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Shroud
An utterly gripping story of alien encounter and survival from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning 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 . . .
If they escape Shroud, they’ll face a crew only interested in profiteering from this extraordinary world. They’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all.
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 . . .
If they escape Shroud, they’ll face a crew only interested in profiteering from this extraordinary world. They’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all.
436 pages, Hardcover
First published February 27, 2025
1130 people are currently reading
13348 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Tchaikovsky
207 books16.5k followersADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews
June 29, 2025
I’m fascinated by science fiction stories that show us the glimpses of alienness that is indeed different from either our anthropomorphized “little green men” in a galaxy far far away or is just sufficiently puzzling as to be at least somewhat unknowable. Lem’s Solaris with planetary ocean, Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama with strange creations by a civilization we do not get to see, and even Watts’s Blindsight among discourse on the consciousness. We readers see it with our human minds from the sidelines, not quite *in* on the story.
And here Tchaikovsky does something similar but yet more accessible, showing humans baffled by and completely misunderstanding an alien intelligence (given very limited potential for meaningful communication) while also introducing the point of view of that intelligence that also misunderstands humans. And in true Tchaikovsky style, expect at least something insectoid, because it’s all about multiple appendages for our zoology-inclined writer here.
Shroud is a first contact story — not just for humans (for whom it’s more of a horror survival story) but for the alien intelligence, set on the background of exploitative corporate-driven human expansion beyond our Solar system. Corporate greed demands stripping new planets for resources as humanity needs to spread and pockets need to be lined, while regular habitat-tank-bred people scramble to prove their usefulness to the bosses or else being shelved in cold storage awaits.
The planet destined for resource stripping is Shroud, a giant moon cloaked in darkness of its dense atmosphere and drenched in the absolute cacophony of screaming radio waves and electromagnetic communication, and apparently home to metal-encased life which may be, inconvenient as it is, quite sapient. And when an accident lands two humans in a survival pod right on the very inhospitable surface of Shroud, the meeting of two intelligences may have far-reaching consequences, as long as survival of either one is possible.
Tchaikovsky’s forte, as usual, is examining the Us vs. Them division and looking for the ways towards understanding and acceptance as Other does not have to mean enemy. And cruel bleakness of the world where corporations run rampant and people are reduced to being resources and hopeless scramble to acquire a few of the non-human resources. And bonds that are forged under pressure. The interludes - the voice neither of the Light nor the Dark - reminded me of those in The Doors of Eden — my favorite parts of that book.
I loved the world Tchaikovsky created, so alien and unfriendly to life as we know it, and surreal enough to vividly feature in my dreams for a few days.
My only complaint is the pacing of the middle act. I loved all the dangers and strangeness of the planet, and dangerous misunderstandings stemming from the lack of ability to communicate — but the trek through the entire hemisphere of Shroud took a few dozen pages too long, becoming slightly repetitive. I still enjoyed it, but trimming a few pages off could have improved the pace and required less patience around the halfway mark. Although I still loved the lovely worldbuilding, grateful I’m not seeing it firsthand through the cameras of the survival pod.
4.5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
And here Tchaikovsky does something similar but yet more accessible, showing humans baffled by and completely misunderstanding an alien intelligence (given very limited potential for meaningful communication) while also introducing the point of view of that intelligence that also misunderstands humans. And in true Tchaikovsky style, expect at least something insectoid, because it’s all about multiple appendages for our zoology-inclined writer here.
“Consciousness, intellect, the ability to analyse the world, to anticipate consequences, to predict outcomes and solve problems, arose on Shroud, as it did on Earth. Except on Shroud, it did not arise within the individual body, but between them.”
Shroud is a first contact story — not just for humans (for whom it’s more of a horror survival story) but for the alien intelligence, set on the background of exploitative corporate-driven human expansion beyond our Solar system. Corporate greed demands stripping new planets for resources as humanity needs to spread and pockets need to be lined, while regular habitat-tank-bred people scramble to prove their usefulness to the bosses or else being shelved in cold storage awaits.
“We were going to spread ourselves across the near-side section of the galaxy like a rash.”
The planet destined for resource stripping is Shroud, a giant moon cloaked in darkness of its dense atmosphere and drenched in the absolute cacophony of screaming radio waves and electromagnetic communication, and apparently home to metal-encased life which may be, inconvenient as it is, quite sapient. And when an accident lands two humans in a survival pod right on the very inhospitable surface of Shroud, the meeting of two intelligences may have far-reaching consequences, as long as survival of either one is possible.
“Our xenobiology primers cautioned against imputing actual intelligence to any aliens we might discover, merely on account of complicated things they may be able to do. Of course, Concern doctrine was very focused on resource extraction and exploitation of whatever we encountered in the galaxy. Intelligent aliens might introduce a level of moral complexity that would compromise operational efficiency. Cynical of me to think about it in that way, I know, but there was always a good commercial use-case for minimizing the potential rights of whoever’s environment you were destroying.”
Tchaikovsky’s forte, as usual, is examining the Us vs. Them division and looking for the ways towards understanding and acceptance as Other does not have to mean enemy. And cruel bleakness of the world where corporations run rampant and people are reduced to being resources and hopeless scramble to acquire a few of the non-human resources. And bonds that are forged under pressure. The interludes - the voice neither of the Light nor the Dark - reminded me of those in The Doors of Eden — my favorite parts of that book.
“The ramping up from defence to extermination. The way it was always going to go.”
I loved the world Tchaikovsky created, so alien and unfriendly to life as we know it, and surreal enough to vividly feature in my dreams for a few days.
My only complaint is the pacing of the middle act. I loved all the dangers and strangeness of the planet, and dangerous misunderstandings stemming from the lack of ability to communicate — but the trek through the entire hemisphere of Shroud took a few dozen pages too long, becoming slightly repetitive. I still enjoyed it, but trimming a few pages off could have improved the pace and required less patience around the halfway mark. Although I still loved the lovely worldbuilding, grateful I’m not seeing it firsthand through the cameras of the survival pod.
4.5 stars.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
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 Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne find themselves in a small, makeshift vehicle, separated from their ship and lacking communication. As they travel through Shroud, they find species...
And now this, you should know, this is how a science fiction horror story should go on, this is how alien and space planet develop and you freak out and pull your hairs out...
My huge thanks to Pan Macmillan via NetGalley for DRC. I have given my honest review.
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 Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne find themselves in a small, makeshift vehicle, separated from their ship and lacking communication. As they travel through Shroud, they find species...
And now this, you should know, this is how a science fiction horror story should go on, this is how alien and space planet develop and you freak out and pull your hairs out...
My huge thanks to Pan Macmillan via NetGalley for DRC. I have given my honest review.
August 24, 2025
4.0 Stars
Once again Adrian Tchaikovsky shows himself to be a prolific author who doesn't drop sacrifice quality for quantity. This novel is a great balance of some solid science fiction elements balanced out by an engaging plot. So often I find it hard to find novels that can do both.
In terms of plot, this one certainly isn't revolutionary but it lands the narrative beats without feeling tired. I appreciate that the author brings familiar science fiction ideas and stories to a new audience who are just getting into the genre through more modern titles like this one.
