Shards of Earth

Shards of Earth

Adrian Tchaikovsky wrote one of my favourite sci-fi books in modern times - the amazing and fascinating 'Children of Time' (i.e. that book about the spiders) but other than the novella 'The Expert System's Brother' I haven't really clicked with his other work (even the sequel to 'Children of Time').

'Shards of Earth' is something quite different to his other work though in that it is much more traditional and less a novel of big ideas and more a traditional space-opera of big adventure. It has more in common with the 'The Expanse' novels - or even more so the 'Embers of War' trilogy.

Mysterious, seemingly godlike, aliens. A scrappy, diverse crew on a crumbling spaceship. Quirky alien colleagues and villains. Inter-galactic political shenanigans. All pretty much according to the template.

It really is a wild ride of a story, written with a real eye for detail and world/universe building but always maintaining momentum. I was really swept along and found myself rooting for some characters that become more well-rounded and interesting than I really expected from the early pages.

If you enjoy modern space-opera I'd really recommend this one (and the inevitable sequels).