like the Pope of Tides into such unexpected shapes they might as well be wholly new, but much of the book's pleasure lies in seeing how the author fits all the existing puzzle pieces together just...so. It's surprisingly clever, and occasionally absolutely seamless — my only real complaint is that you have to wonder whether Tchaikovsky has left himself enough ideas in the cupboard to pull off one last book, especially one set back where it all began in Ilmar.
All these callbacks and valedictory returns make Pretenders sound almost cozy, but it really is remarkably metal when it wants to be. There are several sequences of urban warfare that are as unsparing as the most harrowing passages of Open Wounds, each of them taut enough to make me momentarily forget that this can't possibly be the end because there's still 300 pages to go. Some of the action is admittedly a bit abstract in character, particularly various goings-on in the Kingdoms Below, but keeping that conflict off the page is probably the right call — I'd love to see Tchaikovsky try to write literal battles in Hell, but he's right to trust the reader's imagination here. That said, the start-stop nature of the various battles does leave Pretenders with occasional pacing problems, with some bagginess setting in at the two-thirds mark. I guess needing to shed fifty pages is its own homage to earlier books, especially City of Last Chances, but I hope the focus can tighten up just a little for the last entry.
Still, there's so much to love here: the ineffable poetry-and-brine Irishness of Eres Ffenegh; ballistics in curved space; the justice (?) of finally giving in to revenge; the very idea of a city built on the bones of a dead god; everything to do with poor poor old Varney, Pretender's own Chekhov's gun. And above all, no kings. I'm ready to see the end.
———————
Perhaps unsurprisingly for the fourth book in a series, Pretenders doesn't have particular pretensions to breaking new ground, and while that sounds like a biting criticism, it's really not. There's the exotic-but-familiar-cityscape setting from Last Chances and Bitter Rain, the Palleseen outcasts-and-misfits from Open Wounds (and Bitter Rain again), the ubiquitous light touch of (doomed) romance, plus cameos from every other entry so far. So to rights it should feel like a retread, the literary equivalent of the clip shows that would pad out old 23-episode TV seasons. Instead, Tchaikovsky somehow manages to make it all feel natural, an organic summation of almost all the themes and characters he's been picking at for two thousand-plus pages. War turns its heroes into monsters, forgiveness and revenge twist around each other until they cannot be torn apart, and the wretched of the earth finally throwing off their shackles is appropriately both utterly liberating and absolutely terrifying. There are some memorable new additions, especially the luckless champion Kiff, and circumstances have twisted some returnees like the Pope of Tides into such unexpected shapes they might as well be wholly new, but much of the book's pleasure lies in seeing how the author fits all the existing puzzle pieces together just...so. It's surprisingly clever, and occasionally absolutely seamless — my only real complaint is that you have to wonder whether Tchaikovsky has left himself enough ideas in the cupboard to pull off one last book, especially one set back where it all began in Ilmar.
All these callbacks and valedictory returns make Pretenders sound almost cozy, but it really is remarkably metal when it wants to be. There are several sequences of urban warfare that are as unsparing as the most harrowing passages of Open Wounds, each of them taut enough to make me momentarily forget that this can't possibly be the end because there's still 300 pages to go. Some of the action is admittedly a bit abstract in character, particularly various goings-on in the Kingdoms Below, but keeping that conflict off the page is probably the right call — I'd love to see Tchaikovsky try to write literal battles in Hell, but he's right to trust the reader's imagination here. That said, the start-stop nature of the various battles does leave Pretenders with occasional pacing problems, with some bagginess setting in at the two-thirds mark. I guess needing to shed fifty pages is its own homage to earlier books, especially City of Last Chances, but I hope the focus can tighten up just a little for the last entry.
Still, there's so much to love here: the ineffable poetry-and-brine Irishness of Eres Ffenegh; ballistics in curved space; the justice (?) of finally giving in to revenge; the very idea of a city built on the bones of a dead god; everything to do with poor poor old Varney, Pretender's own Chekhov's gun. And above all, no kings. I'm ready to see the end.
May 2, 2026
I was weak when I made heave tremble. I was the weakest thing in all the world. If I was ever strong, it was falling taught me strength, just as love taught me wickedness.
May 2, 2026
Hit after hit after hit - this series is the perfect example of "all killer no filler".
I'm sure I am not alone in finding that it gets harder and harder to talk about and review books the further into a series you get, but I can easily say that this books takes all the best elements of each of the previous titles, adds a bit of sad yearning, a demon brothel and an undead army, and it connects the somewhat more disparate ideas of this series together in a way that felt very harmonious and satisfying.
Tchaikovsky really knows how to weave a few tales into one – this goes for both this book specifically and the series as a whole.
He’s created a world that feels so large by focusing on only very small parts of it and letting us fill in the blanks. I will say, directly to Adrian here if he (or his publisher) see this, I get why you haven’t done it yet, but I would really like to see a map of the world once the series is over. Pretty please!
But yes, this book was great. The pacing was perfect, the character pay-offs were superbly handled, the concepts explored were sophisticated and the climax literally had me up out of my chair in excitement!
I adore this series, and I will forever stand by this being Tchaikovsky’s finest body of work. I know we have at least one more book, The Grave of Perfection, which has potential to be the finale going by the title and synopsis, but I wouldn’t be upset at all if this series continued indefinitely.
I'm sure I am not alone in finding that it gets harder and harder to talk about and review books the further into a series you get, but I can easily say that this books takes all the best elements of each of the previous titles, adds a bit of sad yearning, a demon brothel and an undead army, and it connects the somewhat more disparate ideas of this series together in a way that felt very harmonious and satisfying.
Tchaikovsky really knows how to weave a few tales into one – this goes for both this book specifically and the series as a whole.
He’s created a world that feels so large by focusing on only very small parts of it and letting us fill in the blanks. I will say, directly to Adrian here if he (or his publisher) see this, I get why you haven’t done it yet, but I would really like to see a map of the world once the series is over. Pretty please!