If you are a fan of this author's previous science fiction novels, specifically Alien Clay, than I would highly recommend this one. If you are new to this novel, this is also an excellent place to start.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Once again Adrian Tchaikovsky shows himself to be a prolific author who doesn't drop sacrifice quality for quantity. This novel is a great balance of some solid science fiction elements balanced out by an engaging plot. So often I find it hard to find novels that can do both.
In terms of plot, this one certainly isn't revolutionary but it lands the narrative beats without feeling tired. I appreciate that the author brings familiar science fiction ideas and stories to a new audience who are just getting into the genre through more modern titles like this one.
If you are a fan of this author's previous science fiction novels, specifically Alien Clay, than I would highly recommend this one. If you are new to this novel, this is also an excellent place to start.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
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February 21, 2025Tchaikovsky's science fiction often focuses on a singular theme: curiosity about what might be out there, in the great expanse of the universe. What might alien intelligence, biology, and societies look like? He has explored this question with spiders and octopuses in the Children of Time trilogy, then with Lego-style symbiote in Alien Clay (my personal fave). Now, we have a horror-tinged standalone sci-fi novel about a moon shrouded in darkness, on which lives a hive mind of machine-like monsters.
Our protagonists are the two remaining crewmembers of a ship that was scanning the moon for resources (their society is a hungry capitalist machine), and now they are stranded in the darkness, desperately trying to understand the alien life that lives there, all while the alien life tries to understand them.
Our protagonists are the two remaining crewmembers of a ship that was scanning the moon for resources (their society is a hungry capitalist machine), and now they are stranded in the darkness, desperately trying to understand the alien life that lives there, all while the alien life tries to understand them.
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.
The hostility of the environment on Shroud is well established in the first section of the book, but the central two thirds of the story chronicles the journey of Juna and Mai, constrained within a vehicle barely adequate for the task, to reach a place from which they have at least a slim chance of being rescued. This central section falls into a pattern of Juna and Mai lurching from one risky and unknown situation to the next, as their predicament gets progressively more dire.
Throughout the story, the incredible “otherness” of the native life on Shroud is superbly drawn, with the story peppered with short sections from the point of view of that native life. The gulf of understanding between the humans and the natives is the driving power behind the narrative, and builds the story to a very satisfying final chapter, as the difficulties in one life form’s meaningful comprehension of the other comes to a head.
My only reservation was that, for me, I was losing engagement with the story during the long trek to safety. As Juna and Mai found themselves in increasingly difficult situations, I found myself just treading water waiting for the narrative tide to turn. When the tide did turn, though, I was back and fully invested in the story’s conclusion, and the pay-off at the end is quite rewarding.
The structure of the story is similar in many ways to one of Tchaikovsky's earlier books, Alien Clay. As with that book, if you’re new to Adrian Tchaikovsky, I wouldn’t necessary start here - but it’s an imaginative and thought provoking exploration of alienness.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan / Tor for the free review copy of #Shroud in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation.The alienness of the life on Shroud is so very… alien. This is something that Adrian Tchaikovsky seems to excel at. It put me in mind of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris - where the alienness is so unfathomable that it’s difficult to see where an attempt at first contact could even begin.
The hostility of the environment on Shroud is well established in the first section of the book, but the central two thirds of the story chronicles the journey of Juna and Mai, constrained within a vehicle barely adequate for the task, to reach a place from which they have at least a slim chance of being rescued. This central section falls into a pattern of Juna and Mai lurching from one risky and unknown situation to the next, as their predicament gets progressively more dire.
Throughout the story, the incredible “otherness” of the native life on Shroud is superbly drawn, with the story peppered with short sections from the point of view of that native life. The gulf of understanding between the humans and the natives is the driving power behind the narrative, and builds the story to a very satisfying final chapter, as the difficulties in one life form’s meaningful comprehension of the other comes to a head.
My only reservation was that, for me, I was losing engagement with the story during the long trek to safety. As Juna and Mai found themselves in increasingly difficult situations, I found myself just treading water waiting for the narrative tide to turn. When the tide did turn, though, I was back and fully invested in the story’s conclusion, and the pay-off at the end is quite rewarding.
The structure of the story is similar in many ways to one of Tchaikovsky's earlier books, Alien Clay. As with that book, if you’re new to Adrian Tchaikovsky, I wouldn’t necessary start here - but it’s an imaginative and thought provoking exploration of alienness.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan / Tor for the free review copy of #Shroud in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 17, 2025
Incredibly and endlessly fascinating, but is perhaps a bit dry, leaving something to be desired in the entertainment category. The alternating human and alien perspectives effectively highlight the enormous gulfs of perspective and comprehension between the two, driving home the conundrum of two sapient species barely able to recognize intelligence in the other due to behavior and motivations that are so utterly alien and incomprehensible. While the story may fall short in some regards, Tchaikovsky's sheer brilliance and creativity in imagining the unimaginable, with a shocking level of scientific detail, certainly does not.
July 5, 2025
Different, a bit weird even. Anyway ... I'll need a few years to decide if it's a good or a bad type of weird 🤔
June 2, 2025
I just finished this, the latest Tchaikovsky sf novel, only a few months after release, but tomorrow there is another Tchaikovsky sf novel coming out that I also want to read, and I will again not be up to date on his sf novels. When I say he writes them faster than I can read them, I mean it. And I have not even made a serious foray into his fantasy (my priorities are clear). And the amazing thing, is the books are good, and usually quite different from one another.
Shroud is very good, and it is very Tchaikovsky all - far future, exploitative corporation exploring a far flung moon with extreme conditions for strip mining of materials, and there might be alien life on it. This book might be a great starting point for his SF a lot of common themes and a typically banger ending (already read his books till the last page) but in an instance of "it's not the book, it's me" it felt a bit repetitive, overlapping Alien Clay and I preferred AC. Also, "it's not the book, it's me" a lot of the narrative is a planetary (ok, lunar, whatever) survival adventure, and those are, sorry, boring and offputting to me (I dread bad things happening to characters and things looking hopeless) so I kept putting down the book whenever things got dire. (I might be imagining this but I thought there was a nod to A Fire Upon the Deep with the reference to dogs).
It is the Tchaikovsky book I have read so far that goes deeper into character development and interaction and, yes, almost romantic feelings (almost! ). Emotional intelligence and its importance. And it's done well even if it is not even close to being the focus of the book.
I was reading other SF while reading this, and it crystallized my opinion that nobody does evil dystopic evil corporations more deeply and convincingly than Tchaikovsky. His office politics and his getting of how projects and companies really work are absolutely real and much deeper than those of so many other authors (Marta Wells also gets a nod from me for being good at that. Many many others, no...).
Very good in general, but it's not going to be a personal favorite of mine when compared to a few other novels of his.
