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ghostsofthesouthernsong 's review for:
Shards of Earth
by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I waffled between shifting up towards 5 stars, or down towards 4 stars, because I think this is about as 4.5 a read as it gets—a very competently-written novel that just lacks a little of that sublime gene for me. In the end, I picked 4, because when I start comparing it to peak sci-fi I've read, it's definitely a (small) step down.
But before I go into what didn't work for me, I need to go into what does, and there is a lot I like. I enjoyed how Tchaikovsky created a really fun setting full of weird alien races, without Earth being the epicenter of everything, and with a distinctly Cold War feel about the politics of the setting... except that instead of each governmental coalition's fear being turned on each other, it is more so turned towards the Architects, whose legacy has touched interstellar society so deeply that the main tech race is centered around gaining an advantage in the case of their return.
To make a (possibly slightly skewed, as the nuances of history are far too deep to cover in a few words) analogy, it'd be like the Cold War being less a race between capitalist and communist powers in the proxy stage of third-world countries to advance their influence, and more of a race to acquire power in the event Godzilla returns. That was a really fun aspect of Shards of Earth, and I think in general, space opera really shines when it's less about the cool, futuristic aspects of interstellar society, and more about what people do with them.
The characters are also really likeable. Establishing camaraderie is not always easy, but the way it was done here, it makes it very easy to root for our protagonists. Solace and Idris in particular were compelling, as a dynamic of 'veterans who're not quite human anymore, but have shared very human moments and connect in a very human way'. Aside from that, Solace and Olli's conflict subplot was I thought, a cool way of broaching the possible tensions between a society whose citizens were designed to be perfect, versus those who are well, the complete opposite. Other characters also stood out nicely; Trine in particular, was amusing, and Rollo is the Papa Bear-type character that's nice to see when done well.
That's not to mention how characters like Idris broach the question of whether there's actually any worth in being posthuman, with all the resultant trauma and pain. Those vulnerabilities paradoxically make our inhuman characters even more human; it's easier to root for someone whose pain you recognize.
What then, do I think it falters in? The ability to evoke emotions. Some of my favorite science fiction, like Ship of Fools, Murderbot, The Expanse, they're all capable of producing moments that just make me go 'wow'. While Shards of Earth is not short on wham scenes, it often feels divorced from the reactions it should be giving, and at times reads more like a dry transcript of what happened. Aside from this, the amount of ideas dumped into the worldbuilding is absolutely astonishing and lends vibrancy, but at the cost of depth. We see a lot of ideas, but few are often fleshed out satisfactorily, and can appear to merely be window-dressing.
It's for those reasons I can't quite call Shards of Earth peak sci-fi, but even if it doesn't reach the highest echelons of the genre, it's still done a commendable job in placing very high up. I'd definitely recommend reading this for anyone who's looking for a fun read that's at its heart, space opera done very competently.
But before I go into what didn't work for me, I need to go into what does, and there is a lot I like. I enjoyed how Tchaikovsky created a really fun setting full of weird alien races, without Earth being the epicenter of everything, and with a distinctly Cold War feel about the politics of the setting... except that instead of each governmental coalition's fear being turned on each other, it is more so turned towards the Architects, whose legacy has touched interstellar society so deeply that the main tech race is centered around gaining an advantage in the case of their return.
To make a (possibly slightly skewed, as the nuances of history are far too deep to cover in a few words) analogy, it'd be like the Cold War being less a race between capitalist and communist powers in the proxy stage of third-world countries to advance their influence, and more of a race to acquire power in the event Godzilla returns. That was a really fun aspect of Shards of Earth, and I think in general, space opera really shines when it's less about the cool, futuristic aspects of interstellar society, and more about what people do with them.
The characters are also really likeable. Establishing camaraderie is not always easy, but the way it was done here, it makes it very easy to root for our protagonists. Solace and Idris in particular were compelling, as a dynamic of 'veterans who're not quite human anymore, but have shared very human moments and connect in a very human way'. Aside from that, Solace and Olli's conflict subplot was I thought, a cool way of broaching the possible tensions between a society whose citizens were designed to be perfect, versus those who are well, the complete opposite. Other characters also stood out nicely; Trine in particular, was amusing, and Rollo is the Papa Bear-type character that's nice to see when done well.
That's not to mention how characters like Idris broach the question of whether there's actually any worth in being posthuman, with all the resultant trauma and pain. Those vulnerabilities paradoxically make our inhuman characters even more human; it's easier to root for someone whose pain you recognize.
What then, do I think it falters in? The ability to evoke emotions. Some of my favorite science fiction, like Ship of Fools, Murderbot, The Expanse, they're all capable of producing moments that just make me go 'wow'. While Shards of Earth is not short on wham scenes, it often feels divorced from the reactions it should be giving, and at times reads more like a dry transcript of what happened. Aside from this, the amount of ideas dumped into the worldbuilding is absolutely astonishing and lends vibrancy, but at the cost of depth. We see a lot of ideas, but few are often fleshed out satisfactorily, and can appear to merely be window-dressing.
It's for those reasons I can't quite call Shards of Earth peak sci-fi, but even if it doesn't reach the highest echelons of the genre, it's still done a commendable job in placing very high up. I'd definitely recommend reading this for anyone who's looking for a fun read that's at its heart, space opera done very competently.