But yes, this book was great. The pacing was perfect, the character pay-offs were superbly handled, the concepts explored were sophisticated and the climax literally had me up out of my chair in excitement!
I adore this series, and I will forever stand by this being Tchaikovsky’s finest body of work. I know we have at least one more book, The Grave of Perfection, which has potential to be the finale going by the title and synopsis, but I wouldn’t be upset at all if this series continued indefinitely.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher.
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
🔲 well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
✅ hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
🔲 gripping
✅ exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
✅ even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
✅ inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
The pacing in this series is so slow every time but the ending of this one was just too good to not give it five stars.
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
🔲 well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
✅ hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
🔲 gripping
✅ exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
✅ even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
✅ inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
The pacing in this series is so slow every time but the ending of this one was just too good to not give it five stars.
December 8, 2025
4.5 stars
Adrian Tchaikvosky gifts us with another delightful installment of The Tyrant Philosophers series.
I have such trust in Tchaikovsky. I don’t know what sort of demonic contract he has made to be able to write such spectacular fantasy books in such a short span of time, but everything he touches turns to gold.
The dramatically titled Pretenders to the Throne of God takes place in the winter of a city called Eres Ffenegh, which is built on the back of a giant, dead, crab god. The colonial Pal forces see the city as yet another minor addition in their quest to “Perfect” the world. The city should be a relatively straightforward conquest, but a confluence of influences—alternately magical, mundane, noble, spurious, evil, and chaotic—change the course of events. It’s everything you would expect from this series, but it never feels stale. The characters (new and old) are exquisitely written, the worldbuilding is exciting and coherent, the plot is masterfully woven, and the themes are poignant.
I noted in my review of Days of Shattered Faith that the only way in which the series has suffered as it continues is the writing. Tchaikovsky proved himself a wordsmith in the first two books. His prose is straightforward and efficient when it needs to be, but he balances the economy with sly wordplay and profound beauty. He appears to be in a rush to get the story out onto the page in the past few books (understandable—I and many others are hungry to consume it), but this has come at the expense of his prose. It’s still effective but lacks the special quality of earlier books and suffers from permissive editing that refuses to reign in his constant use of superfluous adverbs such as “honestly” and “truly” and “probably.” The word “honestly” appears eighty-five times, and eighty of those times it serves no purpose whatsoever in the except to distract. It drove me up-the-wall. I was able to overlook it only because everything else about this book is in a league of its own. And there are still glimmers of the wit and beauty in his prose, so I know that if he slowed down a bit and hired a better editor the writing improve markedly.
Don’t let my pedantic griping keep you from enjoying this book. I complain out of love, because I know he is capable of producing superb prose. I loved every minute of it and I cannot wait for the final installment.
Thank you, THANK YOU to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Adrian Tchaikvosky gifts us with another delightful installment of The Tyrant Philosophers series.
I have such trust in Tchaikovsky. I don’t know what sort of demonic contract he has made to be able to write such spectacular fantasy books in such a short span of time, but everything he touches turns to gold.
The dramatically titled Pretenders to the Throne of God takes place in the winter of a city called Eres Ffenegh, which is built on the back of a giant, dead, crab god. The colonial Pal forces see the city as yet another minor addition in their quest to “Perfect” the world. The city should be a relatively straightforward conquest, but a confluence of influences—alternately magical, mundane, noble, spurious, evil, and chaotic—change the course of events. It’s everything you would expect from this series, but it never feels stale. The characters (new and old) are exquisitely written, the worldbuilding is exciting and coherent, the plot is masterfully woven, and the themes are poignant.
I noted in my review of Days of Shattered Faith that the only way in which the series has suffered as it continues is the writing. Tchaikovsky proved himself a wordsmith in the first two books. His prose is straightforward and efficient when it needs to be, but he balances the economy with sly wordplay and profound beauty. He appears to be in a rush to get the story out onto the page in the past few books (understandable—I and many others are hungry to consume it), but this has come at the expense of his prose. It’s still effective but lacks the special quality of earlier books and suffers from permissive editing that refuses to reign in his constant use of superfluous adverbs such as “honestly” and “truly” and “probably.” The word “honestly” appears eighty-five times, and eighty of those times it serves no purpose whatsoever in the except to distract. It drove me up-the-wall. I was able to overlook it only because everything else about this book is in a league of its own. And there are still glimmers of the wit and beauty in his prose, so I know that if he slowed down a bit and hired a better editor the writing improve markedly.
Don’t let my pedantic griping keep you from enjoying this book. I complain out of love, because I know he is capable of producing superb prose. I loved every minute of it and I cannot wait for the final installment.
Thank you, THANK YOU to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Grateful to NetGalley and the author for the ARC of this book.
I have always preferred to wait for published books so the masses could pass the judgement, based on which I can pre-decide if a book was good or not and I just recently started discovering the wonders of ARCs - I realised that it is way better to read ARCs because I am not pre-biased about a book.
This book caught me off guard and I now want to be friends with the author. This kind of sardonic sense of humour is exactly my world. "Nobody ever got stabbed in the Lower City without someone calling them Friend right beforehand". *chef's kiss 🤌🏻*
I had some trouble with the unusual names at first, but the writing is so well-explained that I was still able to easily follow the story line.
I also really enjoyed the cuts between the seemingly unrelated or just losely-related scenes so far, waiting for everything to come together nicely. The writing style is somwehere between Joe Abercrombie and Terry Pratchett - what more one can wish for?
I also just realised when writing my GR review that this book is the 4th in a series, so I am now debating if I should abandon it half-way through and get the whole series to start over, or finish this book and then read the first 3 - because I am absolutely certain that I want to read everything from this author now.
I have always preferred to wait for published books so the masses could pass the judgement, based on which I can pre-decide if a book was good or not and I just recently started discovering the wonders of ARCs - I realised that it is way better to read ARCs because I am not pre-biased about a book.
