Shards of Earth Audiobook By Adrian Tchaikovsky cover art

Shards of Earth

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Shards of Earth

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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About this listen

The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us an extraordinary space opera about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.

The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery....

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity's heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

After Earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared - and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, 50 years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space. It's clearly the work of the Architects - but are they returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, that many would kill to obtain.

©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Orbit
Adventure Science Fiction Space Exploration Space Opera Space Fiction Interstellar War

What listeners say about Shards of Earth

Highly rated for:

Imaginative World-building Intriguing Storyline Excellent Narration Unique Alien Species Compelling Space Opera
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Beyond the usual fare

Extraordinary writing, unique concepts expressed in a tight storyline and with Tchaikovsky’s characteristic sense of humor. The plot is character driven and, because many characters are completely different from or evolved from human, their diverse look and manner came from his lively imagination. Ms. Aldred separates each of the large cast by tone, inflection and dialect. She is beyond talented. The plot is dense so I will be reading it as well before the next book.

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Audio and literary treat

I find Tchaikovsky's works either good or outstanding, according to my own subjective tastes. "Shards of Earth" belongs in the "outstanding" category. It is a straighforward, well-written space opera. There is an abundance of action (space battles, but more along the lines of brawls), intriguing plot lines, humour and well-developed characters. I made time to read it - which is something I rarely do with books anymore - and eagerly tended to tasks where I could listen to it.

Aldred's performance is an aural delight. She perfectly captures the characters' personalities much better than I would have imagined them.

Although this title gives a satisfactory conclusion, there is the possibiity of continuity of the story, and I would love to read and hear more.

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Doesn’t disappoint

Tchaikovsky continues to impress. Another totally different story, just like his others I’ve read (children of time and the Black and Gold empire series). I’d rank this one in the middle of the others. This one seems meant to be a stand alone, but don’t expect it to resolve an entire universe of questions. Personally, I like that he doesn’t end it pretending like the conflict was permanently resolved. Oh and Aldred was great as narrator.

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Great story and great writing

I thoroughly enjoyed the book beginning to end. The readers performance was outstanding as well.

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One of my favorites.

I've listened to this three times now. Ignore the negative reviews and stick with it. Use the pdf when needed to remember the species and characters, but mostly just listen, enjoy, and stick with it. such a big wonderful story. I'm about to start the 2nd again and then finally read the final 3rd book. I've heard he really stuck the landing and so it's worth it!

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Astounding!

This is the fourth book of Tchaikovsky that I’ve listened to, and I’ve been yet to be disappointed.

The story is amazing and both the world and the characters work without any preamble or lengthy introduction. I was totally hooked 6 hours in!

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A good start

The story is intriguing and the characters well written, but it does feel like a largely introductory book for the rest of the series in some sense. There’s plenty to enjoy in this though. Looking forward to the next in the series.

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well worth the listen!

Brilliant and creative with a host of memorable characters and captivating plot development. Can't wait to start the second volume!

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good interesting story with a good narrator

I was skeptical at first as their was negative feedback on the narrator, but I found her to be quite good. the story is interesting, characters are well done and the narrator does a great job making each character unique.

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Astounding life forms with great character and depth,

The author conceives and manipulates all his variations of intelligent life forms in a completely believable manner.

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