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  • Shards of Earth

  • The Final Architecture, Book 1
  • By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
  • Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (370 ratings)

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Shards of Earth

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of the thrilling science-fiction epic Children of Time, winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award. Shards of Earth is the first high-octane, far-future space adventure in Adrian Tchaikovsky' Final Architecture trilogy.

The war is over.

Its heroes forgotten.

Until one chance discovery . . .

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

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien enemy. Many escaped, but millions more died. So mankind created enhanced humans ­such as Idris – who could communicate mind-to-mind with our aggressors. Then these ‘Architects’ simply disappeared and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, Idris and his crew have something strange, abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects – but are they really returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy as they search for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, and many would kill to obtain it.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

Critic Reviews

"One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction." (Christopher Paolini)

What listeners say about Shards of Earth

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Beautifully-crafted space opera; intriguing world

Terrific all over, with a very slight tendency towards extraneous tension in the action sequences.
Thoroughly enjoyed this lighter touch from the author of Children of Time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyable book!

This was my first Adrian Tchaikovsky book and I really enjoyed it. It ticked all the space opera books for me, although a bit less descriptive than the likes of Peter F Hamilton (maybe that's not bad though?). I really liked the characters and felt invested in them by the end. The narrator took a bit to get used to and there were points where they didn't quite hit the mark in their reading but they were decent overall. I'll definitely be listening to other books by the author.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Quality sci-fi

Very enjoyable, fast paced while developing the characters and cultures. Can’t wait to listen to the whole series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Some thought put into changes in lifestyle.

Bit of fresh air with the changes in language and culture, instead of the 21st century carry on as per normal thousands of years in the future. Liked the characters with none being a super star. Small bits of comedy with the language interpretation. Bit of biff and interesting baddies.
Narrator did a good job but did not have a deep enough voice for some of the characters. That cuts the range to spread the characters sounds out more.
I’m keen to start the second book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a fun post-war space romp

a fun, episodic space romp in a cleverly constructed universe with great main characters. as a heads up: the places and people are thrown at the reader in rapid enough succession that i found it obfuscated the richness of the setting at times — something i appreciated a lot more on a second read with periodic breaks to digest and reflect. Tchaikovsky has built a complex universe with some realy solid characters, and this book artfully sets up the setting and stakes for the rest of the series. i enjoyed the audio performance greatly, and i heartily recommend this one to sci-fi/fantasy readers.

also, among the standard archetypes, the series has some good queer representation, two great main characters with disabilities, and it isn't entirely uncritical of the social, political and economic implications of the setting — one facet of worldbuilding Tchaikovsky didn't explore in their "Children of ____" series — something i found to be an engaging dimension of this story in its own right.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A fascinating read

I found this book quite hard to get into. There are a lot of characters, lots of world building and politics to get your head around. That being said, once you're there - you've made it. The mystical beings known as the architects are fascinating. What an interesting albeit romantic way to describe giant monsters who destroy worlds - killers.
There were a few story bits that didn't quite tie in for me - they didn't serve the plot. Perhaps it's okay when they serve the world building function though?
I also found this book to stop abruptly- leading me straight down the path of promptly downloading the next.
The Voice actor's Aussie accent was almost true blue 👍

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Over too soon

well my heading says it all I really liked it wish it was still going

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Big space opera with a great crew of characters

Fantastic space opera with original world build and ideas. Great characters, story and pacing. I am looking forward to future sequels.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

Brilliant and clever story. Always love the imaginative and intelligent way Tchaikovsky explores biology.
The performance was excellent and very believable. Each character was brought to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Space Western that reminded me of Firefly

Great story, great narrator, excellent worldbuilding. This is the first sci fi I’ve read that reminded me of Firefly - not that it’s anything like Firefly, but some of the interactions between characters had that same humour.

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