Lives of bitter rain

Lives of bitter rain

Adrian Tchaikovsky, 1972-

Book - 2025

City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring 'Perfection' and 'Correctness' to an imperfect world. But before these ruthless Tyrant Philosophers send in their legions, they despatch Outreach - the rain before the storm. Outreach is that part of the Pal machine responsible for diplomacy - converting enemies into friends, achieving through words what an army of five thousand could not, urging the oppressed to overthrow the bloody-handed priests, evil necromancers and greedy despots that subjugate them. Angilly, twelve-years-old, a child of Pal soldiers stationed in occupied Jarokir, does not know it yet, but a sequence of accidents and questionable life choices will lead her to Outreach. As she trave...ls from Jarrokir to Bracinta, Cazarkand, Lemas, The Holy Regalate of Stouk and finally, Usmai, she'll learn that the price of her nation's success is paid in compromise and lost chances, and that the falling rain will always be bitter.

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Subjects
Imaginary places > Fiction.
Imaginary wars and battles > Fiction.
Child soldiers > Fiction.
novellas.
Fantasy fiction.
Novellas.
Genres
novellas
Fantasy fiction
Novellas
Published
London : Head of Zeus 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Adrian Tchaikovsky, 1972- (author)
Item Description
"An Ad Astra Book."
Physical Description
126 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
9781035911448
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The first two books in Tchaikovsky's Hugo-nominated Tyrant Philosophers series (City of Last Chances, 2022, and House of Open Wounds, 2023) shed light on a colorful assortment of characters. This novella, like Days of Shattered Faith (2024), focuses on Angilly, this time telling how she became a beleaguered Sage-Invigilator. In delightful vignettes, readers learn she survived a horrific fire that killed her parents and left her with the strict aunt who set her on the path of the Palleteen Sway, which seeks to perfect the world by ridding it of superstition and magic. As a teen, Angilly learns how to use a rapier. As a young adult, she learns the spycraft that places her firmly in the Outreach Department. Thus, she becomes part of the effort to prepare the way for either the armies of the Pal or an invasion of bureaucrats. She loses intimate friends as she gains more authority. Written in the same breezy style as the novels, this will delight those who've read the series, or it could serve as a wonderful prequel.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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