Ilmar is a city under occupation. The Pallaseen (known colloquially as the Pals) have patrolled the streets for three years after deposing the admittedly not well liked Duke. They are there to smooth out the rough edges Ilmar has accrued over its lifetime. Culture is being flattened under the direction of the Schools of Correctness.…
Continue reading ➞ City of Last Chances – Pallin’ Around With the Underground
We flipped a coin to determine who would get to review this and I said the quarter would get caught in a time paradox so here we are. Children of Memory is the third book in a series that Adrian Tchaikowsky keeps promising won’t have sequels (and I am very glad he wrote them despite…
Continue reading ➞ Children Of Memory – Spooky And Uplifting
I love a book with a unique narrative style. Books that incorporate how the story is told into the message and ideas of the book often become my favorite and most recommended stories. It’s a clever and deep technique that can elevate a story and drive the messages and themes to a much stronger degree…
On top of all the enormous thicc books we read, we also read a number of novellas that we would love to talk about. Novellas tell intriguing and often very specific stories, and with such a treasure trove of short(ish) fiction out this year, we want to recognize some of the amazing stories that emerged.…
In many ways, Eyes of the Void is simply a continuation of the story started by Adrian Tchaikovsky in one of our top books of 2021, Shards of Earth. Because of this, this review is really going to just boil down to “yea, it's still great, and you should still read it” with some additional…
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Elder Race, as you might have seen in this year's best novellas piece, is fabulous. My favorite type of novella is one that knows how to use its limited space to make a point, explore an idea, or execute a premise efficiently, smoothly, and with fabulous flair. Elder Race checks off all of…
It’s no secret: some of us at the Quill to Live unabashedly love Adrian Tchaikovsky. He’s easily one of my personal favorite authors, and I have been on a journey to catch up on his frankly impressive catalogue. Cage of Souls has been on my radar ever since it was released. It sat on my…
With The Expanse sadly ending this year, I have been on the lookout for new space operas to fill the void, and I have found a new contender. Site favorite Adrian Tchaikovsky has put out the first novel in a sweeping science-fiction epic titled Shards of Earth, and it is a wild ride. Tchaikovsky has…
I am very appreciative of Adrian Tchaikovsky continually putting out solid standalone science fiction novels. His latest book, The Doors of Eden, is the next in a long chain of satisfying and meaty stories that are nicely contained in a single novel. Tchaikovsky’s latest novel has cemented him in my mind as a reliable author…
Continue reading ➞ The Doors of Eden – A Window Into What Could Have Been
It has been an interesting week in America. We have been seeing unprecedented protests against corrupt authority figures and for the rights of Black Americans, and it has made it difficult to find the desire to write about books. Thankfully, I recently read Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which feels somewhat fitting to…
