This was my first Adrian Tchaikovsky novel. I was thrilled to be given a chance to read it. However, the novel never really captured me. I was thrown by the overuse of terms I didn't quite understand and I know part of that is me being new to the sci-fi genre. While I did appreciate the character development and the action in this book, there were just too many moments where I found myself dissecting words to figure out their meaning. I am still interested in picking up other works by Tchaikovsky but this book just wasn't for me.

This is the first book I have read by Adrian Tchaikovsky and it certainly lived up to the hype! Shards of Earth is book one in a new trilogy, The Final Architecture.

The universe described within this unputdownable space opera is expansive to say the least and contains many disparate alien worlds and intriguing species, multiple political factions and some surviving humans – Earth was destroyed eighty years before the start of the story. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the thoroughly imaginative alien species described.

At the beginning of the book, war has been raging throughout the universe, between the Architects, a race of vast crystalline, moon-sized, godlike beings who appear from nowhere, make delicate sculptures and artworks out of both planets and spacecraft, killing all lifeforms in the process, and then disappear again, off to devastate and beautify another ugly (to their refined sensibilities) planet elsewhere in the universe.

Certain humans have had their brains surgically enhanced in such a way that they can navigate through “unspace” while travelling faster than the speed of light, while their fellow crew members are in sleep stasis. These humans are known as “Intermediaries” or Ints, and it turns out they are able to make contact with the Architects’ brains. Idris Telemmier, an Int, was the first to make contact with an Architect’s brain and made it take notice of him to such an extent that the war ended, with the Architects withdrawing and not reappearing for forty years.

Idris is one of the main characters of the novel and is considered a war hero. It is now forty years later and somehow he has survived without ever sleeping or aging during the intervening years. He is now part of a salvage crew working out of the Vulture God vessel. These crew members have become his ‘found family’ and it is heartwarming to see how they all care and look out for each other.

During the war, Idris became close with Solace, a Partheni warrior who is one of the other main characters of the novel. Solace is a member of the Parthenon – all female genetically engineered elite warriors with wings, who are referred to as “Angels of Infinite Fortitude”, but who another character fondly refers to as “Angels of Punching You in the Face”. The Parthenon was created as a protective force of warriors a dozen years after Earth was destroyed by an Architect. Solace is a really badass character, yet also vulnerable. She has feelings for Idris and doesn’t really understand them. She struggles with divided loyalties between her feelings for Idris and her duties as a soldier. She was one of my favourite characters in the book.

Another favourite was Kittering, the Hannilambra, a race of extremely competitive, crablike creatures who are often covered in jewel encrusted carapaces. Kit however, as a factor (Accountant), is the crew member who negotiates all contracts and has communication screens set into his shell and limbs. When not using these screens for communication purposes he rents them out to the highest bidder for advertising space.

Ollian ‘Olli’ Timo is the remote drone specialist, who is a female human, but born without fully functioning arms and legs, so she resides within a metal Scorpion frame armed with numerous weapons.

Kris is a human lawyer retained by Idris and the final crewmember is Rollo Rostand, who is the captain of the Vulture God and father figure to its crew.

When a Sci-Fi author is introducing their readers to a new world there is bound to be a lot of background information and world-building and at times I felt overwhelmed by all the information being conveyed, but it was often broken into smallish chunks with plenty of thrilling action sequences interspersed. There are a large number of political players in this universe to get to grips with: The Council of Human Interests – referred to as Hugh; The Parthenon, female genetically engineered warriors with their own government; The Essiel Hegemony, an alien revering religious cult; Nativists, who are against the existence of any ‘non natural born’ humans; Colonial Loyalists and Broken Harvest – a violent crime syndicate run by the clamlike gangster Essiel, known as ’The Unspeakable Aklu the Razor and the Hook’. They are gradually introduced so as not to be too overwhelming, but it is still quite a lot to keep in mind.

The story is very original and imaginative and full of lots of exciting edge of the seat action sequences and equally full of heartwarming human emotion and relationships. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to revisiting this universe and continuing reading the trilogy whenever the next installment comes out.

Humanity has expanded into the stars, coming into contact with a variety of weird and wonderful alien races along the way, such as the wormlike Castigar and the crab-shaped Hannilambra. But one species could spell their destruction. The moon-sized Architects destroyed Earth seemingly effortlessly eighty years ago, with a number of other human settled planets following swiftly afterwards. Then they disappeared. A veteran of the war, Idris Telemmier is an Intermediary - a human being experimented on in an attempt to create a weapon to fight this seemingly invincible enemy. In the years since the war, he has neither aged nor slept, and makes a living piloting a salvage ship through the mysterious realm of unspace. Now the Architects could be returning, and Idris, his crewmates, and the soldier who stood by his side all those years ago are caught up in a galaxy spanning race against time.

Said soldier is Solace, a member of the all-female Parthenon. Genetically engineered warriors, they all bear a close physical resemblance to one another, whilst having distinct personalities. Solace is an extremely capable combatant, and every time there's a fight - of which there are plenty - it's very exciting to see her in action. Suspicions from the crew of the Vulture God - the ship which Idris serves on - make it tough for her to find a place among them; the Parthenon are historically a target for plenty of propaganda, despite their brave frontline defence in the face of the Architects, and Solace contends with the mistrust this fosters constantly. Drone specialist Olli is the mouthpiece for much of this cultural hatred, and is a terrifying combatant herself when linked into her scorpion mech.

Clearly, this is no Wayfarers style portrayal of humanity, with its fundamentally moral, loving, progressive attitude. This is a version of humanity riven by internal conflicts in the wake of cataclysmic events, with the Parthenon having seceded from the Council of Human Interests - known informally as Hugh - following the war, and rebel factions of humanity spreading lies and rumours to further their own agendas. Meanwhile, the Hegemonic cult continues to grow, the alien overlords who run it using their human ambassadors to sway colonised planets into joining their empire in exchange for protection from the Architects. The social and political concerns here are expertly woven into the background; although it might feel like there's a lot to take in at first with the various faction names and their motivations, the underlying message is that fake news and misinformation are just as much of a problem for humanity in the future as they are now - in this case, a lie can run round the galaxy and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots, to paraphrase Mark Twain (and Sir Terry).

