Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky
Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Shroud

Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrator: Sophie Aldred

Unabridged: 14 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 06/03/2025


Synopsis

On a planet shrouded in darkness, a stranded crew must fight for survival. But, the darkness may have plans of its own in this wildly original story from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Award–winning author of Children of Time.

They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . .

New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists – and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .

 

About Adrian Tchaikovsky

Adrian Tchaikovsky is the author of the ten-book Shadows of the Apt series, starting with Empire in Black and Gold. His other works include the novel Children of Time, which won the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke Award, the short story collection Feast and Famine, and the novellas The Bloody Deluge and Even in the Cannon's Mouth. He has been shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award and the British Fantasy Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shirin on March 10, 2025

Stars I gave just for the last 10 percent of story... Let me put this into words you can understand... well... sorry I can't... The crew of the Garveneerr Composite Mission Vessel, a Special Projects team, is on Shroud, a zero-oxygen, high-radiation planet. After an unexpected accident, Juna Ceelande......more

Goodreads review by Ian on January 13, 2025

This is another excellent example of Adrian Tchaikovsky exploring alienness by dumping some unfortunate protagonists into a hostile and incomprehensible alien environment - the planet Shroud - with insufficient resources to get safely home.Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhos......more

Goodreads review by Alex on December 07, 2024

Firstly, thank you so much to Pan MacMillan (Tor) and the author for the physical ARC of this book! Shroud is a sci fi thriller following a crew who have encountered a new world shrouded (lol) in darkness, and the things that lurk amongst it. The start of the book is very heavy with technical and sc......more

Goodreads review by Gyalten Lekden on March 20, 2025

It took a little while, but once this story had its hooks in me it did not let go. Wow! It is hard to really talk about the parts that floored me without giving away spoilers, but let’s try. Firstly, the world-building is spectacular. The physical spaces, yes, from the way the different celestial bo......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on May 01, 2025

This was out of this world. Well worth making space in your reading schedule for it. It'll leave you starstruck and over the moon that you read it!......more


Quotes

"The most inventive alien world I've ever encountered in SF... Pure Tchaikovsky. I swear the man is some kind of genius."
 —Peter Watts, author of Blindsight

"Adrian Tchaikovsky explores worlds where no one else would dare to go, and the unimaginable becomes believable... This is hard-edged science fiction that never loses its soul."

Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

"Crunchy, conceptual SF at its best...the best alien contact novel I've read since Peter Watts' Blindsight, and that is high praise indeed."—Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

"Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. A gripping story of survival and human endeavor against all odds. The most thought-provoking book I've read in a long time."—Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut

"Clever, vivid and terrifying. Shroud is probably the most alien world anyone could possibly imagine. But no one has an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky."—Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific

"A vision of extraterrestrial life that’s as fascinating as it is horrifying."

BookPage on Alien Clay

Tchaikovsky's latest (after Service Model, 2024) reveals that the clash is more than just between human and alien but between ideologies that can blind one from harsh realities.—Booklist on Alien Clay

"[A] mind-expanding planetary romp... Tchaikovsky continues to impress."—Publishers Weekly on Alien Clay

Praise for The Final Architecture:

“Enthralling, epic, immersive, and hugely intelligent.” —Stephen Baxter

“Adrian Tchaikovsky: king of the spiders, master worldbuilder, and asker of intriguing questions. His books are packed with thought-provoking ideas (as well as lots of spiders; did I mention the spiders?). One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction.” —Christopher Paolini

“Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shards of Earth is one of the most stunning space operas I’ve read this year....Tchaikovsky’s world building is on glorious display as he throws all manner of spaceships, creepy aliens and strange technology into a delicious sci-fi soup. It’s dense, it’s funny, it’s exciting, it’s touching and it’s perfect for someone looking for a space opera built on a grand scale.” —BookPage (starred review)

“Dazzlingly suspenseful...Tchaikovsky’s intricately constructed world is vast yet sturdy enough to cradle inventive science, unique aliens, and complex political machinations. With a mix of lively fight scenes, friendly banter, and high-stakes intrigue, this is space opera at its best.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Tchaikovsky writes space opera on a grand scale, creating a massive, complex, vividly realized future environment...He guides the reader through this endlessly intriguing universe with a rock-steady sure hand. Fans of space opera should leave the book in breathless anticipation of the second installment in the trilogy.” —Booklist

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