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A review by latad_books
Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
Adrian Tchaikovsky is a versatile author. Whether he's writing about a far future, spiders, artificial intelligences, or any number of other things in his stories, I'm happy to check them out. This novella is a fantasy in a world with mages, homunculi and thieves.
The main character Coppelia is a thief and puppeteer, working for other, more successful criminals, and stealing little bits and bobs of magicked items to augment her slight magic so she can enhance her puppets. She has some help from two little homunculi, who lighten her audience of their magicked jewellery and charms. The homuculi were created by a master mage and have recently made their way to Loretz, Coppellia's city, and home to many powerful mages. When Coppelia must participate in a break-in at the mage's palace, the homunculi are with her, and together find something big and hugely important to the tiny creatures.
I was a little bit confused at the start of this story, but soon found myself enjoying the adventure and the many interesting aspects of this story. I loved the homunculi culture and the divisions within it, and the long range plans of these made people. And the sheer diversity of appearance and materials they encompassed. I also liked the way Tchaikovsky examined power and its abuses through the mages, their enforces, and the wider population of Loretz and its criminals.
This was an enjoyable story of a fascinating set of characters; I hope Tchaikovsky returns to this world again, in addition to the short story Precious Little Things.
The main character Coppelia is a thief and puppeteer, working for other, more successful criminals, and stealing little bits and bobs of magicked items to augment her slight magic so she can enhance her puppets. She has some help from two little homunculi, who lighten her audience of their magicked jewellery and charms. The homuculi were created by a master mage and have recently made their way to Loretz, Coppellia's city, and home to many powerful mages. When Coppelia must participate in a break-in at the mage's palace, the homunculi are with her, and together find something big and hugely important to the tiny creatures.
I was a little bit confused at the start of this story, but soon found myself enjoying the adventure and the many interesting aspects of this story. I loved the homunculi culture and the divisions within it, and the long range plans of these made people. And the sheer diversity of appearance and materials they encompassed. I also liked the way Tchaikovsky examined power and its abuses through the mages, their enforces, and the wider population of Loretz and its criminals.
This was an enjoyable story of a fascinating set of characters; I hope Tchaikovsky returns to this world again, in addition to the short story Precious Little Things.