Shroud is very good, and it is very Tchaikovsky all - far future, exploitative corporation exploring a far flung moon with extreme conditions for strip mining of materials, and there might be alien life on it. This book might be a great starting point for his SF a lot of common themes and a typically banger ending (already read his books till the last page) but in an instance of "it's not the book, it's me" it felt a bit repetitive, overlapping Alien Clay and I preferred AC. Also, "it's not the book, it's me" a lot of the narrative is a planetary (ok, lunar, whatever) survival adventure, and those are, sorry, boring and offputting to me (I dread bad things happening to characters and things looking hopeless) so I kept putting down the book whenever things got dire. (I might be imagining this but I thought there was a nod to A Fire Upon the Deep with the reference to dogs).
It is the Tchaikovsky book I have read so far that goes deeper into character development and interaction and, yes, almost romantic feelings (almost! ). Emotional intelligence and its importance. And it's done well even if it is not even close to being the focus of the book.
I was reading other SF while reading this, and it crystallized my opinion that nobody does evil dystopic evil corporations more deeply and convincingly than Tchaikovsky. His office politics and his getting of how projects and companies really work are absolutely real and much deeper than those of so many other authors (Marta Wells also gets a nod from me for being good at that. Many many others, no...).
Very good in general, but it's not going to be a personal favorite of mine when compared to a few other novels of his.
July 26, 2025
While on a mission to explore the commercial possibilities of Shroud, two of the crew members, Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne, become stranded. Shroud is completely inhospitable to human life, but not to all life forms. Juna and Mai encounter several of these life forms, but they name the dominant species Shrouders.
This is an intelligent, suspenseful and unique first contact story. Part of the book is written from the point of view of a Shrouder, so we get to see how the two groups misunderstand each other. They seriously underestimate their intelligence and sophistication. There are only rudimentary efforts towards communication. The Shrouder have some amazing capabilities and are extremely adaptable. This author is very prolific, and I haven’t enjoyed everything I’ve read by him, but I loved this one.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This is an intelligent, suspenseful and unique first contact story. Part of the book is written from the point of view of a Shrouder, so we get to see how the two groups misunderstand each other. They seriously underestimate their intelligence and sophistication. There are only rudimentary efforts towards communication. The Shrouder have some amazing capabilities and are extremely adaptable. This author is very prolific, and I haven’t enjoyed everything I’ve read by him, but I loved this one.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
April 24, 2025
What makes Shroud unique is how it handles alien life. Instead of typical sci-fi aliens that somehow speak English, these creatures communicate entirely differently and perceive the world in ways humans can't imagine. There's so much I would like to say about this book but I don't want to spoil it..
”Contrary to the old maxim, when you’re all in the same tin can with limited elbow room, in space everyone can hear you scream.”
The book balances several key elements; a tense survival story, attempts to understand alien beings, and questions about how different species can communicate. The author creates a vivid picture of this dark world through the eyes of both humans and aliens. What I found fascinating was how an alien intelligence may interpret the actions of humans and vice versa. Tchaikovsky is a master at making you think about things differently which I absolutely love. The ending is both hopeful, uncertain and also a emotionally charged, leaving you wondering about the future of human-alien relations.
”I had the couch shoot me with a mood stabiliser. Standard working practice when despair was creeping in.”
Overall, Shroud is an amazing thought provoking sci-fi book that explores what might happen when humans encounter life forms that are truly alien, rather than just humans in costume. While the beginning moves slowly to give background on the events that happen on Shroud, the story builds into a gripping tale that keeps you wanting more. I always enjoy Tchaikovsky’s work and this is no exception.
”Contrary to the old maxim, when you’re all in the same tin can with limited elbow room, in space everyone can hear you scream.”
The book balances several key elements; a tense survival story, attempts to understand alien beings, and questions about how different species can communicate. The author creates a vivid picture of this dark world through the eyes of both humans and aliens. What I found fascinating was how an alien intelligence may interpret the actions of humans and vice versa. Tchaikovsky is a master at making you think about things differently which I absolutely love. The ending is both hopeful, uncertain and also a emotionally charged, leaving you wondering about the future of human-alien relations.
”I had the couch shoot me with a mood stabiliser. Standard working practice when despair was creeping in.”
Overall, Shroud is an amazing thought provoking sci-fi book that explores what might happen when humans encounter life forms that are truly alien, rather than just humans in costume. While the beginning moves slowly to give background on the events that happen on Shroud, the story builds into a gripping tale that keeps you wanting more. I always enjoy Tchaikovsky’s work and this is no exception.
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March 6, 2025DNF @ 35%
Well my Tchaikovsky success record is certainly going down. Of the last 4 books I have a 50% DNF rate (Service Model being the other one). Again, this is very much a situation of it’s me and not the book. In this case, while I appreciate the incredibly imaginative world under exploration, I want more story between the characters and less observing fascinating things.
The premise of Shroud reminds me of the excellent book A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias, which has all the things I missed here in terms of story and character interaction and development.
Well my Tchaikovsky success record is certainly going down. Of the last 4 books I have a 50% DNF rate (Service Model being the other one). Again, this is very much a situation of it’s me and not the book. In this case, while I appreciate the incredibly imaginative world under exploration, I want more story between the characters and less observing fascinating things.
The premise of Shroud reminds me of the excellent book A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias, which has all the things I missed here in terms of story and character interaction and development.
December 7, 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 sci fi jargon but that very quickly makes way for a more human-centric and emotive story following Juna and Mai.
I thought it was bloody fantastic.
It’s just enough science fiction to scratch my itch without venturing into the realms of head scratching nonsense that can sometimes plague stories like this.
It felt like such a unique story, and the way Tchaikovsky included two different alternative narratives was a refreshing take on the stranger lost in a strange world trope.
Shroud feels like a story of polarities - light and dark, up and down, known and unknown. With enough stakes to keep you wanting more and to find out what comes next, but without making things unrealistic.
A strong female-led and focused narrative was also a big plus for me. It felt well told and I can genuinely see this easily making the transition to film at some point, akin to stories like Project Hail Mary, Gravity and the like.
I’d highly suggest picking up a copy of Shroud in February if you like science fiction, and a good healthy amount of tension in your stories.
4.0/5.0
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 sci fi jargon but that very quickly makes way for a more human-centric and emotive story following Juna and Mai.
I thought it was bloody fantastic.
It’s just enough science fiction to scratch my itch without venturing into the realms of head scratching nonsense that can sometimes plague stories like this.
It felt like such a unique story, and the way Tchaikovsky included two different alternative narratives was a refreshing take on the stranger lost in a strange world trope.
Shroud feels like a story of polarities - light and dark, up and down, known and unknown. With enough stakes to keep you wanting more and to find out what comes next, but without making things unrealistic.
A strong female-led and focused narrative was also a big plus for me. It felt well told and I can genuinely see this easily making the transition to film at some point, akin to stories like Project Hail Mary, Gravity and the like.
I’d highly suggest picking up a copy of Shroud in February if you like science fiction, and a good healthy amount of tension in your stories.
4.0/5.0
May 1, 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!
