r/AdrianTchaikovsky

Source: Last Song of Ash

• Page Count: 160
• Genre: Fantasy
• Imprint Publisher: Tordotcom
• ISBN: 9781250495532
• On Sale: July 13 2027

Hello!

Reposting here as it may be a better fit.

I’m new to his work just finished the Children of Time series. I have something I want to discuss but no one in my life has read the books!!

Basically- what is the theme/ genre/ naming convention of the fourth book?

By my read, each book has its own sort of genre or theme that is connected to the names of the new creatures we meet on each planet.

For example, book 1 is Shakespeare - Portia, Bianca, Fabian, themes of politics, honor, betrayal, gender roles.

Book 2 is Biblical horror. We get Paul (maybe others? I can’t remember), and themes of world evisceration, omnipotent power, destruction, passion, emotion.

Book 3 is a Germanic fairy tale. We get the two crows, Gothi and Gethli, the woods, the witch, the wolf, the villagers.

Book 4 though… it seems closest to like Jurassic park to me, engineering nature, but I can’t figure out any name pattern or more than that.

I would love to hear any thoughts!!

I'm trying to get a hold on what's been published (so far). Is this list complete or is there anything else out there, for example in the recent "Best of" story collection?

in chronological (not publishing) order:

• Woodmask (Uncanny Magazine #61)
• Holy Fools (Of Shadows, Stars and Sabers)
• The Heart of the Reproach
• Discipline Problem (ParSec Magazine #11)
• Candles (The Iron Code - stories in honour of David Gemmel)

Never picked up any AT books before, I prefer Fantasy to SF, found City of Last Chances in the library at the beginning of the year, I'm now on Days of Shattered Faith and loving the series as a whole! The world building, the lore, the different factions, I've never read a series like it, I love that we are just travelling around this world and seeing it from so many different angles. I love the different magic, the artifacts, the mysteries, the monsters, and then we just zoom off elsewhere! I love the difference between City and House in tone, story and setting, yet it still drags me in!

So is it Adrian Tchaikovsky's thing to build the most interesting and intricate worlds for his stories then barely explore them? Just drop the most tantalizing and intriguing hints that are never expanded on or mentioned ever again. I've read several of his books that were great, but left me with an unbearable craving for more. I don't want a full infodump or anything just little bit more. I'd do shameful things for a few more books or novellas in the world of Cage of Souls, prequel, sequel , spinoff anything 😭

Finished the new novella tonight. It was definitely properly creepy, in that Adrian fashion. The synopsis and artwork foreshadowed the twist, though the specifics of it were a bit surprising. The addition of interior artwork this year shows that this line has been quite successful for the publisher Solaris. I do love how separate yet interconnected all the novellas are.

I was just going to read one or two chapters in my sitting, but I couldn't put it down. He built up the mystery very well, and even with the obvious foreshadowing, you still wanted to find out how it all came together. Even though Adrian hasn't returned to a setting in these novellas, I would not mind another story with the same characters further along in the timeline (or further back).

Anybody else finish it yet? I wasn't sure whether to label this as discussion or review, and I took a precautionary note by labelling it as Spoilers though I don't know if I really delved into them.

I'm thinking of getting one this winter and am looking for inspiration. I'd love a Tyrant Philosophers one but can't think how to make it work.

Edit - just had a thought, maybe The Wonk or UnCharles! I love Service Model

I am nearly finished with Children of Strife and was reminded of this one weird board game I played over 10 years ago.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/157917/the-lord-of-the-ice-garden

>The world of Midgaard, created by author Jarosław Grzędowicz in The Lord of the Ice Garden novel series, is inhabited by a race very similar to humans, filled with magic and for a reason stuck at the cultural and technological level of medieval Viking world. The arrival of scientists from Earth disturbs its fragile balance. The power gained by controlling magic changes the scientists – they become possessed by the lust for making this world better. They become gods, who are willing to sacrifice any life, except for their own, of course, to accomplish their – great, according to them – ideas.

