New Releases by Adrian Tchaikovsky

A return to Ilmar, the ''City of Last Chances'', a decade after our story began. Has the Palleseen campaign to impose ''perfection'' on a chaotically magical world reached breaking point?

The highly anticipated sequel to the Hugo Award–nominated Elder Race, by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky. On a planet where stories govern identity, where science and magic are merely a point of view, a fallen princess, a reluctant wizard, and a precocious child must unravel the past to shape the future. Betrayal, ancient myths, and a clash of worlds converge in this spellbinding tale of courage, friendship, and self-discovery from one of science fiction’s most compelling voices. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

13 original stories of dark fantasy inspired by the classic tales of L. Frank Baum and the land of Oz, from the masters of fantasy and science fiction, including M. R. Carey, Christina Henry and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Journey beyond the yellow brick road, click your heels together and enter the dark heart of the tornado... if you dare. Join the award-winning Marie O''Regan & Paul Kane as they bring together some of genre fiction''s bestselling and acclaimed authors as they explore the wild imagination of L. Frank Baum and his wonderful Land of Oz. Featuring stories by Simon R. Green Caitin Rozakis Louise Carey Adrian Tchaikovsky Ian Whates M. R. Carey Paul Magrs Delilah S. Dawson Robert Shearman Stark Holborn Christina Henry Una McCormack Jonathan Maberry

Philip Marlowe meets Redwall in this superior adult noir tale, where all the characters are animals, fighting for survival in the city underneath the humans. In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals work in the shadows. Genetically engineered Little Helpers, serving humanity—unseen, unheard. Meet Skotch. Raccoon, PI—yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn''t too illegal, whatever that means. A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn''t raise any hackles, nor any alarms, but this mouse has something that everyone seems to want, though nobody appears particularly eager to say what that something is. The fee is good—perhaps too good. Certainly not something Skotch can easily turn down. If only Skotch can work out where the mouse is hiding, what he’s hiding, and why his secrets are upsetting a lot of animals caught up in the Green City wars. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A new entry in the wildly successful Children of Time series from award-winning master of science fiction Adrian Tchaikovsky. After Earth fell, ark ships hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in Earth’s forgotten past. A ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain is about to rediscover one such world, and an ark. Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship’s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark ... and the world below? Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.

TERRIBLE WORLDS: RIVOLUZIONE In un futuro frammentato e feroce, l''umanità lotta per sopravvivere a mondi che sembrano decisi a schiacciarla. Dalle guerre delle grandi corporazioni ai deserti incandescenti, fino a un pianeta piegato da nuovi padroni geneticamente modificati: uomini e donne comuni diventano protagonisti di rivolte impossibili. Un soldato mandato a recuperare una potente corazza, un gruppo di giovani tecnici costretti a riparare gli impianti che tengono in vita i ricchi pronti a fuggire nello spazio, un contadino che scopre di poter sfidare gli orchi che governano con la forza del sangue. Tre destini diversi uniti dalla stessa scintilla di resistenza, tre storie legate dallo stesso filo: quando tutto sembra perduto, anche la persona più insignificante può cambiare il futuro.

Dnešek je prostě další dokonalý den na konci světa.Nikdo neví, kde byl, když kauzální válka začala. Vlastně si nemá kdo vzpomenout, a kdyby ano, nemá si na co vzpomenout; a to je celá ta věc v kostce. Byli jsme bojovníci s časem a rozbili jsme ho. To já jsem zastavil čas. Ukončil jsem boje, napravil škody, jak jen to šlo. Pak jsem přišel sem, kde je konec všeho, a dal jsem si úkol: nesmím dovolit, aby se něco tak strašného ještě někdy opakovalo. Nové odvážné dílo oceňovaného autora Adriana Tchaikovského – chytrý a vtipný příběh o cestování časem a paradoxech.

Lynesse la quarta figlia è una giovane e impavida principessa con il dono di finire sempre in mezzo a qualche guaio. Quando però il regno viene attaccato da un demone, sa che l’unico modo per salvare il suo popolo è appellarsi al patto stipulato fra la sua famiglia e lo stregone Nyrgoth l’antico. Ma Nyrgoth non ha nulla di magico; è in realtà un antropologo terrestre inviato sul pianeta Sophos 4 per studiare la società postcoloniale di Lynesse e per raccogliere dati sulla storia e sulla cultura del posto, senza interagire con gli abitanti per nessun motivo. È un uomo che ha aspettato invano, per secoli, di essere ricontattato dal Corpo di esplorazione terrestre; convive con un Sistema di Cognizione Dissociativa che gli permette di spegnere le emozioni, allontanando così il peso della solitudine e della depressione che lo opprime. La richiesta di aiuto della principessa lo ridesta dal suo stato di sospensione e, deciso ad aiutarla, si rende conto, grazie alle sue avanzate conoscenze scientifiche, che la minaccia portatrice di morte e instabilità non può di certo essere un demone... Nyr vive in un mondo fondato sulla razionalità scientifica. Lynesse in uno costellato di miti e magia. Che cos’è dunque la forza maligna determinata a distruggere Sophos 4? Un antropologo terrestre su un pianeta lontano deve aiutare gli abitanti del luogo a salvare il loro mondo da un nemico invincibile.