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 bodies in this corner of space relate to each other to the complexities of the ship to the absolutely wild and complex world of Shroud. But more than just the places, the thoughts and ideas and people that fill those places. The direct connections between greed and individualism, the destruction of Earth, and the entire project of strip-mining the universe all set the stage, and the violences and pressures of those capitalist systems are literally a thrumming undercurrent running through the story. That affects all the people we meet on the ship and how their world is socially organized, and it affects our main protagonists as they traverse this alien planet. Maybe more important, though, is the alien society and culture. The relationship between form and function, the ingenious biological obstacles Tchaikovsky put on Shroud and the way the flora and fauna there overcome those obstacles, it is just genius. And in that regard yes, it does feel a little more hard-sciencey than some of his other works, and that totally works for the story. There is such wonderful detail of the science and tech, and it goes a long way to helping convey the sterility of human connection.
The writing is superb. It is not, especially at the beginning, as intimate as some of his other novels. The majority of chapters are from one character’s POV, though we do occasionally get chapters from the aliens’' POV, which are genius, and they increase as frequency as the mission develops. In between sections there are brief interludes, and these contain more of the dry, cheeky voice I have come to expect from Tchaikovsky, and these discuss evolution on Shroud, helping give us context. The writing in these three sections, (main character, alien, interlude) is distinct and clear, and as the character’s learn more and the situation develops the tones and urgency of their voice changes. I won’t lie, the very first section feels a little dry, a little distant, disconnected. But then there is the emergency event that really gets our narrative moving and the intensity and personality to the writing grows and grows along with the narrative. It all works together really well, and that also speaks to the pacing. At its genre heart this is a survivalist horror story, about being trapped in a hostile environment and stripped of nearly all the resources you need to survive. There are only so many ways to keep readers invested, by letting the characters overcome some obstacles only to discover new ones, and Tchaikovsky does this incredibly well. In lesser writers’ hands these kind of stories feel like a group of disconnected save points, little unrelated mini-missions that plod their way from point A to B. Tchaikovsky is able to create a plot that builds on itself, challenges (and victories) that are iterative, that grow with our characters, and in the process all of the emotions, the terror and despair, and the rare joy and celebration, are all amplified. The obstacles never feel disproportionate to the world, nor the ways they are navigated. Everything fits together in a quite satisfying way.
Tchaikovsky is good at giving his characters emotional depth. Here, we spend most of our time with a very select number of characters, and while they feel fully realized and complete, perfectly three-dimensional characters, I would have liked a little more inner journey, especially on the page, if that makes sense. The characters they are at the end is different than who they were in the beginning, and that is clear at the end, but it is difficult to track it through the story, and it was hard to feel as connected to these characters as I have with those in other novels he has written. With that said, a type of confessional intimacy does develop, and given the other ideas and themes and worlds being explored it was never like there was lack of things to keep my attention.
Part of that is because he is playing with a lot of really hefty ideas here. Yes, the dangers of individualism and greed, certainly, the dangers of the oligarchs owning the working class to such a literal extent they can put workers in hibernation chambers for years on end when they aren’t necessary to bite back a little of the bottom line. And there are a whole mess of science ideas, about convergent evolution and how resources and necessity work together to mediate experience and growth. But there are also ideas about human consciousness and psycho-social development, about connection and what it means to be part of community, what it means to see others as comrades instead of competition. Given the circumstances he depicts this amazing simultaneity of claustrophobia and a vast, empty desolation, and how both of those extremes can work on our minds at the same time to drive us further from ourselves. He manages to hide these really important ideas, essentially about what it means to think and be, a literal ontology of becoming, within this thrilling, engaging survival horror set in a wild alien ecosystem. The novel balances intimacy with being sometimes staggering in scope, and by constantly exploring these kinds of dichotomies Tchaikovsky is able to keep you invested and compelled to learn more.
(Rounded from 4.5)
The writing is superb. It is not, especially at the beginning, as intimate as some of his other novels. The majority of chapters are from one character’s POV, though we do occasionally get chapters from the aliens’' POV, which are genius, and they increase as frequency as the mission develops. In between sections there are brief interludes, and these contain more of the dry, cheeky voice I have come to expect from Tchaikovsky, and these discuss evolution on Shroud, helping give us context. The writing in these three sections, (main character, alien, interlude) is distinct and clear, and as the character’s learn more and the situation develops the tones and urgency of their voice changes. I won’t lie, the very first section feels a little dry, a little distant, disconnected. But then there is the emergency event that really gets our narrative moving and the intensity and personality to the writing grows and grows along with the narrative. It all works together really well, and that also speaks to the pacing. At its genre heart this is a survivalist horror story, about being trapped in a hostile environment and stripped of nearly all the resources you need to survive. There are only so many ways to keep readers invested, by letting the characters overcome some obstacles only to discover new ones, and Tchaikovsky does this incredibly well. In lesser writers’ hands these kind of stories feel like a group of disconnected save points, little unrelated mini-missions that plod their way from point A to B. Tchaikovsky is able to create a plot that builds on itself, challenges (and victories) that are iterative, that grow with our characters, and in the process all of the emotions, the terror and despair, and the rare joy and celebration, are all amplified. The obstacles never feel disproportionate to the world, nor the ways they are navigated. Everything fits together in a quite satisfying way.
Tchaikovsky is good at giving his characters emotional depth. Here, we spend most of our time with a very select number of characters, and while they feel fully realized and complete, perfectly three-dimensional characters, I would have liked a little more inner journey, especially on the page, if that makes sense. The characters they are at the end is different than who they were in the beginning, and that is clear at the end, but it is difficult to track it through the story, and it was hard to feel as connected to these characters as I have with those in other novels he has written. With that said, a type of confessional intimacy does develop, and given the other ideas and themes and worlds being explored it was never like there was lack of things to keep my attention.
Part of that is because he is playing with a lot of really hefty ideas here. Yes, the dangers of individualism and greed, certainly, the dangers of the oligarchs owning the working class to such a literal extent they can put workers in hibernation chambers for years on end when they aren’t necessary to bite back a little of the bottom line. And there are a whole mess of science ideas, about convergent evolution and how resources and necessity work together to mediate experience and growth. But there are also ideas about human consciousness and psycho-social development, about connection and what it means to be part of community, what it means to see others as comrades instead of competition. Given the circumstances he depicts this amazing simultaneity of claustrophobia and a vast, empty desolation, and how both of those extremes can work on our minds at the same time to drive us further from ourselves. He manages to hide these really important ideas, essentially about what it means to think and be, a literal ontology of becoming, within this thrilling, engaging survival horror set in a wild alien ecosystem. The novel balances intimacy with being sometimes staggering in scope, and by constantly exploring these kinds of dichotomies Tchaikovsky is able to keep you invested and compelled to learn more.
(Rounded from 4.5)
April 26, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — "Shroud" by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Some books you read. Some books you experience. And some books… they touch something deep inside you and stay there, humming like a distant song long after you turn the last page.
Shroud is one of those rare books.
It’s not about war.
It’s not about conquest.
It’s not even about survival in the traditional sense.
It’s about contact.
About connection across unimaginable gaps — between species, between ideas, between what we fear and what we hope for in the deep quiet places of our hearts.