And what a galaxy it is. This vision of the future is stuffed with interesting and dangerous places to visit, with the planet-hopping nature of the Vulture God's journey having something of a Mass Effect flavour to it - particularly as new characters are introduced at different locations. Olli frequently asks why the crew can't go anywhere nice, but when Tchaikovsky is this good at writing insalubrious and deadly locations, you'll be glad they aren't shuttling between picture perfect postcard destinations. Wretched hives of scum and villainy are just so much more fun, as are planets packed with deadly flora and fauna and ones with a simmering undercurrent of political tensions.

The characters and species are just as varied as the locations, the motley crew of the Vulture God being a prime example. There's the previously mentioned drone specialist Olli, a human who conquers her physical disabilities with her incredible mechanical interfacing capabilities. Then there's Kit, one of the obsessively mercantile Hannilambra, who covers his shell and legs in screens displaying advertisements. There's also Medvig, a hive intelligence composed of hundreds of electronic bugs. Looking out for Idris' wellbeing is lawyer Kris, formerly a student of the most respected law school in the galaxy, where disagreements are settled through skillful knife fights. Overseeing them all is their captain, Rollo Rostand, whose love for his crew is evident from the start. This is just one small band of characters, the level of imagination and care that has clearly gone into creating them emblematic of the rest of this universe.

Shards of Earth is more than just a promising opening salvo - it's an all guns blazing, no holds barred adventure across space, with large scale action set pieces, frantically paced skirmishes and likeable characters. It's a high bar to set for the first part of a trilogy, but if anyone can clear it with books two and three, it's Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic space opera tells the story of humanity following the earth being shattered by the unknown Architects. No one knows why they came, why they reshaped the earth but they know the results.
Tchaikovsky tells the story from a multi-point of view story. building up characters throughout the book.
This is a vast and expansive book and Tchaikovsky builds a rich and detailed universe. In addition to that Adrian Tchaikovsky adds political wranglings with alien species and other aspects of space life.
At times, I found this difficult to read, especially with a large amount of information at the beginning, although I ended up enjoying the book

Thank you to NetGalley and BlackCrow books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially drawn to this book as I want to read more sci-fi. This certainly delivered on the sci-fi elements. It's a very heavy space opera, with a lot of different worlds, characters, and ships to get your head around (thankfully there is a glossary!!)

This book throws you into the action quite early on, and there is a lot to get to grips with. We follow multiple perspectives, which is something I really like in books, so this worked for me. There were the really fun elements of travelling from one world to another and hopping through time, but I do think that this could at times be quite jarring and often took me out of the story a bit. I had to keep going back to remind myself, who was who, which world and which ship.

Further into the second half of the book, I found there started to be rather unnecessary swearing (something which I don't much enjoy in books) so this brought it down for me.

The ending was intriguing, but sadly, I didn't enjoy enough of this to want to continue the series. I'd say this is definitely one for experienced sci-fi readers.

3.5 - 4 Stars.

Tchaikovsky is one of my 'will read anything written by them' authors, but I already know that I'll have to read this one a second time, and I'm hoping that I might even be able to give it 4 or 5 stars the second time around.

I didn't quite click with Shards of Earth, and I'm not sure if it's because I wasn't 100% in the mood for science fiction or if I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. I failed to emotionally connect to this book in the way I usually do with Tchaikovsky's characters.

I requested this book because 'ancient enemy' and 'old artefacts' are two of my favourite science fiction tropes. Then the cover, of course, I'm always a bit shallow.

Shards of Earth opens with a bang: Space. A invulnerable enemy. A war.

As usual, two of the major themes in Tchaikovsky's Shards of Earth are prejudice and conflict amongst different factions, and the need to come together and work together in order to defeat the current problem.

Tchaikovsky is great at both developing diverse and interesting characters as well as entire worlds and species. Idris is old, and he's tired because he doesn't sleep. Once crucial as an asset during the war, he's now a navigator. Solace is my favourite character in this book. She's basically a space Amazon. The entire crew is made up of interesting characters, but don't get too attached...

Despite its length, Shards of Earth is an addictive and easy read, well, easy once the groundwork is laid. The world is rather difficult to navigate at first, but the pacing is on point and before you know it, the pages are beginning to fly by.

Overall, Shards of Earth is a beautiful space opera with a meticulously detailed world filled with Tchaikovsky's vast imagination. The writing is straightforward, and the characters are a group to root for. I recommend it to every space opera fan.

I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by The Write Reads. Special thanks to Tor for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars rounded up!

This is my first book by Adrian Tchaikovsky and it most certainly won’t be my last! This has me questioning whether I’ve ever really read a space opera before and as such, I feel like I have nothing to compare it to because it was simply EPIC in every way! My mind was blown by the incredibly vast world-building, the fantastic characters and the gripping plot. It admittedly took me a little time to get into it as we dive straight into what seems to be the middle of a story, not to mention having to wrap my head around the complex science and technology jargon, but once I became more comfortable with the terms and got used to the writing, I was HOOKED! I will say this is definitely more of a slow burn though it does pick up towards the middle/end but it's one helluva ride! I feel like anything I say will not do this book justice but maybe by the end of my rambling review I’ll have piqued your interest enough for you to want to give this one a try 😉

The world-building is probably one of the most intricate in sci-fi that I’ve read—granted I don’t read much adult sci-fi, but it was still much wow. It’s vast and complex and the author gives us a lot of information*, which you'd think would be difficult to keep track of but there was no info-dumping and you learn about everything gradually as the plot progresses. Tchaikovsky did such an incredible job of bringing to life this “after earth” world in the vastness of space, that it’s easy to imagine the countless planets and colonies, the numerous alien species and their individual cultures, societal norms, languages and advanced technologies. As I let my imagination run with the descriptions I was simultaneously boggled and fascinated by the images conjured up for these alien species! 😂 Unsurprisingly though, politics and bureaucracy still suck and humans remain incredibly intolerant of others (alien and human alike), even in futuristic space worlds. 🙈

*If ever you do feel overwhelmed by what you’re reading, never fear because Tchaikovsky has provided an in-depth glossary with the terms, species, planets, warships, etc., and a brilliantly detailed timeline from the start of space exploration to the present period at the back of the book!