It is a apparently a popular Polish series that was never adapted into English, but the parallels are striking.

I'm a fan of 40k, never played tabletop but play all the video games, paint figures and like the lore (but I'm not an expert) etc. However I've not read any 40k books by anyone as it just seems too daunting to get into as I don't have time for the millions out there and have a massive TBR list as it is. Thoughts on just reading ATs 40k books for now? Ok to read them as stand alones and not know everything thats happened in other books?

Somehow, I think I owe my service provider (name withheld) a bit of indirect gratitude.

When I unexpectedly lost service, I couldn’t work, watch my series, or play games. My options suddenly became very limited.

So… I read.

And I’m very glad I did.

I finally finished Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Service Model, and I surprisingly loved this one.

What I enjoyed most was how Tchaikovsky managed to make the robots both distinctly non-human and strangely relatable at the same time. Their stubborn, literal conversations were often hilarious, but there was always something underneath them that made me think about identity, purpose, curiosity and what makes something seem human.

I initially thought I would relate more to Uncharles because of his logical and analytical nature. Surprisingly, I found myself relating even more to Wonk—the constant questioning, curiosity, and tendency to follow a thought wherever it leads, even when it often gets itself into trouble. 🤦🏻‍♂️

The story itself goes through some wonderfully unexpected territory, from murder mystery to something resembling an odyssey, while maintaining its satirical tone throughout.

And despite being someone who tends to figure out mysteries and secrets before they’re revealed, I was genuinely caught off guard by a couple of the revelations.

That’s probably the biggest compliment I can give the book: it kept me wondering.

With my attention span seemingly shrinking faster these days, Tchaikovsky managed to keep me engaged from beginning to end.

Stubbornly entertaining.

I have just finished the third and final book in the Echoes of the Fall trilogy, and by extension the final book in the world of Shadows of the Apt. And my main takeaway from this follow up trilogy is disappointment and a sense of wasted time.

Over the last few months as I have worked my way through the book series, I have come to fall in love with the world that Adrian Tchaikovsky has created, despite a few issues I've had with writing choices he made (Tynisia in particular). And yet, for the sequel trilogy he wrote, I can't help but feel that he made one flaw that completely ruined the entire book series for me, and unfortunately it has to do with the very premise itself. In my opinion, he simply made the technological gap between the two continents far to vast to ever feel like anything I was reading had any weight or consequence to it at all. It took all the nations of the continent to come together to throw back what was essentially a peaceful expeditionary force, that had some protections come along with it, and even then that was barely succeeded due to magic trickery in the end.

I can see the parallels the author was trying to go for, with how our own conquering of the Americas went and colonialism, and as someone interested in that period of history, I can confidently say that while the technological gap was wide between the Old and New worlds, it was nowhere *near* as wide as Early Bronze Age to WW1 tech. At the end of the day I came away feeling so disappointed because it feels like it didn't even matter, the whole book series. The character writing was not strong enough for me to care on an individual people level, and the world itself I could not attach to because it felt so fleeting, for a dozen Sentinels or, hammer and tongs forbid, the Bee-killer could single-handedly conquer the entire continent. (The only way I can see the scales being even a bit more even is if the Shapeshifters somehow got their hands on Silk-Steel Iron Glove Armor and stepped while wearing it, but even then they are still only animals with tough skin.)

On another note, I'm curious what the dynamic between the Collegiate's were, since there seemed to be a surprisingly high amount of Spider Kinden and even the Moth seemed to be in charge sometimes. The Wasp Kinden I can excuse because it seems to me they were just retired soldiers or mercenaries brought along as protection. I also wonder how the Shapeshifters would react if they met the true Sea People, or the Worm. Would they feel a closer kinship with the Worm people due to them having a god! Interesting question. So as you can see it did leave me wondering things, but they all tie directly back into the first and far superior Shadows of the Apt series.

So, did anyone else feel this way, or is it just me? Please let me know your thoughts.