Description

‘Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating’- Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut

They looked into darkness. The darkness looked back . . .

An utterly gripping story of first contact on a hostile planet from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.

New for this edition: The short story ‘Sins of the Children’, the fascinating prequel to Shroud.

An expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation.

They name the moon Shroud. But they never mean to go there . . . until a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to crash-land on its inhospitable surface in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting to survive, the two women embark on a gruelling journey in search of salvation. But Juna and Mai’s tenuous existence is threatened by Shroud’s extraordinary alien species. If they can escape, they’ll have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible . . .

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Praise for Shroud

‘Evokes an unrelatable extraterrestrial world . . . keeps you guessing throughout’ – SFX, 5* Review

‘Clever, vivid and terrifying . . . No one has an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky’ – Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific

‘Crunchy, conceptual SF at its best’ – Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

‘This is hard-edged science fiction that never loses its soul’ – Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

‘Makes Andy Weir’s vision of Mars in The Martian look like a Caribbean beach resort’ – The Fantasy Hive

Publisher Review

Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. A gripping story of survival and human endeavour against all odds. The most thought-provoking book I’ve read in a long time — Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut 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 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 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 A terrifically gripping story of survival and First Contact on a pitch-black death world . . . Bravo! — Paul McAuley, author of The Quiet War Makes Andy Weir’s vision of Mars in The Martian look like a Caribbean beach resort * Fantasy Hive * This is one of the best books I’ve read this year . . . I can’t remember the last time I was this impressed – or moved – by a sci-fi book — 5* NetGalley Review There’s so much I want to express but I’m speechless . . . That Adrian Tchaikovsky can spin another sci-fi tale this detailed and yet so distinct is mind-blowing — 5* NetGalley Review Tchaikovsky is writing at the very peak of his powers and he is fizzing with more interesting ideas than any one human has a right to — New Scientist Simply put, Shroud is the best first-contact novel I have read in years — Locus Magazine A pacy adventure that keeps you thinking — SFX, 5* Review