Shards of Earth
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- Create Date：2021-10-11 06:51:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adrian Tchaikovsky
- ISBN：0316705853
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Summary
The Arthur C。 Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us an extraordinary new space opera about humanity on the brink of extinction， and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all。
The war is over。 Its heroes forgotten。 Until one chance discovery 。 。 。
Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war。 And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel， to avoid the attention of greater powers。
After earth was destroyed， mankind created a fighting elite to save their species， enhanced humans such as Idris。 In the silence of space they could communicate， mind-to-mind， with the enemy。 Then their alien aggressors， the Architects， simply disappeared - and Idris and his kind became obsolete。
Now， fifty years later， Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space。 It's clearly the work of the Architects - but are they returning？ And if so， why？ Hunted by gangsters， cults and governments， Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers。 For they now possess something of incalculable value， that many would kill to obtain。
The war is over。 Its heroes forgotten。 Until one chance discovery 。 。 。
Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war。 And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel， to avoid the attention of greater powers。
After earth was destroyed， mankind created a fighting elite to save their species， enhanced humans such as Idris。 In the silence of space they could communicate， mind-to-mind， with the enemy。 Then their alien aggressors， the Architects， simply disappeared - and Idris and his kind became obsolete。
Now， fifty years later， Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space。 It's clearly the work of the Architects - but are they returning？ And if so， why？ Hunted by gangsters， cults and governments， Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers。 For they now possess something of incalculable value， that many would kill to obtain。
Reviews
Rowan
，
Note for myself: dropping this for now at ~50%。 Good book， but couldn't focus。 Reminder to pick it up when the sequel comes out。 Note for myself: dropping this for now at ~50%。 Good book， but couldn't focus。 Reminder to pick it up when the sequel comes out。 。。。more
Zare
，
Two things need to be made clear about this book。 First， in case of dire need you can use it as door stopper， weapon， shield， body armor， brick substitute or as a resting place for your feet after hard day at work （although this is unbecoming of any book so better not think about it）。 Second， this is by far one of the best space operas I read in a while， it is right there side by side with Peter F Hamilton （sheer size of book being one of the elements linking the authors）， Alastair Raynolds， Iai Two things need to be made clear about this book。 First， in case of dire need you can use it as door stopper， weapon， shield， body armor， brick substitute or as a resting place for your feet after hard day at work （although this is unbecoming of any book so better not think about it）。 Second， this is by far one of the best space operas I read in a while， it is right there side by side with Peter F Hamilton （sheer size of book being one of the elements linking the authors）， Alastair Raynolds， Iain M Banks and 。。。 yes 。。。。 Neal Asher。 Now you might say Neal Asher？ And I would say， yes because while there is lots of what some might call hard-code SF here overall dynamics and action draw some of the parallels with Ashers work。 And when it comes to strangeness of the worlds and characters there is one more author that comes to mind here and that is Glen Cook， and especially his book "The Dragon Never Sleeps"。I wont go much into the story itself。 It is far future， humanity has encountered multiple alien races and also got split into standard issue Humanity with all good and bad things and genetically engineered offshoot that follows their founder's genetic purity guidelines。 And then suddenly gigantic creatures called Architects start showing up obliterating Humanity planets one by one。 And when I say obliterating I mean 。。。。 performing blood-eagle style destruction on a planetary scale。 Humanity managed to turn off the attackers using mentally enhanced humans - think of them as a cross between Dune and W40K navigators - who manage to get into contact with the Architects after which latter just decided to leave。 Btw this is first 20-something pages。。。。 awesome， right :）Actual story starts several decades later - after Architects left （unexpectedly， in a same manner as they showed up） we find two of the survivors of the conflict getting mixed up with space towing /recovery team flying a shabby old freighter。 Soon their adventures will bring them onto collision with political forces trying to avoid new war （humanity split in full along the gene pureness line after the Architect war）， crazy alien religious cults， criminal overlords seeking hidden treasures our motley crew came across and 。。。。。 there are thousand other twists here I wont go into details。 You need to read it。I especially liked the sub-space/FTL travel used here， called unspace。 It just screams Warp （W40K fans will know） and also has lots of parallels with Glen Cook's subspace routes used by forces in "Dragon Never Sleeps"。 Very eerie and horror-ish and affecting everyone that remains awake during the transit。It is excellent book， with great characters， truly alien aliens and action that will make you read this 500+ pages marvel in two days or less。 It is just impossible to put it down， I was always saying to myself - just a few more pages。 For two days :）Excellent read， highly recommended to all fans of action space opera。 And best part， I have a feeling sequel is coming :） Cannot wait！ 。。。more
