Waiting on Wednesday – Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out an awesome upcoming fantasy novel from one of the most inventive authors of the day with Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Days of Shattered Faith Cover

So, people might remember that a couple of months ago, I highlighted three books coming out in 2023 from acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author Adrian Tchaikovsky, including Alien Clay, Service Model and Saturation Point. All three of these novels are still set for release this year, with the first, Alien Clay coming out a couple of days ago (I need to find a copy). However, despite this incredible effort from Tchaikovsky (I can’t think of many authors who can produce three unique books in a year), he’s apparently still not done. I just found out that somehow, Tchaikovsky has a fourth book coming out in 2024, and this additional novel, Days of Shattered Faith, is probably the one I am most excited for.

Days of Shattered Faith will be the third book in Tchaikovsky’s The Tyrant Philosophers fantasy series. This series has so far featured two outstanding books, City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, both of which were amongst my favourite books of 2023 (with City of Last Chances being one of the best audiobooks of 2023). Set in a world of magic, gods and demons, The Tyrant Philosophers books follow the chaotic struggles that occur amongst unique people, often in a comedic and cynical manner.

While there are some overlapping characters, the first two books are mostly independent of each other, except for the fact that they examine the dark impact of the Palleseen, a growing empire of fanatics who believe in perfection and correctness, primarily through the violent suppression of superstition, beliefs, and faith. The first book showcased the oppression of the Palleseen in a conquered magical city, while House of Open Wounds followed members of a Palleseen army medical unit who utilise forbidden medical techniques that the Palleseen sought to exploit for their military. Both City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds had incredible stories expertly centred around complex and damaged characters, and I loved the outstanding mixture of personalities, compelling fantasy elements and dark humour that Tchaikovsky utilised. Due to how epic these first two books were, I have been eagerly waiting for a third book and thankfully Tchaikovsky seems very willing to oblige with the upcoming novel Days of Shattered Faith.

Days of Shattered Faith is currently set for release in December 2024, and looks to be a loose sequel to the first two books. Once again following the impact of the Palleseen, Tchaikovsky has come up with an awesome new story that I really love the sound of.

Plot Synopsis:

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow’s frontline in the Palleseen’s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.

Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.

As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends – needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.

Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?

As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.

Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade…

I’m already so very, very keen for this book, especially as Tchaikovsky has something very special on his hands here. A chaotic city, two intriguing new protagonists, and a whole range of over-the-top circumstances are the ideal formula for an epic Tchaikovsky novel, and it looks like Days of Shattered Faith is going to have that in spades, as well as pirates and lizardmen.

I’m particularly keen to see what fantastic and complex story Tchaikovsky weaves around his protagonists, especially as the two Palleseen are out in the world that they are supposed to despise. I love the idea of watching these two characters push the envelope of their beliefs to achieve their goals, and the inbuilt cynicism, hypocrisy and self-loathing that will surround this is bound to be excellent. Tchaikovsky has pulled together some amazing stories around the Palleseen already, and frankly they are such a great villainous faction, especially as many of them only pretend to ascribe to the beliefs they kill for. Seeing two of these Palleseen protagonists on the very edge and dealing with all manner of trouble is going to be extremely compelling, and I look forward to seeing how they interact with all the unique figures of this new city. I’m also keen to see if we get any returning characters from the first two books, as there are some great storylines that can be continued, and I am sure that Tchaikovsky will do a wonderful job bringing them all together.

Look, after loving Tchaikovsky’s previous two novels, as well as his Warhammer 40,000 novel Day of Ascension and the novella Ogres, there is no way I am not grabbing Days of Shattered Faith when it comes out. This series has been so damn epic already, and the above synopsis promises more fun, unique occurrences and complex humour. I have very little doubt that Days of Shattered Faith is going to be one of my favourite books of 2024 and I cannot wait to get my hands on it.