Gothic Fantasy Cities Just Hit Different || An Essay on CITY OF LAST CHANCES and THE GUTTER PRAYER

Duration: 14:24 1774 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The video essay explores the unique atmospheric quality of Gothic fantasy cities found in Adrien Chaikovsky's *City of Last Chances* and Garrett Hannerhan's *Black Iron Legacy*, arguing that these settings "hit different" by vividly portraying confusion, complexity, and a multitude of conflicting voices. Both Ilmar and Gerdon are depicted as sprawling urban environments where physical structures—ranging from spiky arches and dirty glass to ancient ruins and mana houses—reflect not just architectural style but deep temporal layers and social stratification. In these cities, secrets drive the fates of all inhabitants regardless of status, with connections between characters of vastly different backgrounds serving as catalysts for transformation; whether it is a rivalry between an academic and a refugee wizard in Ilmar or alliances involving thieves and ghouls in Gerdon, the narrative webs are dense enough to propel entire societies toward breaking points. A central theme connecting these two fictional worlds is their existence under constant tension with themselves, driven by industrial might that masks darker realities beneath a veneer of progress. While both cities serve as economic powerhouses exporting unique goods—Ilmar through demon-powered industry and Gerdon via alchemical renaissance—they stand in stark contrast to the imperial ambitions they face or emulate; Ilmar is besieged by totalitarian invaders who view its potential solely as an opportunity for conquest, whereas Gerdon uses trade to maintain peace against similar threats. The essay highlights that despite their differences, both settings are haunted by a history of exploitation and violence where industry relies on the suffering of the poor, criminals, and refugees who breathe in toxic smoke or serve as reagents for inventions, illustrating how economic growth often comes at a fatal cost to the vulnerable populations living in its shadow. Furthermore, these Gothic cityscapes are deeply rooted in their own bloody pasts that refuse to fade away, acting instead as active forces shaping the present and future much like classic Gothic literature suggests. In Gerdon, ancient black iron gods feast on sacrificed souls while growing tyrannical shadows from history remain largely forgotten yet terrifyingly powerful, whereas Ilmar's old quarter is permeated by a miasma of decay where former dukes hang as specters that drive inhabitants mad with their refusal to let go. Even the centers of learning within these cities are not neutral grounds but institutions burdened by agendas and institutional memory; universities in both settings operate under strict constraints or nefarious fronts, revealing how knowledge itself is entangled with power dynamics and historical sins that continue to haunt the current reality. Ultimately, the video concludes that there is a profound synergy between Gothic fantasy aesthetics and social commentary, where decrepit grandeur serves as a backdrop for stories about progress built on oppression and negotiation replacing conquest through trade. The author expresses strong admiration for these specific settings not only within their respective book series but across the wider works of Chaikovsky and Hannerhan, noting that Gerdon is among his favorite cityscapes globally while praising both authors' broader contributions to sci-fi and fantasy genres. By examining how these cities function as microcosms of empire, industry, and historical trauma, the essay invites readers to explore these worlds for themselves to experience their splendid intricacies firsthand, encouraging engagement with the books through thoughtful discussion rather than sensationalism.

