Book Review: House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

• Title: House of Open Wounds
• Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Year: 2024
• Type: Fiction

Does Tchaikovsky even sleep?? This man puts out a LOT of books.

This is the fourth of his that I’ve read. Or fifth. Anyway, I’ve read several, and not enjoyed all of them. This one, however, I enjoyed rather a lot.

Despite the title, it’s not a particularly gory book. It’s just that a lot of it takes place in a field hospital in the middle of a war, is all. A war that Tchaikovsky in no way glorifies. That plus the primary setting means that, yes, some of the results of that war are on display but not in detail. Had the situation been otherwise, I’d not have continued reading.

The main character(s) in this book join us from City of Last Chances, which I also enjoyed but not as much as this one. I was really glad to see Tchaikovsky continue this character development and appreciated how he handled it. The effect that development has on the entire war is fascinating to watch unfold, as well.

While writing up this review I found that he’s released a third book in this series (because of course he did, he’s some sort of inhuman writing machine). My local library system has it, so once it comes off the new releases shelf I look forward to seeing where Tchaikovsky goes next in this universe.