From the Arthur C. Clarke award winner, Adrian Tchaikovsky, comes the third instalment of the DOGS OF WAR science fiction series, a future where genetically engineered “Bioforms” have inherited not the Earth, but the Solar System.

On a planet shrouded in darkness, a stranded crew must fight for survival. But, the darkness may have plans of its own in this wildly original story from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Award–winning author of Children of Time. They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . . New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists – and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud. Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .

Set years before Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s all-too plausible short story navigates a world where humans are increasingly redundant. “Holring and Baselard value your contribution to our team” As one of the last non-robot employees at Holring and Baselard, Tim Stock retains a vital role in the human resources department: firing the multinational conglomerate’s remaining human workers. But the soul-crushing task eats away at Tim. As he watches the company replace his human colleagues with cheaper labor, Tim starts to question his own job security. After all, what use could robots possibly have for an HR department? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow''s frontline in the Palleseen''s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time. As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she''s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly - Gil to her friends - needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight. Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with? As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger. Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade... Also in the TYRANT PHILOSOPHERS SERIES: CITY OF LAST CHANCES HOUSE OF OPEN WOUNDS LIVES OF BITTER RAIN

Una storia sulla resilienza della specie umana perfetta per i fan di Il problema dei tre corpi di Liu Cixin e Rivelazione di Alastair Reynolds. Romanzo vincitore dei Neffy Awards. Un’organizzazione vuole mettere le mani sulla scoperta fatta da Idris Telemmier sul conto degli Architetti – la loro più grande debolezza – per trasformarla in un’arma contro questi alieni distruttori di mondi. Ma le grandi potenze della galassia preferiscono perseguire i propri scopi piuttosto che unirsi contro il nemico comune. Per tale ragione, mentre le varie specie lottano per prendere il controllo di questa potente rivelazione, la galassia esplode in una guerra distruttiva e controproducente. L’altro grande ostacolo alla lotta contro la minaccia aliena è Idris stesso: sa che gli Architetti, nonostante il potere, non sono altro che strumenti nelle mani di un’intelligenza superiore. Nelle profondità del nonspazio, dove il tempo scorre in modo diverso e la realtà non è quella che sembra, i loro padroni sono la vera minaccia: si stanno accorgendo solo ora dell’audacia della specie umana e per mettere fine a questa “seccatura” sono pronti a prendere provvedimenti e sterminarla una volta per tutte. Il terzo e ultimo romanzo di una straordinaria trilogia sull’umanità sull’orlo dell’estinzione.

Alien Clay is a thrilling far-future adventure by acclaimed Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky. ‘Unputdownable’ – Stephen Baxter, author of Proxima They travelled into the unknown and left themselves behind . . . Professor Arton Daghdev has always wanted to study alien life in person. But when his political activism sees him exiled to the planet Kiln, condemned to work under an unfamiliar sky until he dies, his idealistic wish becomes a terrible reality. Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem. Its monstrous alien life means Arton will risk death on a daily basis – if the camp’s oppressive regime doesn’t kill him first. But, if he survives, Kiln’s lost civilization holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it – and might just set him free. ‘A warning for a future we don’t want . . . Highly recommended’ – Tade Thompson ‘An excellent story told with Adrian’s trademark skill and flair’ – James Oswald ‘An intriguing puzzle with plenty of thrills’ – The Guardian

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time. Download a FREE sneek peek today! To fix the world they must first break it, further. Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From the Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time, this third and final novel in an extraordinary space opera trilogy depicts humanity on the brink of extinction—and reveals how one man''s discovery will save or destroy us all.

JSEM SÁM. MÁM STRACH. VE TMĚ ČÍHÁ NĚCO STRAŠLIVÉHO. Jmenuji se Gary Rendell. Jsem astronaut. Když se mě jako kluka ptali, čím chci být, až vyrostu, odpovídal jsem: "Astronautem, prosím!" Snil jsem o tom, že se stanu astronautem, studoval a pracoval jsem jako astronaut. Když sonda zkoumající Oortův oblak našla podivnou mimozemskou skálu a byl vyslán mezinárodní tým vědců, aby tu záhadu letěl odhalit, stal jsem se členem posádky. Myslel jsem si, jakou mám kliku. Měl jsem ještě větší kliku, když došlo ke katastrofě, náš tým se rozdělil a zabloudil v nekonečných chladných tunelech. Já jsem nějak přežil. Teď jsem ztracený, sám a vyděšený, a ve tmě číhá něco strašlivého. Mám kliku. Takovou. Nehoráznou. Kliku.

WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL''Endlessly creative... so much invention peeking around every corner'' Patrick NessArthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller Adrian Tchaikovsky''s triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution. There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?Despite the city''s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood - that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.Ilmar, City of Long Shadows.City of Bad Decisions.City of Last Chances.''Ilmar is vividly alive with ideas, conflicts, and a sense of its own history - a truly breathtaking fantasy city, down every street a compelling story.'' David Towsey''A master at the height of his powers. This is epic symphonic fantasy, weaving a breakneck plot through a sumptuously dangerous world.'' Ian Green''A wonderful twisty stew of a book with a cast of fascinating characters, set against the brilliantly realized city of Ilmar.'' Django Wexler''A triumph of a book: wildly imaginative, immediately immersive and hypnotically compelling.'' Sharon Emmerichs

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.

A gripping standalone fantasy novel from the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winner Adrian Tchaikovsky. Now reissued with a fresh cover look.When Lascanne falls under the shadow of its warring neighbour, Denland, Emily Marshwic is conscripted to fight for the cause. But do her doubts prove another way to victory?First, Denland''s revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict.Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family''s young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare. But she begins to doubt her country''s cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle."An engrossing story, beautifully told." SFX "One of the best books I''ve ever read."Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant "Moving, gripping and wonderfully paced." The Bookbag

The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us the second novel in an extraordinary space opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man''s discovery will save or destroy us all. After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artefacts – vestiges of a long-vanished civilization – could save a world from annihilation. This time, the Architects have discovered a way to circumvent these protective relics. Suddenly, no planet is safe. Facing impending extinction, the Human Colonies are in turmoil. While some believe a unified front is the only way to stop the Architects, others insist humanity should fight alone. And there are those who would seek to benefit from the fractured politics of war – even as the Architects loom ever closer. Idris, who has spent decades running from the horrors of his past, finds himself thrust back onto the battlefront. As an Intermediary, he could be one of the few to turn the tide of war. With a handful of allies, he searches for a weapon that could push back the Architects and save the galaxy. But to do so, he must return to the nightmarish unspace, where his mind was broken and remade. What Idris discovers there will change everything.

Exciting new Warhammer 40,000 novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky/ On the forge world of Morod, the machines never stop and the work never ends. The population toil in the mines and factoria to protect humanity from the monsters in the void, while the Adeptus Mechanicus enjoy lives of palatial comfort. Genetor Gammat Triskellian seeks to end this stagnant corruption. When he learns of a twisted congregation operating within the shadows, one which believes that the tech-priests are keeping the people from their true salvation – a long-prophesied union with angels – he sees in them an opportunity to bring down Morad’s masters and reclaim the world in the name of progress. But sometimes, the only hope for real change lies in the coming of monsters.

Aux confins du Système solaire, la sonde spatiale Kaveney découvre... quelque chose — une structure fractale gigantesque dotée d’une propriété étonnante : elle semble présenter la même face quel que soit l’angle sous lequel on l’observe. Vite surnommé le Dieu-Grenouille en raison de son apparence vaguement batracienne, l’artefact fascine autant qu’il intrigue, d’autant que son origine non-humaine ne fait guère de doute. Face à l’enjeu majeur que représente pareille trouvaille, un équipage international de vingt-neuf membres est constitué. Avec pour mission, au terme d’un voyage de plusieurs dizaines d’années dans les flancs du Don Quichotte, de percer les mystères du Dieu-Grenouille. Or, ce qui attend ces ambassadeurs de l’humanité défie tous les pronostics. Toutes les merveilles. Toutes les horreurs...

"A Ursula Le Guin-like grace... Ten out of 10." —New York Times In Adrian Tchaikovsky''s Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe. Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way. But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it). But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, and his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon... At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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, 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.

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.

The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move. The city of Tark will be first to feel their might, now preparing for siege. And within its walls, Salma and Totho will take a stand alongside their Ant-kinden brethren. But they’ll face weaponry and numbers such as the Lowlands have never seen. Meanwhile, the Empire''s secret service has deemed Stenwold Maker too dangerous to live. So Major Thalric is dispatched to eliminate Stenwold and destroy his beloved city of Collegium. For if this centre of learning is lost, it will crush all hope of intelligent resistance. As the Empire''s troops continue their relentless advance, their young Emperor pursues another, even darker goal. His success would trigger a reign of blood lasting a thousand years.

The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization and sophistication. That peace is about to end. Far from the Lowlands, an ancient empire has been conquering city after city with its highly trained armies and sophisticated combat techniques. Now it''s set its sights on a new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker ? spymaster, artificer and statesman ? can see the threat. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people. For war will sweep across their lands, burning away everything in its path. Yet first, he must stop himself from becoming the empire''s latest victim.