Adrian Tchaikovsky's Blog

I've finally made the move to update to a more book-focused site. This one should remain online but please go to http://www.adriantchaikovsky.com for news about new releases and events.

First of all, and to avoid all doubt, as at the moment of writing this there is no film biz going on with this book! This is just me having fun with a spurious dream casting for some of the characters for the book. Photos are all from imdb. Obviously this is also all just my picks as of today, and tomorrow they might all be different. If you have your own favourites feel free to disagree and propose your own if you like.

Idris — the Navigator — Joel Fry Solace — the Soldier — Cara Gee Kris — the Lawyer — Teyonah Parris Rollo — the Captain — Matt Leblanc Olli — the Drone Specialist — Alex Borstein Havaer — the Investigator — Ken Watanabe Kittering — the Accountant — Lani John Tupu (voice) Piter — the Aristocrat — Tom Felton Laery — the Chief — Sigourney Weaver Tact — the Intelligencer — Cara Gee Trine — the Archaeologist — Alan Tudyk (voice) Medvig — the Salvager — Ellen McLain (voice) Barney — the Mechanic — Mackenzie Crook Mesmon — the Gangster — Michael Chiklis

Shards of Earth, book 1 of the Final Architecture series, is out in the UK today! (US readers will see their edition in August, so apologies for that.)

This is the start of my space opera series, meaning it's SF where I get to play with toys that probably couldn't exist under real physics, such as FTL travel and artificial gravity. Given that it's me, of course, the precise parameters for how all this works in the book got pretty intricate and expanded to become the core of what's going on

In Shards of Earth, the aforementioned Earth got twisted into an avant-garde sculpture by a moon-sized entity known as an Architect, prompting a centiry long 'war' that was mostly just humans fleeing across the galaxy as their colonies were served similarly, one by one. Humans developed a secret weapon known as Intermediaries, people whose surgically-mauled brains were able to reach out and contact the Architects. And as soon as they managed that, the Architects just… left.

Fifty years later, Idris, one of the last of the original Ints, is keeping his head down on a tatty old salvage ship known as the Vulture God. Ints are also able to navigate ships through unspace without having to stick to the existing pathways between star systems, making them fantastically valuable to commercial and military traffic. Hence, from being war heroes, Intermediaries are now a commodity, made wholesale out of convicts and undesirables in a ruinously wasteful process. Idris, who has neither aged nor slept since the war, just wants to stay under the radar. Until, on one of their deep-space salvage jobs, the crew of the Vulture God find fresh evidence that the Architects are back…

The universe of Shards of Earth was (and continues to be, as I'm currently working on the third and final volume) enormous fun to write. It's full of alien cultures, weird planets and outrageous characters. A couple of my favourites amongst the supporting cast include Aklu the Unspeakable (the Razor and the Hook) an alien gangster… or maybe gangster, because it's sufficiently alien that what it thinks of its role in events is entirely opaque; and Trine, a colony of cybernetic insects (of course!) originally created as a records repository for archaeologists which has, through dint of just existing for decades longer than intended, become a self-proclaimed expert in the field.

A few links:

You can get signed hardback copies from Forbidden Planet here.

Bookshop.org

Amazon

And here's the Amazon Audible link for the Audiobook, read by Sophie Aldred.

I put together a list of all the short fiction I've had in print, mostly so I could keep track of things myself. However, if anyone is feeling like a monomaniac completionist, look upon my works, as they say:

 YearPublishedPublisher2144 And All That2013Feast and FamineNewcon21st Century Girl2012(online)Nature.comAncien Regime2016Summer’s EndARBeep!2020Short ChangesSelf pubBones (Shadows of the Apt)2012The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient WondersAlchemyCare2013
2020Feast and Famine
Short ChangesNewcon
Self pubCharlie’s Ant2013
2018Looking Landwards
Shoreline of Infinity 11 ½Newcon
Shoreline of InfinityCoat Like White Fire2020Short ChangesSelf pubCrossed Gates2015BreakoutPSDifficult Times2020New ScientistNew ScientistDonald2016The Private Life of Elder ThingsAlchemyDress Rehearsal2016Now We Are TenNewconFamily Business2013  
2020The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic
Short ChangesAlchemy  
Self pubFeast and Famine2013
2013Solaris Rising 2
Feast and FamineNewcon
NewconFragile Creations2013Tales of EveFox SpiritGoblin Autumn2019Once Upon A Parsec : The Book of Alien Fairy TalesNewconGods of the Ice Planet2016Aliens: The Truth is ComingTickety BooGood Taste2012
2013Now I Lay Me Down To Reap
Feast and FamineSiren’s Call  
NewconIrrational Numbers2016The Private Life of Elder ThingsAlchemyLost Soldiers (Walther Cohen)2012The 13 Ghosts of ChristmasSpectralLost to their own Devices2014ParadoxNewconLow Energy Economy2020
2020Consolation Songs
Levar Burton ReadsIndependent
Levar Burton ReadsMoving Targets2016The Private Life of Elder ThingsAlchemyNot A Cat Person2012
2020Hauntings
Short ChangesNewcon
Self pubOannes, from the Flood2020Avatars IncXPRIZEOld Blood (Shadows of the Apt)2017Evil is a Matter of PerspectiveGrimdark MagazinePipework (Walther Cohen)2011VivisepultureAnarchyPrecious Little Things2017
2020(Convention special)
(online)Novacon
Tor.comRapture2013Feast and FamineNewconSaint George and Saint Giles2012Tales of the Nun and DragonFox SpiritSeason of Sacrifice and Resurrection2011
2016Horror for the Holidays
The Private Life of Elder ThingsMiskatonic River
AlchemySerpent Dawn (comic with Eugene Smith)2014European MonstersFox SpiritShadow Hunter (Shadows of the Apt)2017
2018Grimdark Magazine #1
Knee Deep in GritGrimdark MagazineSomething Rotten2016Shakespeare vs CthulhuSnowbooksSword and Circle (Shadows of the Apt)2013Legends: Stories in Honour of David GemmellNewconThe Artificial Man2013Feast and FamineNewconThe Binds that Tie2016Eve of WarFox SpiritThe Branch Line Repairman2016The Private Life of Elder ThingsAlchemyThe Collectors20182001: An Odyssey In WordsNewconThe Coming of the Cold2016Winter TalesFox SpiritThe Dissipation Club (Walther Cohen)2011
2013Dead But Dreaming 2
Feast and FamineMiskatonic River
NewconThe Electric Eye of the Silver God2016This Twisted EarthSix Minutes to MidnightThe Fall of Lady Sealight2012Dark CurrentsNewconThe Final Conjuration2014Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker StreetsAbaddonThe Girls from Humaji2014The Girl at the End of the World, Book IIFox SpiritThe God-Shark2013
2020Feast and Famine
Short ChangesNewcon
Self pubThe Groppler’s Harvest2013Unexpected JourneysBFSThe House on the Old Cliffs (Walther Cohen)2014   tbcFantasy-Faction Anthology
Tbc (Dyslexia Friendly)FFP  
BOTHThe Indecipherables (with Justina Robson)2011What A Long Strange Trip it’s BeenImmanionThe Language of Flowers2016Myriad Lands Volume 2GuardbridgeThe Mouse Ran Down2012  
2013Carnage: After The End volume 2
The Time Traveller’s AlmanacSiren’s Call  
Head of ZeusThe Roar of the Crowd2013Feast and FamineNewconThe Sun in the Morning (Shadows of the Apt)2013Feast and FamineNewconThe World Wound2017JourneysWoodbridgeThis Blessed Union2014Wicked WomenFox SpiritWars of Worldcraft2020Stories of Hope and WonderNewconWhere the Brass Band Plays (Walther Cohen)2014The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic 2AlchemyWhere the Dead People Are2020First Edition 21Dome

I haven't included the Shadows of the Apt fiction that only turns up in the Tales of the Apt collections, as that should be fairly easy to track down. For reference those collections are: Spoils of War, A Time for Grief, For Love of Distant Shores and (with a number of other authors) The Scent of Tears.