This book caught me off guard and I now want to be friends with the author. This kind of sardonic sense of humour is exactly my world. "Nobody ever got stabbed in the Lower City without someone calling them Friend right beforehand". *chef's kiss 🤌🏻*
I had some trouble with the unusual names at first, but the writing is so well-explained that I was still able to easily follow the story line.
I also really enjoyed the cuts between the seemingly unrelated or just losely-related scenes so far, waiting for everything to come together nicely. The writing style is somwehere between Joe Abercrombie and Terry Pratchett - what more one can wish for?
I also just realised when writing my GR review that this book is the 4th in a series, so I am now debating if I should abandon it half-way through and get the whole series to start over, or finish this book and then read the first 3 - because I am absolutely certain that I want to read everything from this author now.
August 10, 2026
Pretenders to the Throne of God was by far my most anticipated book for a long while. Even with the high expectations, it was everything I expected from the series without feeling predictable. It was uniquely placed in the world while continuing the overarching story, making it well worth the wait.
The plot of the book takes place in Eres Ffenegh, the city on the back of a crab, literally. The city is built on top of a long-dead crab god. After helping the city's inhabitants to liberate themselves from Lor Sway, Palleseen also gets kicked out of the town unexpectedly and becomes the besiegers. The city holds them off thanks to cracks within the ranks of the Pal army and the uneasy alliances between the locals and the different factions that include the former Pal officers who are hunted due to their allegiances to Fisher King and the God. As the siege takes longer, the cracks that occur as a result of imperfect practices by the Pal soldiers become more common and the crackdown by the Temporary Commission of Ends and Means intensifies the suppression of imperfection within. In the city, the defenders do their best to defeat the besiegers while trying to survive in their own ways, including Devil Jack, who becomes the apprentice of an infamous conjurer known as the Widow in pursuit of his "dead" lover.
As usual, Tchaikovsky's prose shone in this book too. It was familiar yet never dull. He managed to deliver every scene successfully, whether it was an action-packed scene in the middle of the siege or a scene solely about character introspection. The balance of seriousness and humour was just perfect. There were moments of desperation where some characters just made jokes. The humour never detracted from those moments, instead it made the scenes more real. The slow pacing allowed characters to be developed and scenes to be complete. It was consistent throughout the book.
Pretenders to the Throne of God introduced numerous new imaginative concepts to a series that was already brimming with them. Several of these concepts would be labelled as imperfections but were developed and utilised by the Pals against their enemies. The Pal army had already started using such methods during their difficult war against the Lor Sway. In this book, we saw the consequences of such cracks and imperfections, especially the revival and spread of previously forgotten religions within the army.
Similar to the previous books, the plot was told through alternating points of view followed by mosaic chapters. Different points of view created stories that sometimes seemed small and personal, while the mosaic chapters blended seemingly disparate stories together well to tell a cohesive story. The city of Eres Ffenegh was unique. It fit what the previous books had introduced, expanding the world coherently. The plot was compelling and absorbing. I just could not put the book down, even during the slow moments of character introspection. The build-up and the pay-off were satisfying.
Characterisation was simply brilliant. The book was full of unique characters, some returning characters from the previous books, some new, but all well written and interesting. The returning characters made certain moments more impactful. The points of view chapters allowed characters to show their process of thinking and flaws, develop their relationships and feel real. I would love to know more about some of the characters, Heretics, Niev, Kiff, etc., in the style of Lives of Bitter Rain. Of course, we had Jack, who somehow always managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. By showing up in almost all the books, he became our starting point, an anchor, in these stories.
Once again, Tchaikovsky used his imaginative world-building to explore topics like the horrors and messiness of war, colonialism, imperialism, religion, discrimination, erasure of identity and class. More importantly, he talked about these heavy points without patronising me. He created a series of scenes where the nuanced characters got on with their sometimes messy lives but left the readers to draw their own conclusions. It was a bit more verbose than the previous books and Tchaikovsky made his points clear at times; however, he was never preachy. I could also overlook the verbosity since the writing was beautiful.
I loved Pretenders to the Throne of God, its writing, story and humour. It was full of misery, wickedness and joy. If you liked the previous books, you will like this one too. The Tyrant Philosophers series is incredible. I would recommend it to fantasy fans. My only issue with the book is the fact that there is, unfortunately, only one book left in the series. I am upset about it, but at the same time, I really cannot wait for the last book to be published.
The plot of the book takes place in Eres Ffenegh, the city on the back of a crab, literally. The city is built on top of a long-dead crab god. After helping the city's inhabitants to liberate themselves from Lor Sway, Palleseen also gets kicked out of the town unexpectedly and becomes the besiegers. The city holds them off thanks to cracks within the ranks of the Pal army and the uneasy alliances between the locals and the different factions that include the former Pal officers who are hunted due to their allegiances to Fisher King and the God. As the siege takes longer, the cracks that occur as a result of imperfect practices by the Pal soldiers become more common and the crackdown by the Temporary Commission of Ends and Means intensifies the suppression of imperfection within. In the city, the defenders do their best to defeat the besiegers while trying to survive in their own ways, including Devil Jack, who becomes the apprentice of an infamous conjurer known as the Widow in pursuit of his "dead" lover.
As usual, Tchaikovsky's prose shone in this book too. It was familiar yet never dull. He managed to deliver every scene successfully, whether it was an action-packed scene in the middle of the siege or a scene solely about character introspection. The balance of seriousness and humour was just perfect. There were moments of desperation where some characters just made jokes. The humour never detracted from those moments, instead it made the scenes more real. The slow pacing allowed characters to be developed and scenes to be complete. It was consistent throughout the book.
Pretenders to the Throne of God introduced numerous new imaginative concepts to a series that was already brimming with them. Several of these concepts would be labelled as imperfections but were developed and utilised by the Pals against their enemies. The Pal army had already started using such methods during their difficult war against the Lor Sway. In this book, we saw the consequences of such cracks and imperfections, especially the revival and spread of previously forgotten religions within the army.
