This is my first book of Adrian’s and it definitely won’t be the last! I loved that it was not only sci fi but horror too, it kept me on my toes and turning the page late into the night. I’m a new sci fi reader and it was very accessible and easy to understand. The world building and the characters were great. It was dense at times but loved every minute of it.

This book got off to a slow start for me, and there were points where I wasn't sure I was going to finish it. But, I'm so glad I pushed through as this book only got better and better.

The switching of perspective between light and dark was brilliant, and slowly revealed more and more about how complex Shroud is, and how interconnected the world is.

The final lines of this book are so strong, and was such a strong ending to a really compelling novel. Juna is a hero, no matter what remedial works might suggest.

A brilliant first-contact sci-fi!
Suspenseful and exciting moody sci-fi ,while being an exploration of humanity through the characters.
Loved this book, I’d read anything by Adrian Tchaikovsky and this one is great!

This is my first book of Adrian Tchaikovsky and I enjoyed reading it.

Shroud is a moon of a gas giant planet - Prospector413b. The Garveneer mission goes to it. They pitch many drones to Shroud and of several only one returns – significantly damaged. It becomes clear that Shroud houses some form of life and a video from the drone which returns confirms that. A set of pods crash into Shroud and it is a fight for survival for the crew. The narration comes to us from Ceelander J who is stuck with Ste Etienne on Shroud, and also the Shrouded (the creatures on Shroud). The two stranded people are initially in contact with Bartokh, who is in another crashed pod. They also try communicating with the creatures/Shrouded through electromagnetic rays. The Shrouded are a species who thrive as a hive – trying to make sense themselves of the strangers who have showed up.

This is a very imaginative story and the background painted of the kind of place Shroud is very good & detailed. In its own way, the story brings out our limited knowledge of planets & satellites besides our own. It also paints a very plausible picture of how form & intelligence might exist in the universe – in a way very different from what we are used to and assume might be the norm. We get the perspective of Shrouded – and that compliments the story well. I would have liked better character development and the narration in some of the middle sections is quite flat. I liked the path the story takes in the last sections and the end is great!

Thanks to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan | Tor and the author for a free electronic review copy.

This book got off to a slow start for me, and there were points where I wasn't sure I was going to finish it. But, I'm so glad I pushed through as this book only got better and better.

The relationship between Mai and Juna was a really bright point in this novel, and I especially enjoyed Mai's halting attempts at praising Juna for her overall uselessness!

The switching of perspective between light and dark was brilliant, and slowly revealed more and more about how complex Shroud is, and how interconnected the world is.

The final lines of this book are so strong, and was such a strong ending to a really compelling novel. Juna is a hero, no matter what remedial works might suggest.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I’m glad I was already in a sci-fi mindset before diving into this beast of a book! Shroud is much heavier than my usual sci-fi reads, drawing you in with its blend of mystery and dense scientific detail. Once the story reaches Shroud, the eerie planet comes to life with vivid, unsettling descriptions of its alien plants and creatures—both incredibly imaginative and downright terrifying. I’m pretty sure I’ll be having nightmares tonight!

I really enjoyed the dual narrative, though I wished the human characters had a bit more depth. They felt somewhat shallow, which kept me from fully connecting with them.
That said, if you’re a fan of weighty, intricate sci-fi, this one is definitely worth the read!

This was my first Tchaikovsky but it won't be my last. I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story at first, but I quickly became absorbed by this sci-fi tale as soon as our protagonist, Juna, and her colleague end up on the mysterious planet they named Shroud. They're not prepared for what awaits them because they never planned to actually go planetside but are forced to due to an accident, and everything on the planet is so different, so Alien that they barely survive day by day. I loved the descriptions of the Shroud biosphere, of the fascinating aliens and how they work, and while we follow Juna and Mai on their journey to find safety and return to their ship for quite a while I never felt like the story dragged. There was just so much to discover and explore, and the last few chapters are just insanely exciting. Really enjoyed the writing, the pacing, the world building and the characters. The ending doesn't answer all the questions posed but it fit the narrative perfectly.
So yeah, will absolutely go dig into Adrian Tchaikovsky's backlist now.

