Best Selling Books by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In Adrian Tchaikovsky''s The Expert System''s Champion, sometimes the ones you hate are the only ones that can save you. It''s been ten years since Handry was wrenched away from his family and friends, forced to wander a world he no longer understood. But with the help of the Ancients, he has cobbled together a life, of sorts, for himself and his fellow outcasts. Wandering from village to village, welcoming the folk that the townships abandon, fighting the monsters the villagers cannot—or dare not—his ever-growing band of misfits has become the stuff of legend, a story told by parents to keep unruly children in line. But there is something new and dangerous in the world, and the beasts of the land are acting against their nature, destroying the towns they once left in peace. And for the first time in memory, the Ancients have no wisdom to offer... At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Maniye, child of Wolf and Tiger, has a new soul and a new shape. But as Champion of the Crown of the World, does she represent an opportunity for the North - or a threat? Travelling as a bodyguard to the Southern prince, with her warband of outcasts, she hopes to finally discover her true place in the world. But if only it was that simple. Tensions rise, and new allies face up to old enemies as civil war threatens to tear the South apart. Royal twins can''t share a throne, so one must be chosen. And whoever rules the southern Sun River Nation will hold the fate of the world in their hands. As the protector of one potential heir, Maniye soon finds herself at the eye of a political storm. Yet all the while, an enemy from the most ancient of times prepares for conquest, and could destroy everything in their path...

Heirs of the Blade is the seventh book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The greatest foe is the enemy within . . . Tynisa is on the run, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal, her past will at last catch up with her. Her father''s ghost is hunting her down. At the same time, the Wasp Empire seeks to conquer the city of Khanaphes, the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst Empress Seda''s soldiers seek only conquest and prestige, she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history, and has her eyes on a far greater prize. Heirs of the Blade is followed by the eighth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Air War.

Illyria''s Duke Orsino has raised new, powerful allies, and in a last-ditch attempt to win the war, Don Pedro and his brother John, wise old Jacques and the physician Helena sail to Milan to appeal in person for the wizard Prospero''s aid. But unseasonal storms drive them onto the Illyrian shore, and into the hands of their enemies... Monstrous Little Voices is a collection of five short novellas, a single long tale set in Shakespeare''s fantasy world of fairies, wizards and potions, in honour of the four-hundredth anniversary of the Bard''s death.

Tales of the Apt is a companion series to the best-selling decalogy Shadows of the Apt, gathering together short stories from disparate places and supplementing them with a wealth of new tales written especially for the series. Together, they combine to provide a different perspective, an alternative history that parallels and unfolds alongside the familiar one, filling in the gaps and revealing intriguing backstories for many established characters. A must read for any fan of the Shadows of the Apt books, where epic fantasy meets steampunk and so much more. Contents: Introduction by the Author Introduction by the Publisher To Own the Sky Ironclads Spoils of War Camouflage The Shadows of Their Lamps The Dreams of Avaris The Prince Shadow Hunters Sword and Circle Idle Hands An Old Man in a Harsh Season Brass Mantis About the Author

A bio-engineered dog fights for its life and its right to life. From the Arthur C. Clark Award-winning author of CHILDREN OF TIME. My name is Rex. I am a good dog. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he''s part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. A genetically engineered Bioform, he''s a deadly weapon in a dirty war. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he''s got to kill a lot of enemies. But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash? ''Detailed and clever worldbuilding... Tchaikovsky pulls off an impressive feat in making Rex''s character evolution genuinely moving. Readers will be wowed'' Publishers Weekly

A prequel to the magical novella Made Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky''s "Precious Little Things" is a Tor.com Original short story offering a new perspective while set in the same action-packed gaslamp world. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The bold new work from award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky - a smart, funny tale of time-travel and paradox Welcome to the end of time. It’s a perfect day. Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there’s no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that’s sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we broke time. I was the one who ended it. Ended the fighting, tidied up the damage as much as I could. Then I came here, to the end of it all, and gave myself a mission: to never let it happen again.

Second volume in the Tales of the Apt series: short story collections set in the same world as the author''s best selling ten book series Shadows of the Apt

Driven by the ghosts of the Darakyon, Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, but he has only days before the magical box is lost to him forever. Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering over winter for their great offensive, gathering their soldiers and perfecting their new weapons. Stenwold and his followers have only a short time to gather what allies they can before the Wasp armies march again, conquering everything in their path. If they cannot throw back the Wasps this spring then the imperial black-and-gold flag will fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year''s end. In Jerez begins a fierce struggle over the Shadow Box, as lake creatures, secret police and renegade magicians compete to take possession. If it falls into the hands of the Wasp Emperor, however, then no amount of fighting will suffice to save the world from his relentless ambition.

A Shared world volume featuring stories from selected authors set in the realm of Adrian Tchaikovsky''s Shadows of the Apt novels.

Having re-affirmed Solaris’ proud reputation for producing high quality science fiction anthologies in the first volume, Solaris Rising 2 is the next collection in this exciting series. Featuring stories by Allan Steele, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Kim Lakin-Smith, Paul Cornell, Eugie Foster, Nick Harkaway, Nancy Kress, Kay Kenyon, James Lovegrove, Robert Reed, Mercurio D. Rivera, Norman Spinrad, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Liz Williams, Vandana Singh, Martin Sketchley and more. These stories are guaranteed to surprise, thrill and delight, and maintain our mission to demonstrate why science fiction remains the most exiting, varied and inspiring of all fiction genres. In Solaris Rising we showed both the quality and variety that modern SF can produce. In Solaris Rising 2, we’re taking that much, much further.

An eclectic mix of Speculative Fiction pieces around the theme of LIGHT. Short stories and poetry vie for your attention with two entries from our special guest authors - Adrian Tchaikovsky and Peter McLean. With Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Supernatural, Horror and everything between, there is something here for every taste. All proceeds go to the Mental Health charity - MIND.

The Hyena and the Hawk is the conclusion to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s epic fantasy trilogy, Echoes of the Fall, following The Bear and the Serpent. ‘A classically brilliant fantasy writer’ – Paul Cornell The unmaking of the world has begun. From the depths of the darkest myths, the soulless Plague People have returned. Their pale-walled camps obliterate villages, just as the terror they bring with them destroys minds. In their wake, nothing is left of the true people: not their places, not their ways. The Plague People will remake the world as though they had never been. The heroes and leaders of the true people – Maniye, Loud Thunder, Hesprec and Asman – will each fight the Plague People in their own ways. They will seek allies, gather armies and lead the charge. But a thousand swords or ten thousand spears will not suffice to turn back this enemy. The end is at hand for everything the true people know . . .

Humanity clings to life on a dying Earth. Stefan Advani - rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor - bears witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new. The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts; that transported him east down the river and imprisoned him in the verdant hell of the jungle''s darkest heart; that led him deep into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld. He will meet with monsters, madman, mutants. The question is, which one of them will inherit this Earth?

THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS DETECTIVE, AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE! This is Sherlock Holmes as you’ve never seen him before: as an architect in a sleepy Australian town, as a gentleman in seventeenth-century Worcestershire, as a precocious school girl in a modern British comprehensive. He’s dodging his rent in the squalid rooms of the notorious Chelsea Hotel in ’68, and preventing a bloody war between the terrible Lords Wizard of a world of fantasy. Editor David Thomas Moore brings together the finest of celebrated and new talent in SF and Fantasy to create a spectrum of Holmes stories that will confound everything you ever thought you knew about the world’s greatest detective. Featuring fourteen original stories by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Emma Newman, Gini Koch, Guy Adams, Ian Edginton, James Lovegrove, Glen Mehn, Jamie Wyman, JE Cohen, Jenni Hill, Joan de la Haye, Kaaron Warren, Kasey Lansdale and Kelly Hale.

When the mighty and cruel must be brought low, it''s the killers and the schemers who emerge from the shadows. As plans twist and change, and our protagonists are foiled and beaten, one thing remains true: no matter the cost, the king must fall. The King Must Fall is a dark fantasy anthology featuring 19 titans of the dark and grimdark fantasy genres writing about rogues, assassins, mages, blackguards, and warriors on quests to kill their kings, rulers, captains, and leaders. Devin Madson Luke Scull Anna Smith Spark Anthony Ryan Michael R. Fletcher Jeremy Szal Lee Murray Daniel Polansky Shawn Speakman Adrian Tchaikovsky Trudi Canavan Alex Marshall Anna Stephens Justin Call Deborah A. Wolf Peter Orullian Kameron Hurley Matthew Ward Bradley P. Beaulieu

Mischief, Magic, Love and War. It is the Year of Our Lord 1601. The Tuscan War rages across the world, and every lord from Navarre to Illyria is embroiled in the fray. Cannon roar, pikemen clash, and witches stalk the night; even the fairy courts stand on the verge of chaos. Five stories come together at the end of the war: that of bold Miranda and sly Puck; of wise Pomona and her prisoner Vertumnus; of gentle Lucia and the shade of Prospero; of noble Don Pedro and powerful Helena; and of Anne, a glovemaker''s wife. On these lovers and heroes the world itself may depend. These are the stories Shakespeare never told. Five of the most exciting names in genre fiction today – Jonathan Barnes, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Emma Newman, Foz Meadows and Kate Heartfield – delve into the world the poet created to weave together a story of courage, transformation and magic. Including an afterword by Dr. John Lavagnino, The London Shakespeare Centre, King''s College London.

