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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
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.
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.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Space opera with a little of "Mission of Gravity" in it's ancestry. Intriguing concepts and the stakes are high.
Made it 43% but am just not very interested. Narration is very dense and I find my mind wandering while I listen.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
5 star everything, plot, characters, quality of writing, if you like sci-fi read this!