The story follows Djuna and Saint-Etienne, stranded on an alien world unlike any we know — a world that isn't just alive, but thinking. As the humans struggle to understand, to survive, to be seen, the alien mind they encounter — the Shroud — struggles too. To reach out. To change. To remember something it lost long ago.
Through hauntingly beautiful writing, Tchaikovsky shows not just the terror of the unknown, but the hope hidden inside it.
Not loud, not easy, but real.
By the end, Djuna doesn't simply survive.
She transcends.
She carries forward the first true bridge between two ways of being — still human, but something more, something connected.
And the Shroud, once cold and untouchable, learns to wonder again.
This book touched me deeply.
It’s about trusting in the possibility of understanding, even when everything — fear, survival, instinct — tells you to retreat.
It reminded me that true growth doesn’t come from conquering the unknown.
It comes from listening to it.
From letting it touch you.
From daring to become more.
Shroud is the most beautiful book I've read in 2025 so far.
It left me in awe, in reflection, and — somehow — more hopeful about the endless conversation waiting for all of us, out there in the stars.
Final verdict:
Read it not to conquer it.
Read it to feel it.
Some books you read. Some books you experience. And some books… they touch something deep inside you and stay there, humming like a distant song long after you turn the last page.
Shroud is one of those rare books.
It’s not about war.
It’s not about conquest.
It’s not even about survival in the traditional sense.
It’s about contact.
About connection across unimaginable gaps — between species, between ideas, between what we fear and what we hope for in the deep quiet places of our hearts.
The story follows Djuna and Saint-Etienne, stranded on an alien world unlike any we know — a world that isn't just alive, but thinking. As the humans struggle to understand, to survive, to be seen, the alien mind they encounter — the Shroud — struggles too. To reach out. To change. To remember something it lost long ago.
Through hauntingly beautiful writing, Tchaikovsky shows not just the terror of the unknown, but the hope hidden inside it.
Not loud, not easy, but real.
By the end, Djuna doesn't simply survive.
She transcends.
She carries forward the first true bridge between two ways of being — still human, but something more, something connected.
And the Shroud, once cold and untouchable, learns to wonder again.
This book touched me deeply.
It’s about trusting in the possibility of understanding, even when everything — fear, survival, instinct — tells you to retreat.
It reminded me that true growth doesn’t come from conquering the unknown.
It comes from listening to it.
From letting it touch you.
From daring to become more.
Shroud is the most beautiful book I've read in 2025 so far.
It left me in awe, in reflection, and — somehow — more hopeful about the endless conversation waiting for all of us, out there in the stars.
Final verdict:
Read it not to conquer it.
Read it to feel it.
March 14, 2025
“Let me put it into words you can understand. Life begins in darkness, where it belongs. There is only darkness, the natural state of all that is, so why should a word even be needed for it?“
So, two women crashland on an inhospitable moon. No oxygen, high gravity, total darkness. And things that go bump in the everlasting night. To have any chance of rescue, they have to limp halfway around this moon in their little, cramped and damaged pod. No big deal, right?
Rich in sarcasm. The POV from the alien(s) is nicely done. I rooted for them. I thought it would all berunning very slow limping from the creepy aliens and much screaming, but there is a lot more.
You need patience! Well, I did anyway. This is slow. So slow. And so much dense text and information. But this world is so cool and I just love Tchaikovsky‘s wicked imagination and humour. It took me two weeks to get through this and towards the end I was at first disappointed at the direction the plot took and then it got really good again.
Loved the ending! I doubt that there will be a sequel, but I would love to read it. Great stuff. After finishing the book, I had to go back and read all the interludes again. The headspace and progression of the aliens was fascinating.
Tchaikovsky is showing yet again a very repressive dystopian, corporate society, without personal freedom or choices. It reminded me in parts of Cage of Souls and quite strongly of Alien Clay. If you liked that one, this should be right down your alley.
One of the things I like about Tchaikovsky‘s writing: It doesn‘t matter what gender the characters are and physical descriptions are just that. It took me half the book to figure out if the main character is female or male. It could have gone either way. Very refreshing.
Because of the slow pacing I figured for most of this that I would give it 4 stars, but considering how excited I am about this book, 5 stars it is! 🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚
P.S.: „… the slowest and most obvious heist in history.“
Good one! 😆
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.
So, two women crashland on an inhospitable moon. No oxygen, high gravity, total darkness. And things that go bump in the everlasting night. To have any chance of rescue, they have to limp halfway around this moon in their little, cramped and damaged pod. No big deal, right?
Rich in sarcasm. The POV from the alien(s) is nicely done. I rooted for them. I thought it would all be
You need patience! Well, I did anyway. This is slow. So slow. And so much dense text and information. But this world is so cool and I just love Tchaikovsky‘s wicked imagination and humour. It took me two weeks to get through this and towards the end I was at first disappointed at the direction the plot took and then it got really good again.
Loved the ending! I doubt that there will be a sequel, but I would love to read it. Great stuff. After finishing the book, I had to go back and read all the interludes again. The headspace and progression of the aliens was fascinating.
Tchaikovsky is showing yet again a very repressive dystopian, corporate society, without personal freedom or choices. It reminded me in parts of Cage of Souls and quite strongly of Alien Clay. If you liked that one, this should be right down your alley.
One of the things I like about Tchaikovsky‘s writing: It doesn‘t matter what gender the characters are and physical descriptions are just that. It took me half the book to figure out if the main character is female or male. It could have gone either way. Very refreshing.
Because of the slow pacing I figured for most of this that I would give it 4 stars, but considering how excited I am about this book, 5 stars it is! 🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚
P.S.: „… the slowest and most obvious heist in history.“
Good one! 😆
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.
March 31, 2025
Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.
A pitch black and inhospitable moon is discovered and those who uncovered it named it Shroud. They could not survive there and it did not seem to want them, but when two of the crew crash land on its surface they must find a way to do just that.
A bonus star for the alien as well as human perspective this contained but, unfortunately, I found this a dry story with an anticlimactic ending. A space adventure should not be this slow but I found it focused on inward thought more than outward action and it just didn't suit my reading tastes at all. I'm all for a philosophical novel but this probed no deep questions about the meaning of life, so why such a slow pace? I did find the alien perspective an interesting development and appreciated how this differed to other space novels I have read but the book as a whole failed to properly grasp my interest.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and the publisher, Tor, for this opportunity.
A pitch black and inhospitable moon is discovered and those who uncovered it named it Shroud. They could not survive there and it did not seem to want them, but when two of the crew crash land on its surface they must find a way to do just that.
A bonus star for the alien as well as human perspective this contained but, unfortunately, I found this a dry story with an anticlimactic ending. A space adventure should not be this slow but I found it focused on inward thought more than outward action and it just didn't suit my reading tastes at all. I'm all for a philosophical novel but this probed no deep questions about the meaning of life, so why such a slow pace? I did find the alien perspective an interesting development and appreciated how this differed to other space novels I have read but the book as a whole failed to properly grasp my interest.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and the publisher, Tor, for this opportunity.
