Made Things cover art

Made Things

A whimsical fantasy tale where the most unlikely characters can become heroic. From award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Made Things

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Made Things is a dark yet whimsical fantasy tale full of magic, half-mages and puppet companions. Includes the bonus short story ‘Precious Little Things’!

In a city built on secrets, the smallest thieves cast the longest shadows.


Welcome to Fountains Parish – a cesspit of trade and crime, where hope rots like week-old bread. Coppelia is a street thief and trickster with a small talent for magic. She also has a hidden advantage: a crew of tiny, living puppet companions, some made of wood and some of metal. They don't entirely trust her, but together they survive the cobbled slums.

But survival is no longer enough when a local crime lord coerces Coppelia into a high-stakes heist – breaking into a mage’s palace. It could make her fortune, or ruin her entirely. But as their plans progress, a secret emerges which changes everything. Suddenly, Coppelia and her companions aren't just fighting for a payday. They’re the only thing standing between the great city and its destruction.

* * *

‘One of the best storytellers in the business’
– John Scalzi, author of Old Man’s War

Made Things is a thrilling parable about the abuse of power’
The Guardian

‘The dashingly roguish cast, clever prose and well-placed moments of heartfelt emotion are sure to delight’
Publishers Weekly

Intriguing, evocative imagery and quirky characters’
SFX Magazine

Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fantasy Thief
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Critic reviews

Thieves, mages, and miniature golems run afoul of each other in this charming novella set in a steampunk fantasy world . . . The dashingly roguish cast, clever prose and well-placed moments of heartfelt emotion are sure to delight
A classically brilliant fantasy writer, a pusher of boundaries, a great storyteller (Paul Cornell, author of Witches of Lychford)
One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction (Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and To Sleep in a Sea of Stars)
Equally deft in the realms of science fiction and fantasy adventure, Adrian Tchaikovsky knows how to take you to a place, no matter the setting (SciFiNow on The Tiger and the Wolf)
Intelligent, funny, ultimately heart-breaking, and unforgettable (Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima, on Service Model)
Picking up an Adrian Tchaikovsky book is proof you love your brain and want it to be happy (John Scalzi, author of Starter Villain)
This is Tchaikovsky at his best . . . in this time of potential self-aware AI, and actual wholesale inhumanity . . this reprint [is] particularly timely (Paul St John Mackintosh. the author of The Echo of the Sea and Other Strange War Stories)
All stars
Most relevant
Amazing fast paced fantasy story, fun characters and a great writing, recommend for anyone looking for a fast paced fantasy adventure

Brilliant as always

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This was such a lovely gentle book with made creatures animated by magic. A misfit cast of characters and an evil to overcome. Delightful.

Superb little fantasy story

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