## Ratings
Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Initial Draw: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finish Line Feeling: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

## Review

Tchaikovsky is undoubtedly one of the premier authors when it comes to writing from the perspective of different species/cultures. The world he developed in Shroud was just as strong as Children of Time, with similar plot beats and pacing but a completely new species and new hostile environment to live through and contemplate. The way Tchaikovsky writes from the perspective of non-human characters makes you realise how anthropomorphized most sci-fi species are and is a breath of fresh air when it comes to thinking about what could be out there.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time - not because I didn't expect the ending; but, because the pacing was completely on point, always tempting you to know what happens next at every page and every chapter.

I don't really want to go into finer plot points any more because you should definitely just experience it for yourself. Overall if you enjoyed Children of Time or Tchaikovsky's other works relating to alternate species then you will love this one. I can't wait for the sequels to explore this world and species more.

I received this book from Netgalley for a review.

I can't lie I am a massive AT fan. I have read most of what he has put out and loved it to some degree. This book is no different. On the surface it is a survival story of humans trying to get back to their ship after crash landing on a dark alien moon. What it actually was to me was a good social commentary on the dangers of big corporations and how humans as a whole never learn from the past. I liked the descriptions of the dark moon, and the trials faced by the main characters, but what I loved was the alien perspective on what was happening. It was such an interesting read to see both points of view on the same situations and how easily misinterpretations happen.
The middle section of the book did seem to get a little bogged down and slow, but overall I felt like this was a well paced story, with good characters and an amazing imagination.

Right off the bat, I’ll say that the best part of Shroud is the atmosphere. The perpetual darkness of the tidally locked moon is a formidable setting for a first contact/survival story. And the looming presence of unimaginable fauna haunts the narrative from the get-go. As the story progresses, our protagonists end up stranded on Shroud, and are forced to explore this alien satellite in an attempt to survive and escape these lightless locales. They discover creepy sceneries and inconceivable creatures, each serving as a sizable stepping stone in their punishing journey towards survival.

It was around the 20% mark where the book became un-put-down-able. I’ll talk about the first 20% in the next section, but 20% onwards, the book was an absolute masterpiece.

One brilliant aspect of this book was the alien’s POV. While the majority of the narrative follows Juna, we occasionally get the Shrouded’s POV, which highlights a completely different story. The human POV follows a typical survival drama, albeit with horror elements. On the other hand, the Shrouded’s POV follows a curious first-contact adventure. The two species can barely communicate with each other, and so they both assume the other’s intentions without ever truly getting clear confirmations. This mismatch of perceptions, coupled with their respective motivations and backgrounds makes for a rich and dual experience. This really makes you wonder how first contact—if or whenever it does happen—would transpire. Would we be curious supporters or exploitative killers?

The Shrouded really stole the show here. I can’t say a lot about them without spoiling some horrifyingly cool elements, but Tchaikovsky really does a stellar job with that POV. Its limited senses and expansive perspective of the moon setting serve to build a world and a world-view that’s as alien as can be, yet somehow feels real and relatable. On the contrary–and I assume this is by design—the human perspectives feel very clinical and dry. Corporate greed and unchecked expansionism have resulted in literal vat-grown human societies where their biology has been manipulated to allow sustained interstellar travel. The near-perpetual dependence on pharma drugs to survive in the apathetic corporate world of Opportunities seems to have rendered these people less human, emotionally speaking.

Juna, our protagonist, does display the humanity that we recognize. But for the most part, the humans remain hard to relate to. And root for, if I’m being honest. However, I admit that Juna’s role in this story becomes clearer in the latter part, with the ending completely blowing my mind! Voracious readers of SFF might see the end coming a long way, but that doesn’t make it any less amazing.

Lastly, I have to talk about the structure. The story is divided into six parts, where at the end of the first part you start getting the Shrouded’s perspective. Each part is separated by an interlude, which I will not talk about for spoiler reasons. Human POV, Shrouded POV, and Interludes… the three make up a fascinating balance of stories that make this 500-page book read like a much more epic tale. Plus, jumping between the three actually improved the pacing of the book for me.

Shroud reminded me a lot of Scavenger’s Reign, but with the treatment of a horror-fueled fever dream.

What I didn’t like:
The start was a bit of a slog if I’m being honest. The science jargon—irrespective of its accuracy—was too heavy to digest. The characters felt two-dimensional, and the narrative rushed forward at a wonky pace. I almost gave up on the book because the opening chapters were a little too dry. The whole corporate angle, while brilliant on paper, didn’t feel as engaging or thought-provoking as it could have been. Which makes me wonder, how would the book have read if all those complications were trimmed out of the narrative, making the book all about Shroud’s alien atmosphere, fauna, and survival.

