Just finished my first book of the year, Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I think he’s now my favorite author, at least currently writing. He’s so good at so many things, from hard SF to fantasy. He’s created some really interesting worlds, and populated them with interesting characters.
So far, I’ve read these books of his (order I read them, not order published):
- Children of Time
- Children of Ruin
- Children of Memory
- Made Things
- Walking to Aldebaran
- Service Model
- Shroud
- City of Last Chances
- Alien Clay
Each of these is a gem. The children of time series has to be an all-time great SF trilogy. If you want my little paragraph of spoiler-free notes on why of them, let me know.
I love Tchaikovsky, but sometimes I wonder if he’d be better off spending a bit more time with each book instead of cranking out so many of them.
Like… each of his books seems to accomplish exactly what he wants it to, and as soon as it gets there he sends it to the publisher and starts the next one. But I feel like most of them have room for an extra layer of subtext, if he were to set them aside for a few months and reflect on them and come back to them with fresh eyes.
But that’s probably more on the genre expectations for speculative vs literary fiction than on Tchaikovsky as a writer.
I get that with some of them. It’s not true of the Children of Time series, but probably a fair criticism of City of Last Chances, which I liked, but not as much as others.
A few of the titles I listed are novellas, so intentionally briefer than the novels.
I agree with this. I am a big fan of his, and I read Alien Clay most recently. It was enjoyable but definitely felt like a concept that should have been fleshed out into a better* narrative. *-better being completely subjective
With that said, I think he is one of the best in the business in basically all areas.
I agree completely. Shroud in particular suffers for this; I found myself wishing it was double the length but containing the same story, just so the world-building could feel a bit more, I don’t know, inhabited.
Children of time series was superb. Thanks for reminding me to check out the rest!
The “Children of” trilogy is so good.
Its probably my favorite scifi series of all time. I recommend it to everyone (unless they’re creeped out by spiders).
I’m creeped out by spiders, and I still recommend it. It’s just that good.
I recommended it to a buddy of mine because he’s obsessed with spiders and facts about spiders.
He was one of the first writers that imho was able to create truly alien species and really bring them to life. I’ve read and watched SF for decades and almost always the aliens were like humans in a humanoid body, with human emotions and desires. But the spiders and the octopus species were truly alien, while he was able to create them as wonderful species in their own right.
So far i’ve only read the first two ‘Children of…’
You’re exactly right - he’s got a knack for creating really novel aliens, and for me that’s one of the joys of SF. I was really thinking that while reading Shroud was well.
I love most of what he’s written, and he is prolific and the books are different from each other.
Yeah, you can never say, “Oh, that’s a typical Tchaikovsky novel.”
Service Model is one of my all time favorite books. He takes the concepts to their logical conclusion around how a society filled with robots and cold computer logic would evolve. As bleak as it was, he made it funny. And like other posters said about his work, the ending was hopeful.
I also read One Day All This Will Be Yours . It was a really good story with time travel. One of the concepts was time travelers kept fiddling with the past, resulting in a present that existed without the things that happened in the past leading to the present. This book was also funny :)
He does a good job at humor, for sure. I haven’t read One Day…
Absolutely loved Children of Time, really liked Children of Ruin, was very disappointed with Children of Memory. And that carried into Alien Clay, which was a real slog for me to get through, and burnt through the considerable credit he had in the bank from Children of Time. It started off ok. Reminded me of something else I read a long time ago, but I can’t pin it down. I might go back to something before Children of Time when I have the energy to give him another chance, but I have a decent reading pile waiting for me for now.
I liked Alien Clay pretty well. Here’s what I wrote in my notes about Children of Memory:
- Third in the series that starts with Children of Time. Not a cookie cutter sequel, and a somewhat challenging book. The first two in the series alternate between two linear stories set a long time apart. This one isn’t told in a linear way. Many of the characters from the prior book go to one of the planets listed as a terraforming project of the original earth civilization and find a struggling town of people. I really like how Tchaikovsky wrestles with what the right thing to do is in complex situations. Good series all around.
I thought it was good, and he did something unusual in the storytelling, but it was tougher.
Have you read Service Model? That one is fun. Here’s are my notes:
- Charles, a high-end robot valet, finds that he has murdered his master, though he doesn’t know why. To find the answer, he heads to Diagnostics, leaving the grounds for the first time. He finds civilization has collapsed, with robots like himself at various levels of functionality. He also meets The Wonk, who believes Charles has become sentient. This book is a treasure. Fans of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams will find something to love here.
Added Service Model to my wishlist, thanks for the tip!
Adrian is up there with Iain M Banks for me.
I like Banks, but I don’t love Banks the way a lot of people do. One thing that always bothers me is the relationships in his stories always seem so thin. When he has a love interest, the characters often talk about how much they love the other person, but it doesn’t ever seem genuine.
I just started the last book of the Final Architecture trilogy. Not as good as the Children of Time series imo, but still very good. Tchaikovsky is becoming one of those authors that I’ll probably read whatever he puts out (along with Alastair Reynolds).
Which of the standalones did you like the best?
Adrian gets the award for most science fiction author looking science fiction author.
Which of the standalones did you like the best?
Of the ones I’ve read, I’d have to say Service Model. It was just so fun - much lighter than most of the others though. Shroud was a little more meaty, and I really liked it. Another fresh take on alien life. The one I liked the least was City of Last Chances. It wasn’t bad, but it was weaker than his other books.
Nice, Service Model was my next one on deck. The synopsis looked super enjoyable, so now I’m excited 👍
Let us know what you think after you’ve read it.
Agree about favorite current author, I’m currently working through the shadows of the apt series after picking up the humble bundle. Children of time was also my first introduction to him, and have been hooked ever since. You probably know, but children of strife cones out in March.
I still can’t wrap my mind around how I am supposed to imagine the kinden, like should I imagine them as more human with insect features or insects with humanoid features?
Haha, yeah for several of them I have a pretty strong mental image of what I think they’d look like, but I don’t think it actually lines up with how they are described in the book at all.
The guy is crazy prolific considering how substantial most of his books are. Must be amazingly talented. I’ll for sure be reading Strife.
Yeah, the consistency of quality is really impressive for how much he publishes. In the first shadows if the apt book, you can tell he’s a younger author (compared to some of his more recent works) but it’s still really well written for a first book. I’ve been meaning to give his podcast a listen, but haven’t gotten around to it.
Let us know what you think if you do. I’m not a podcast guy, so I doubt I will.
