"A staggering, alien vision of deepest solidarity." - Esquire, Best of the Year. From Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky comes a far-future epic that confirms his place as a modern master of science fiction, in which a political prisoner must unlock the secrets of a strange and dangerous planet. The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates, the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival, he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there. In the midst of a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln, but distant Earth as well.
This book is, at its very foundations, remarkable.
You can read the blurb, but it doesn't describe the sheer experience of the tale. Yes, it looks at politics, social systems, exploring identity and other worlds. it tells of alien - utterly alien, not even the slightest bit human - life and what that might mean when making contact. The fear of the unknown, the greater differences between other humans than those aliens, the need to find what personal and shared truth, life and unity is...
There's a LOT going on here, but while it may be 'hard' science-fiction, it reads like a beautiful (and often terrifying) dream. Skilfully told, with visuals that allow the reader to smoothly traverse the paths of Kiln with its protagonists, I stayed up very late to see this one through. There was literally no way I could put it down without knowing what would happen, because it is so very unpredictable - and the conclusion is simply glorious.
Yes, there's horror. There's strangeness, violence and all that the Deep Unknown of space can be. But then I thought: why would alien life be as simple and humanoid as, say, Star Trek, when it can be as weird and wonderful as this?
I'm using a lot of enthusiastic words here, but that's because this really is one of those books that you just have to experience for yourself. This is science-fiction in its truest sense: it's about humanity when taken out of traditional structures, thereby discovering what its core truth really is.
I hadn't read any Adrian Tchaikovsky before, and have worked immediately to remedy that. Also he seems prolific, so I'm looking forward to his upcoming titles this year alone!
One of my Books of 2024, easily. A huge recommend.