Similar to the previous books, the plot was told through alternating points of view followed by mosaic chapters. Different points of view created stories that sometimes seemed small and personal, while the mosaic chapters blended seemingly disparate stories together well to tell a cohesive story. The city of Eres Ffenegh was unique. It fit what the previous books had introduced, expanding the world coherently. The plot was compelling and absorbing. I just could not put the book down, even during the slow moments of character introspection. The build-up and the pay-off were satisfying.
Characterisation was simply brilliant. The book was full of unique characters, some returning characters from the previous books, some new, but all well written and interesting. The returning characters made certain moments more impactful. The points of view chapters allowed characters to show their process of thinking and flaws, develop their relationships and feel real. I would love to know more about some of the characters, Heretics, Niev, Kiff, etc., in the style of Lives of Bitter Rain. Of course, we had Jack, who somehow always managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. By showing up in almost all the books, he became our starting point, an anchor, in these stories.
Once again, Tchaikovsky used his imaginative world-building to explore topics like the horrors and messiness of war, colonialism, imperialism, religion, discrimination, erasure of identity and class. More importantly, he talked about these heavy points without patronising me. He created a series of scenes where the nuanced characters got on with their sometimes messy lives but left the readers to draw their own conclusions. It was a bit more verbose than the previous books and Tchaikovsky made his points clear at times; however, he was never preachy. I could also overlook the verbosity since the writing was beautiful.
I loved Pretenders to the Throne of God, its writing, story and humour. It was full of misery, wickedness and joy. If you liked the previous books, you will like this one too. The Tyrant Philosophers series is incredible. I would recommend it to fantasy fans. My only issue with the book is the fact that there is, unfortunately, only one book left in the series. I am upset about it, but at the same time, I really cannot wait for the last book to be published.
March 11, 2026
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley
This instalment of The Tyrant Philosophers centres a new area of the world and another conflict between the invading Pals and the residents of the area that they are trying to take over. There is a return of some character's and some new. I liked this book for its discussions on religion and are 'any means' really okay in the grand scheme of things. The part of this story that really stood out for me was Devil Jack and his arc in the story and all that he does in the name of love.
The more books I read in this series the more I appreciate it as a whole and all the aspects that it shows of conflict from being under siege, attacking and the clearing up after. The characters are great and all have their own things going on and I feel all these threads come together really well.
This instalment of The Tyrant Philosophers centres a new area of the world and another conflict between the invading Pals and the residents of the area that they are trying to take over. There is a return of some character's and some new. I liked this book for its discussions on religion and are 'any means' really okay in the grand scheme of things. The part of this story that really stood out for me was Devil Jack and his arc in the story and all that he does in the name of love.
The more books I read in this series the more I appreciate it as a whole and all the aspects that it shows of conflict from being under siege, attacking and the clearing up after. The characters are great and all have their own things going on and I feel all these threads come together really well.
May 17, 2026
I want to give this book 10 stars /5 !!
What am I supposed to do with my life now after finishing this series?!
Adrian Tchaikovsky and the tyrant philosophers series are definitely one of the best discoveries that ever happened to me this year !!
What am I supposed to do with my life now after finishing this series?!
Adrian Tchaikovsky and the tyrant philosophers series are definitely one of the best discoveries that ever happened to me this year !!
April 17, 2026
What can I say, I love this series. Complex, well paced and satisfying.
March 22, 2026
I am come undone
November 16, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
Full review in progress; I will update here when finished with it.
Pre-order this nooooow.
Full review in progress; I will update here when finished with it.
Pre-order this nooooow.
April 28, 2026
4.5. This series has been fantastic start to finish, and this latest novel is absolutely no exception. Pretenders to the Throne of God is simultaneously thought-provoking and exciting, fast moving and reflective. It tackles big themes around war and redemption and friendship without ever feeling didactic and the pacing is perfect.
Something really interesting about this series is how Tchaikovsky plays with scale – book 1 was city-wide, with many factions vying for power, whereas book 2 focuses very narrowly on a single field hospital near a front line that barely moves. Pretenders to the Throne of God is somewhere in between – focused on the Palleseen’s attempt to take the city of Eres Ffenegh, it is not as cramped as House of Open Wounds but the settings are limited: a brothel in the city where demons and humans serve the elite, the command tents of the Pals where plans are made to attack, a medical tent in a city square that sees to the injured, and a very few other locations used sparingly. This is an effective way to convey the tension of the siege without losing the context of the wider city.
I really like Tchaikovsky’s writing style in this series. He integrates moments of laugh aloud humour really seamlessly into quite harsh, dire circumstances in ways that feel organic, and the characters really come alive both through their inner monologues and their relationships with one another. There are no straightforward heroes or villains here necessarily, and the reader comes to know – and perhaps empathize with – Pal soldiers, Pal defectors, Eres Ffenegh locals, and even the occasional demon. Highly recommend this series.
Note: this book is the fourth novel in the Tyrant Philosophers series. I would recommend starting the series from the beginning; these novels are not standalones.
Content warnings: violence, war, colonization, injury detail, death, murder. medical content, religious discrimination
Thank you to Head of Zeus / Bloomsbury, the author, and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review.
Something really interesting about this series is how Tchaikovsky plays with scale – book 1 was city-wide, with many factions vying for power, whereas book 2 focuses very narrowly on a single field hospital near a front line that barely moves. Pretenders to the Throne of God is somewhere in between – focused on the Palleseen’s attempt to take the city of Eres Ffenegh, it is not as cramped as House of Open Wounds but the settings are limited: a brothel in the city where demons and humans serve the elite, the command tents of the Pals where plans are made to attack, a medical tent in a city square that sees to the injured, and a very few other locations used sparingly. This is an effective way to convey the tension of the siege without losing the context of the wider city.
I really like Tchaikovsky’s writing style in this series. He integrates moments of laugh aloud humour really seamlessly into quite harsh, dire circumstances in ways that feel organic, and the characters really come alive both through their inner monologues and their relationships with one another. There are no straightforward heroes or villains here necessarily, and the reader comes to know – and perhaps empathize with – Pal soldiers, Pal defectors, Eres Ffenegh locals, and even the occasional demon. Highly recommend this series.