Aside from the mind-wowing world-building, I was extremely delighted to get to know the ragtag bunch of misfits that made up the Vulture God’s crew, and I ended up loving every single one of them! One or two took time to get used to but they were such realistic and relatable characters with entertainingly distinct voices and personalities, and that alongside the “found-family” vibes is what really got me invested in this story! Also, I loved the dry sarcasm that is liberally sprinkled throughout the story—I honestly didn’t expect to be laughing out loud at certain times but the light banter was much needed and appreciated after the many dire situations our crew found themselves in.

In addition to the crew, we also meet a fairly large cast of recurring players through four main perspectives from Solace, Idris, Kris and Havaer. They provided a great range of views that enriched the story from both within and without the crew; that said, I’m really looking forward to seeing how the other crew members will be further developed over the course of the series because I’d really love to learn more about them! Out of all the characters I found myself connecting the most with Idris and Solace. It was so easy to empathize with what they’ve been through—honestly I just wanted to protect Idris at all costs. 🥺 I became so invested in their journey(s) that I was literally shouting at my Kindle and tearing up just a *tiny bit* with the bittersweet feels by the end. The Architects were also really interesting adversaries and I’m really curious to learn more about them especially after what Idris discovers near the end. I had a random (and very exciting?!) theory pop into my head while I was reading the glossary and I can’t wait to see if maybe I’m right (though I’ll likely be horribly wrong haha)! 😂

Needless to say, I am totally invested, friends! As someone who doesn’t read much adult sci-fi, this was definitely a step out of my comfort zone but I cannot wait for the next instalment in this epic space opera saga. I did struggle with visualizing some of the more technical/science stuff at times but it wasn’t as confusing as I thought it’d be (this is what usually deters me from reading more adult sci-fi). so I’m really glad I gave this book a chance as I loved it! This smol but beautiful crew have wormed their way into my heart and I’m so keen to learn where the story takes them next, especially since that ending sets things up nicely for even more wild and exciting adventures through unspace and beyond!

This was my first book by Tchaikovsky, which is kind of incredible to think about since so many of his books have ended up on my TBR. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but I had high expectations because of how many people love his books.

I really liked the cast of characters that we followed and I don’t think that I can choose a favorite because they’re all just so interesting! This is a ragtag group of spacers who stumble onto a major discovery that will change humanity forever, and I loved how real they all felt. The idea of the Architects is also incredibly interesting, and I always found myself hungry for more information about them.

I will say that it took me quite a long time to become invested in the characters and the story because there is a lot of setup in the beginning and so it was pretty slow at first. Once I reached about 30%, I started to feel more invested, and by 50% I was flying through the rest of the book just to see what happened next! I’m glad that I stuck through the slower beginning because I think it was worth it in the end. I didn’t realize until I reached the end that there is actually a glossary in the back, so if you’re struggling through the beginning, make sure to check the glossary!

The variety of aliens and even humans in this story were incredible, and at times it was tough to keep them all straight because there were so many on the fringes of the story, but once I got it all straight in my head it was so fun to learn about them all! Adding to that, each race had political entities that most of the time don’t get along, and some are even on the brink of war themselves. Even faced with the possibility of the world destroying Architects returning, they continue to bicker and argue amongst themselves, and it was fun watching the crew navigate all the politics.

I loved the battles and how Idris navigated through unspace and the farther into the book you get, the more of these scenes there are which was great. The ending was also really satisfying, I liked that it wasn’t a cliffhanger but enough to make you want to know what was going to happen next.

There was one slang term that I didn’t really like and I don’t think it needed to be included because it didn’t add anything to the story. Solace is part of a genetically engineered race of women, and they come across some hostile men who dislike her for who she is and call her a dyke, which I don’t think was necessary.

I also did struggle a bit with some of the writing and the formatting. Sometimes a paragraph would start and I wasn’t sure if we were in the past or on the current day, and there were a lot of strange formatting that made it difficult at times to read. With this being an unfinished copy, I know that there will be changes made to those things but it did effect my enjoyment just slightly because of the difficulties that I had getting around some of them, but if you read a finished copy I doubt you would have those same issues.

To summarize, I did overall like this book. I gave it a final rating of 3.75, with one star being removed because it took me so long to become invested in the book and there were times at the beginning where I just didn’t want to pick it up because it felt so slow. I also removed .25 because of the difficulty I had with some of the formatting and writing.

Overall, I do think that I’ll continue this series at some point when the next book comes out, and I will be checking out more of this authors works!

I really liked this book but I didn't absolutely love it. There's a lot of interesting world building and some great characters, but some of the key concepts (like unspace) went over my head and some of the characters needed more attention.

----"Help,” he said, ridiculously. “I’m being kidnapped. I don’t want to go. I can save the world."----

Years before the book begins, Earth is turned inside out by aliens called Architects. Why, nobody knows. To fight back, humans develop Parthenon and Intermediaries. Solace is a Partheni, a pseudo-cloned warrior-woman who, along with her 'sisters', fought on the front line against the enemy. Idris is an Intermediary who, thanks to a lot of unpleasant medical intervention, is able to navigate unspace and communicate with Architects. Both played a role in banishing the Architects, but whilst the war may be forty years over for most, it isn't for them.