It's not much of a silver lining for the last few years, that environmental stress drives me to write. Both as an escape, and because funnelling that frustration into my work is a more sociable alternative to screaming out of the window.

What did I make out of 2020 then? Actually a trick question because whatever hit the shelves this year has been at least 2 years in the making. Just as well the last few annual news cycles have been varying flavours of unsavoury, obviously. There's probably a comic story there, where the villain imperilling the world is just a frustrated writer seeking to recapture the inspiration that bad times can bring on. And I am profoundly lucky I jump that way. I know writers for whom that's the case, and I know writers whom the stress has shut down. It is, frankly, a lottery, and I can't pretend to any particular gift, just fortune.

2020 saw Children of Ruin awarded the British Science Fiction Award, and Cage of Souls shortlisted for the Clarke, which was profoundly gratifying. Coming out this year have been The Doors of Eden and Firewalkers hit the shelves, both of which seem to bave been decently received. Should anyone be so kind as to consider nominating, the former should be eligible for anything taking a 2020 novel, and the latter for the novella.

For multi-author projects, Tales of Catt and Fisher: The Art of the Steal came out very recently, which includes my own novella "Belt and Bracers" as well as work from Freda Warrington, Juliet McKenna and KT Davies, all following the named reprobates on their further ventures through the world of After the War. As per the previous post, also this year, Shadows of the Apt begins its re-release with Empire in Black and Gold and Dragonfly Falling already out.

Next year, I have four major projects coming out: a standalone, two sequels and the start of a new series. January sees the release of Bear Head, the followup to Dogs of War, and I am posting the banner here in full because it is, to be frank, barking mad. And also entirely accurate.

Also scheduled for January is the sequel to The Expert System’s Brother, titled The Expert System’s Champion. Following in the heels of this is a brand-new novella, One Day All This Will Be Yours, in which I finally have a go at a time travel narrative by trying to create the absolute worst time traveller there ever was. If all this seems utterly insane, remember that two-year lead in — so that the year 2020 is kind of a blurred melange of 2018–2021 — and when books are coming out from different publishers you get weird conjunctions like this.

Finally, in May (UK) and I think August (US), we should see the first book of The Final Architecture, my brand new space opera series. The first book is Shards of Earth and the back cover faluff reads something very like:

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien ‘Architect’. Some escaped, but millions died. So to protect its colonies, humanity shaped the minds of Idris and others into weapons and sent them into battle. Then the Architects disappeared.

Heroes like Idris have been forgotten, and he’s glad of it. He’d rather retire to a shabby salvage vessel than be anyone’s living weapon. Until this small ship makes a huge discovery.

Hunted by gangsters, governments and spies, Idris and his allies race across the galaxy searching for answers. For they have something of incalculable value that many would kill to obtain. They have proof the Architects are back, and that the war never really ended.

This week (Dec 2020) sees the re-release of the Shadows of the Apt series, with the first two books available with gorgeous new covers, and the series' very first audio adaptation, ably read by Ben Allen.

Listening to Ben's narration (which he absolutely nails) has been an interesting experience. These are books I wrote over 15 years ago, now. My style has (as one would expect) changed over the years. I keep hearing little stylistic choices I know I'd do differently now, and occasionally there's a structural point I would likely approach differently. If I'd set out to write the series now the books would be different, but still very recognisable. And there's no guarantee they would be better on all points just because I would bring a more honed sensibility to the project.

Here are the links: Empire in Black and Gold and Dragonfly Falling in paper or e‑book here.  And for audio, here's Empire and here's Dragonfly.

The Doors are open, and things are even now coming out. Today (20th August) is the official UK release date for Doors of Eden, my cross-timeline evolutionary thriller half a billion years in the making.

 

For the US, I believe it’s around 20th September but the ebook is available now, and the audiobook is either ready right now or will be very shortly.