Vince Buyssens
，
One of the most interesting yet accessible space opera I've read in yearsThis is such a good book in every respect。 From the characters and the world building to the concept of the Ints and the Architects。 It's also one of the few books that really knows how to describe truly alien aliens。 Thank you for this book One of the most interesting yet accessible space opera I've read in yearsThis is such a good book in every respect。 From the characters and the world building to the concept of the Ints and the Architects。 It's also one of the few books that really knows how to describe truly alien aliens。 Thank you for this book 。。。more
Ludi Nel
，
Another brilliant SCi-Fi Epic from Adrian Tchaikovsky。 Did this in an audiobook and the narrator was just sublime！！ Highly recommend
Erin
，
This was a really engaging sci-fi read。 I've been on a space opera kick lately while I wait for season six of the expanse and this really helped fill that void。 I look forward to more in the series。 I especially love the timeline and glossary。 I wish all space opera/epic sci-fi books included them。 This was a really engaging sci-fi read。 I've been on a space opera kick lately while I wait for season six of the expanse and this really helped fill that void。 I look forward to more in the series。 I especially love the timeline and glossary。 I wish all space opera/epic sci-fi books included them。 。。。more
Brittney
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DNF at 22%
Kevin Postlewaite
，
Starts a little slow but another creative work by Tchaikovsky
Brian M
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Dragged times。 Still a decent read。
Tay
，
I loved， loved， loved this book！ Space Lesbians！ Galactic peril！ Sentient hives of swarming AI cockroaches！ What's not to love？ Adrian Tchaikovsky has created a cast of unique characters， all of whom you're rooting for in one way or another。 The book blends politics， action， and intrigue so deftly。 I absolutely cannot wait for this series to continue。 I loved， loved， loved this book！ Space Lesbians！ Galactic peril！ Sentient hives of swarming AI cockroaches！ What's not to love？ Adrian Tchaikovsky has created a cast of unique characters， all of whom you're rooting for in one way or another。 The book blends politics， action， and intrigue so deftly。 I absolutely cannot wait for this series to continue。 。。。more
Jay Clement
，
77-2021。 A sometimes confusing space opera， book one of some number to be determined。 By the end of it， I was organized about who was who and such， but it was dense with galactic political intrigue， scoundrels， pirates， and various plucky members of the crew of a salvage ship。 Not sure if I’ll come back for Book Two。
Henri
，
A good intro to a trilogy。 Must digest a bit
Shamsa
，
4。5/5
Bonnie McDaniel
，
I've read two of this author's books before， and in looking back on those reviews， I see a common thread: the ideas were big and fascinating， the worldbuilding intricate。。。and the characterization was lacking。 This book remedies that quite decisively， and in so doing， positions itself as one of my favorite SF reads this year。 This is an epic space opera dealing with trauma， PTSD， and how we treat refugees， set against the backdrop of a galaxy-spanning extinction event at the hands of the so-call I've read two of this author's books before， and in looking back on those reviews， I see a common thread: the ideas were big and fascinating， the worldbuilding intricate。。。and the characterization was lacking。 This book remedies that quite decisively， and in so doing， positions itself as one of my favorite SF reads this year。 This is an epic space opera dealing with trauma， PTSD， and how we treat refugees， set against the backdrop of a galaxy-spanning extinction event at the hands of the so-called Architects: moon-sized beings that carve planets into beautiful and terrible works of art。 Of course， the planet's inhabitants， at least those who can't evacuate， are killed。 This happened to Earth one hundred and twenty-three years prior in this timeline， and the remnants of humanity are scattered through various colony worlds。 The surviving governments and human factions are desperate to find something to stop the Architects， but nothing works。。。until the invention， by genetic engineering， conditioning and surgery， of the Intermediaries， humans that are basically experimented on to produce a psychic connection to the massive alien minds of the Architects。 Our main protagonist， Idris Telemmier， is such an Intermediary， and he succeeds in momentarily touching the mind of an Architect and making it aware of his existence。。。。whereupon it abandons the planet it had been targeting and vanishes into "unspace，" the dimension that Idris can navigate and which facilitates this universe's FTL travel。 