Today, Idris pilots the Vulture God, a deep-space, mixed-species salvage vessel. He wants nothing more than to be left alone, but his navigation skills are valuable and a lot of people will go to great lengths to secure them – whether Idris is willing or not. Solace has been sent by the Partheni to persuade him to join their, now separate, ranks. She hopes that their (brief) history together might sway him but, before she can make much headway, the Vulture God finds something unexpected and infinitely valuable. All of a sudden, there's enemies on all sides and the crew will have to take what help they can from whatever quarter it comes.

----'To his mind, inventing a religion venerating extraterrestrial barnacles was a ludicrous response to meeting an alien species.’----

Shards of Earth is no simple game of cat and mouse. The crew of the Vulture God face religious cults, secret police, gangsters, aliens, anti-alien extremists, scientists, greedy nobles, unsupportive governments, breakaway military factions, and their own in-fighting. They're caught, caught again, freed, caught, escape, caught ... you get the idea. And don't expect everyone to come out the other side, hale and hearty, because you'll be disappointed. I actually had to reread a few pages because I couldn't quite believe Tchaikovsky had killed one of the characters.

----"No, Menheer. I’m not your man. And I’ll go against the Architects again, no doubt. I’ll likely die doing it, next time or the time after. Because even success kills, in this game.”----

Idris was by far my favourite of the characters. He’s an unusual hero: slight, almost submissive, with a military background but little inclination to fight. He won’t be pushed around and will do what he must but, really and truly, all he wants is to be left alone.

----'A man at the fulcrum of events who wasn’t prospering under the attention.’----

Solace, I found harder to get ahold of, largely, I think, because she’s in transition. She was a soldier; she’s now a spy/emissary. She remains friendly with her trigger but is beginning to see that there is more to life than fighting and more people in the world than her sisters. I didn’t buy her relationship with Idris but I’m willing to be convinced in future books.

----"My newfound surrogate daughter, you do realise we are a crummy little salvage operation here? We are not going to be fighting any star battles while I’m captain.”----


Olli, I found annoying, though I think she might go on to have one of the most interesting character arcs across the series. She was born without fully formed limbs and I enjoyed watching her adapt her environment. Kittering, a crab-like alien, was adorable and reminded me a little of Spock. His financial analysis made me smile. Rollo was a wonderful combination of grumpy captain and mother hen. I was a little unsure of his endearments to start, but I grew to really like them.

There were some pretty crucial elements of the world-building that I didn’t understand. Unspace for one. But once I accepted that it worked and that it did whatever they said it did, my understanding was irrelevant. I really enjoyed learning about all the different alien life forms that existed and particular like the aggressive ‘plant’ life on Jericho.

----'Not trees, remember? Just monsters who’ve got a good tree thing going on right now. He hoped the Voyenni ran into some trees that were considering an aggressive change of lifestyle.’----

This is a reasonably long book and by the end I felt reasonably invested in the plot and the characters; I think I’ll need another book to fully buy in, but I have no doubt I will. I’d recommend this to those that like big world-building and good diversity in their cast of characters.

I was given this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Humanity has left Earth, reaching for the stars, making new homes and allies among the beings they meet. But when they discover the Architects, they find a race so vast they are beyond human comprehension, and humans are too insignificant to notice. The Architects move through the universe, changing the shape of the objects they come into contact with, ships, moons, planets, with little thought for the indigenous lifeforms they are destroying in the process. As a desperate last attempt at survival, humanity sends Intermediates, men and women with psychic abilities, on battleships with genetically bred female warriors as a final stand. Against all odds, they succeed.
Idris Telemmier is one of the few Ints who survived that war. His skills are so highly sought after that some will resort to kidnap to possess him. So, he eeks out a living on the edges of civilisation, piloting a deep space salvage ship where he can hide from civilisation. He just wants to be left alone, and it's the one thing he won't get because somewhere out in the black of space, the Architects are coming back.
The Shards of Earth is the first in a new trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and if the other two continue in the same vein as this, then it will be an epic masterpiece. We start in the final battle between an alliance of beings and the Architects because the Architects are indiscriminate about what they reshape to their liking. I was immediately struck by how insignificant humanity is. For all its achievements, the exploration, pacts with other races, advances in science and technology against the Architects, it's all meaningless. We are so tiny compared to the Architects; they don't even see us. It's a humbling start and packs a punch.
The story is told in four parts; Solace, who is an engineered warrior to defend humanities colonies, Idris a free Int who is always on the verge of a breakdown and incapable of sleep; Kris, Idris's lawyer, who saves him from being used for his abilities, and Havaer who works for the Intervention Board as something between a policeman and a spy. The four threads weave together to give us a story about the failures of treating people like objects.
Solace is kept in cold storage until there is a war she is needed for. She doesn't question this because her purpose is to protect the colonies. On the other hand, Idris rebels against being used in the same way. He is a person with free will, so he will choose when and where he uses his intermediary skills, much to the dismay of the Board of Human Interests and criminals alike. Although he is a person, Idris is considered a valuable asset, worth going to war over. Yet, when he warns people of the things he senses in space, that the Architects are coming back, he is not believed. He shows that for all humanity's advancement into the stars, they are still petty.
I also enjoyed Havaer as a character. He follows Idris and Solace on their misadventures through space, always a few steps behind. When he eventually catches up to them, he demonstrates he is unlike everyone else. When Havaer has Idris on his ship and can use the other man, he lets Idris go, treating him like a person capable of making his own decisions. In a story about using people as objects, Havaer is an example of what respect looks like. He also provides a deeper context to events. While Idris is terrified the Architects are coming back, Havaer has a less emotive view on things which hints at the truth behind the return of the Architects.
I am always in awe of the scope of Tchaikovsky's imagination. His cast is so varied and yet so realistic, they are immediately accessible. The Hivers were my favourite, colonies of insects living in artificial bodies they adapt for their purpose. They mimic humanity to make humans feel more at ease despite being significantly greater in intellect. Again, another example of how we are not as great as we think we are, but there is something about humanity the Hivers believe is worthwhile.
As the first book in a trilogy, it gives the reader enough answers to satisfy for that book and plenty of questions, so we want more. The Shards of Earth is a high-speed whodunnit in space with a varied cast and excellent world-building. My only complaint is how long I will have to wait for the next book.

