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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a found family fantasy book, the second in The Tyrant Philosophers series, set amongst the experimental medical unit of the Palleseen war. It was a long read and mostly focused on the characters over the plot. The good vs. evil moral vibes for the characters were very prevalent in this one, but each character was definitely portrayed in their own unique way. It brings in the politics of war, and the world building is abundant with some pretty good battle scenes. The writing in this story was phenomenal, but the ending was a little lackluster for me and ended abruptly even after the length of writing. You will definitely need to pick up the next book in this story to continue this epic adventure.
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh, what an excellent book. Fantasy MASH is how I saw this described, and that certainly tracks, but there's so much more. Every character has their moment and story that leads up to their moment, and it all intertwines in the mess of an experimental field hospital in a brutal war. The horror I felt when Callow figured out how to weaponized sympathetic healing.
I have a lot to say about how much I enjoyed this. It's such a solid improvement on the first book, which was still really enjoyable, but the POVs and flow felt so much better in this one. I loved the characters and the last 100 pages were such a wild ride.
There are so many amazingly creative ideas across these books and I feel like setting them up in a M.A.S.H. style medic tent was the best way it could have been done.
My only criticism... I need more Varney and Ghastron domestic moments!!!
Very excited for book 3!
There are so many amazingly creative ideas across these books and I feel like setting them up in a M.A.S.H. style medic tent was the best way it could have been done.
My only criticism... I need more Varney and Ghastron domestic moments!!!
Very excited for book 3!
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I went into the House of Open Wounds with really high hopes, this sounded like an amazingly interesting book with unique world building. However sadly I struggled to truly get into this and fully enjoy the book. The writing felt slightly too dense for me and it was hard for me to truly be drawn into the story. But I do think this is more of a problem for me as many people have given this 5 stars and I also think loads of people will love this it just was not for me.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read through this sequel much quicker than the first in this series. While you probably could read this as a stand-alone, it does reference City of Last Chances several times, so I'd read that before this one.
The pacing at times felt off, and after a while it did feel repetitive, but it never detracted from the story. There's only so much you can do with a story set in a war from the perspective of a misfit Hospital Ward.
Although the cast of characters isn't traditionally loveable, like with the first book I found myself rooting for some of them, and hating others.
The story does however still share some of the same quandaries as the first book, particularly around the highest of the Higher Orders. While not off-putting I did find the issues nearly identical and wanted a miracle to happen.
Overall I'd really recommend this series. I will read book three, though given the trend I seem to have with Tchaikovsky fantasy, I can see it being next year when I get round to it.
The pacing at times felt off, and after a while it did feel repetitive, but it never detracted from the story. There's only so much you can do with a story set in a war from the perspective of a misfit Hospital Ward.
Although the cast of characters isn't traditionally loveable, like with the first book I found myself rooting for some of them, and hating others.
The story does however still share some of the same quandaries as the first book, particularly around the highest of the Higher Orders. While not off-putting I did find the issues nearly identical and wanted a miracle to happen.
Overall I'd really recommend this series. I will read book three, though given the trend I seem to have with Tchaikovsky fantasy, I can see it being next year when I get round to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail