Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

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, fifty 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.

This was my first foray into an Adrian Tchaikovsky book, and it won’t be my last as I was hooked from the first page and devoured this book in the space of a couple of days. Grumbling at having to work and do other things rather than read this book and having a very late night as I hit the later stages of the book where it became completely impossible for me to put it down.

     Sci-Fi is a genre I tend to dip in and out of, and I often find that it is the technical details that lose me, but that was not the case here. Shards of Earth throws us into the action right from the start, opening with a frontline battle against an Architect that immediately sold me on this book, and was a brilliant way of establishing not just the threat – and the stakes – but some of the major groups, and two of our main characters, before plunging into the true depths of this universe.

    Tchaikovsky has created a richly detailed, and expansive universe and particularly during the first chapters of this book there is a lot of different details, peoples and characters to come to grips with, and for the most part, we are trusted to make sense of it – although aided by some of the most spectacularly vivid writing I’ve read in a while, with those same details so easy to visualise that it felt as though you had been dropped into the universe in person rather than absorbing it through ink and page. There is – as I discovered after finishing the book – a helpful glossary and timeline at the back of the book which is a fantastic reference point, although I very much enjoyed unravelling the complexities of the different species, planets and different political systems as I went, and for me personally, that was very much part of the experience of the book.

     There were many fascinating species and aspects to life in space – I enjoyed the concept of unspace and the idea of something looking back, and again the writing helped bring that unsettling feeling to life so that there were a couple of times during travel when I would pause and feel the need to look around. From aliens to robotics, and composite beings, the universe is vast and diverse, and each was realised even during brief interactions. However, if I had to pick a favourite, I think it would be the Architects. I loved everything about the Architects (which might not be how you’re supposed to feel towards them), but as disturbing as they were, they were endlessly fascinating to me. There are still so many questions about them, and their purpose and I can’t wait to discover the answers, but every encounter with them or the legacy of their presence was some of my favourite parts of the book, and just the sheer imagery of what they could do to planets and ships and the idea that even those who had lost their worlds to this process of recreation could see something more than wanton destruction in what they had done – a design, a terrible beauty, a purpose not yet understood – and there was something haunting about that.

    This is a vast space opera, and we encounter many peoples and characters throughout the book, and yet at the core, is the crew of the Vulture God. It’s not necessarily as immediate as the worldbuilding, as where we are thrown into the deep end of the universe, the characters are built up over time, and we get to know them through their journeys and struggles. There was very much a found family vibe to this crew, which was fantastic, without losing the differences brought through their different cultures and experiences, and the conflict that those differences fed into at times. 

    Solace and Idris who we had met right at the beginning are both interesting characters, albeit ones that it took a little longer to unravel – and I particularly enjoyed watching the former become more and more involved as a member of the crew. As well as the differences between the two who had in different ways been adapted to protect the colonies, with one embracing that duty and the restrictions it came with and one rejecting it and choosing to live free, and their shared history. However, the entire crew stood out as individuals, each bringing a different element to the group. Rollo was possibly the most relatable, as he was the ‘father’ of the group, and you could see that in his manner, way of speaking – calling the others ‘children’ and his wrath when their home and family are attacked, a little rough and ready, he was the heart of the group. Kris was probably my favourite – her backstory intrigued me, and she was an interesting character who you wouldn’t expect to find in a crew like this, and yet is an integral part even beyond her partnership with Idris. Olli – the drone specialist – was another that really stood out and I always enjoyed it when she was on the page, waiting to see what she was going to do next – also her Scorpion was possibly one of the best bits of technology in the book.

    Shards of Earth was a brilliant read and blew whatever expectations I had out of the water. A fascinating and beautifully detailed universe, with vivid imagery and a fantastic cast, this is a book I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. My only complaint? That I have to wait for the next book. Although I have every intention of exploring more by the author while I wait, as well as rereading this one long before then because there was so much to this universe that I know I will be discovering little details for many rereads to come.