I’ve started writing my reviews as I read, instead of how I used to do it, which was after I’d finished everything. I think it gives a slightly different perspective on things. So this review is in chronological order of reading the book…

There are also some mild spoilers below, but there’s no major plot points and I’ve kept them to a minimum!

At first, Shards of Earth is very sci-fi-esque in that the beginning is heavy as you begin to learn this world, it’s various alien species, it’s political arrangements, hell, even physics. So for the first few days, I was picking this book up, reading a few pages and putting it down because I was struggling to dedicate the brain power to it to make sense of everything.

About 10% in and we’re Introduced to Solace and Idris. Solace is a woman from a powerful female-only warrior society who desperately want an “intermediary” to ensure that not only are they the strongest, they have the ability to enter and navigate “unspace”. “Unspace” isn’t typically easily navigated as most humans don’t do well in it when awake, most sleep during it to avoid possible madness, comas etc. Intermediaries are specifically genetically engineered to be able to handle unspace, and there’s a hint of much more.

Idris is one of these Intermediaries that Solace crossed paths with years ago during the defence of a planet from the “Architects”. Idris was a key weapon in the defence, and the Architects vanished for 40 years. Therefore, Idris was no longer a weapon and now just a navigator on a salvage ship.

Solace had been in cryo (stasis?) for a while, but has now been woken and tasked with getting an Intermediary for her warrior… family? She’s looking for Idris…

Which is why I’m glad I stuck with this. I could see the beginnings of a great story with amazing characters. This is the first space opera I’ve read in a while that’s gone really whacky with xeno-biology, where the descriptions sound so strange I’m struggling to even form an image of them. And I love that. They’re not all bipedal with just an extra couple of fins or feathers or whatever else. The aliens are really alien. And there’s a range of how they govern. There’s hiveminds, hegemonies and every other sort of political/leading class you could think of. Makes a change and reminds me of Stellaris.

I don’t want to post serious spoilers… but don’t get too attached to the characters because you never know what could happen quite unexpectedly. One thing I did discover from this, however, is that Tchaikovsky is a master at the action sequences. Reading Solace fight in her suped-up armour against a symbiotic alien who repairs damage almost instantly was something else. It had great cadence and rhythm, with lots of tension and action, as well as lulls where you think you can catch your breath for a second before all hells breaks loose all over again.

Much like any heavy space opera, Shards of Earth takes a little bit to cement itself in your brain. A lot of aliens, a large cast of characters, ship names and more. Once it’s there though, what a ride. Every page of this book was such a joy to read, from the space battles, to the urgent yet deliberate piercing of metaphysical minds. The book from start to finish was a delightful ride with plenty of world-spanning tension but also small personal relationships that explores the importance of friendship and crew.

And, of course, The Architects. They are such an amazing and unknowable antagonist, right up until the very end. They’ve got an incredible and terrifying power and no apparent reason as to why, other than to make art, but it all begins to make sense and leads neatly into an outcry for the next book. And I’m excited for more.

3.5*

I have several of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books on my ever growing TBR and haven’t been able to commit to a series yet, so I was very excited for the opportunity to get an arc of book one, Shards of Earth, of his new trilogy The Final Architects.

I must first admit I find it a lot easier to absorb myself in fantasy worlds than sci-fi. That said, Tchaikovsky has created a wonderful universe fill with a interesting array of races, worlds, and political views. The Architects are also a thing of marvel when you paint a picture of them in your imagination.

Early on in Shards of Earth you meet multiple key characters, are treated to an epic battle, and informed of multiple races and politics, all without overwhelming you. Tchaikovsky writes beautifully and paints vivid pictures of the worlds you travel too and the races we meet. I also really liked the characters early, I care about them, which is important to me.

Characters brings me to my reason for giving this 3.5* and not higher. By the end, I didn’t really care about them any more than I did early on. My feelings and emotions to the characters just didn’t grow. I feel like we only scratched the surface of each character. Idris so the most progression for me, late on he took a step forward and accepted responsibilities. But other character didn’t grow enough for me to really care about them.

However, am I interested in book 2? Sure I am. As I said Tchaikovsky writes brilliantly, the universe is great, the races are unique, and the politics are interesting. So too is what we find out about the architects later in Shards of Earth. I’ve ordered the limited edition of Shards of Earth, and if you are a Sci-fi fan then this is definitely recommended.

Synopsis: Earth has been destroyed eighty years ago by a Moon large being. They are called "Architects" because they don't just crush planets but turn them inside out to wondrous, horrific forms as depicted in the cover. Earth hasn't been the only planet, and weapons just don't stop the Architects. 

Then, a wonder happened, when one enhanced human called "Intermediaries" was able to communicate mind-to-mind to the aggressor. The Architects simply disappeared.

The story follows Idris, working as a pilot among the crew of  the Vulture God. As an Intermediary, he has the special ability to navigate through unspace, whereas every other space ship has to follow the safe paths of the Throughways. Errors in an unpiloted course would leave such a ship in unmapped space and stay there for decades, unless rescued by vessels like the Vulture God. Such an adventurous and unlucky ship is the Gamin. The Vulture God was commissioned by the Colonial Heritage Foundation to salvage the Gamin as an important historical artefact. 

But then, everything changed when they found the Gamin in a condition which only an Architect could have caused, turned inside out. Have the Architects returned?

Their employer wants to cover up the ugly truth, no one should see the shaped Gamin. At a nearby space station, they hide both ships inside of a huge transportation container. 

They're on shore leave when both, their ship and the Gamin gets stolen. The crew starts on a reckless chase, using unspace shortcuts, fighting near-undestroyable foes, hunting from planet to planet and get ever more involved in a conspiracy that reaches ever deeper. 