Note: this book is the fourth novel in the Tyrant Philosophers series. I would recommend starting the series from the beginning; these novels are not standalones.
Content warnings: violence, war, colonization, injury detail, death, murder. medical content, religious discrimination
Thank you to Head of Zeus / Bloomsbury, the author, and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Be it sci-fi or fantasy, Adrian Tchaikovsky can do both flawlessly, as I enjoyed Pretenders to the Throne of God immensely.
With his distinctive flavour of cynicism and irony interwoven into his writing style, I just love picking up his books.
Slow-paced in the best way possible, the whole series has incredible worldbuilding, and, combined with multiple POVs in that book, it creates a great spacious vibe.
We have a lot of familiar faces returning to the stage, and I absolutely loved that, but there are also new characters and perspectives that make the story all the more compelling.
In my opinion, the absolute gem in this book is that the slow pacing made room for character development to shine to its fullest. No character remained untouched by change and growth, and it was such an interesting thing to witness. For me, Jack was the most interesting and went the longest distance as a character, and I was invested in Yasnic too.
I have no idea how he does that magic, combining so many stories into such a wonderful, flawlessly cohesive story.
With his distinctive flavour of cynicism and irony interwoven into his writing style, I just love picking up his books.
Slow-paced in the best way possible, the whole series has incredible worldbuilding, and, combined with multiple POVs in that book, it creates a great spacious vibe.
We have a lot of familiar faces returning to the stage, and I absolutely loved that, but there are also new characters and perspectives that make the story all the more compelling.
In my opinion, the absolute gem in this book is that the slow pacing made room for character development to shine to its fullest. No character remained untouched by change and growth, and it was such an interesting thing to witness. For me, Jack was the most interesting and went the longest distance as a character, and I was invested in Yasnic too.
I have no idea how he does that magic, combining so many stories into such a wonderful, flawlessly cohesive story.
August 1, 2026
Uwielbiam tę serię, to jest najlepszy Tchaikovsky. Fantasy ze Związkiem Radzieckim w jednej z głównych ról, ale bez ciężkich żartów i nawiązań. I dla dorosłych – żadnych smoków, rycerzy ani księżniczek, za to niezwykła wyobraźnia autora. Lasy w jakimś dodatkowym wymiarze, którymi można przemieszczać się w dowolne miejsce w zwykłym świecie (o ile nie lęka się monstrów je zamieszkujących). Magia, którą radzieckie służby, przepraszam, pallesańscy dekanterzy wysączają z ludzi i przedmiotów i nabijają nią broń palną. Martwe armie, z głównym umarlakiem wożonym w lektyce. Demony, które władcy piekieł wynajmują z zyskiem ludziom do pracy, również w agencjach towarzyskich. Ale też dużo doskonale wyłapanych ludzkich tęsknot, pragnień, smutków, marzeń, niespełnionych ambicji.
Gdyby ten cykl zekranizowano, przebiłby spokojnie “Grę o tron”. Ale mnie by wystarczyło, gdyby to wreszcie ktoś wydał w Polsce.
Gdyby ten cykl zekranizowano, przebiłby spokojnie “Grę o tron”. Ale mnie by wystarczyło, gdyby to wreszcie ktoś wydał w Polsce.
February 26, 2026
Llorando me hallo
July 22, 2026
somehow adrian tchaikovsky can write the same book slightly differently 4 times and it keeps getting better
March 13, 2026
"For virtue is consumed in desire, while vice just glows merrily with the heat."
Love this author, love this series. Still an incredibly fascinating world that Tchaikovsky uses very effectively to explore faith, humanity, belonging and many other such themes. Love the ever-changing cast of characters with some -favourite- recurring faces, and can't wait for the next (last?) part.
Love this author, love this series. Still an incredibly fascinating world that Tchaikovsky uses very effectively to explore faith, humanity, belonging and many other such themes. Love the ever-changing cast of characters with some -favourite- recurring faces, and can't wait for the next (last?) part.
April 23, 2026
Aaah, this series is really Made For Me, anarchist demons and all. The third I didn't love as much but the fourth is back to deliverrrrr!!!!
My faves remain Yasnic and all the grumpy bastards in the healing cult. (maybe why I didn't love the third as much lmao, was missing them.) I can't believe I have to wait till 2027!!!!!
My faves remain Yasnic and all the grumpy bastards in the healing cult. (maybe why I didn't love the third as much lmao, was missing them.) I can't believe I have to wait till 2027!!!!!
April 19, 2026
This one came off as a bit flat to me, especially compared to the sprawling and infinitely textured world that the earlier books in the series had been opening up over time, this one simply recycles existing ideas and probably needed one more spin through the revision/cutting/edit cycle before going final.
Kiff and The Stoat are both pretty interesting characters, and I appreciate the seemingly infinite different lives that Maric Jack has lived. I mainly stayed with the book for them, the plot didnt really ever hook me.
Kiff and The Stoat are both pretty interesting characters, and I appreciate the seemingly infinite different lives that Maric Jack has lived. I mainly stayed with the book for them, the plot didnt really ever hook me.
June 4, 2026
Perhaps my most anticipated release of 2026, and another absolute triumph for Adrian Tchaikovsky!
- Spoiler Free Review -
I've been absolutely hooked on the Tyrant Philosophers series ever since I picked up City of Last Chances on a whim. On the strength of that book alone I've been hoovering up Tchaikovsky's other works and, something like ten books into his bibliography now, he has yet to miss for me.
So, this is a book I obviously picked up with very high expectations! And, once again, it met those expectations and exceeded them!
What's the book about?
The Pals are at it again - this time they're bringing perfection to Eres Ffenegh, the city on the back of a crab, via a siege. We get perspectives on both sides of the battle lines (along with a few that straddle both) and see a mix of familiar and new faces.