The sixth novel in the thrilling Shadows of the Apt series A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black and gold empire, a hidden threat is working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium''s harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing... Lulled by the spread of lies and false promises, Stenwold''s allies are falling away. He faces betrayal on every side, and the Empire is just waiting for the first sign of weakness to strike. But the Empire is not the only power that has its eyes on Collegium. And even the Wasp-kinden may not be powerful enough to stave off the forces massing in the darkness.

Four new tales of Doctors Catt and Fisher… Scholars, shopkeepers, collectors… aficionados. Obtainers of rare antiquities; relic hunters who can’t resist a lead, even when it takes them into terrible danger. There’s always an opportunity to be found amid the confusion, in the wake of the terrible Kinslayer War. There’s always a deal to be done, a tomb to open, a precious thing to… obtain. From encounters with the monstrous Vathesk to exploring new worlds; from wielding great power to do great good, to unearthing dark things best left lost. If you need the experts, if you can find your way to their Cherivell shop, maybe you can hire Doctors Catt and Fisher.

From the wastes of the sea to the shadows of our own cities, we are not alone. But what happens where the human world touches the domain of races ancient and alien? Museum curators, surveyors, police officers, archaeologists, mathematicians; from derelict buildings to country houses to the London Underground, another world is just a breath away, around the corner, watching and waiting for you to step into its power. The Private Life of Elder Things is a collection of new Lovecraftian fiction about confronting, discovering and living alongside the creatures of the Mythos.

Three acclaimed novellas by the Arthur C. Clarke-award-winning "British master of science fiction" The Future Is Oppression. Scions, sonko, landlords: whatever you call them, they''re the super rich, the princes of capitalism, living off the labour – and the deaths – of the swarming masses and all too happy to see the world burn to preserve their luxurious lives. In three critically-acclaimed novellas, the "British master of science fiction" (Tor.com) takes you down into the mud and horror of a future battlefield, into the dust and burning heat of a scorched equator, into the grinding poverty of a newly-feudal village, with the folk who give their lives every day in the service of undeserving masters... and sows the seed of revolution. Collected for the first time in one beautifully-presented box set, Terrible Worlds: Revolutions gives you three glimpses of hope for a better future.

They face a hunger that could consume the gods themselves From the depths of myth an ancient enemy has returned: the Plague People, whose very presence obliterates whole villages; whose terror destroys minds. In their wake, nothing is left of the people, not their places, not their ways. On the plains, the warriors and the wise of all tribes gather to confront the aggressor. Loud Thunder leads his great war-host south, even as Tecumet and Asman head north with the Sun River army. With Maniye Many Tracks, they plan to forge a new unity between the tribes such as the world has never seen. But will it be enough to stave off an oblivion that might devour even their gods? Their adversary''s presence is like a wound in the world, and wakes all the old terrors and evils from the peoples'' stories. But before they can deal with the enemies without, they must conquer their demons within. The Hyena and the Hawk is the third book in Adrian Tchaikovsky''s epic fantasy trilogy, Echoes of the Fall, following The Bear and the Serpent.

A narrative reminiscent of Phileas Fogg meets Professor Challenger, featuring the exploits of scientist-cum-adventurer Doctor Ludweg Phinagler, as recorded by his (semi-)faithful assistant, Fosse. A maverick academic, Phinagler, mounts a series of expeditions, confronting ancient mysteries and deadly dangers.

Get knee-deep in grit with twenty-six grimdark fantasy and sci-fi short stories from the shadowy vaults of Grimdark Magazine. The top names in dark speculative fiction and the genre''s brightest newcomers bring you stories of war, betrayal, violence, and greed, as anti-heroes and adversaries fight to the bittersweet end. For the first time, two years of fiction from Grimdark Magazine are printed on dead trees and bound together like captive slaves to be read or reread and proudly placed among your favourite tomes on your bookshelf. Knee-Deep in Grit features short stories by authors including Mark Lawrence, Aliette de Bodard, Adrian Tchaikovsky, R. Scott Bakker, Kelly Sandoval, James A. Moore, and Victor Milan.

