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azrah786's review against another edition
4.0
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with an ARC of the book by TorUK & Black Crow PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review**
CW: gun violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, torture, murder, death, confinement, police brutality, slavery, colonisation
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They don’t call Adrian Tchaikovsky the master of worldbuilding for nothing and having recently picked up Children of Time as well as Alien Clay I couldn’t agree more.
This book takes place on a far off planet known as Kiln, one of the destinations in the vast universe where insurrectionists acting against the thinking of the authoritative Mandate are sent to serve their life sentences as a labour force. The story recounts the experiences of one dissenter, Professor Arton Daghdev, an ecologist with a curiosity for exploring alien life who must follow the firm orders of the Mandate as they research into the abandoned ruins on Kiln and not step out of line. However, it’s not just the brutal hand of his overlords that Arton and his fellow convicts have to survive from because Kiln itself is nothing short of monstrous and it’s holding onto more secrets than anybody expected.
Not only does Tchaikovsky’s storytelling paint such a vivid picture of the alien setting that is as awe-inspiring as it is horrific but the history of humanity is just as skilfully woven into the narrative that you are well and truly immersed into this universe. There’s an unserious vibe to the narrative voice of Arton despite the ongoing tensions of the plot that makes it easy to engage with the story too. Plus as an ecologist he is very much in his element and all the scientific knowledge that flows through the telling made everything all the more compelling.
However, this isn’t your usual first contact story. Though the theme of colonisation is very much there, the focus is on evolution just as much as it is on revolution. On the curiosity and control that is craved by both mankind and nature.
I often found I could tell where the plot itself was going and the narration did have a lot to do with this as the protagonist was constantly alluding to things “going wrong” which did ebb my enjoyment a little. There’s a fair amount of body horror and things do get WEIRD but the eeriness comes from “how” everything comes about over the “what is going on” and the “why” of Kiln’s mysteries which is what makes this book a page turner.
If you’re a fan of space exploration and stories about survival with a dose of the uncanny then definitely check this one out!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
**I was provided with an ARC of the book by TorUK & Black Crow PR for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review**
CW: gun violence, blood, injury, body horror, gore, torture, murder, death, confinement, police brutality, slavery, colonisation
--
They don’t call Adrian Tchaikovsky the master of worldbuilding for nothing and having recently picked up Children of Time as well as Alien Clay I couldn’t agree more.
This book takes place on a far off planet known as Kiln, one of the destinations in the vast universe where insurrectionists acting against the thinking of the authoritative Mandate are sent to serve their life sentences as a labour force. The story recounts the experiences of one dissenter, Professor Arton Daghdev, an ecologist with a curiosity for exploring alien life who must follow the firm orders of the Mandate as they research into the abandoned ruins on Kiln and not step out of line. However, it’s not just the brutal hand of his overlords that Arton and his fellow convicts have to survive from because Kiln itself is nothing short of monstrous and it’s holding onto more secrets than anybody expected.
Not only does Tchaikovsky’s storytelling paint such a vivid picture of the alien setting that is as awe-inspiring as it is horrific but the history of humanity is just as skilfully woven into the narrative that you are well and truly immersed into this universe. There’s an unserious vibe to the narrative voice of Arton despite the ongoing tensions of the plot that makes it easy to engage with the story too. Plus as an ecologist he is very much in his element and all the scientific knowledge that flows through the telling made everything all the more compelling.
However, this isn’t your usual first contact story. Though the theme of colonisation is very much there, the focus is on evolution just as much as it is on revolution. On the curiosity and control that is craved by both mankind and nature.
I often found I could tell where the plot itself was going and the narration did have a lot to do with this as the protagonist was constantly alluding to things “going wrong” which did ebb my enjoyment a little. There’s a fair amount of body horror and things do get WEIRD but the eeriness comes from “how” everything comes about over the “what is going on” and the “why” of Kiln’s mysteries which is what makes this book a page turner.
If you’re a fan of space exploration and stories about survival with a dose of the uncanny then definitely check this one out!
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Murder, Confinement, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Torture, Colonisation, and Police brutality
rubyhosh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality and Torture
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