Cover Image: Walking to Aldebaran

Walking to Aldebaran

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"Walking to Aldebaran" by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a captivating blend of science fiction and psychological drama. As astronaut Gary Rendell navigates an alien labyrinth, the tale oscillates between eerie suspense and dark humor. Tchaikovsky masterfully unravels both the mysteries of space and the human psyche in this gripping novella.

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I read this short book because some of my friends were raving about the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and his Children of Time series of novels. I did not enjoy reading it. In part this is the author's intent since this is a horror story. But unfortunately, the story drags on for too long and the end is somewhat predictable.
The story follows an astronaut lost in an alien structure, which is pretty hostile.

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Tchaikovsky is as good at writing SF, as he is at writing fantasy. Maybe even better. Not only does he have good characters, but he gets the big ideas, the way "Three Body Problem" did (but without the characters). So we have a solid science, interesting plot and believable human characters, too. That's why the man gets the awards and five stars from me,

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A fantastic book, with a dark and very disturbing undercurrent. One of the author's best, in my opinion.

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A gripping edge of seat science fiction story. I had no idea where it was going to lead or how it would conclude. Very satisfying.

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Decades ago, a Night Gallery episode featured the conundrum of astronauts landing in an unknown location, no hope of departure or return home. The ironic paradox lay in where they had landed, and the consequences, driven on both sides by what H. P. Lovecraft termed mankind's greatest fear, fear of the unknown. That fear can blind us to both common sense and discernment, skewing our perspective so we can't recognize reality.


WALKING TO ALDEBARAN is both Space Opera with Hard SciFi, and a fine work of psychological horror and of the descent into madness so peculiar to the race of humanity.

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I asked for the arc because usually I have a hard time finding sci-fy books that I enjoy and I wanted to try this author, since he is a really popular author of the genre. I loved the book, it was captivating and I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books he has published.

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"Rendezvous With Rama", the Ironic Version

I love that the author is always introduced as, "...the Arthur C. Clarke award-winning..." Adrian Tchaikovsky, because this book struck me as a funny, sad, ironic, slightly demented, and hip snarky take on the first, best, Arthur C. Clarke "Rama" book. And that was fine by me.

The physically impossible alien artifact is neat, our hero's wandering and musing is engaging and ultimately unnerving, the twists and turns are dark and clever. This book doesn't at all benefit from spoilers, or even hints of spoilers, so restraint here is in order. (ahem, "Beowulf".) I'd just say that if you like unreliable narrators, things that go bump in the night, and a "Heart of Darkness" trip to the stars, this novella would be a fine choice.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

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I’m really late to this one, I know, but it caught my eye on my Kindle today and I dug in. It was a longer read than it looked, but it still went down pretty easy; by 60% of the way through, I had a solid idea about where it was going. I hadn’t quite caught all the nuances, though. But this is starting at the end.

To start at the beginning, Walking to Aldebaran is a novella-length story about Gary Rendell, a somewhat Mark Watney-esque character who is lost within the depths of a Big Dumb Object. The Mark Watney comparison is mostly referring to the narration, which has a very similar tone; Rendell, however, is rather less ingenious and rather more to putting his head down and charging at whatever it is that’s bothering him. Mostly, he just wants to go home, but the Crypts (his name for the Big Dumb Object) are vast, confusing, and full of physics that makes no sense.

I’ll be honest: while reading it, I was mostly thinking about how much more it would be up my wife’s alley. There’s a lot of weirdness going on, and some horror elements, that all in all reminds me of the work of Jeff Vandermeer or China Miéville. The narration is fairly straightforward — at times, Gary starts talking about how he got there, telling the story of the expedition and how the Big Dumb Object was discovered, but mostly it’s pretty linear and I thought I knew what was happening by around about 60% of the way through.

However, Tchaikovsky is not without his tricks. I didn’t quite catch on to everything until I peeked at other people’s reviews/discussions on Goodreads. That’s all I’ll say; too much would spoil it. It’s possible that I was having a particularly dim day not to spot it right away, of course, but I still appreciated it very much once I “got” it.

