Shards of Earth: First in an extraordinary space opera trilogy, from the winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award

· The Final Architecture Book 1 · Pan Macmillan
4.5
77 reviews
Ebook
576
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About this ebook

The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery . . .


From the author of Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Shards of Earth is the first high-octane, far-future space adventure in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy.

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade his mind in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien enemy. Many escaped, but millions more died. So mankind created enhanced humans such as Idris - who could communicate mind-to-mind with our aggressors. Then these ‘Architects’ simply disappeared and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, Idris and his crew have something strange, abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects – but are they really returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy as they search for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, and many would kill to obtain it.

‘Enthralling, epic, immersive and hugely intelligent’ – Stephen Baxter, author of the Xeelee Sequence

‘One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction’ – Christopher Paolini, author of Fractal Noise

Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky:

‘He writes incredibly enjoyable sci-fi, full of life and ideas’ – Patrick Ness

‘Thoughtful, sweeping space adventure’ – SFX

‘Brilliant science fiction’ – James McAvoy

Ratings and reviews

4.5
77 reviews
David Bird
October 5, 2023
Really liked it. Just the right balance of excitement and mundanity, and an excellent cast of characters. I'm buying the next one immediately.
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James Michael
April 26, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this book. it was a real page turner all the way through and did not get boring. I really liked the characters throughout and I am really looking forward to the next book in the series. the author has a nice style of writing and story telling which makes it easy to understand and paint pictures i your head. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys sci-fi.
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Warren Oxford-Huggett
December 30, 2022
surprisingly good. It was enjoyable and kept my attention.
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About the author

Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, has practised law and now writes full time. He's also studied stage-fighting, perpetrated amateur dramatics and has a keen interest in entomology and table-top games.

Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel. The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, while And Put Away Childish Things won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction.

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