A prequel to his novella Made Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s short story Precious Little Things is a brilliant little story that’s full of magic and imagination, but isn’t afraid to deal with real-world issues too. In the soaring halls of the Tower live the varied tribes of the Homunculi, tiny creatures of wood, metal, paper, wax and more, brought to life by the power of the Maker. Roughly made of crude wood, Tam risks much to seek out gold for his daughter so that she can exceed the limitations of her humble origins, unintentionally setting her on a path that will change their entire society.
Right from the opening lines there’s a wonderful sense of scale to this story, as though Tchaikovsky took The Borrowers, added a hefty splash of magic and transplanted them into a wizard’s tower full of old books and ever-burning candles. It’s an absolute joy to explore this oversized world through the eyes of first Tam and then Liat, his daughter, but at the same time this really isn’t a sweet and gentle story. Tam’s determination to set Liat on the right path is driven by an acute sense of time and life being finite, and it quickly becomes clear that the Tower’s society is as riddled with prejudice and inequality as our own is. Whether you read this as a standalone or alongside Made Things, it’s a vibrant, characterful and well-observed story that’s full of life and wonder.
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