Review: This start of a series began slowly but developed speed soon enough and ended full pace. Tchaikovsky just knows how to develop a series, and here he invests in a longer running Space Opera that fans just have to love. Colonized humans, a split off independent population of female clones, and several alien races like Hiveners with bodies consisting of hundreds of insects, all of them seeking for control over space, fighting back the Architects, working together as crew of the Gamin. 

The author brings fresh air to the Space Opera zoo, avoiding some of the well-plodded paths of the subgenre. I just loved how different some of the races acted. They weren't just there to be marvelled at by the reader, but enriched the setting of the high-octane plot through the galaxy. 

The novel had its intimate moments, spreading suspense, fear, love, and mourning over its many pages. Some of the crew members don't see the end of the first volume in the series, and I had to share some tears over the loss of them. 

I'm glad that the author found back to former strength after a couple of less strong works, and I can highly recommend this doorstopper of a start of a Space Opera series. Given Tchaikovsky's proven dedication, the series will soon see the next volume, and I'm already longing for it.

An epic space opera!

I have been wanting to read more sci-fi in 2021, so I was incredibly excited when I received an arc of Shards of Earth. As some of you might know, I mostly read and focus on Fantasy literature. I haven’t really figured out if the Sci-Fi genre is for me. Tchaikovsky is well-known for his epic space operas, so I was interested in seeing what all the hype is about.

Shards of Earth is the first book in Tchaikovsky’s new series The Final Architects. Shards of Earth is an epic space opera, featuring multiple races of aliens, several different habitable planes, complex cultures and politics, advanced technology, and action-filled starship battles! Shards of Earth starts 50 years after the Earth was destroyed by the architects. Architects are massive creatures that travel through space to reshape or destroy entire worlds. The Architects threatened to wipe out humanity, but then just suddenly disappeared but. Now 50 years later, there is undeniable proof that they might return.

I finally understand why Tchaikovsky is such a popular Sci-Fi author. Tchaikovsky’s ability to create a vast and complex universe is quite astonishing. Shards of Earth has everything a sci-fi reader wants in a space opera. Shards of Earth is set in a universe with fleshed out history, religion, politics and technology, making the story feel believable.

Furthermore, Tchaikovsky ponders ‘what would happen to humanity if we were forced to leave our planet forever?' Shards of Earth tells the story of how humans left the earth, and how humanity was scattered across the whole universe. Tchaikovsky also demonstrates the massive cultural challenges in working with different alien species, in trying to conquer and defeat the ruthless architects.

Unfortunately, I did struggle a lot with reading this book, and this mostly due to my personal preference and experience with the Sci-Fi genre. Shards of Earth feels like it is written to avid fans of the sci-fi genre. I wasn’t prepared for such a complex story, where the reader is introduced to countless new species, planets and scientific terms, such as unspace. The complexity of the story did overwhelm me at times. I feel like I need to reread this book, to truly appreciate what Tchaikovsky has crafted in this book. Fortunately, there is a glossary and a timeline at the back of the book, to help readers keep track of all the names and terminology.

My main criticism is the first 20%. The introduction to this story is incredibly dense, with way too much information for my taste. I do worry that the ‘information dumps’ at the beginning will discourage a lot of readers. The story does pick up after the first 20% and becomes much more character and plot-focused.

In conclusion, Shards of Earth is an impressive space opera with epic world-building, high stakes and an intriguing plot. I absolutely do think that Sci-Fi readers will love this book, but unfortunately, it was not for me. The complexity and the dense introduction did overwhelm me, making it difficult for me to get fully invested in this story. However, I will still give this book a high rating, since I can appreciate that this is a well-written story. If you are a fan of Space Operas then I can highly recommend picking up this book.

3.5 / 5 stars

A special thanks to UK Tor and NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an exciting new SciFi adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat as a motley spaceship crew battles the reshaper of worlds known as The Architects.

What I Loved

As a toe-in-the-water SciFi reader, I‘ve never run across the idea of unspace. This concept intrigued me and caused my imagination to jump leaps and bounds, imagining all the possible implications. It is a layer of space utilized for faster travel, but the pathway is dangerous and mind-bending, so much so that most crew members typically sleep through it. The reality or unreality of it is that complicated.

I also loved the different factions/beings in the story. Solace, the Parthenon, is probably my most favorite, followed closely by Olli. I loved Ollie’s wit and spunk, and though imagining the type of creature she is alludes my ability to visualize the unknown, her sarcasm made me chuckle on more than one occasion. Solace, though, as a faction of the human race, was a being with which I could more identify. She reminded me of a space-age Amazonian, like Wonder Woman. I love Wonder Woman, and I also love Solace. She is a warrior who can take on large groups of beings and come out of the fray unscathed. She is also a protector, and her relationship with Idris – as his protector/bodyguard is heart-warming and completely relatable.

The book is quite cumbersome, being over 500 pages of new words, ideas, beings, and places that my mind and imagination had to work overtime to understand in a way that allowed me to appreciate the story and all its nuances. It took me much longer than usual to read as the complexities slowed my reading for the first quarter to half of the story. Still, once I had a firm grasp of what I needed to imagine, the pages just flew by, and the story took me on an incredible journey that I will not soon forget.

Even though this is the first book in a series, I also loved that it ends with a soft conclusion that let me know this leg of the journey was done. Tomorrow will be the start of a new adventure – maybe related, maybe not, but potentially with the same characters that I grew to love throughout this story.

To Read or Not to Read

If you love a good SciFi adventure story and are open to expanding your imagination, this is the perfect novel for you. You will, as I did, marvel at the new worlds and beings with the opened mouth awe of a child seeing fireworks for the first time.

To start with what I liked most about the book – it is REALLY well paced! This isn’t something I usually notice when reading, but as this was an eBook I had no page indicator. When I saw the physical copy was nearly 600-pages, I was surprised to say the least. The book is fast paced and action packed, and not a single part felt drawn out. Our characters are always on the move and were never doing nothing, also allowing us to see a good amount of the world during this first book – which is always a positive, for me.