City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, book one and two in this series, could be easily treated as standalones. Days of Shattered Faith, book three, started to feel a bit more dependent on the previous books, but could still technically have worked as a standalone. Pretenders to the Throne of God is the first of this series where I feel like you couldn't go into it as a standalone. There are a number of characters, from all three previous books, who return here. There are also a lot of concepts, especially around Palleseen 'perfection' which I feel like the reader is assumed to be familiar with.
I'm actually really pleased that this is the direction the series is going in - each book still has its own distinct 'flavour' and has a nice, self-contained story, but there are strong linking threads and some overarching plotlines that are also starting to bear fruit. Honestly, I hope Tchaikovsky writes many more installments of this series, I can't get enough of it!
What was good about it?
Let's start with the prose! Tchaikovsky's prose is just an absolute joy to read, whether he's writing action, dialogue, description or (my personal favourite) moments of character introspection. He has a way of weaving subtle humour through the story in a way that is genuinely brilliant and funny, but that never detracts from the serious or hard-hitting character moments. Honestly, I can't praise him highly enough in this regard - he's one of the few authors I'd pick up, regardless of the content of the book, for the sheer joy of reading his prose.
Which isn't to say that the content of the book was of a lower standard - it certainly wasn't!
Similar to the previous books in this series, most of the characters are not exactly likeable people, but they exude such a strong presence, are so well developed and are so utterly fascinating that I can't think of a cast I'd rather spend time with. The returning characters are obviously going to be a highlight for any fan (myself included). There were definitely a few that popped up here who I was not necessarily expecting to see again (I won't say who, for spoiler reasons) and it was an absolute delight to get that thrill of recognition and find out what some old favourites have been up to.
The new characters deserve recognition too. Favourites for me were probably; 'the Stoat', who encapsulates so perfectly the contradictions of Pal Perfection; Kiff, a victim as much as a beneficiary of her own privilege; and 'the Widow', a woman with a phenomenal presence and some very complex motivations. Really though, I could pick out just about any character and make a case for why they were brilliant - each one more than earns their place.
The main reason I adore Tchaikovsky's writing so much, however, and something that stands out so beautifully in this series, is the clever way that he handles themes within his work. He says so much, strikes on so many fundamental truths and holds up such a brilliant mirror to the modern world, but he does it all with such subtlety, such humour and such wit - and he never allows it to detract from, or distract from, the plot and character moments throughout the book.
I have a low tolerance for authors that I find overly 'preachy' or who I feel like are using their work to overtly push an agenda - Tchaikovsky isn't doing this at all. What he does, and it's something I can't get enough of in fiction, is ask the reader questions through the struggles of his characters and leave them to ponder the rights and wrongs for themselves. It's not a book of good and evil (although there's certainly plenty of both present), but of compromises, least-worst-options and conflicted loyalties.
Any negatives?
I just love this book so much - this whole series could have been specially designed with my tastes in mind. There's nothing I'd personally change and I think if you've read this far into the series and been having a good time so far you'll feel the same!
The only potential thing I can think of that might not gel about this installment is that Tchaikovsky has finally (definitely) abandoned the 'standalone' structure the series has followed thus far. In order to appreciate and make sense of some of the events in this book, you'll need to have read the preceeding ones.
Overall though, this was another triumph and every bit as enjoyable as I hoped it would be! Can't wait for more in this world!
- Spoiler Free Review -
I've been absolutely hooked on the Tyrant Philosophers series ever since I picked up City of Last Chances on a whim. On the strength of that book alone I've been hoovering up Tchaikovsky's other works and, something like ten books into his bibliography now, he has yet to miss for me.
So, this is a book I obviously picked up with very high expectations! And, once again, it met those expectations and exceeded them!
What's the book about?
The Pals are at it again - this time they're bringing perfection to Eres Ffenegh, the city on the back of a crab, via a siege. We get perspectives on both sides of the battle lines (along with a few that straddle both) and see a mix of familiar and new faces.
City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, book one and two in this series, could be easily treated as standalones. Days of Shattered Faith, book three, started to feel a bit more dependent on the previous books, but could still technically have worked as a standalone. Pretenders to the Throne of God is the first of this series where I feel like you couldn't go into it as a standalone. There are a number of characters, from all three previous books, who return here. There are also a lot of concepts, especially around Palleseen 'perfection' which I feel like the reader is assumed to be familiar with.
I'm actually really pleased that this is the direction the series is going in - each book still has its own distinct 'flavour' and has a nice, self-contained story, but there are strong linking threads and some overarching plotlines that are also starting to bear fruit. Honestly, I hope Tchaikovsky writes many more installments of this series, I can't get enough of it!
What was good about it?
Let's start with the prose! Tchaikovsky's prose is just an absolute joy to read, whether he's writing action, dialogue, description or (my personal favourite) moments of character introspection. He has a way of weaving subtle humour through the story in a way that is genuinely brilliant and funny, but that never detracts from the serious or hard-hitting character moments. Honestly, I can't praise him highly enough in this regard - he's one of the few authors I'd pick up, regardless of the content of the book, for the sheer joy of reading his prose.
Which isn't to say that the content of the book was of a lower standard - it certainly wasn't!
Similar to the previous books in this series, most of the characters are not exactly likeable people, but they exude such a strong presence, are so well developed and are so utterly fascinating that I can't think of a cast I'd rather spend time with. The returning characters are obviously going to be a highlight for any fan (myself included). There were definitely a few that popped up here who I was not necessarily expecting to see again (I won't say who, for spoiler reasons) and it was an absolute delight to get that thrill of recognition and find out what some old favourites have been up to.
The new characters deserve recognition too. Favourites for me were probably; 'the Stoat', who encapsulates so perfectly the contradictions of Pal Perfection; Kiff, a victim as much as a beneficiary of her own privilege; and 'the Widow', a woman with a phenomenal presence and some very complex motivations. Really though, I could pick out just about any character and make a case for why they were brilliant - each one more than earns their place.