Another part that didn’t work for me was the humans. Somehow, I felt more connected to the alien creature than any of the human characters. If it weren’t for the cosmic-horror-esque atmosphere, I wouldn’t have kept reading. Juna isn’t the easiest protagonist to root for. Especially when you have the Shrouded in the mix. Yet, she does her job, and keeps the narrative rolling forward.

Lastly, and this is the only spoiler bit in my review, so SPOILER WARNING:

<spoiler>I didn’t enjoy the last part of the book. After a fascinating, imaginative, and terrifying adventure, we’re sort of thrown back into the corporate bureaucracy of Garveneer. While Tchaikovsky neatly ties everything by the end, I didn’t particularly enjoy the corporate aspects of it. They didn’t feel as interesting or engaging, despite my understanding of the reason for their existence in this story. </spoiler>

Conclusion:
Shrouded is a brilliant speculative story. It is as much about what it means to be human in an inhuman world, as it is about life’s curious climb up the evolutionary ladder. It’s terrifying, it’s fascinating, and it is mind-blowing!

TL;DR:
WHAT I LIKED: Atmosphere and exploration of the alien world, alien POV.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Human POVs were a little dull, didn’t like the corporate aspects, some pacing issues.

This will be a review of many superlatives, as I think this is possibly Tchaikovsky’s darkest and weirdest novel yet! It’s also my favourite book of his since Children of Time.

The atmosphere in Shroud is simply phenomenal, and the sense of threat the protagonists face feels very real and ever present. You don’t often get a full picture of what their adversaries look like on the surface, as our protagonists can’t see far into the blackness themselves. It strikes me this book would make an excellent blockbuster film, if it weren’t for the fact that most of it would be in pitch black! The world created in Shroud is unfathomably weird and creepy, and yet the ecology kind of makes sense for the world he’s created. Things aren’t bizarre for the sake of it, there’s a logic to how things join together that, although completely alien, makes the story more realistic and believable.

The story of Shroud reminded me of Andy Weir books such as The Martian and Project Hail Mary for the practical survival elements in a hostile environment, but an extra dollop of danger and existential dread. The duo of Juna and Mai are forced to be resourceful with the limited materials they have aboard their vehicle, to achieve the possible and find a way home. The story presents us with a great two-way first contact scenario, as the lead characters try to make sense of the hostile world around them, whilst the hostile world tries to suss them out in return.

Shroud ticked all the boxes for what makes Science Fiction great for me - evocative and thought-provoking world building, an examination of human nature in response to new experiences and threats, and a story that didn’t go the way I first expected.

I’m grateful to the publisher for granting me an early copy.
Eerily similar to some of this author’s previous works, this is a very good story. Full of sentient and omnipresent minds, alien creatures and the depravities of mankind’s behaviour, this is a strong story which is very readable.
Echoes of previous stories aside, the overall story is dramatic and evolving, once again populated by endearing and strong characters which are the foundations of this author’s books.

This is my first read by this author, and my first hardcore sci-fi in a while.
This is skilful, erudite, imaginative writing of the first degree. The handling of the first contact theme is original and innovative, and the progress in the understanding between the two species is brilliant.
I will confess to finding the scene setting to be a little laborious, and the in depth science discussions overwhelming at times. This is not a high-octane adventure but a reflective journey. The ending tho is mind-blowingly good. I was totally immersed in the narrative by then.
I will definitely be looking for more titles by this author

I always start a Tchaikovsky book expecting to love it, and invariably become surprised when it exceeds my already high expectations.

It's classic. If you liked his Children of Time series (especially Book 2), this is right in your wheelhouse. It also has some 60s sci fi vibes a la world exploration, with a modern twist.

I loved the characters, the setting, the plot points, the ending. Never stop writing, Tchaikovsky. Please.

I have to salute Adrian Tchaikovsky’s imagination, the more I read of his greater catalogue of written works the more I am in awe of his ability to transport the reader into a realm of the fantastical.

