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A review by tome15
Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
Tchaikovsky, Adrian. Made Things. Made Things No. 1. Tor, 2019.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, who lately has been playing evolution games in deep space, here turns his attention to a preindustrial fantasy world. Set in Magic City, the world is populated by powerful mages and much less powerful half-mages, like our heroine Coppelia, a.k.a. Moppet. Operating in the shadows are their magical and half-magical creations—from tiny homunculi to huge metal golems. Coppelia is an artisan, a puppeteer, and a thief. She works with some homunculi who steal from the audience distracted by her puppet shows. Things go sideways when she attracts too much attention from the ruling mages. Behind it all is some subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on class struggle. There is always a little more than you expect from Tchaikovsky’s work. He is a little like Coppelia in that way. 4 stars.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, who lately has been playing evolution games in deep space, here turns his attention to a preindustrial fantasy world. Set in Magic City, the world is populated by powerful mages and much less powerful half-mages, like our heroine Coppelia, a.k.a. Moppet. Operating in the shadows are their magical and half-magical creations—from tiny homunculi to huge metal golems. Coppelia is an artisan, a puppeteer, and a thief. She works with some homunculi who steal from the audience distracted by her puppet shows. Things go sideways when she attracts too much attention from the ruling mages. Behind it all is some subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on class struggle. There is always a little more than you expect from Tchaikovsky’s work. He is a little like Coppelia in that way. 4 stars.