The main reason I adore Tchaikovsky's writing so much, however, and something that stands out so beautifully in this series, is the clever way that he handles themes within his work. He says so much, strikes on so many fundamental truths and holds up such a brilliant mirror to the modern world, but he does it all with such subtlety, such humour and such wit - and he never allows it to detract from, or distract from, the plot and character moments throughout the book.
I have a low tolerance for authors that I find overly 'preachy' or who I feel like are using their work to overtly push an agenda - Tchaikovsky isn't doing this at all. What he does, and it's something I can't get enough of in fiction, is ask the reader questions through the struggles of his characters and leave them to ponder the rights and wrongs for themselves. It's not a book of good and evil (although there's certainly plenty of both present), but of compromises, least-worst-options and conflicted loyalties.
Any negatives?
I just love this book so much - this whole series could have been specially designed with my tastes in mind. There's nothing I'd personally change and I think if you've read this far into the series and been having a good time so far you'll feel the same!
The only potential thing I can think of that might not gel about this installment is that Tchaikovsky has finally (definitely) abandoned the 'standalone' structure the series has followed thus far. In order to appreciate and make sense of some of the events in this book, you'll need to have read the preceeding ones.
Overall though, this was another triumph and every bit as enjoyable as I hoped it would be! Can't wait for more in this world!
July 28, 2026
This book is like a disaster movie. I’m not saying it’s a disaster of book, but it’s structure is like Volcano, 2012, and Deep Impact. There’s an ensemble cast who have separate and unrelated journeys set against a common catastrophe, until the climax where their stories converge. And that is my first problem with the book, it’s very disjointed. There’s too many characters and no central character for the reader to empathise with. I was going to only give this book 3 stars, but the way the last 100 pages ties all the disparate characters and plots together improved the overall feel of the book so I raised it to 4 stars.
My next problem is it’s seriously padded with fluff. Well written fluff, but fluff. It’s close to 500 pages and probably could have been 1/3 shorter without affecting the story or the style. I was skimming paragraphs, particularly where I could see the paragraph was half a page or longer. You only need to read the first couple of sentences to understand the whole paragraph. The rest is repetition saying the same thing in multiple different ways. By which I mean fluff padding. The previous book Lives of bitter rain which was a novella had much tighter prose. It didn’t waffle on. I’m not saying this book should have been a novella, it’s got more story than that, but it should have been a lot shorter.
There is a lot more detailed world building of the wider Tyrant Philosophers universe. It provides more context of the geopolitical landscape and social structures of the Palleseen and Loruthi. This book also provides a much more detailed understanding of demons and Hell while reiterating how Gods work and exist. The Wood, which was one of the best ideas from the first book and then pretty much ignored, is finally brought back in a minor role, but will hopefully have a larger role in the next. And while I enjoyed all this it makes the book more of a series compendium rather than a story. It would probably also be rather dull to anyone trying to read this as a standalone without the context of the other books.
This is also true of the characters. The ensemble cast features a various characters from the previous books while also introducing new ones. And some of the characters serve no purpose in this book other than fluff padding, I’m thinking of Varinecthes and Ghastron. Like the Wood I’m hoping they are being set up for the next book. At the end of this book Jack/Yasnic (from book 1 in the series) who is one of the secondary characters in this book announces he’s going back to Ilmar, the starting point of the series. This is not a spoiler comment to this book. It’s quite literally in the last few pages. It’s a harbinger, I hope, of where the next book is going. With Yasnic having gone full circle I’m guessing the next book will be that last in this series.
All in all this book is disappointing. It feels like setup for the next and probably final book in the series while also being extremely padded with superfluous prose. It’s enjoyable if you’ve read the rest and understand the series as a whole, but it’s the worst book in the series. There are some important worldbuilding points with Palleseen and Hell and Lich Queen leader of the undead, but it is almost lost amongst the fluff.
My next problem is it’s seriously padded with fluff. Well written fluff, but fluff. It’s close to 500 pages and probably could have been 1/3 shorter without affecting the story or the style. I was skimming paragraphs, particularly where I could see the paragraph was half a page or longer. You only need to read the first couple of sentences to understand the whole paragraph. The rest is repetition saying the same thing in multiple different ways. By which I mean fluff padding. The previous book Lives of bitter rain which was a novella had much tighter prose. It didn’t waffle on. I’m not saying this book should have been a novella, it’s got more story than that, but it should have been a lot shorter.
There is a lot more detailed world building of the wider Tyrant Philosophers universe. It provides more context of the geopolitical landscape and social structures of the Palleseen and Loruthi. This book also provides a much more detailed understanding of demons and Hell while reiterating how Gods work and exist. The Wood, which was one of the best ideas from the first book and then pretty much ignored, is finally brought back in a minor role, but will hopefully have a larger role in the next. And while I enjoyed all this it makes the book more of a series compendium rather than a story. It would probably also be rather dull to anyone trying to read this as a standalone without the context of the other books.
This is also true of the characters. The ensemble cast features a various characters from the previous books while also introducing new ones. And some of the characters serve no purpose in this book other than fluff padding, I’m thinking of Varinecthes and Ghastron. Like the Wood I’m hoping they are being set up for the next book. At the end of this book Jack/Yasnic (from book 1 in the series) who is one of the secondary characters in this book announces he’s going back to Ilmar, the starting point of the series. This is not a spoiler comment to this book. It’s quite literally in the last few pages. It’s a harbinger, I hope, of where the next book is going. With Yasnic having gone full circle I’m guessing the next book will be that last in this series.
All in all this book is disappointing. It feels like setup for the next and probably final book in the series while also being extremely padded with superfluous prose. It’s enjoyable if you’ve read the rest and understand the series as a whole, but it’s the worst book in the series. There are some important worldbuilding points with Palleseen and Hell and Lich Queen leader of the undead, but it is almost lost amongst the fluff.