The Architects disappear for decades， long enough that humanity settles on other worlds and begins to forget the terror and trauma of living every day not knowing if at any moment an Architect will pop out of unspace and begin to carve up their planets。 （The Architects are used sparingly and well in this book; their depredations are mostly described after the fact until the final battle， when we see humans and other alien species sending out fleets of their most advanced warships and hurling everything they have against the creatures--and hardly slowing them down。 That would make a helluva onscreen battle。。。。but I think attempting to film this story would bust the CGI bank。） Fifty years later， Idris has left the Colonies behind and fallen in with the crew of the Vulture God， a salvage ship。 （The cost of remaking his brain to become an Intermediary is that he doesn't age and doesn't sleep。 He's also highly traumatized and often barely holding himself together。） In taking on a job searching for a ship that has disappeared from the Throughways， the recognized paths through unspace， the Vulture God and its crew finds its target--only to realize the ship has been remade in the Architects' pattern。 With this， the central question of the book emerges: Have the Architects returned？We spend most of our time in Idris' head， but there are several other viewpoint characters as well。 All of them are well-written， especially Solace， the Partheni warrior and spy who is out to find Idris and persuade him to join the Parthenon， and who talks herself into a berth on the Vulture God。 （The Parthenon is one of several human factions， this one consisting， as you might guess from the name， entirely of parthogenetically grown women。） There are also nonhuman characters; a particular delight was Delegate Trine， one of the Hivers （described as "composite cyborg insect intelligences" in the glossary） who is fussy and snarky and steals every scene it's in。 This is a very fat book， but it did not sag at all， in the middle or anywhere else。 It's the first of a trilogy， but despite the tense battle scenes and revelations of a further threat possibly greater than the Architects， the author does not stoop to having a cliffhanger ending。 There is clearly more story to be told， but this first chapter is satisfactorily wrapped up， with the characters in a good place。。。at least for a while。 I don't know when the next book in the series is coming out， but it will be an insta-buy for me when it does。 Y'all should check this out， because it is fucking amazing。 。。。more
Khira Allen
，
That's 3。5 stars， I think。 The novel is a classic 'crew of misfits saves the world' space opera， very much reminiscent of Expanse， Serenity， and other similar works。 For me， the best part of the book was the world building， with multiple alien civilisations trying to find common ground for interaction。Where I thought it was a bit weak was in POV changes from one character to another in different chapters。 I normally like this technique in novels， but in this case， I found that there was so littl That's 3。5 stars， I think。 The novel is a classic 'crew of misfits saves the world' space opera， very much reminiscent of Expanse， Serenity， and other similar works。 For me， the best part of the book was the world building， with multiple alien civilisations trying to find common ground for interaction。Where I thought it was a bit weak was in POV changes from one character to another in different chapters。 I normally like this technique in novels， but in this case， I found that there was so little difference in the characters' voices that I kept forgetting whose POV it was at any given time。 A part of me also kept wishing to see chapters written from the perspective of Olli， or even from the perspective of the alien species like Essiel or the Hannilambra。 （I know， it's probably not a very commercially viable approach to writing space opera， but it would have been a great thinking exercise to attempt a glimpse at a truly alien mindset。） 。。。more
David Guymer
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All the stars out of 5
Jeremy
，
Good fast paced with good action。 If you like the "A big ship at the edge of the universe"， you'll like this， has a similar feel。 Good fast paced with good action。 If you like the "A big ship at the edge of the universe"， you'll like this， has a similar feel。 。。。more
Ann Lonie
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Liked reading this a lot。 Didn't like the character Olli who didn't seem to find it ironic that she whined about perceived prejudice against her with her own very much prejudiced views of the Parthenon！ Anyhow， the book has a good plot and ideas which I found myself thinking about between bouts of reading and I look forward to the next book in the series。 I want to know what drives the Architects。It is going to be a series， right？ :-） Liked reading this a lot。 Didn't like the character Olli who didn't seem to find it ironic that she whined about perceived prejudice against her with her own very much prejudiced views of the Parthenon！ Anyhow， the book has a good plot and ideas which I found myself thinking about between bouts of reading and I look forward to the next book in the series。 I want to know what drives the Architects。It is going to be a series， right？ :-） 。。。more
Kate Weber
，
