Wish I'd bought the book...

Not as imaginative as AT's previous books, this seems a little vanilla. What really let's it down is the narration. There's no menace or peril, some of the characters sound like 14 year old children. I'll read the next one.

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8 people found this helpful

wonderfully funny, imaginative & horrific

I'd previously only read Children of Time from Tchaikovsky, a novel which is endlessly imaginative if a little... cold. The relative lack of humanity in the story was born out in the text, which lacked much in the way of humour or levity. However, it made up for it with sensational world-building, speculative evolution spinning off into such bizarre but credible pathways.

His Final Architecture series is, so far (I've listened to the first 2 books) quite different. The detailed, complex and slightly inscrutable setting is certainly still present, though with as much focus on technological advancement as biological evolution this time.

The characters, meanwhile, are far more relatable than in Children of Time. They are flawed, brave, cowardly, and determined in turn, with a strong core of idiosyncrasies running throughout each of them. Most of all, though, they are just damned FUNNY, despite not all of them even being human.

Special commendations to Olly and Trine, in particular. Olly is so beautifully profane in her speech, which is set off perfectly by the sardonic Yorkshire-esque twang that Sophie Aldred gives her. The level of mortal offence she takes at the presence, the mere existence, of others is a delight. She is the grumpiest arsehole with a heart of gold that I have come across in a while.

Then we have Trine, a character so utterly alien, yet man-made. The Hivers are basically sentient colonies of insects. Trine has refused to return his constituent parts back to the central depository for so long that they (accurate pronoun) have developed ego and eccentricities in equal measures.

I never get bored of these characters. The only one who annoys me a little is Idris, who is ostensibly the central character of this space opera. However, he makes up for his meek timidness by refusing to back down, insisting a course of action is necessary until it happens. Besides being a human McGuffin, always being kidnapped and passed from pillar to post against his own desires, he slowly develops into someone determined to do the right thing no matter the cost, so by the end of book 2 you are stood up rooting for him!

I have loved this series, and cannot wait from the next installment at the end of April 2023.

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1 person found this helpful

Perfect start to a trilogy

A great story by an author in their prime made excellent by the best narrator I've heard in a long time.

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Tchaikovsky can do no wrong

A brilliant tale, well told.

I shall be demolishing this series in days at this rate!

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The choice of reader is a shame.

Fascinating storyline. The reader leaves a lot to be desired. A very samey voice, whatever the action.

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Fascinating tale with memorable characters

I really loved AT's Children series so picked Shards of Earth up when I saw it on sale. so glad I did. The story AT has come up with is great, and equally as complex and riveting as the Children series. I have loved the characters. Ollie Teemu is now one of my favourite characters from any series. Looking forward to part two.

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Great

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Bit slow to start but by the end I was ready for more. I notice a few reviews describing it as tortuous, dry, dull... It's none of those things.

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Best Sci fi I have heard in ages

loved it. Great story, well drawn characters and excellent narration - I enjoyed the varied accents!

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Clever and original

Tchaikovsky never fails to disappoint. Clever, engaging, and unlike any other Sci Fi I've read (though he does borrow themes from some of his other work, which I'll allow).

My one criticism is I wish he was a little more careful with some of the physics. A few slip ups across this book + Children of Time suggests he doesn't quite understand how orbits work. Counterintuitively, if you want to make a quick escape from a planet, you want to be in a low (fast) orbit, not a high (slow) one.

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Animals in Space.

This story features a gangster clam and an existential geode. 5 out of 5. Amazing.

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