Overall, quite enjoyable, and I think it’s possible this is one that will stick in my head, despite it not being an outright awesome match for my reading tastes.

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WOooh-hoooo! What a ride ... walk!! Creepy & intriguing with self-mockery I appreciate.

This has been my first book by author Adrian Tchaikovsky, and certainly not my last!

Sci-Fi is not really the cup of tea that I usually take, but I am really glad I drank this ... or rather gobbled it up pretty quickly despite its being hot and spicy and very unusual. There are also some slight effects of disorientation and dizzyness... also, bewilderment, but in rather a good way.

This book is gripping, atmospheric, stratospheric and rather breathtaking, especially the end that kind of sucker-punches you.

And then I went and read it again.

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Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a little gem of a book. It's actually a novella, but it's worth the price of entry.

Gary Rendell is an astronaut, but he is lost and at least slightly crazed. We alternate between his present, wandering through a bizarre alien maze, encountering others, but not finding the other members of his mission, and the past, giving the lead up to the current mission.

In short, a probe to the outer reaches of the solar system found a giant and bizarre... structure (Gary calls it the face of a frog god) that seems to be fractal in layout. It swallows the probe, but the probe eventually reappears, sending readings that indicate that the structure may actually be a portal to other worlds. After much political fighting, an international mission is sent out to explore the structure. Gary is a member of the mission.

Once there, they find a half-built rocket that looks like something out of a pulp magazine, but is unimaginably ancient. a 'landing' party, including our protagonist, is sent down to establish a base and start exploring, which is of course when things go horribly wrong.

I will admit, I spent most of my book thinking of this book as a modern equivalent to Lovecraft. As a result, it wasn't until the last few pages that I finally figured what classic piece this book was also a retelling of. It was that realization that bumped up my appreciation of the story. I won't say what it was a retelling of, since I don't want to spoil it for other people.

But I will say that if you are a fan of the cosmic horror that Lovecraft praised, you will like this book.


Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this

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"Walking to Aldebaran" novella was published in 2019 and was written by Adrian Tchiakovsky. He has published nearly two dozen novels or novellas. 

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in the near future. An object has been detected at the far reaches of our solar system and an international group of astronauts is sent out to investigate. 

The primary character, Gary Rendell, is part of the group to land on the object and begin its exploration. When the team is attacked Rendell flees and is lost in the labyrinth tunnel system. He must find a means of survival as he wonders the tunnels. The tunnels hold what he thinks are other explorers trapped on the object. The object seems to have many entrances and exits at many different points in space.

The time wondering alone begins to affect Rendell, then he finds the heart of the object and goes through a transformation, or at least he thinks that he does. By the time he finds his fellow humans, he has changed. 

I thought that the 3 hours I spent reading this 105-page science fiction novella were interesting. I found this to be a very strange read. Had it been longer, I would probably have called a Rule of 50 and just dropped it. It mostly deals with Rendell slowly going insane. This is not one that I would recommend.The cover art is OK. I give this novella a 3.4 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

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DNF @~40%

I adore Tchaikovsky's attention to detail when it comes to worldbuilding, and his fascinating premises--both of which were present in this novella--but I ended up bouncing off the narration pretty hard. I think the humour in this would be a hit or miss for some people. And unfortunately it was mostly the latter for me.