August 23, 2025
4,0 ✨✨✨
(Audiobook)
(Audiobook)
February 26, 2025
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shroud is a science fiction novel that covers themes of survival, first contact, and the complexities of alien ecosystems. The story follows two scientists, Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne, who, after a catastrophic accident, find themselves stranded on Shroud—a pitch-black, high-gravity moon teeming with alien life. Their journey across this hostile environment forms the basis of the story.
Tchaikovsky has to be praised for his imaginative creation of Shroud’s ecosystem. The alien flora and fauna are intricately detailed, offering a vivid portrayal of life in an environment vastly different from Earth. For me, this has to be one of Tchaikovsky’s most creative and inventive alien worlds, although I haven’t read all of his science fiction yet.
Along the way the novel provides chapters from the viewpoint of Shroud’s indigenous species, offering a unique take on first contact scenarios. I did feel this dual perspective enriched the narrative, giving us the profound differences and potential connections between human and alien consciousness.
The book was fascinating, however, I found the densely detailed scientific explanations and complex descriptions of the alien environment challenging to follow. For me, it made certain sections of the book feel slow-paced and overwhelming. This led to some major pacing issues for me. While the story started and ended with gripping sequences, the middle portion, focuses on the protagonists’ trek through the alien landscape, and was a just a little too repetitive.
Shroud most definitely showcases Adrian Tchaikovsky’s strengths in crafting complex alien worlds and delving into profound themes of connection and survival. For those who appreciate detailed world-building and thoughtful explorations of alien life, Shroud offers a compelling read.
My thanks to both NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for an e-arc and an honest opinion.
Tchaikovsky has to be praised for his imaginative creation of Shroud’s ecosystem. The alien flora and fauna are intricately detailed, offering a vivid portrayal of life in an environment vastly different from Earth. For me, this has to be one of Tchaikovsky’s most creative and inventive alien worlds, although I haven’t read all of his science fiction yet.
Along the way the novel provides chapters from the viewpoint of Shroud’s indigenous species, offering a unique take on first contact scenarios. I did feel this dual perspective enriched the narrative, giving us the profound differences and potential connections between human and alien consciousness.
The book was fascinating, however, I found the densely detailed scientific explanations and complex descriptions of the alien environment challenging to follow. For me, it made certain sections of the book feel slow-paced and overwhelming. This led to some major pacing issues for me. While the story started and ended with gripping sequences, the middle portion, focuses on the protagonists’ trek through the alien landscape, and was a just a little too repetitive.
Shroud most definitely showcases Adrian Tchaikovsky’s strengths in crafting complex alien worlds and delving into profound themes of connection and survival. For those who appreciate detailed world-building and thoughtful explorations of alien life, Shroud offers a compelling read.
My thanks to both NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for an e-arc and an honest opinion.
January 9, 2025
3.5 stars
This kind of feels like it could be Alien Clay, if the “Alien” part was synonymous with the Ridley Scott movie. It feels very dark (figuratively, not just literally) and in several places definitely has that slight sci-fi-horror edge to it. I liked that, but I think the book overall is not quite my type of sci-fi.
There are only two main characters here, and the enclosed space we follow them in for the majority of the book makes for some fantastic character-building opportunities, but I don’t think we got as much of that as circumstances suggest we might have. Instead, the character was largely given over to the Shrouded, the aliens of this world (although, as a sidenote, they are the native species, so technically, our humans here are the aliens…).
I didn’t much like the perspectives we got here from the Shrouded – they just didn’t feel right to me. This has been something I’ve noted in other books and it’s clear to me that it’s a device I’m not much a fan of. In Children of Ruin, I didn’t like the hive-mind perspective that felt disjointed, but certainly alien. Here, the Shrouded perspective just felt too human, and it was a bit off-putting. Seems like you can’t win with me on that one!
We have three main parts to the book in terms of theme and setting, and I think the transition between these is a bit too sudden – the first transition is necessarily so, so that’s fine and was well-handled, but the transition between parts two and three felt a bit abrupt.
I did find the first part in particular to be incredibly densely written. It was full of information and science and technology in big long paragraphs, and it felt like it took me twice as long as it usually would to read individual pages. Once we got into “part two” (my estimation, not the parts the book is actually divided into), things moved along at a much better pace for me.
I think overall this was a good book, but it’s definitely not my favourite Tchaikovsky. Once again though, he showcases an incredible imagination that I just don’t see anyone else getting close to, especially not at the frequency we see new work from him.
This kind of feels like it could be Alien Clay, if the “Alien” part was synonymous with the Ridley Scott movie. It feels very dark (figuratively, not just literally) and in several places definitely has that slight sci-fi-horror edge to it. I liked that, but I think the book overall is not quite my type of sci-fi.
There are only two main characters here, and the enclosed space we follow them in for the majority of the book makes for some fantastic character-building opportunities, but I don’t think we got as much of that as circumstances suggest we might have. Instead, the character was largely given over to the Shrouded, the aliens of this world (although, as a sidenote, they are the native species, so technically, our humans here are the aliens…).
I didn’t much like the perspectives we got here from the Shrouded – they just didn’t feel right to me. This has been something I’ve noted in other books and it’s clear to me that it’s a device I’m not much a fan of. In Children of Ruin, I didn’t like the hive-mind perspective that felt disjointed, but certainly alien. Here, the Shrouded perspective just felt too human, and it was a bit off-putting. Seems like you can’t win with me on that one!
We have three main parts to the book in terms of theme and setting, and I think the transition between these is a bit too sudden – the first transition is necessarily so, so that’s fine and was well-handled, but the transition between parts two and three felt a bit abrupt.
I did find the first part in particular to be incredibly densely written. It was full of information and science and technology in big long paragraphs, and it felt like it took me twice as long as it usually would to read individual pages. Once we got into “part two” (my estimation, not the parts the book is actually divided into), things moved along at a much better pace for me.
I think overall this was a good book, but it’s definitely not my favourite Tchaikovsky. Once again though, he showcases an incredible imagination that I just don’t see anyone else getting close to, especially not at the frequency we see new work from him.
April 12, 2025
Nobody can accuse Tchaikovsky of not having an incredible imagination with every book he writes. I’m always super impressed with him but almost every time I read his book it just doesn’t grab me. I have a hard following his descriptions of the aliens as well as action scenes. I probably will finish the books I already have by him but not pick up anything in the future unless he switches to fantasy.
May 21, 2025
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
🔲 well-written
✅ complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
✅ gripping
🔲 exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
✅ meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
✅ impossible to put down
I guess I will just read everything this man ever puts on paper.
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
🔲 well-written
✅ complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
✅ gripping
🔲 exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
🔲 nicely detailed
✅ meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
✅ impossible to put down
I guess I will just read everything this man ever puts on paper.
July 21, 2025
Overall, my experience with Tchaikovsky is that I enjoy his sci fi more than his fantasy and this continues to hold true. Going in with that in mind I knew I was in for a pretty good time. Without spoiling too much, this is a story of basically a corporate exploration and mining operation searching for new worlds and when something goes wrong two people are stranded on this very alien planet with heavy gravity and an unbreathable atmosphere and try to survive. So this is a survival story, but it is also much much more than that. This book uses dueling POVs to illustrate its points and drive home its themes in the best way. And that is really the strength of this novel. The characters are fine, but not particularly memorable. What happens to them is. You're there for the journey and for what they encounter. These themes are many and deftly handled. I can pretty confidently say that Children of Time fans will enjoy this book.