If you liked Firefly， try Shards of Earth。
ArTea
，
I love this book！ When I finished the story I was hungry for more of， "Angels of punching you in the face"， Parthenon warriors， Hive beings， and the wild astrophysics of Unspace！This is a wonderful space opera。 I really cared for the individual characters。 It is not a light read。 It is hefty with political intrigue， gangs， cults。。。a rollercoaster ride。 I love this book！ When I finished the story I was hungry for more of， "Angels of punching you in the face"， Parthenon warriors， Hive beings， and the wild astrophysics of Unspace！This is a wonderful space opera。 I really cared for the individual characters。 It is not a light read。 It is hefty with political intrigue， gangs， cults。。。a rollercoaster ride。 。。。more
Ben Nathan
，
It's kind of like if the expanse was happening in a larger universe。 Just fantastic in the depth and character development。 The plot was engrossing。 I'm so incredibly excited for however many books we get in this series （please be a lot）。 It's kind of like if the expanse was happening in a larger universe。 Just fantastic in the depth and character development。 The plot was engrossing。 I'm so incredibly excited for however many books we get in this series （please be a lot）。 。。。more
Paul Bard
，
Maybe a third of the story。 No sign of the sequels yet。 Heroes leap into certain doom on multiple dazzling set piece SciFi settings。 But they are foolhardy， not courageous。 The representation of power politics is the real strength of the book。 Watching the characters counterbalance one another's ideology and interests and coming to put their humanity first is both heartening and a stable source of page turning tension。 The space opera shenanigans are NOT a source of tension but just stage dressi Maybe a third of the story。 No sign of the sequels yet。 Heroes leap into certain doom on multiple dazzling set piece SciFi settings。 But they are foolhardy， not courageous。 The representation of power politics is the real strength of the book。 Watching the characters counterbalance one another's ideology and interests and coming to put their humanity first is both heartening and a stable source of page turning tension。 The space opera shenanigans are NOT a source of tension but just stage dressing。Politically and in terms of set pieces it's miles ahead of the alternatives， but the foolhardiness of the heroes somewhat spoils it。 。。。more
Marty Fried
，
This was a very enjoyable read， but somewhat difficult read。 It started out more difficult than enjoyable， mostly due to the strange names， I think， but also it was like being dropped into a conversation where you missed the first half and have to figure out what's going on at the same time。 Mostly it was enjoyable because of the characters。 Even the bad guys were entertaining， although it was hard to tell who was what for most of them。 And they were not all human。 And among the humans， there we This was a very enjoyable read， but somewhat difficult read。 It started out more difficult than enjoyable， mostly due to the strange names， I think， but also it was like being dropped into a conversation where you missed the first half and have to figure out what's going on at the same time。 Mostly it was enjoyable because of the characters。 Even the bad guys were entertaining， although it was hard to tell who was what for most of them。 And they were not all human。 And among the humans， there were many differences。 A bunch of them are thrown together on a ship， which makes for some interesting interactions。The main common thread is some sort of super big alien that seems to be going around to inhabited planets and destroying them - or rather， changing them into works of art that destroy all life in the process。 Nobody knows why， and by the end of the book， we only get a hint of what's really going on。 I assume we'll learn more in future books， but although interesting， it's not a cliff-hanger。 The book is good and relatively complete without knowing this。 Still， I'll be wanting to read more ASAP。 。。。more
Brad
，
From the writer who brought you the best sci-fi story about intelligent spiders （Children of Time） comes Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest space opera， Shards of Earth， which somehow manages to work as both a light-hearted buddy romp and a fascinating world-building exercise about the annihilation of all life in the universe。I'm late the Tchaikosky game so I don't know where this fits in with his massive output， but I loved that the tone was so different than Children of Time， which I wasn't expecting From the writer who brought you the best sci-fi story about intelligent spiders （Children of Time） comes Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest space opera， Shards of Earth， which somehow manages to work as both a light-hearted buddy romp and a fascinating world-building exercise about the annihilation of all life in the universe。I'm late the Tchaikosky game so I don't know where this fits in with his massive output， but I loved that the tone was so different than Children of Time， which I wasn't expecting。 I also enjoyed that the story picks up pretty much in media res。 There are some flashbacks and exposition explaining who the Big Bad is in the story， but for the most part you're just off and running， hopping around the galaxy with a rag-tag group of misfits who can't quite get away from ALL of the people chasing them。This is less of a sci-fi think piece， and more of a swashbuckling pirate story in space！ And， I mean that in the best sense。But， you should go into the story knowing that this is just the beginning of the story about the Architects。 Act One isn't giving you all the answers you might want， but sure did an outstanding job of building a world I want to revisit with his next book！ 。。。more