The world itself is definitely a plus of the book too. There are several opposing factions, vast space-empires, and many weird and wonderful species, which is everything I could have possibly asked for in a sci-fi epic. At times, I felt we didn’t spend quite enough time on some of the worlds to truly make them stand out, but this is the first entry and I am looking forward to revisiting some of these worlds later in the series.

When it comes to the characters, whilst I liked them, I felt they were lacking a little bit of depth. We never really got a good exploration of our character’s emotions and motivations – bar maybe Solace, although her nature meant that she is fairly unemotional anyway. I would like to see this explored more in subsequent books, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Solace and Idris grow as characters across the series. The book, in general, was very plot-driven, which is no doubt the reason for the lesser amount of character exploration.

Shards of Earth got our characters from point A to point B in an interesting enough way, provided a good introduction to the world, and set up the stakes of the series as a whole. When it comes to first entries in a series, although I personally prefer a bit more character work, I can’t really ask much more than that. We got to see a good four or five worlds, and I’m interested to see how many of the side characters on these worlds reappear in later books.

The plot, whilst achieving what it needed to for the series, just didn’t ever really grip me. A lot of the book felt like it was meandering and flew by some of the plot points a bit too quickly for my tastes. It wasn’t bad by any means, and as I said it sets up the series nicely, but I wasn’t very invested. There were a couple of parts in particular where I would have liked to have a little bit more time in the moment, exploring our characters reactions and emotions, but they just seemed to fly by and we were suddenly onto the next part.

Overall, there are some strong positives in Shards of Earth, the world is really interesting and you are never standing still. Whilst I didn’t find the plot or characters stood out particularly, these are things I could certainly change my mind on as the series progresses. If you’re thinking about picking the book up I’ll say this: I’ll definitely be continuing the series, despite the fact it’s not the sort of thing I usually go for – which is definitely a good sign! I can’t wait to dive deeper into the characters and learn more about the Architects and their history.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor, and NetGalley for providing this eARC as part of a blog tour with The Write Reads in exchange for an honest review.

In the war, Earth was destroyed and turned inside out by an alien enemy known as the Architects. To combat this foe, man created mentally enhanced humans called Intermediaries, and they, Idris amongst them, were successful in forming a mental link and communicating with the Architects, driving them away. With the war seemingly over, Idris wanted nothing more to do with the humans who now forcibly create Intermediaries for commercial purposes and bind them to contracts. Forty years later, Idris tries to keep a low profile as the pilot of the Vulture God, a salvage vessel that takes on missions in deep space, perfect for his particular talents. When he and his crew stumble upon the remains of a ship that looks exactly like the work of the Architects. Before they can dwell on the magnitude of what they’ve found, the crew has become the center of attention and target for everyone, from governments to gangsters, because they now possess an artifact that if genuine, is beyond price if the enemy truly is returning.

This was my first time reading a book by Adrian Tchaikovsky and I had pretty high expectations after seeing all the great reviews for both this book and the author’s other series. Shards of Earth certainly did not disappoint! Sci-fi novels set in space are a more recent favourite of mine, and this is the first non-YA book of the genre I’ve read. The world-building in this book is truly worthy of praise – I was extremely impressed at how much thought has been put into it, from the history of the planets, to the intricacies of the many species, the various battles we see in flashbacks and even the many factions – governments and otherwise that have a stake in the ongoing political struggles. This level of rich detail and the grand adventure feel is something I’ve come to expect more of epic fantasy novels, which is why this book stood out to me and I’d really enjoy seeing more world-building of this calibre in sci-fi novels too.

The plot itself was fantastic and while it was a little hard to follow initially while the groundwork was being laid, once the action started it never stopped. One thing followed another and I read most of the book with bated breath wondering what the next twist was and how trustworthy any character the crew ran into would turn out to be. I loved the crew of the Vulture God and how despite being from different species and cultures, they were such a tight-knit group and it was so easy to root for these characters. Idris in particular was a very interesting character. He has been so modified and enhanced that his abilities put him far beyond mankind, yet his thought processes and dialogue are so undoubtedly human. I’m still very curious about the Architects, what they are exactly, where they come from and their real purpose for attacking any planets with life. This book leaves a lot of unanswered questions from this aspect and I’m excited to know more.

Shards of Earth is not a quick read, regardless of its fast moving plot, but the effort is well worth it. Overall, this was an amazing start to a new series and I can’t wait to see what happens after that explosive ending and all the revelations that came with it. I’m also hoping to check out the other series by this author really soon. This was a thoroughly enjoyable, well written read and one I would highly recommend!

This book is absolutely full of ideas. Almost too many you might say, since the opening third or so throws you right in at the deep end and you kind of have to push through it trusting that it will come good. Which it does, mostly.

The story is another take on the popular “ragtag crew in a beatup old ship” subgenre that seems more and more popular these days (see also: Becky Chambers and Gareth L Powell, plus this old TV show about an insect or something), but this has a grander and much more cosmic scope than most in that area. The whole plot is only just beginning to come into view at the end of this first volume but it’s already clear the stakes are going to be about as high as they can get. In the meantime, we have some inventive and intriguing alien races, plenty of gripping tautly described action and some lead characters who are, if not exactly likeable, then well crafted and believable. It starts slow, but by the time we get to the climax things are racing along - it took me about a week to get through the first half, and then twenty four hours for the second.

My only real criticisms are that the opening stretch of the book is too much of a slog, and that it feels a bit…woolly? Some of the wanderings and travels in this one are a bit overlong and pointless, and I feel that some tightening up and cutting of 50 pages or so could have worked wonders for the pacing. Regardless, it’s a very promising start to a series, with some great ideas that I’m looking forward to learning more about in the next volumes. Probably a 3.5 but I'll round up to a 4 on the promise that the rest of the series builds on these foundations.

The World:
Oh my goodness! The world of this book is so incredibly immense that I'm not sure I could say everything I want to say about it!