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The premise of Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Walking to Aldebaran" is fascinating: an astronaut trapped in a dark, cold, mysterious, and violent thing (and more on that label momentarily), tries to reunite with his fellow astronauts and escape. The "thing," which protagonist and narrator Gary Rendell calls "The Crypts" or "The Frog God" appeared on the edges of our solar system and is clearly created by some sort of alien. It is hostile, ever-changing, and deadly. The gravity shifts as Rendell moves through the crypts, and Rendell himself changes, adapting to the new threats he faces. The plot is the great strength of the novella. However, the narrator was, for me, the book's Achilles Heel. This is the first work by Tchaikovsky that I have read, and I approached it knowing nothing of his style. I don't know if the sarcastic, British wit is characteristic of his work, but his Gary Rendell turned me off. Some reviewers have compared Rendell to Mark Watney of "The Astronaut," and I can only chalk it up to personal preference that I found Watney delightful and Rendell annoying. I can overlook the occasional anachronism, but Rendell's language was so full of the slang of 2019 (such as using the modifier "AF" as shorthand for "as fuck") that it was hard to believe the character was an astronaut of the future. I expect the book will seem quite dated to readers in a few years, like reading a 1980s work where the characters say "Barf out! Gag me with a spoon!" If you can tolerate that and appreciate a wisecracking British narrator, this might be the work for you. I can't and it wasn't for me, despite its imaginative setting and premise.

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It’s worth saying that this is a novella. A short read that packs a punch. Light humour and some rough language. I didn’t think I would like it but was surprised that I did. I will definitely check out more by this author who I have skipped over in the past. I only read it because it was a free pre publication copy from Head of Zeus . I’ll look more closely next time I see. Adrian Tchaikovsky on a book cover.

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Normally a book by Adrian Tchaikovsky is something I will reliably enjoy.  So I was excited to get a review copy of his latest novella Walking To Aldebaran from Solaris.  But this one was a rare miss for me. 


The premise is intriguing - a first person narrative from Gary Rendell, one of the team sent to explore a mysterious structure found in space.  That structure turns out to be a gateway to the universe.  A hub that provides gate access to worlds across the universe.  But a hub that is inhabited by strange alien creatures and full of peril.  As Gary explores this strange environment he tells the story of the expedition, how he became separated from his team-mates, and the journey he is on.  It is full of encounters with aliens, miscommunication and a building sense of mystery about what it exactly has happened to Gary.  He has clearly undergone metamorphosis of some sort in this environment. 


But I struggled to engage with it.  I suspect a lot of that is down to the first person narration.  I struggled to connect with the blokish Gary and the strong voice he has telling his story.  And for all that there is a twist in the tale, I was left a bit underwhelmed. 


Goodreads rating: 2*

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*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


I am so glad I got to this early in 2020. This is a children's wacky science-fiction but written for adults, with gore and swearing, in the best possible way. A space exploration gone wrong, our protagonist finds himself in a mysterious cave network where gravity and even air cannot be taken for granted, and where strange creatures roam.

I listened to this book which was narrated by the author himself which is my favourite kind of audiobook. He had the same qualities that I love in Neil Gaiman's audiobooks; it's difficult to pin point but I think it's the strange story along with a certain type of humour. Overall I absolutely loved the audiobook.

The only thing that let this down to me was that it was slightly confusing, particularly towards the end. Maybe I missed something but I found that I got a bit lost in the last couple of chapters.

Overall I would highly recommend this book. It is witty and sarcastic, scary and full of strange things that kept me intrigued throughout.

4 out of 5 stars!

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This was well-written, the narrative drenched with sarcastic, dark British humor down to its very surprising end.

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Adrian Tchaikovsky is a chameleon when it comes to writing. I read three books of his already: Children of Time, Guns of the Dawn and now this one. All of which have completely different tone.I guess that's a laudable trait for a writer.

This was recommended to me by a friend in Goodreads after our disastrous buddy read on another book which was kind of similar, a solo journey into the unknown. I enjoyed the comedic tone of the main character, a less-sciency British Mark Watney, when he described his experiences which convinced me that I will never be a trailblazer who's willing to take the risk jumping into the unknown, alien territory in which the locales are not thoroughly mapped, researched, and came with instruction for contacts and possible ramifications and exit strategy.

But I digress. The novella might serve better as a novelette, since I was kind of bored near the middle (maybe the author's ploy to lull me into a cozy space?), though it does pick up its pace near the last third. It has a good finale. Is it a happy one? I guess you'll have to find out by yourself.

Thanks for the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read it. Will definitely read more SF from the author.

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