Shroud is no exception to this as we follow the journey of two unlikely hero’s, attempting the improbable while facing the seemingly impossible odds of an alien world, filled with an entity unlike any reasonable mind could create. Yet Adrian Tchaikovsky fulfils his own brief in such an imaginable & creative way, that once you start reading it’s hard to stop.

As first contact stories go this is by far the most imaginative I have read so far, dividing the narrative and therefore the perspective of both the ‘Protagonists’ & the ‘Shrouded’ themselves. This unique framing is a refreshing take on the first contact genre, offering the reader a vision of the world of Shroud that perhaps could not have so easily been depicted otherwise.

I cannot urge you enough to pick up a copy of this book upon its release in February ‘25. You will not be disappointed, Adrian Tchaikovsky has once again proved he is a master at what he does best.

Thank you to #Tor books #PanMacmillan & to #NetGalley for allowing me the utmost privilege an honour of this eARC copy of ‘Shroud’ to read & review.

The comments & opinions above are solely my own & are reflective of my experience reading this amazing book.

I’m not typically a science fiction reader but I think Adrian Tchaikovsky might just be an exception to the rule. I loved Alien Clay and I love this. While both follow humankind meeting alien lifeforms both books are very unique. Making this reading experience just as fresh and exciting as when I read Alien Clay.

This book does an amazing job of showing what we can overcome during struggle and in situations where you are in way over your head, this book is wonderfully dark, with survival aspects and it will absolutely keep you on the edge of your seat while reading,

This is another excellent example of Adrian Tchaikovsky exploring alienness by dumping some unfortunate protagonists into a hostile and incomprehensible alien environment - the planet Shroud - with insufficient resources to get safely home.

"Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation."

The alienness of the life on Shroud is so very… alien. This is something that Adrian Tchaikovsky seems to excel at. It put me in mind of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris - where the alienness is so unfathomable that it’s difficult to see where an attempt at first contact could even begin.

The hostility of the environment on Shroud is well established in the first section of the book, but the central two thirds of the story chronicles the journey of Juna and Mai, constrained within a vehicle barely adequate for the task, to reach a place from which they have at least a slim chance of being rescued. This central section falls into a pattern of Juna and Mai lurching from one risky and unknown situation to the next, as their predicament gets progressively more dire.

Throughout the story, the incredible “otherness” of the native life on Shroud is superbly drawn, with the story peppered with short sections from the point of view of that native life. The gulf of understanding between the humans and the natives is the driving power behind the narrative, and builds the story to a very satisfying final chapter, as the difficulties in one life form’s meaningful comprehension of the other comes to a head.

My only reservation was that, for me, I was losing engagement with the story during the long trek to safety. As Juna and Mai found themselves in increasingly difficult situations, I found myself just treading water waiting for the narrative tide to turn. When the tide did turn, though, I was back and fully invested in the story’s conclusion, and the pay-off at the end is quite rewarding.

As with Alien Clay, if you’re new to Adrian Tchaikovsky, I wouldn’t necessary start here - but it’s an imaginative and thought provoking exploration of alienness.

Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan / Tor for the free review copy of #Shroud in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow, what a story!
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for this arc!
I’m not quite sure where to start with this one. I knew of Adrian Tchaikovsky (and had met him at a convention) but I’d never tried any of his work before this one and now I’ve got to read more.
I’ve never had quite the same mixture of emotions reading anything else: anxiety yet fascination and curiosity. The start of this felt very much like a kind of space-horror and, though this shifted somewhat, the sense of existential dread never really left the story and I loved that. And in contrast to this vastness and alien atmosphere was the really emotive and touching human story centring around the two protagonists. I really liked the characterisation in this. It was understated and natural and I felt like I really understood each character. Tchaikovsky was just so good at slowly building our understanding of them and letting their relationship grow organically. They were human and flawed and I really wanted to give some of them a hug.
The non-human characters were also brilliantly done. A masterclass on “show don’t tell” which some of my recent reads have been a little lacking in. They felt truly alien and there were just some excellent moments where I just went “OH”, quickly followed by “oh no.” I see a lot of people say they dislike first person perspectives, but it was clearly consciously used here and it was really effective.
The world building similarly felt very understated. It was a background to this story but it was really clever and horribly believable! The start of the book felt a little bit bogged down with some of the initial “setting the scene” but it was really well integrated for the rest.
This was overall a brilliant, emotive and often powerful exploration of humanity and connection, even between beings that have so little in common on the surface. Please keep an eye out for this if you’re in any way a fan of sci-fi or stories exploring alien perspectives. My only complaint is that I want to know what happens next! I suspect this will be a stand-alone but I really want to return to the world of Shroud in the future.

