Cage of Souls
{4.5/5} “Will you even remember, yourself? No, your minds contract so that nothing but that awful city is in it. You will forget that there are other ways of living. Even Stefan here, who writes brave words about how to save the world, never dreamed of living outside Shadrapar. If the city can be saved, he thinks, then save it. If it cannot then he’d rather go down with it than find another way.”
Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky, published in 2019
Stefan Adrani, convicted of agitation and subversion, was sent to the Island, a prison where escape is wildly unlikely. He made a friend of one of the wardens by playing chess with him, and now he’s doing work that’s less taxing and more interesting. He helps Father Sulplice with machines that break down. He watches one of his cell mates die of fever, a former Lord Financier who didn’t even know why he’d been sent to prison.
The beginning didn’t grab me overly much, as it’s a common premise. But I assumed that Tchaikovsky had something interesting in store.
The main character is in an unpleasant situation for much of the book, but it does get more interesting.
It’s about life on a dying world, with only one city — and one prison — left. It’s about making the best of bad situations.
This is the 6th book I’ve read by Tchaikovsky. I previously reviewed Children of Memory.