Review of advance copy
I have to start by saying that I have been eagerly awaiting this read since finishing The Days of Shatted Faith and The Lives of Bitter Rains (preceding entry and accompanying novella). I might go as far as to say this was the most excited I have been for a book release as an adult. I think part of this excitement comes from the fact that The Tyrant Philosopher series is shaping up to be my favourite fantasy series of all time. Big claims, I know.
That said, my expectations were perhaps set a bit too high and I was let down a little when actually reading this book (entirely my fault). Book 2 and 3 were absolute standouts, the perfect blend of world building and character driven stories. So following on from these books how could Adrian Tchaikovsky realistically outdo himself?
To frame everything I have just said I think it's important to recognise that while Tchaikovsky has said each book can be read standalone there is an overarching story and timeline tieing all of the books together.
I think for me this book does the best job of advancing the greater story and series of world events.
What I think is lacking is the standalone narrative of this book. The city under siege and split of factions, whilst beautifully written didn't bring me as much interest as previous plot lines. That said the new (and returning) cast of characters are the highlight of the book. Their interlinking stories are done so well. I will say in particular there were two key twisty character reveal moments where I was absolutely blown away with how they called back to the first and second book. All whilst feeling meaningful to this book's story. Tchaikovsky does such a great job of using this series to highlight how each character is inhabiting this world of conflicting values, ideologies and systems. This book is no exception, within the constraint of 550 pages, he explores so many different charactr subplots, it sounds like a lot of pages but there are so many different nuanced moments you can't help but want to know more about.
I think I could talk about this book and this series for hours, but that sums up the majority of my thoughts.
Overall, a great entry into the series but definitely not the best by far. Cannot wait to see how the events of this book, and the preceding entries all pay off in the series finale.
Important note: David Thorpe (who narrates the audiobooks) does an absolutely amazing job of capturing Tchaikovsky's characterisation and prose, well worth the listen if you love audiobooks.
That said, my expectations were perhaps set a bit too high and I was let down a little when actually reading this book (entirely my fault). Book 2 and 3 were absolute standouts, the perfect blend of world building and character driven stories. So following on from these books how could Adrian Tchaikovsky realistically outdo himself?
To frame everything I have just said I think it's important to recognise that while Tchaikovsky has said each book can be read standalone there is an overarching story and timeline tieing all of the books together.
I think for me this book does the best job of advancing the greater story and series of world events.
What I think is lacking is the standalone narrative of this book. The city under siege and split of factions, whilst beautifully written didn't bring me as much interest as previous plot lines. That said the new (and returning) cast of characters are the highlight of the book. Their interlinking stories are done so well. I will say in particular there were two key twisty character reveal moments where I was absolutely blown away with how they called back to the first and second book. All whilst feeling meaningful to this book's story. Tchaikovsky does such a great job of using this series to highlight how each character is inhabiting this world of conflicting values, ideologies and systems. This book is no exception, within the constraint of 550 pages, he explores so many different charactr subplots, it sounds like a lot of pages but there are so many different nuanced moments you can't help but want to know more about.
I think I could talk about this book and this series for hours, but that sums up the majority of my thoughts.
Overall, a great entry into the series but definitely not the best by far. Cannot wait to see how the events of this book, and the preceding entries all pay off in the series finale.
Important note: David Thorpe (who narrates the audiobooks) does an absolutely amazing job of capturing Tchaikovsky's characterisation and prose, well worth the listen if you love audiobooks.
April 12, 2026
Now we are four and a half books into the Tyrant Philosophers sequence, there is a very loose outline of how these books generally work. We get introduced to a city or state. We get apprised of their particular gods, their magic and what their defences are, and on the other side, we also see what the Pallaseen Sway offer to attack. We run through a lot of characters' heads, because if there is one stylistic constant, it is that Tchaikovsky wants as many viewpoints as possible, though there is a chance we will see a number of recurring characters, not least Devil Jack who is the cloisest thing the series has to a protagonist. And the city survives, or the Pallaseen Sway wins in a way that could in the long term contribute to their loss. Because there feels like the inevitable conclusion or a series like this - despite Tchaikovsky being very comfortable with some very dark conclusions, os the downfall of the rationalists in an irrational world, the fascists forcing order where there can be none.
Pretenders To The Throne Of God does all of this, but also colours in the edges. There are a few character threads which run from the basic (the city's hero who has lost the magic of her magic sword that made her a hero, and what that makes her now) to the more complex (the necromancer who has been told that her necromancy has now been banned). There has always been a tension between the magicians and sorcerers that the Pallaseen Sway used against their own beliefs, and that really comes to a head here. But there are lots of lovely vignettes and character stories, and some nice subversions of tropes (not least that you might sell your soul to a devil for a magic sword, but what if you don't use it). This was the first of the sequence where I felt I was settling into something familiar, the previous three (and a half) have all pivoted in slightly different ways in that, whilst this is the first one to really show us both sides of a Pallaseen battle, it feels like we have had enough bits of that before that it wasn't unfamiliar. And certainly the manoeuvring of Devil Jack is important to the eventual conclusion of the series, but it is quite a slim bit of action within this story. Still great, still the most interesting and enjoyable fantasy sequence on the market right now.
Pretenders To The Throne Of God does all of this, but also colours in the edges. There are a few character threads which run from the basic (the city's hero who has lost the magic of her magic sword that made her a hero, and what that makes her now) to the more complex (the necromancer who has been told that her necromancy has now been banned). There has always been a tension between the magicians and sorcerers that the Pallaseen Sway used against their own beliefs, and that really comes to a head here. But there are lots of lovely vignettes and character stories, and some nice subversions of tropes (not least that you might sell your soul to a devil for a magic sword, but what if you don't use it). This was the first of the sequence where I felt I was settling into something familiar, the previous three (and a half) have all pivoted in slightly different ways in that, whilst this is the first one to really show us both sides of a Pallaseen battle, it feels like we have had enough bits of that before that it wasn't unfamiliar. And certainly the manoeuvring of Devil Jack is important to the eventual conclusion of the series, but it is quite a slim bit of action within this story. Still great, still the most interesting and enjoyable fantasy sequence on the market right now.
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