Shroud is an epitomical example of Tchaikovsky’s ingenious world building and memorable non-human characters.

The feat of world building, from the flora and fauna, to the weather and chemical composition of the environment, is beyond anything I’ve ever encountered. It felt like I learned some new things from a scientific perspective too.

The story gets off to a slowish start, aboard a ship orbiting Shroud – a moon intended to be harvested for its resources. There is a lot of dense hard science thrown at you from the get go and a dystopian-esque, hierarchical human equivalent of the civil service in space. This is where we are introduced to our characters, through the POV of Juna – the assistant to the director of a special research team.

The characters live in a universe where humanity seek to expand by prospecting alien worlds and moons, but at a cost. The Concerns, akin to business-like organisations, measure the wage-worth of their inhabitants – employees – and if you don’t provide value to the cause, you’re put back on ice until your services might be needed again.

As things develop and the action shifts to the moon of Shroud itself. This is where the story picks up in pace and Tchaikovsky’s wild imagination really takes on a life of its own.

Despite some hard science and completely alien landscapes and beings, I never felt lost (not as lost as our human characters, anyway). The author manages to describe everything in a way that is accessible and vivid
Shroud is suspenseful, with some real moments of horror, but with a smattering of well placed humour that helps ease the mounting sense of unease.

The non-human characters are as weird as weird gets. The Shrouders also provide a secondary POV, giving a unique perspective on first contact with aliens.

The character development through adversity is done well, both from a human and alien perspective. The Shrouders’ development throughout the story is fascinating, both in how we perceive them, through their interactions with our characters’ pod, but also in how they perceive themselves, their world, and the alien humans. Tchaikovsky really shines in these moments of realisation and learning from the aliens.

Tchaikovsky is excellent with his social commentary through his speculative fiction. Another aspect I appreciated from Shroud is the strong theme of connection running through it – highlighted by the disconnection of humanity, but how we could achieve so much more by being more connected with each other in our common goals, was a message not lost on me, especially in this ever increasing fractious world we live in right now. We (humanity) have become disconnected from ourselves and each other in this future universe. The need for meaningful connection is portrayed well through both POVs throughout.

Tchaikovsky really goes beyond the realms of imagination with Shroud – a world full of mindblowing alien life and landscapes, based on (what I believe to be) well thought out scientific ideas. This is a hard sci-fi adventure done in the most brilliant and accessible way.

3.5 stars

This kind of feels like it could be Alien Clay, if the “Alien” part was synonymous with the Ridley Scott movie. It feels very dark (figuratively, not just literally) and in several places definitely has that slight sci-fi-horror edge to it. I liked that, but I think the book overall is not quite my type of sci-fi.

There are only two main characters here, and the enclosed space we follow them in for the majority of the book makes for some fantastic character-building opportunities, but I don’t think we got as much of that as circumstances suggest we might have. Instead, the character was largely given over to the Shrouded, the aliens of this world (although, as a sidenote, they are the native species, so technically, our humans here are the aliens…).

I didn’t much like the perspectives we got here from the Shrouded – they just didn’t feel right to me. This has been something I’ve noted in other books and it’s clear to me that it’s a device I’m not much a fan of. In Children of Ruin, I didn’t like the hive-mind perspective that felt disjointed, but certainly alien. Here, the Shrouded perspective just felt too human, and it was a bit off-putting. Seems like you can’t win with me on that one!

We have three main parts to the book in terms of theme and setting, and I think the transition between these is a bit too sudden – the first transition is necessarily so, so that’s fine and was well-handled, but the transition between parts two and three felt a bit abrupt.

I did find the first part in particular to be incredibly densely written. It was full of information and science and technology in big long paragraphs, and it felt like it took me twice as long as it usually would to read individual pages. Once we got into “part two” (my estimation, not the parts the book is actually divided into), things moved along at a much better pace for me.

I think overall this was a good book, but it’s definitely not my favourite Tchaikovsky. Once again though, he showcases an incredible imagination that I just don’t see anyone else getting close to, especially not at the frequency we see new work from him.