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Imagine an urban spread of countless buildings, their ages and styles suggesting not just a physical but a temporal sprawl. Clawing at the sky are spiky arches, stone and twisting metal and glass dirty with suit. Down below, brick buildings and sprawling mana houses stand behind fences of iron lattis work, while ancient ruins cast an undeniable promise on the desperate inhabitants of squalid ghettos and city slums. Secrets are bought and sold for fortunes or a pittance. And with them the fates of rich and poor, powerful and weak alike, are altered, even reversed. Return above. Notice also the thousand thousand chimneys of varying sizes. They spew smoke without paws. It is not just the consequence of burning wood that no it is the pro byproduct of industrial and alchemical industry the backbone of the cities of Ilmar and Gerdon respectively Ilmar the setting of AdrienChaikovsky's city of last chances is a city of demonpowered industry under the opaces of a totalitarian empire obsessed with purity Gdon, meanwhile, is an alchemical island of relative sanity during a conflict that has driven the very gods mad in Garrett Hanhan's Dark Iron Legacy series. I find I have a soft spot for such fantastic cityscapes as these. They just hit different. They are well able to portray the confusion, the complexity, the sheer multitude of voices and interests [music] that animate any city sprawl. There is a tradition here that horses draw from when they render such cityscapes in their works. The cities and the connections that entwine the characters within them are positively denzian. Contrivances of every sort connect characters from vastly different social status. A rivalry between an influential academic and a refugee wizard forced to play the role of a fence in Chaikovsky's city, for example, drives social forces inside Ilmar towards a breaking point in ways that neither character could have imagined. Likewise, when Garrett Henrahan puts together a disinherited noble turned thief with a ghoul and a stoneman of Gerdon, they each come with nodes of unique connections between them that jumpst start a transformation to the face of this alchemical powerhouse of a city. These cityscapes have a lot more in common. Both are places in tension with themselves. As Hanhan writes about Gerdon, Ilmar is a powerhouse of industry. This is a big part of why the Palisine invaders were so desperate to extend their rule to the citystate. Ilmar is also the site of a most unusual mystery. The anchorage and the cops of woods that rests just outside it. This handful of trees conceal a pathway, a shortcut to far away and unknown lands. The pals see opportunity here to extend their conquest and to benefit from its incredible capacity for simplifying trade. True, no one has yet domesticated the woods. all the strange masked inddwellers who play the role of guides within it. But the Palestine are ambitious. Theirs is the conqueror's certainty, looking to the failures of the conquered as a deficiency in the ilm mari rather than something to draw lessons from. They see only the potential, not the danger that the wood represents. Admittedly, the potential is great. Imagine trade caravans reaching for a few days lands that it would take them months and supreme effort to reach otherwise. What the pals imagine must be very like the trade that Hanhan's Gerdon has accomplished for itself. I quote, "If the map were accurate, it would show Gerdon in brilliant silver with silver trade routes spiraling out to all four corners and of the map to the archipelago, carrying wonders of the alchemical renaissance. The difference is Gerdon is what Ilar used to be, a proud independent nation state, an exporter to outside nations. trade his survival to Gerdon. The unique alchemical products that they offer to the great powers of the archipelago are not only the city's chief source of income, they're also a guarantor for peace. The Palisine are instead a farreaching empire, the very kind that Gerdon in another story world seeks to protect itself from through the trade of unique goods. All the Palestines trade would seek to uphold the cohesion of their empire or to seduce other nations into joining true negotiation rather than conquest. To empire, trade is simply another avenue for occupation. I know what some be thinking. What? Trade doesn't have anything to do with Gothic. [music] Wrong. Where do you think the impeccable vibes of the Gothic genre come from? Those fancy mana houses are built on riches from industry and colonial exploitation. And those in turn are accumulated on profiting of empire and imperialism, whether directly as the Palestine do or indirectly as is the case with Gerdon. Both cities likewise are haunted by ancient bloody history. In neither case is this history truly put to bed. Rather like in the best Gothic literature, the sins of the past haunt the present and have fatal consequences for the future. Gdon's black iron gods, I quote, so named because these deities were incarnated inferrated perhaps as statues made of metal. end quotes are an obscene and tyrannical shadow from the past, terrifying enough to be largely forgotten. They were able to