March 8, 2025
Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and TorUK for the gift of an eARC.
This is a book about humanity. What it is, what it means, how it's expressed, and how it affects us. It's also a damned fine sci-fi adventure yarn.
Told through two mostly alternating points of view, one human, one alien, the narrative follows a human resource-stripping mission sent out ahead of the greater human diaspora to find and grab all the resources they can, and where applicable establish waystations for future humans to use and colonise. Along the way they discover Shroud, a tidally-locked moon of a gas giant, where the atmosphere is so thick that at the surface there is nothing but darkness. Well, darkness, and life. And when disaster strikes and two of the humans, Juna and Mai, get caught on the surface with nothing but their tiny pod to keep them alive, that life begins to take an interest in them.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, this book is about what it means to be human, and while the humans in this book are recognisably us, they're a version of us that's become consumed by corporate excess, absorbed into the gestalt that is the corporation machine, commodified, and ultimately dehumanised by the world they live in and the society they belong to. Spending most of their time in sleep pods, 'shelved', as it's referred to, the main human characters are consigned to an existence in which they're nothing more than interchangeable parts in the greater organism that is the corporation, which in turn is the ship and its mission.
The alien life of Shroud, on the other hand, is a gestalt that has fractured, a hive mind that can only maintain its memories and reason by staying close to its constituent parts. And should one or more of those parts get separated from the whole, a new colony is formed, a new mind begins.
Just like the uplifted species Tchaikovsky gives us in his Children of Time series, the aliens here are ridiculously well written, and genuinely feel alien. But then again, so do the humans to some degree. At one point Juna, the human narrator of the story, compares the Shrouders to ants, but clearly doesn't see that the same comparison could be made of the humans themselves.
As with pretty much all of Tchaikovsky's high-concept sci-fi, the writing here is a seamless blend of technical exposition and character-driven exploration. The growing sense of despair and defeat felt by the human narrator is perfectly captured throughout the developing story, and the sense of wonder and enlightenment that fills the Shrouders as they learn more about the strange creatures that have invaded their world is just as palpable.
There are a lot of moments throughout this book where I wanted to slap one or more of the human characters, but it's the ending that ultimately got to me. The final wrap-up, and the way in which everything is brought full circle, almost had me throwing my kindle across the room in frustration. But in a good way. Even now, a week and a half after finishing it, that ending still sticks with me, and that, above all else, is why I love this book.
Definitely a strong and well-earned five-stars, and definitely one I'd recommend you read.
This is a book about humanity. What it is, what it means, how it's expressed, and how it affects us. It's also a damned fine sci-fi adventure yarn.
Told through two mostly alternating points of view, one human, one alien, the narrative follows a human resource-stripping mission sent out ahead of the greater human diaspora to find and grab all the resources they can, and where applicable establish waystations for future humans to use and colonise. Along the way they discover Shroud, a tidally-locked moon of a gas giant, where the atmosphere is so thick that at the surface there is nothing but darkness. Well, darkness, and life. And when disaster strikes and two of the humans, Juna and Mai, get caught on the surface with nothing but their tiny pod to keep them alive, that life begins to take an interest in them.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, this book is about what it means to be human, and while the humans in this book are recognisably us, they're a version of us that's become consumed by corporate excess, absorbed into the gestalt that is the corporation machine, commodified, and ultimately dehumanised by the world they live in and the society they belong to. Spending most of their time in sleep pods, 'shelved', as it's referred to, the main human characters are consigned to an existence in which they're nothing more than interchangeable parts in the greater organism that is the corporation, which in turn is the ship and its mission.
The alien life of Shroud, on the other hand, is a gestalt that has fractured, a hive mind that can only maintain its memories and reason by staying close to its constituent parts. And should one or more of those parts get separated from the whole, a new colony is formed, a new mind begins.
Just like the uplifted species Tchaikovsky gives us in his Children of Time series, the aliens here are ridiculously well written, and genuinely feel alien. But then again, so do the humans to some degree. At one point Juna, the human narrator of the story, compares the Shrouders to ants, but clearly doesn't see that the same comparison could be made of the humans themselves.
As with pretty much all of Tchaikovsky's high-concept sci-fi, the writing here is a seamless blend of technical exposition and character-driven exploration. The growing sense of despair and defeat felt by the human narrator is perfectly captured throughout the developing story, and the sense of wonder and enlightenment that fills the Shrouders as they learn more about the strange creatures that have invaded their world is just as palpable.
There are a lot of moments throughout this book where I wanted to slap one or more of the human characters, but it's the ending that ultimately got to me. The final wrap-up, and the way in which everything is brought full circle, almost had me throwing my kindle across the room in frustration. But in a good way. Even now, a week and a half after finishing it, that ending still sticks with me, and that, above all else, is why I love this book.
Definitely a strong and well-earned five-stars, and definitely one I'd recommend you read.
June 10, 2025
2.5 stars. Not a bad book, this just wasn’t really to my taste. I thought the POV of the alien being was cool, but overall I thought this was pretty dry and a bit slow. I expected it to be tense and exciting, but it wasn’t at all. By 75% through, I was ready to wrap things up. The writing isn’t bad, though, and I definitely plan to try another of his books (most likely City of Last Chances), but yeah, this one just fell flat for me.
June 22, 2025
Definitely as good as I was expecting. Mr. Tchaikovsky does such an excellent job of creating unique alien perspectives in so many of the books of his that I’ve read. And a story that is very believable and interesting. I would give it 4.5 stars if I could. I would expect most sci-fi readers to enjoy this one.
July 27, 2025
Adrian Tchaikovsky sure does come up with unique alien lifeforms and in this book they may be the strangest yet. Creatures with no eyes. They "see" like bats do using sound to hear what the sound bounces off of to know something's there. Everything on the moon Shroud is constantly screaming and so the humans orbiting above can't penetrate the noise to find out what's down there. And they can't see because of some chemical combination that forms dark clouds that cover the whole moon.
The human culture is run by corporations and you are only unfrozen from cryo-sleep if they think you can do a certain job. And you'd better do your job well or it's back in the freezer for you. This creates a lot of pressure and stress on our human characters. The higher ups are constantly wanting results but they are having a lot of trouble creating a probe that can signal back up once it's released to descend into the atmosphere of Shroud.
Eventually--I was going to say "as you can see from the cover" but they changed the cover from the one I read--two humans descend in a capsule with legs and arms to better find out what's down there and "get results" for corporate. What they find is astounding. And their actions will determine the fate of Shroud and it's inhabitants.
Tchaikovsky is my favorite writer so I'm kind of biased but wow can he write! The pacing, the plot, the characters, when he decides to reveal certain things to the reader, everything is perfect. I don't know how he does it.
Anyway, it's been so long since I read it that I can't remember for sure but I think it was written 3rd person from multiple POVs. Swearing--I think there was some but can't remember how much and if there were any F-words.