Kristenelle
，
This was a mixed bag for me。 I loved the central mystery。 It really had me intrigued and rapt。 I liked the characters and a lot of the world building。 There are a ton of different aliens and factions。 I think where this didn't work great for me was that there was a lot of action and a lot of stuff happening that was hard to imagine。 I lost track of how we got to different scenes a lot。 Maybe I should have read it slower？ I also feel like while the central plot was super engaging， a lot of the bo This was a mixed bag for me。 I loved the central mystery。 It really had me intrigued and rapt。 I liked the characters and a lot of the world building。 There are a ton of different aliens and factions。 I think where this didn't work great for me was that there was a lot of action and a lot of stuff happening that was hard to imagine。 I lost track of how we got to different scenes a lot。 Maybe I should have read it slower？ I also feel like while the central plot was super engaging， a lot of the book wasn't really advancing the central plot much。 This could easily have been a much， much shorter book。 I'm pretty sure I would not have had the patience to finish it if I hadn't been listening to it on audio。 Sexual violence？ No。 Other content warnings？ Violence， slavery， genocide。 。。。more
Dan
，
Loved it， very exciting。 Tchaikovsky's world building is fantastic。 Interesting and immersive。 Hiver Trine is low key one of my favorite characters of the year。 He's verbose， pedantic， and has a deadpan humor。 I dig that。 Loved it， very exciting。 Tchaikovsky's world building is fantastic。 Interesting and immersive。 Hiver Trine is low key one of my favorite characters of the year。 He's verbose， pedantic， and has a deadpan humor。 I dig that。 。。。more
Jester
，
Are you looking for a space opera with aliens， metaphysical extradimensional "stuff"， and a group of genetically modified Warhammer 40K Sisters of Battles-like warriors who have a division called， "Angles of Punching You in the Face"？ Then this is totally the book for you！ There is a real lived in world field similar to A New Hope， Firefly， and the Expanse series with fantastic characters。 I found the flashbacks blended really well and gave enough exposition that I knew what was going on without Are you looking for a space opera with aliens， metaphysical extradimensional "stuff"， and a group of genetically modified Warhammer 40K Sisters of Battles-like warriors who have a division called， "Angles of Punching You in the Face"？ Then this is totally the book for you！ There is a real lived in world field similar to A New Hope， Firefly， and the Expanse series with fantastic characters。 I found the flashbacks blended really well and gave enough exposition that I knew what was going on without feeling like I knew too much which could ruin things。 When I finished the book I was thinking back to some of the things that happened and I was shocked it all fit into a single book and didn't feel too bloated。 Technically I give this book a 4。86/5 because the word "Largesse" was used 15 times， which was 14 times too many。 。。。more
E
，
Man Tchaikovsky is good。 Some of the best space opera around - interesting， unknowable Big Bads， well-drawn aliens， and compelling central characters。 Not quite up to the standards of Children of Time （but what is？）， and streets ahead of most in the genre。 Can't wait to see where he takes this next。 Man Tchaikovsky is good。 Some of the best space opera around - interesting， unknowable Big Bads， well-drawn aliens， and compelling central characters。 Not quite up to the standards of Children of Time （but what is？）， and streets ahead of most in the genre。 Can't wait to see where he takes this next。 。。。more
Alik Tam
，
A super long story with really stale characters and themes。 Disappointing。
Melanie
，
I really enjoyed this book， although I think it was good that I had an extended block of time to put into it。 I felt like Tchaikovsky built a feasible world and set an adventure in it but also did was good sci-fi does best - made commentary on social issues humanity faces （eugenics， human disformity， etc。，）
Jon
，
A little more approachable than some of the authors other work， which is probably why I didn't love it。 There still a big story here， and some real good "alien" aliens， and I'm very interested in the future of the story。 It just didn't hit that same "woah， this is so weird" vibe that I was looking for。 A little more approachable than some of the authors other work， which is probably why I didn't love it。 There still a big story here， and some real good "alien" aliens， and I'm very interested in the future of the story。 It just didn't hit that same "woah， this is so weird" vibe that I was looking for。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Shards of Earth
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Shards of Earth&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Shards of Earth&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0