What happens when AI takes over the creative process? Discussion about, and the use of artificial intelligence has exploded across the globe. Some programmers have already speculated that they are witnessing the birth of ''general'' intelligence in ai which would be a game changer and decades before it was originally anticipated. Is this the next step, from robots taking over tedious repetitive tasks in factories to now taking over creative ventures as well? Here are stories that explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and art, written by top science fiction authors from across the globe. Read the tales of robot painters, AI poets, and electronic gallery curators; dystopias where human artists must eke out an existence in societies where AI generates most of the content, and utopias where artificial minds help unlock and enhance human creativity. This collection features a truly global perspective from top authors from USA, UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Madagascar, Argentina, Chile, Czech Republic, and Sri Lanka.

"Story Behind the Book: Volume 3" collects nearly 40 non-fiction essays from some of the most exciting authors working today. Offering an unique insight into the creative and publishing process, these essay reveal all the beauty, effort and frustration that inevitable comes hand in hand with the urge to write, edit or illustrate. Contributors include Steven Erikson, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugh Howey, Richard Kadrey, Rod Rees, Christopher Fowler, Gary Gibson, Eric Brown, Anthony Ryan, Alan Averill, Ian Gibson, Garry Kilworth, Steve Rasnic Tem, Ian R. MacLeod, Cat Sparks, James Everington, Pat Cadigan, Stephen Deas, Jay Kristoff, Peter Roman, Paul Tremblay, Geoffrey Gudgion, Tina Connolly, Joan Frances Turner, Freda Warrington, Beth Bernobich, Jeff Somers, James A. Moore, Ben Jeapes, John R. Fultz, Nick Mamatas, Sean Lynch, Max Gladstone, Karen Sandler, Robert Reed, Roberto Calas, Richard James Bentley, William J. Cobb.

An utterly gripping story of survival on a hostile planet from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time. They looked into the darkness. The darkness looked back . . . A commercial expedition to a distant star system discovers a pitch-black moon alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is deadly to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud. Under no circumstances can a human survive Shroud’s inhospitable surface – but a catastrophic accident forces Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne to make an emergency landing in a barely adequate escape vehicle. Alone, and fighting for survival, the two women embark on a gruelling journey across land, sea and air in search of salvation. But as they travel, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s unnerving alien species. It also begins to understand them. If they escape Shroud, they’ll somehow have to explain the impossible and translate the incredible. That is, if they make it back at all . . . Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky ‘The smartest evolutionary worldbuilding you’ll ever read’ – Peter F. Hamilton, author of Salvation on Children of Time ‘Compelling on human and cosmic levels, and unputdownable’ – Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima on Alien Clay ‘Heart-in-the-mouth fantastic’ – New Scientist on Alien Clay

From award winning website, Fantasy-Faction, comes an anthology of short stories and articles celebrating the fantasy genre''s diversity.Dragons, magic, clones, portals and swords are just some of what awaits you on the quests and investigations within.Written by a combination of genre giants and previously unpublished authors, this is Fantasy-Faction in a book.

Summer''s End wants to see the end of the world. It''s the country that can''t stand its own prosperity, the man who refuses to abandon his son, the rulers who refuse to give up their power or those who don''t know when enough is enough. Each and every story in this collection explores how golden ages end, how great civilisations fall.Featuring stories from award winning authors such as Adrian Tchaikovsky, Gaie Sebold, James Brogden and Sarah Cawkwell, this strange and wondrous collection of world''s ending will make you thankful for what you''ve got.

Hell has invaded Earth and happy endings are a thing long since forgotten.The ten stories in Carnage: After the End - Volume 2 tell of the frighteningly horrific and cruel lives the survivors must face. Each one takes us to a place where humanity''s stragglers are forced to battle for their very existence against their own grim reality; creatures from different worlds or times, individuals or groups of miscreants who feed on the fear of the weak, and even the terrifying threat of unknown bacterial organisms. Their will to go on diminishing among the tatters of the civilization they once knew.In a world where society has collapsed and terror lurks around every corner, no one can be trusted and nothing can be taken for granted.The Apocalypse has come, leaving in its wake small pockets of survivors battling to stay alive; each carving out a new beginning for mankind...