First of all... the planets. The planets of this book are so cool. There are so many of them and there's no way I could mention or describe them all or even spell their names! However, what I loved about the planets was the way that they are built, aesthetically. The description of these worlds is so incredible that it was so easy for me to imagine myself on their surface, or flying above them. I'm in awe of just how detailed Tchaikovsky's world building is.

The main thing I loved about this world was Space itself (and Unspace). I loved how much of this book actually just took place in the blackness of deep space, of the space between worlds and the space called Unspace which is really the space between spaces (wow that felt like a line from Doctor Who!). So often I've seen space just being used as a tool to travel between worlds, but in this book it really was a world in itself. The main characters in this book live their lives on ships, travelling through the blackness on jobs and I loved just how much detail and character came out of a place that is usually so void in sci-fi stories.

The Characters:
There are a lot of characters in this book and just as many perspectives. Having so many perspectives was really interesting and super engaging because it allows you to see all the different ideas and points of view in the galaxy. What I really loved about this cast of characters is just how different they all were both in their looks, their languages and their quirks. They are all very individual and clearly well thought out. Also... there weren't all humanoid! (which is the one thing that normally bugs me about sci-fi novels). Even the characters who are humanoid aren't really... human (at least as we understand human). For this review, however, I'm only going to talk about two of the characters. Really, the main ones:

Solace:
Solace is probably the character I enjoyed reading about the most, both from her perspective and from the perspective of other characters. She is a member of a genetically modified super human female race that are kind of like the Valkyries from mythology. At the beginning of the story she is very much the dutiful super soldier, sent on her mission to collect an asset for her people (Idris). However, she changes and grows so much over the story and it was her story arc that I enjoyed the most in this book.

Idris:
Idris is really the main character of Shards of Earth. He is the one that the blurb is focused on. As the blurb explains, he is a kind of a modified human character. He went through a process that changed his mind and allowed him to communicate with the nemesis of this book The Architects, and stop the first war. Now he is a spacer... somebody who works with a crew on jobs in space, and his ability as an Intermediary (one of these special mind humans) allows him to travel in Unspace while awake. I really enjoyed Idris' story. He carries a lot of weight from the war, but we don't get to know everything about him from the beginning. He's a character that we slowly peel the layers from as the book progresses.

The Plot:
The basics of the plot is this... there was a war with these aliens called The Architects before the book began. These aliens rip planets and ships to pieces and seem to remake them into new structures (hence Architects). Idris was an Intermediary who helped end the war and is now living his life in space with an awesome mishmash crew of awesomeness. But now... the Architects may have returned.

It sounds pretty basic on the surface, and the thread of that story travels throughout the whole book, but there is so much more to the plot than this. What I really enjoyed about the plot was just how character driven it is. There are so many political structures and even a kind of mafia in this book and they all clash and interact in a way that is confusingly brilliant and completely mind twisting that at times it was hard to keep up.

However, the greatest character driven part of this book was the crew that Idris is a part of. They are a crew that feels so genuine and real that I could imagine them in front of me at times when they were having conversations. Their decisions, their choices, their arguments and their moments of compromise and working together are what really drives this story. I especially loved one of the characters Olli. She is a character who would (if this book were set in the real world) not be able bodied and this often brings her into conflict with Solace who is genetically engineered to be stronger and more warrior like than a normal human. Their interactions together are usually hostile, but what Tchaikovsky does really well is make their interactions both a discussion about what it means to be 'human' (so to speak), but also a way to develop the plot as they learn to set aside their differences (if not their dislikes for each other) and work together. The crew's journey, beyond the Architect plot line, is definitely the best thing about this novel and was really what kept me wanting to turn the pages.

Why It Was a 4-Star Read for Me:
This book was really good! It's probably the most detailed sci-fi book I have ever read and that was really one of the things that drew me to it in the first place. I love military sci-fi stories, especially when they include epic space battles. The only thing that I didn't love was how much was introduced sometimes without a whole lot of description. I would sometimes find myself only being able to picture a character or certain species a few chapters after meeting them which sometimes made those few chapters a bit confusing.

Overall though this is an incredible sci-fi story and it is clear to me now why Tchaikovsky is such a well loved writer. I definitely want to continue on with this series and check out his other books!</p>

Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky is the first installment in his new science-fiction series, The Final Architects. This is the first book by Adrian Tchaikovsky I’ve read, although I do have one of his fantasy books sitting on my shelf to be read. It’s also the first science fiction book I’ve read in a long time that was this complex. So I’m not sure how much is genre convention or choice of the author.

The story starts off with a lot of exposition about the history of the galaxy, the relevant factions, and the Architect. I think I was a hundred pages in when the exposition lessened. If you don’t like books with a slow start, this one might not be for you. But is it worth pushing through? I’d say yes.

The author is setting the stage, but it’s not a simple set design. Imagine the grand operas of old, with elaborate set pieces with intricate details, gorgeous costumes, poetic lines, and bombastic orchestral music. The composition is one that either fails fantastically or soars the skies in success. For Shards of Earth, it’s definitely the latter.

The cast is incredible, a wonderful mix of human and non-human species. Medvig and Trine are my favourites among them. And I’m still curious about the Architects. It’s hard for me to imagine them and their size. The world-building (and destruction) is gritty, dangerous. and full of intrigue. It’s hard to know who your true allies are beyond the crew of your ship. It’s a wonder so many people have survived, to be honest.

what I liked most is the action-packed middle and ending. Once you’re familiar with the universe as it is, then all of hell breaks loose. No more time for chit-chat, you have to run. You have to fight. As slow as the first bit of the book was, so fast-paced is the second half. And for some reason, this pacing works. In some books, a slow start means I’ll lose interest, but there happened just enough to keep me interested. Then the fast-paced ending, where sometimes it was so fast you couldn’t speed-read through it. The climax kept on climbing higher and higher, and it didn’t fail. Mastering this kind of pacing isn’t easy and shows Adrian Tchaikovsky is a great writer.

I give Shards of the Earth four stars, as a novice science fiction reader, but I’m sure a lot of science fiction fans will enjoy this even more than I did.