Member Review
Review by
Aravind R, Reviewer
Adrian Tchaikovsky has fast become one of my favourite authors; within the span of four books I have read by him, I have come to the conclusion that the reader can never go wrong with Tchaikovsky. Shards of Earth, the first in The Final Architects trilogy, is another splendid example of Tchaikovsky’s phenomenal imagination and skill!
Earth, along with billions of its occupants, was destroyed—twisted and warped into a colossal work of art, in fact—by an inscrutable enemy larger than Earth’s moon that came from the far reaches of the universe, whom the surviving humans named the Architect. Earth was but one of the multitude of worlds reshaped into bizarre artworks by Architects irrespective of what species of sentient beings those worlds housed. The only thing that worked for humans against Architects were Intermediaries, or Ints—humans with surgically altered brains capable of connecting with the gargantuan consciousness of the Architects—who, somehow, made the Architects go away more than eighty years after they had first appeared. Presently, about forty years since the disappearance of Architects, Idris Telemmier—one of the very few surviving original Ints who is living obscurely as the navigator of a salvage ship travelling the space and the deep void—and his crew discover something that portends the return of the dreaded Architects. Can humanity, and the other organisms, thwart the Architects once again? Or, will life, in all its forms, be snuffed out by the monstrous entities?
With the entire universe as his canvas, Tchaikovsky paints a dazzling picture of multiple worlds inhabited by many unique, fascinating beings in Shards of Earth—the Parthenon: genetically engineered female warriors, the Hannilambra: crab-like business-minded aliens, the Hivers: highly evolved cyborg insect intelligence, the Tothiat: super-resilient composite species, and the Essiel: enigmatic masters of the Hegemony. Each of these species and characters has a unique personality and voice, and Tchaikovsky brings them all to life effortlessly. He has a lot of trust in his reader’s ability to figure out things and thrusts them straightaway into the thick of things; the initial chapters take quite some patience, attention and perseverance to get through. Once past the starting blocks though, it becomes a spectacular ride through space and unspace—the uncharted, lethal, maddening deep void beyond real space navigable only by human Ints and few other alien species. The complex and entirely absorbing plot has plenty of breath-taking action sequences, all vividly described in Tchaikovsky’s engaging, intelligent prose. The characters—human ones and aliens alike—are superbly crafted and will be remembered for a long time.
Amidst the frenzied action, there definitely are a few places, especially when Idris engages his mind with bigger consciousnesses, where the pages feel like dragging. But those parts are small and far between, and the rest of the book just keeps the reader in its mesmerising hold right up to the excellent finish—conclusive in many senses but holding enough in suspense to make the sequel impatiently awaited. Now that is what I, and anybody who has read this magnificent Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Space Opera, want the most: Bring out the next volume, and the one next to it, immediately!
Thank you, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Tor / Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading the ARC of Shards of Earth in exchange for my honest review!
Earth, along with billions of its occupants, was destroyed—twisted and warped into a colossal work of art, in fact—by an inscrutable enemy larger than Earth’s moon that came from the far reaches of the universe, whom the surviving humans named the Architect. Earth was but one of the multitude of worlds reshaped into bizarre artworks by Architects irrespective of what species of sentient beings those worlds housed. The only thing that worked for humans against Architects were Intermediaries, or Ints—humans with surgically altered brains capable of connecting with the gargantuan consciousness of the Architects—who, somehow, made the Architects go away more than eighty years after they had first appeared. Presently, about forty years since the disappearance of Architects, Idris Telemmier—one of the very few surviving original Ints who is living obscurely as the navigator of a salvage ship travelling the space and the deep void—and his crew discover something that portends the return of the dreaded Architects. Can humanity, and the other organisms, thwart the Architects once again? Or, will life, in all its forms, be snuffed out by the monstrous entities?
With the entire universe as his canvas, Tchaikovsky paints a dazzling picture of multiple worlds inhabited by many unique, fascinating beings in Shards of Earth—the Parthenon: genetically engineered female warriors, the Hannilambra: crab-like business-minded aliens, the Hivers: highly evolved cyborg insect intelligence, the Tothiat: super-resilient composite species, and the Essiel: enigmatic masters of the Hegemony. Each of these species and characters has a unique personality and voice, and Tchaikovsky brings them all to life effortlessly. He has a lot of trust in his reader’s ability to figure out things and thrusts them straightaway into the thick of things; the initial chapters take quite some patience, attention and perseverance to get through. Once past the starting blocks though, it becomes a spectacular ride through space and unspace—the uncharted, lethal, maddening deep void beyond real space navigable only by human Ints and few other alien species. The complex and entirely absorbing plot has plenty of breath-taking action sequences, all vividly described in Tchaikovsky’s engaging, intelligent prose. The characters—human ones and aliens alike—are superbly crafted and will be remembered for a long time.
Amidst the frenzied action, there definitely are a few places, especially when Idris engages his mind with bigger consciousnesses, where the pages feel like dragging. But those parts are small and far between, and the rest of the book just keeps the reader in its mesmerising hold right up to the excellent finish—conclusive in many senses but holding enough in suspense to make the sequel impatiently awaited. Now that is what I, and anybody who has read this magnificent Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Space Opera, want the most: Bring out the next volume, and the one next to it, immediately!
Thank you, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Tor / Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading the ARC of Shards of Earth in exchange for my honest review!
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