Synopsis:
She was good at making friends.
Coppelia is a street thief, a trickster, a low-level con artist. But she has something other thieves don’t… tiny puppet-like friends: some made of wood, some of metal. They don’t entirely trust her, and she doesn’t entirely understand them, but their partnership mostly works.
After a surprising discovery shakes their world to the core, Coppelia and her friends must reexamine everything they thought they knew about their world, while attempting to save their city from a seemingly impossible new threat.
Review:
I was sent a copy of Made Things in exchange for review.
In the back of my NetGalley copy is Precious Little Things – the prequel to Made Things. I’m writing this review from the perspective of someone who has not read the prequel as I figured Made Things might be peoples entry to this mini series.
If there’s one thing I love about Adrian Tchaikovsky it’s that he is such a versatile author and I never really know what I’m getting with each book. In this one we take a look at the bottom of a magical city, following Coppelia who is a young thief with puppets for friends. Puppets who are totally autonomous and have a tenuous partnership with her.
Tchaikovsky sets the scene well with magic that can’t quite be explained in a city that doesn’t care for Coppelia. We follow the lowest of the citizens and while it means the city isn’t necessarily the most fleshed out, you get enough to understand the backdrop for the novella.
I really liked all of the characters. There’s quite a few for such a short book, but Tchaikovsky does a good job of making sure the most important/featured ones are memorable. In such a short time you meet such a colourful bunch of characters who all play an important part in Coppelia’s story. Her skills in puppet making are what make her so important to the plot, and everyone else has skills that help move things along too.
I had no idea where the story was going to go. The synopsis gives away hardly anything, and so this book really was a discovery every time I turned the page. But Tchakovsky leaves just enough hints along the way that it all makes sense everything something happens or is revealed. It’s surprising how much can fit into so few pages.
I really enjoyed the story, the pacing and where everything went. My only disappointment is that it ended before I felt like it was done. The main plot point is concluded and the story suddenly ends a few pages later. Perhaps there will be a sequel one day, or perhaps my Kindle ‘time left’ hijacked my brain into thinking I had longer left in the book than I did.
Overall, this is a quick, interesting read that will keep you entertained.
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