Featuring: Charlotte Bond, Stephen Breyer, Rex Chapman, Anna Dorn, Jesse David Fox, Eugenie Montague, Robin Peguero, Alexis Soloski, Richard Swan, Kara Swisher, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Teddy Wayne, Hugh Wilford
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Upcoming: ALIEN CLAY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK)
I stumbled across Alien Clay while looking for a different book by Adrian Tchaikovsky, but it should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been following CR for even a short while that I am a big fan of the author’s work, so it is always nice to learn of another upcoming book! This is obviously now on my Most Anticipated in 2024 list. Due to be published next year in the UK by Tor Books, here’s the synopsis for this “thrilling far-future adventure”:
The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there.
In the midst a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln but distant Earth as well.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay is due to be published by Tor Books in the UK, on March 28th, 2024. No information about a North American publisher, at time of writing, but many of the author’s previous novels have been published across the Pond by Orbit Books.
Also on CR: Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky (2012); Guest Posts on “Nine Books, Six Years, One Stenwold Maker”, “The Art of Gunsmithing — Writing Guns of the Dawn“, “Looking for God in Melnibone Places: Fantasy and Religion”, and “Eye of the Spider”; Excerpt from Guns of the Dawn; Reviews of Empire of Black & Gold, Guns of the Dawn, Children of Ruin, Spiderlight, Ironclads, Made Things, Shards of Earth, One Day All This Will Be Yours, and Ogres
New Books (January-February 2023)
Nicely varied selection, from thrillers to history. In an unusual twist, I’ve already read a few of them, too. Any of these upcoming titles catch your eye?
Featuring: David Baldacci, Sarah Clegg, Gareth Hanrahan, Nash Jenkins, Cassandra Khaw, Hannah Kaner, Ian McDonald, Aimee Ogden, Megan E. O’Keefe, Adrian Tchaikovsky, David Wellington
New Books (October)
Another interesting and varied selection of review copies and recent purchases. Many of the ARCs are for books that aren’t out for quite some time, so reviews probably won’t be up for a little while. They are, however, all highly anticipated by me, so I wanted to get them mentioned ASAP.
Featuring: Jennifer Banash, Marc Collins, Laura Hankin, CJ Leede, Kate Manning, Holly Goldberg Sloan, Tom Rob Smith, Karin Tanabe, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Gav Thorpe, Martha Wells
New Books (September)
I’m going to be sharing these a bit more frequently, I think. As I’m spending less time on social media, where I would often share as-they-come-in updates and so forth, I don’t want any books to get overlooked or missed.
Featuring: David Annandale, Natalie Haynes, A. M. Homes, Steven Hyden, Alma Katsu, Anthony McCarten, Kyle Mills, Walter Mosley, Anthony Reynolds, James Rollins, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Moses Ose Utomi
Upcoming: CHILDREN OF MEMORY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor UK/Orbit)
The Clark Award-winning Children of Time (2015) by Adrian Tchaikovsky was, for a short while, one of the best stand-alone science fiction novels I’ve read. In 2019, Tchaikovsky surprised fans by publishing a sequel, Children of Ruin (2019) — a sequel that did not disappoint. Well, this November, fans will be able to return to the setting with Children of Memory! If you’ve yet to read Children of Time, then I strongly recommend it if you’re a fan of science fiction. For those who have, here’s the synopsis for the upcoming third novel:
When Earth failed, it sent out arkships to establish new outposts. So the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive on Imir, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear, on a world where everyone knows their neighbour. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling new technology – for they have come from the stars, to help humanity’s lost colonies. But not all is as it seems on Imir.
As the visitors lose track of time and memories, they discover the colonists fear unknown enemies and Imir’s own murky history. Neighbour turns against neighbour, as society fractures in the face of this terrifying foe. Perhaps some other intelligence is at work, toying with colonists and space-faring scientists alike? But not all questions are so easily answered – and the price may be the colony itself.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Memory is due to be published by Tor Books in the UK (November 24th) and Orbit Books in North America (January 31st, 2023).
Also on CR: Reviews of Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth; Interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky (2012)
Upcoming: CITY OF LAST CHANCES by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Head of Zeus/Aries)
I was doing some typical mid-afternoon-searching-for-new-books, and I stumbled across this rather fetching cover for one of Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s upcoming novels, City of Last Chances. Long-time readers of CR will know that Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite authors, so any new novel of his is something worth shouting about and drawing attention to. Really looking forward to reading this one! Due to be published by Head of Zeus/Aries in December, check out the synopsis:
A darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution.
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.
What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?
Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.
Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.
Ilmar, City of Long Shadows.
City of Bad Decisions.
City of Last Chances.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s City of Last Chances is due to be published by Head of Zeus/Aries in the UK, on December 8th.
New Books (January-February)
Featuring: Howard Blum, Becky Chambers, Marika Cobbold, David Dalglish, Will Dean, Jennifer Fawcett, Lee Goldberg, Elizabeth Hand, Tom Hindle, Chris Holm, Adam Oyebanji, Robin Peguero, Maggie Shipstead, Peter Spiegelman, Anna Stephens, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Saeed Teebi, Lavie Tidhar, P. J. Tracy, Jing Tsu, Kimberly Unger, Ally Wilkes, Gabrielle Zevin, Ying Zhu
Quick Review: OGRES by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Solaris)
An excellent novella from one of the modern masters of fantasy/sci-fi
Ogres are bigger than you.
Ogres are stronger than you.
Ogres rule the world.
It’s always idyllic in the village until the landlord comes to call.
Because the landlord is an Ogre. And Ogres rule the world, with their size and strength and appetites. It’s always been that way. It’s the natural order of the world. And they only eat people sometimes.
But when the headman’s son, Torquell, dares lift his hand against the landlord’s son, he sets himself on a path to learn the terrible truth about the Ogres, and about the dark sciences that ensured their rule.
Tchaikovsky’s latest novella is an intriguing, engaging examination of a whole swathe of human qualities — ambition, weakness, economics, and more. Interesting from start to finish, it’s packed with original spins on a number of fantasy/sci-fi features. Each year, the author publishes a new book that shows readers that his range is far larger than we already believed. Continue reading
Upcoming: EYES OF THE VOID by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit/Tor)
The cover for the second novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky‘s Final Architecture series, Eyes of the Void, was unveiled a little while ago (perhaps officially today). If you haven’t had a chance to read the first book — Shards of Earth — then I’d definitely recommend you get on that ASAP (I cannot recommend the author’s work highly enough). A series “about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man’s discovery will save or destroy us all”, here’s the synopsis for book two:
After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artefacts – vestiges of a long-vanished civilization – could save a world from annihilation. This time, the Architects have discovered a way to circumvent these protective relics. Suddenly, no planet is safe.
Facing impending extinction, the Human Colonies are in turmoil. While some believe a unified front is the only way to stop the Architects, others insist humanity should fight alone. And there are those who would seek to benefit from the fractured politics of war – even as the Architects loom ever closer.
Idris, who has spent decades running from the horrors of his past, finds himself thrust back onto the battlefront. As an Intermediary, he could be one of the few to turn the tide of war. With a handful of allies, he searches for a weapon that could push back the Architects and save the galaxy. But to do so, he must return to the nightmarish unspace, where his mind was broken and remade.
What Idris discovers there will change everything.
Eyes of the Void is due to be published by Orbit Books in North America (May 3rd) and Tor Books in the UK (April 28th).
Civilian Reader 