feast on the souls of those sa sacrificed to them and grow more powerful carrying gods so hungry they could not abide the slightest [music] gap between mouth and meat. wallowing in murder, writes Hanrahan in the gutter prayer. Ilmar has its old quarter where the old ducal line subscene will hangs like a miasma, driving mad most everyone who makes the mistake of stepping foot within the reproach. I quote, "The decay seemed accelerated beyond reason, even for how long this district had crumbled here, abandoned, or not abandoned. People lived in the reproach, although not exactly people, or perhaps not exactly lived." Ricechaikovski on page 112 of the City of Lost Chances. The Vatzen Duke, Ilmar's old master, makes for a terrifying spectre, and his refusal to let go of this quarter of the city has a powerful symbolic charge about the way that the past defines the present. Ilmar and Gdon have another trait in common. They both house significant universities, centers of learning filled with university students eager to change the world for the better. [music] Though their efforts are often steamied by institutional forces within and beyond [music] the university itself, the knowledge these universities offer is not absolute and it is not without an agenda. Yomar's maestros have come to an agreement with the palisine teaching material that's just on the border of what the totalitarian regime is willing to tolerate in return for access to the university's accumulated knowledge. Gdon's university is a front for some nefarious activities. Its institutional memory is not beyond reproach, and their financing makes them accountable to noble patrons and government alike. Of course, industry is buried in the bowels of these Gothic cities. [music] In Ilmar, it is powered by demons, the denisens of an infernal dimension. They are trapped and for all intents and purposes trafficked by their own feudal lords into performing work that no human being is capable of performing. The horror of such imprisonment of tireless work forced on by cruel contracts. Well, if it's not ringing alarm bells of recognition, you haven't been paying attention. In the shadow of industry live the poorest and most precarious. All of them breathing in the smoke from a million burning hearts that hangs overhead like a ruddy pole. Writes Hanhan. Desperate refugees of distant wars. Criminals striving to survive the vulnerable and powerless. All of them carry the brunt of the engine of economic growth that is industry. dying due to the poisonous byproducts of this industry or even being used as reagents for the alchemical inventions that Gerdon's independence relies on. I love fantasy of every shape and size. Yet, there is something about these Gothic fantasy [music] cities about the kind of stories that can be told within such settings. The intrigue, the decrepit grandeur, the brushes with the past and the icons of bloody progress, aiming to prop up a disquing present. [music] Can't get enough of those. This is why I would heartily recommend that if anything I've spoken about sounds good to you, you should absolutely check out Adrien Chaikovsky's The City of Last Chances. A phenomenal first novel in an interconnected but not in uh not dependent series of novels under the name the tyrant philosophers. There are three of them published with a fourth and last one in the quarted coming out I think either in autumn 2025 or in early winter 2025. Likewise, Garrett Hanhan's Black Iron Legacy series, which currently has three books of, I think, seven planned, is an absolute phenomenon of a series. I love it to bits and Gon is one of my favorite cityscapes in the whole world. You should check both of these authors, not just in those particular books and series, but also in their wider uh opuses. Garrett Hannerhan is a writer of TTRPGs. I have played quite a few of his adventures now or read some of his materials anyway and I'm beyond charmed. Adrien Chaikovski is a phenomenal novelist of sci-fi as well as fantasy. I will be talking about some of his sci-fi. I've written some uh academic work on Chaikovsky's novels before. If you're interested in it, you can email me about that. And by all means, enjoy these books. Find for yourselves these cities because they are well and truly splendid. I'm Philip Magnus. This is possibly the Tower of Books YouTube channel. I think maybe that's the name I'm picking. If not, whoops. And uh I will see you next time. I do sci-fi reviews on Mondays. I do fantasy reviews on Wednesdays. And I do miscellaneous videos, essays, reviews of comic books, uh, classic literature, literary fiction on Fridays. Maybe I do even more than that. Or maybe I will. Who knows? Not me. If you enjoy this video, please like, share, and subscribe. Send it to your grandma. And um, yeah, let me know what you think about Gothic fantasy cities, about the Gothic genre. as a larger social phenomena and I will be happy to not only uh read your comments, I will respond to them and I will do my best to do so in a thoughtful manner which I I hope this YouTube channel is all about approaching books in a thoughtful and enjoyable way without uh undue sensationalism. I'm Philip Magnus and I will see you again next time. Bye.