Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I bought Cage of Souls on a whim. In a rush to finish my 2020 r/fantasy bingo card (yes, I *am* only just getting round to reviewing it, 3 months later), I got it for £3 in an audible sale, and honestly? That's one hell of a deal.
Cage of Souls follows Stefan Advani - student turned activist turned political dissident, as he is sent to a prison known only as The Island. The narrative is split in two, the present day following Advani's experiences in prison, alongside sections showing what, exactly, he did to end up there. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of this sort of structure. I'm a very character focused reader, and I don't like how the secrecy necessitated by non linear narratives obscures information that it might be interesting to have earlier in the book. Tchaikovsky makes it work here though, and the breaks between segments work well to both build tension and give breaks between the heavier, more depressing sections. It's not a technique I'm going to be advocating for anytime soon, but in the hands of someone this skilled at pacing, it can still add something.
The real standout feature here is worldbuilding. I haven't read any of Tchaikovsky's other works, although from what I've heard, this is a consistent strength of his.
The world this novel takes place in is a weird one. Pollution has shrunk civilisation down so thoroughly that it is now only a single city and a prison in a swamp. This is a society very much on its last legs, resulting in something of a cultural regression. This leads to a very interesting sort of steampunk-vibe, with insane laser swords and bioengineering running alongside a general vibe lended by the protagonist's Victorian gentleman scholar tone and the sharp class disparities at play. It's depressing and grim and ripe for thematic analysis, but more importantly, it's a lot of fun to read about.
As much as I enjoyed Cage of Souls, there were some definite weaknesses. Whilst the worldbuilding was stellar, certain elements felt stale, especially for a book published in 2019. The ultimate big bad had good buildup, but the 'final showdown' felt both unnecessary and disappointingly predictable for a book that, up to that point, had been very engaging. The relationships between characters felt cliched, which, whilst not that big of a deal on the whole, just made it that little bit less satisfying. There was also a disappointing scarcity of female characters, none of whom (with perhaps the exception of Hermione) were particularly fleshed out, original, or interesting. There was also a frustrating element of sexual violence as a backdrop - frequently alluded to and shown to be a potential threat, but never directly addressed.
This all ties back to what, I think, the novel's biggest issue is: characters. Whilst the world and plot are interesting enough to be engaging, the characters are, as a whole unmemorable and uninteresting. Whilst character archetypes are useful jumping off points, the characters in Cage of Souls never really get further than that, demonstrating an occasionally stifling stiffness.
I did, overall, really enjoy this book though, as much as it might sound like I didn't. It's dark and vividly drawn, and discusses important topics in a way that is both original and engaging, refusing to be consigned down rigid genre barriers. If you're looking for something thought provoking, with a cool word and a consistently engaging plot, then Cage of Souls is definitely worth a read.
Content Warning: Body horror, sexual violence, incarceration and related human rights abuses.
Representation: Literally none lol, this is what I meant when I said it was dated.
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