Description

Alien Clay is a thrilling far-future adventure by acclaimed Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.’Unputdownable’ – Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima

They travelled into the unknown and left themselves behind . . .

Professor Arton Daghdev has always wanted to study alien life in person. But when his political activism sees him exiled to the planet Kiln, condemned to work under an unfamiliar sky until he dies, his idealistic wish becomes a terrible reality.

Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem. Its monstrous alien life means Arton will risk death on a daily basis – if the camp’s oppressive regime doesn’t kill him first. But, if he survives, Kiln’s lost civilization holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it – and might just set him free.

‘A warning for a future we don’t want . . . Highly recommended’ – Tade Thompson

‘An excellent story told with Adrian’s trademark skill and flair’ – James Oswald

‘An intriguing puzzle with plenty of thrills’ – The Guardian

Publisher Review

An interplanetary-scale, hyper-Orwellian stew of malignant academia . . . The regularity with which Tchaikovsky delivers great books is astounding. Highly recommended — Tade Thompson, author of Rosewater Alien Clay is convincing, compelling on human and cosmic levels, and unputdownable. With work like this, Adrian Tchaikovsky is fast becoming the voice of his generation in British SF — Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima The central concept unravels itself in a manner that is both deeply satisfying and not at all predictable. He truly is one of our finest writers of SF right now. The whole was an excellent story told with Adrian’s trademark skill and flair — James Oswald, author of the Inspector McLean series A hell prison on a hell planet with a thrilling, important message: only connect. Adrian’s firing on all cylinders in this one — Ian McDonald, author of New Moon Adrian Tchaikovsky: king of the spiders, master world-builder 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, author of Eragon on Shards of Earth [Adrian Tchaikovsky] writes incredibly enjoyable sci-fi, full of life and ideas — Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls A thoughtful, sweeping space adventure — SFX Magazine on Shards of Earth