
Shards of Earth
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Narrated by:
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Sophie Aldred
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 OrbitListeners also enjoyed...
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Great Book
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When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
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Babel
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1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
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The novel language lovers have been waiting for
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barely more than a short story.
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In the distant future, corporations have become sustainable communities with their own militaries, and corporate goals have essentially replaced political ideology. On a youthful, rebellious impulse, Lawrence joined the military of a corporation that he now recognizes to be ruthless and exploitative. His only hope for escape is to earn enough money to buy his place in a better corporation.
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Possibly my new favorite Hamilton novel
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The Lowlands’ city states have lived in peace for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization. Yet that peace is about to end. A distant empire has been conquering neighbours with highly trained soldiers and sophisticated combat techniques. And the city states are its desirable new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker – spymaster, artificer and statesman – foresees the threat, as the empires’ armies march ever closer. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of the cities’ leaders.
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A hidden gem in Epic Fantasy
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We were outnumbered, outfought. Mankind was about to fall to the alien Flock. Our only chance was a desperate gamble, transforming Tier One SpecOps agents into deadly super soldiers. In the end, we won the war, but we lost the peace. The Flock surrendered and spent the next two hundred years making reparations, indentured to humanity, doing everything humans did not want to do. And the evolved super soldiers were consigned to an endless sleep. Ready if ever needed, but in time they became myths. Abandoned and forgotten.
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Alpha Wave and the Full Metal Fowl
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Skyward
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Performance
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From Brandon Sanderson, the number one New York Times best-selling author of the Reckoners series, Words of Radiance, and the internationally best-selling Mistborn series, comes the first book in an epic new series about a girl who dreams of becoming a pilot in a dangerous world at war for humanity's future.
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Has Sanderson been reading Craig Alanson???
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Star Wars: Convergence (The High Republic)
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- Unabridged
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It is an age of exploration. Jedi travel the galaxy, expanding their understanding of the Force and all the worlds and beings connected by it. Meanwhile, the Republic, led by its two chancellors, works to unite worlds in an ever-growing community among near and distant stars. On the close-orbiting planets of Eiram and E’ronoh, the growing pains of a galaxy with limited resources but unlimited ambition are felt keenly. The two worlds’ hatred for each other has fueled half a decade of escalating conflict and now threatens to consume surrounding systems.
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Was Skeptical at first…boy was I wrong!
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By: Zoraida Córdova
What listeners say about Shards of Earth
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- Ian Larsen
- 08-23-21
another great story by Tchaikovsky
While very different from the children of time, it has the same amazing world building and writing. It is a more character focused story, but it work amazingly. looking forward to the next one!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Allen
- 08-14-22
The best story and characters I ever listen to
Great story start to finish. I look forward to more stories about all the characters
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1 person found this helpful
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- Buyer
- 08-25-23
Good story, hegemony pronunciation almost ruins it
If you're familiar with the author this is very par for the course. Just really solid Sci-fi. The reader however clearly operates solely on the "just sound it out" rule instead of pronouncing the G in hegemony correctly. This took me out of the story every time she mispronounced it. It would be different if it was only brought up once or twice, but the word appears hundreds of times throughout the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- 808 Aloha
- 08-25-21
terrific 👌😁
I'm hooked. another winner. awesome from beginning to end. great performance, great story, great! more please!
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- William
- 09-09-21
great!
Is a very cerebral book that caught my attention pretty qquickly. characters, story and performance were all great as the pace of the story was quick and yet world building. can't wait for the inevitable sequel.
definitely recommend!
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- Allison
- 09-17-21
Brilliant
One of the most creative sci fi novels I've ever read! Great world building, interesting universe. Well written. Cant wait for book 2 in this series.
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- David C. Walton
- 10-23-21
Fantastic Space Opera
Great book, beautifully read. An eclectic but loyal crew finds itself in the middle of the politics of a galaxy, trying to save humanity from an alien threat. Inventive and suspenseful. If you like the Expanse books, this should be right up your alley.
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- Benjamin T. Kent
- 01-07-22
FANTASTIC
Adrien Tchaikovsky is just the most incredible communicator of larger than life concepts. I've now read (listened) to Children of Time, Children of Ruin and now Shards of Earth. All of them the most engrossing and complete stories with believable characters and impossibly complex ideas that are stretched to the limit of the human imagination. All relying heavily on science and philosophy while not starting into the inaccessible.
I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE REST OF THIS SERIES!!
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- C J Lev
- 06-29-23
A grand story of aliens, cultures and conflicts to stretch the imagination
The narrator masterfully portrays the attitudes and emotions of many flavors of human, aliens, and machines. She and the author guide the audience through the grand turns of the story. Of course Tchaikovsky’s humor adds a delightful touch to the action and drama.
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- Turkleton
- 07-14-23
Bug AT fan, fantastic pulp sci-fi
Love AT’s work at worldbuilding and characterization. Read/listened through all 3 children of time novels, dogs of war, just starting Bear Head. This maintains AT’s writing skills, and is more of an adventure thriller instead of a heady-introspective work. It’s a fleshed out universe of politics, aliens, and factions at odds with each other with some classic cosmic-mysticism. Enjoyable!
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