Ogres (novella)

Ogres is a 2022 novella by Adrian Tchaikovsky, forming the third part of his Terrible Worlds: Revolutions series. It was nominated for several science fiction and fantasy awards, among them the Hugo Award and Locus Award.

The story follows Torquell, the son of a village headman in a world where humanity is ruled by a class of giant ogres called Masters. When the local Master, Sir Peter Grimes, comes to assess taxes, his son Gerald threatens Torquell. Torquell punches Gerald, breaking the law that forbids humans from striking a Master. In retaliation, the ogres kill and eat Torquell’s father. Torquell then kills Gerald with the same meat cleaver used to butcher his father.

Torquell flees to the forest and seeks shelter with an outlaw named Roben. Betrayed by one of Roben’s men, Torquell is captured by an ogre bounty hunter and taken to a prison, where Sir Peter beats him. Before Sir Peter can kill him, the wealthy ogress Baroness Isadora Lavaine rescues Torquell. She is a scientist who wants to study him.

For years, Torquell works on Isadora’s scientific staff, but he is shunned by her other human employees, especially the chief of staff, Minith. Minith thinks Torquell’s lack of scientific training is a problem and resents Isadora’s favoritism. From Isadora, Torquell learns the world’s history: centuries ago, an overpopulation crisis called the Brink nearly destroyed civilization. Some people were genetically engineered to be docile and need fewer resources—these became the “Economic” class, Torquell’s ancestors. The ruling class, unchanged, became the Masters, or ogres. Isadora identifies Torquell as an example of atavism, showing traits of unchanged humanity despite his Economic descent. He eventually flees her household.

Torquell returns to his village, kills Sir Peter, and reunites with Roben. Together, they form a small fighting force, invade Sir Peter’s estate, kill mourners, and burn down the mansion. This sparks a larger rebellion, with the Economic class waging guerrilla war against the ogre Masters. As the rebels gain ground, Isadora meets with Torquell to argue that his uprising is doomed by superior ogre technology. She reveals that earlier Masters committed genocide against the Economics to shrink the population.