The human culture is run by corporations and you are only unfrozen from cryo-sleep if they think you can do a certain job. And you'd better do your job well or it's back in the freezer for you. This creates a lot of pressure and stress on our human characters. The higher ups are constantly wanting results but they are having a lot of trouble creating a probe that can signal back up once it's released to descend into the atmosphere of Shroud.
Eventually--I was going to say "as you can see from the cover" but they changed the cover from the one I read--two humans descend in a capsule with legs and arms to better find out what's down there and "get results" for corporate. What they find is astounding. And their actions will determine the fate of Shroud and it's inhabitants.
Tchaikovsky is my favorite writer so I'm kind of biased but wow can he write! The pacing, the plot, the characters, when he decides to reveal certain things to the reader, everything is perfect. I don't know how he does it.
Anyway, it's been so long since I read it that I can't remember for sure but I think it was written 3rd person from multiple POVs. Swearing--I think there was some but can't remember how much and if there were any F-words.
April 18, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am not typically a sci-fi reader. I have barely read any sci-fi books and some that I have I have ended up dnfing. But I am still bound and determined to try them and I know this author is a great writer. I did end up enjoying this, there were a few areas that were hard to get through—some pretty slow and repetitive scenes. Then there were other parts where I could not put down the book.
The story starts off with a small team of people who are trying to pierce the mystery of the planet Shroud. Shroud is a planet covered in darkness, absolutely no light is visible and there is a thick foggy atmosphere. The drones they are sending to the planet come back with imaging that there may be other life down there, but nothing like anyone has ever seen before.
An accident occurs on the ship in space leading our main character (Juna) and Mai to be thrown onto the planet. Juna and Mai are stuck in their space pod on a foreign planet where everything about the planet wants to kill them.
Mai and Juna soon come into contact with the other life on Shroud and find the creature(s)—called the Shrouded to be more complex than they seem. Mai and Juna then have to try to process their interactions with the Shrouded while at the same time trying to determine how they can get off of Shroud.
The main parts I enjoyed about this book where the Shrouded interactions as well as the point of view from the Shrouded. I thought this was a great addition from the author to include the Shrouded’s point-of-view. The world was also interesting and the author was able to paint an in-depth picture of what Juna and Mai where experiencing. Also the anxiety and distress of Juna and Mai as well as their coping mechanisms was done really well, since there were times I was feeling the anxiety myself.
If you do enjoy sci-fi, I would recommend giving this book a try. I really enjoyed the concept of Shroud and the Shrouded (who are way more complex than they seem). Even if you are not a huge sci-fi fan like me, I think you can still enjoy this since I did!
I am not typically a sci-fi reader. I have barely read any sci-fi books and some that I have I have ended up dnfing. But I am still bound and determined to try them and I know this author is a great writer. I did end up enjoying this, there were a few areas that were hard to get through—some pretty slow and repetitive scenes. Then there were other parts where I could not put down the book.
The story starts off with a small team of people who are trying to pierce the mystery of the planet Shroud. Shroud is a planet covered in darkness, absolutely no light is visible and there is a thick foggy atmosphere. The drones they are sending to the planet come back with imaging that there may be other life down there, but nothing like anyone has ever seen before.
An accident occurs on the ship in space leading our main character (Juna) and Mai to be thrown onto the planet. Juna and Mai are stuck in their space pod on a foreign planet where everything about the planet wants to kill them.
Mai and Juna soon come into contact with the other life on Shroud and find the creature(s)—called the Shrouded to be more complex than they seem. Mai and Juna then have to try to process their interactions with the Shrouded while at the same time trying to determine how they can get off of Shroud.
The main parts I enjoyed about this book where the Shrouded interactions as well as the point of view from the Shrouded. I thought this was a great addition from the author to include the Shrouded’s point-of-view. The world was also interesting and the author was able to paint an in-depth picture of what Juna and Mai where experiencing. Also the anxiety and distress of Juna and Mai as well as their coping mechanisms was done really well, since there were times I was feeling the anxiety myself.
If you do enjoy sci-fi, I would recommend giving this book a try. I really enjoyed the concept of Shroud and the Shrouded (who are way more complex than they seem). Even if you are not a huge sci-fi fan like me, I think you can still enjoy this since I did!
June 21, 2025
Shroud flips between two perspectives on a terrifying situation. In the first, human scientists are stranded with ineffective equipment on a hostile dark planet, surrounded by creatures they can't understand. In the second, the planet's intelligent "locals" attempt to understand the visitors "from above".
Without sight or symbol-making capabilities, and surrounded by a cacophony of radio signal communication, understanding between species seems impossible.
As the humans struggle in a broken vehicles to cross a planet covered in weird creatures and scary natural obstacles, they slowly map a picture of the intelligent inhabitants following them.
At the same time, the aliens are taking notes and coming to conclusions about the “Stranger”.
Each time either side unlocks new information about the Other, it’s a reward for the reader. There wasn’t a single boring chapter in this book.
You can also add this to the pile of books (Murderbot, Wayfarers, Dead Space etc.) envisioning humanity’s future as completely owned by corporate interests. It’s not seeming like speculative fiction any more these day, is it?
The Hard SF fans might squint at a barely sketched-out (but important) plot point involving "hooking brains to stuff".
Don't worry about it, baby. What's that Arthur C. Clarke quote about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic? Let's just go with that.
Without sight or symbol-making capabilities, and surrounded by a cacophony of radio signal communication, understanding between species seems impossible.
As the humans struggle in a broken vehicles to cross a planet covered in weird creatures and scary natural obstacles, they slowly map a picture of the intelligent inhabitants following them.
At the same time, the aliens are taking notes and coming to conclusions about the “Stranger”.
Each time either side unlocks new information about the Other, it’s a reward for the reader. There wasn’t a single boring chapter in this book.
You can also add this to the pile of books (Murderbot, Wayfarers, Dead Space etc.) envisioning humanity’s future as completely owned by corporate interests. It’s not seeming like speculative fiction any more these day, is it?
The Hard SF fans might squint at a barely sketched-out (but important) plot point involving "hooking brains to stuff".
Don't worry about it, baby. What's that Arthur C. Clarke quote about sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic? Let's just go with that.
February 2, 2025
This was my first Tchaikovsky but it won't be my last. I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story at first, but I quickly became absorbed by this sci-fi tale as soon as our protagonist, Juna, and her colleague end up on the mysterious planet they named Shroud. They're not prepared for what awaits them because they never planned to actually go planetside but are forced to due to an accident, and everything on the planet is so different, so Alien that they barely survive day by day. I loved the descriptions of the Shroud biosphere, of the fascinating aliens and how they work, and while we follow Juna and Mai on their journey to find safety and return to their ship for quite a while I never felt like the story dragged. There was just so much to discover and explore, and the last few chapters are just insanely exciting. Really enjoyed the writing, the pacing, the world building and the characters. The ending doesn't answer all the questions posed but it fit the narrative perfectly.
So yeah, will absolutely go dig into Adrian Tchaikovsky's backlist now.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
So yeah, will absolutely go dig into Adrian Tchaikovsky's backlist now.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
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