 

 

Forgive the long pause, as the bear said, but in my defence, I’ve been writing.

Anyway, I’m delighted to confirm that my new novel, The Doors of Eden is out very soon, which is to say around 20th August. Waterstones link here, Forbidden Planet link here, and Amazon here.  For those in the States, the US release is September.

What the hell is the Doors of Eden? It’s a standalone SF set partially in the real world in the modern day, and partially on a whole load of other parallel earths where things have gone very differently. It has espionage and spy stuff, crytozoology, higher physics and speculative evolution by the spade-full. I somehow scored a review in the New Scientist here.

I had inordinate fun writing this book, which has been on the factory floor being planned out and assembled for a long old time – the first seeds were planted back in 2014 at Loncon, springing out of their excellent series of panels on spec evo. It frankly has more of the sort of evolutionary science weirdness that marks Children of Time than anything else I’ve written. And yes, there are spiders, though not centre stage. Plenty of other invertebrates to take up the slack, however.

(For other news, you may also want to look out for:

A new space opera trilogy! – This is coming out in the UK from Pan Macmillan and in the US from Orbit (as with Children and Doors) from 2021 onwards and represents me finally giving in to my desire for people to go from place to place in space at relativistically impossible speeds. Needless to say the mechanics of said FTL travel basically got very complicated and ended up being the actual core concept of the book. Plus aliens, from sentient crabs through cyborg hive minds to moon-sized monsters that destroy planets.

Time travel! – One Day All This Will Be Yours, a novella from Rebellion which is a conceptual (not actual) follow-on from Walking to Aldebaran, with the same general theme of someone stuck somewhere isolated and unnatural. In this case, the end of time. Also dinosaurs, time warriors, saccharine utopias, inappropriate cameos from historical characters! There will be two other novellas in this little set, a third to the Ironclads-Firewalkers dystopia sequence, and then one more story of weird isolation.

A sequel to Dogs of War! – unannounced as yet but on its way. I’m currently going through the edits and its current title is Bear Head.

A super secret project I can’t talk about! – which I can’t talk about!

And, at some point in the future, I do intend penning a third Children book.

 

So I've had my final schedule through for Worldcon in Dublin next month — anyone who's there please do come along to see me at any or all of the following:

 

Thursday 15th August

18.50 Wicklow Hall 1 CCD — panel:  Talking Animal Characters in SFF

 

Friday 16th August

13.00–13.50 Liffey Room 1 CCD — game show (!): Dungeons and Disorderly CCD

16.30–17.20 Odeon 4 Point Square — Panel: Water in SFF

19.00–20.00 Liffey Room 1 CCD — panel: Speculative Biology

 

Saturday 17th August

11–11.20 Liffey Room 3 CCD — Reading

12–12.50 Level 4 Foyer CCD — Signing

5.30–6.30 (location unknown at present) Newcon book launch — Once Upon a Parsec

 

Sunday

15–15.50 Level 3 Foyer CCD — Kaffeeklatsch

19.00–19.50 Wicklow Hall 2B CCD — Panel: Invented Mythologies.

So I’ve had my final schedule through for Worldcon in Dublin next month – anyone who’s there please do come along to see me at any or all of the following:

 

Thursday 15th August

18.50 Wicklow Hall 1 CCD – panel:  Talking Animal Characters in SFF

 

Friday 16th August

13.00-13.50 Liffey Room 1 CCD – game show (!): Dungeons and Disorderly CCD

16.30-17.20 Odeon 4 Point Square – Panel: Water in SFF

19.00-20.00 Liffey Room 1 CCD – panel: Speculative Biology

 

Saturday 17th August

11-11.20 Liffey Room 3 CCD – Reading

12-12.50 Level 4 Foyer CCD – Signing

5.30-6.30 (location unknown at present) Newcon book launch – Once Upon a Parsec

 

Sunday

15-15.50 Level 3 Foyer CCD – Kaffeeklatsch

19.00-19.50 Wicklow Hall 2B CCD – Panel: Invented Mythologies.