Jerol Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 I recently read his Elder Race novella and was blown away by it. I need MORE. I see he's published quite a few books in both science fiction and fantasy. Does anyone have any recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 He is absurdly prolific, I've read a lot of his books but struggle to keep up with him - I haven't read Elder Race yet, for example. Out of them I'd particularly recommend Children of Time, Guns of the Dawn and Dogs of War. The first thing I read by him was his 10-volume Shadows of the Apt series, I thought the imagination of the world-building was fascinating throughout the series. It's not got the consistency of his later books, I think he was still learning his trade in the earliest books and it has some pacing issues at times and sometimes the plot got a bit repetitive but I've got many fond memories of it. Jerol and Gaston de Foix 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 8 minutes ago, williamjm said: He is absurdly prolific, I've read a lot of his books but struggle to keep up with him - I haven't read Elder Race yet, for example. Out of them I'd particularly recommend Children of Time, Guns of the Dawn and Dogs of War. The first thing I read by him was his 10-volume Shadows of the Apt series, I thought the imagination of the world-building was fascinating throughout the series. It's not got the consistency of his later books, I think he was still learning his trade in the earliest books and it has some pacing issues at times and sometimes the plot got a bit repetitive but I've got many fond memories of it. I kept hearing about Shadows of the Apt and when I saw that they were getting a rerelease with some slick black covers; I ordered them all. Have yet to read them; but they are coming up soon in my To Be Read pile! (For some reason, Book Ten has come already but books 8 and 9 are delayed.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 My favourite of his that I've read so far is Cage of Souls, a Dying Earth standalone. Absolutely rammed with ideas. The iron-age animal-shape-shifting trilogy starting with The Tiger and the Wolf is good fun too, and Dogs of War. Children of Time is very good, but I did find it covered some similar concepts - not just in the spidericity of it all but that was part of it- as Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge, and that was better. I do have the sequel on deck though. I dropped Shadows of the Apt after book 2 back in the day because I thought he was being too safe in a lot of choices he was making, but I've heard good things about how he played that long term so I should give it another try. There's so many still on my list though. His output is insane, and so varied. The one I really want to try is One Day All This Will Be Yours, but I'm struggling to justify spending full-novel price, as it is on Kobo, on something that short. Probably will eventually though. Shards of Earth may be next, though. Jerol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 He's just published the second one in his Shards of the Earth series, one of his most interesting series so far for me. Also interested in Dogs of War and its sequel, and Cage of Souls. Jerol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I'm currently struggling through Shards of the Earth. The premise is interesting, but it feels too much like a generic SF adventure. His prose was better in the Children of Time/Ruin books which I greatly enjoyed. This is all I've read from him so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 My favourite of his is Guns of the Dawn - I also liked Dogs of War a lot. I've still got a lot of his back catalogue to catch up on. Really, I should write 'catch up on his future output' since he writes faster than I can read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mix_masta_micah Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 9 hours ago, Corvinus85 said: I'm currently struggling through Shards of the Earth. The premise is interesting, but it feels too much like a generic SF adventure. His prose was better in the Children of Time/Ruin books which I greatly enjoyed. This is all I've read from him so far. Agreed. I DNF'd that book. Very bland and the world building seemed shallow for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 I enjoy pretty much all of his books but I'd say Cage of Souls and Guns of the Dawn are probably my two favourites. The Tiger and the Wolf is really good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 6:23 PM, dog-days said: My favourite of his is Guns of the Dawn - I also liked Dogs of War a lot. I've still got a lot of his back catalogue to catch up on. Really, I should write 'catch up on his future output' since he writes faster than I can read. Guns of the Dawn does feel a bit different to his other books, one of Tchaikovsky's trademarks is the inventiveness of his world-building but it's not really the focus of this one. I think Emily is one of my favourite characters out of his books, she does go on quite a journey through the story in terms of character development. dog-days and Jerol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peadar Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 I will agree with those who suggested "Guns of the Dawn", "Dogs of War" and "Cage of Souls". I read all of his books -- especially when I am in a reading slump. Jerol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted May 12, 2022 Share Posted May 12, 2022 19 hours ago, williamjm said: Guns of the Dawn does feel a bit different to his other books, one of Tchaikovsky's trademarks is the inventiveness of his world-building but it's not really the focus of this one. I think Emily is one of my favourite characters out of his books, she does go on quite a journey through the story in terms of character development. Yes - the setting and story itself might not be ground-breaking, but I did feel that what it did, in terms of pacing, atmosphere, and characterisation, it did really really well. Jerol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 Books 8 and 9 of the Shadows of the Apt showed up today. They are thicker than most of the others, my shelf space I had set aside for the series had to be adjusted a bit to make it fit. I'm finishing Psalms of Isaak and then I need to decide if this is next on my list or if I might read the new Dan Abraham book before getting into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 On 5/10/2022 at 6:13 AM, Calibandar said: He's just published the second one in his Shards of the Earth series, one of his most interesting series so far for me. Also interested in Dogs of War and its sequel, and Cage of Souls. Just finished Eyes of the Void..book 2 of Tchaikovsky Architects series, it was originally promoted as a duology but is now a trilogy it seems. didn't enjoy it ..lots of bloat and exposition.. disappointed.. quite enjoyed Shards of the Earth.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarias Bredd Posted May 22, 2022 Share Posted May 22, 2022 Children of Time and Cage of Souls are my favorites of his. I've enjoyed everything he's written to some extent, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 I see there's now a release date for a third Children of... book with Children of Memory out in November https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60850767-children-of-memory Corvinus85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerol Posted June 17, 2022 Author Share Posted June 17, 2022 On 5/11/2022 at 5:16 PM, williamjm said: Guns of the Dawn does feel a bit different to his other books, one of Tchaikovsky's trademarks is the inventiveness of his world-building but it's not really the focus of this one. I think Emily is one of my favourite characters out of his books, she does go on quite a journey through the story in terms of character development. I just finished this one and I see your point about the world-building. Emily's journey is compelling. It took awhile to get moving but in retrospect it was best that he not rush it. Everything was earned, especially the ending. Although if there was a denouement where Alice got some sense knocked into her (not literally) that would have been sweet. What a twit! dog-days and williamjm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 I just ordered the paperback Children of Time on Amazon… Sweet Baby Jesus, the hardback was listed for $1017!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 3 hours ago, Rhom said: I just ordered the paperback Children of Time on Amazon… Sweet Baby Jesus, the hardback was listed for $1017!!!! I mean, it's a good book, but it's not a thousand bucks good book. Rhom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhom Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 46 minutes ago, Corvinus85 said: I mean, it's a good book, but it's not a thousand bucks good book. Is the hardback that rare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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