Shroud

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: Sophie Aldred

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 . . .

Critic reviews

"The most inventive alien world I've ever encountered in SF... Pure Tchaikovsky. I swear the man is some kind of genius."
—Peter Watts, author of Blindsight

"Adrian Tchaikovsky explores worlds where no one else would dare to go, and the unimaginable becomes believable... This is hard-edged science fiction that never loses its soul."

—Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

"Crunchy, conceptual SF at its best...the best alien contact novel I've read since Peter Watts' Blindsight, and that is high praise indeed."—Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

"Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. A gripping story of survival and human endeavor against all odds. The most thought-provoking book I've read in a long time."—Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut

"Clever, vivid and terrifying. Shroud is probably the most alien world anyone could possibly imagine. But no one has an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky."—Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific

"A vision of extraterrestrial life that’s as fascinating as it is horrifying."

—BookPage on Alien Clay

Tchaikovsky's latest (after Service Model, 2024) reveals that the clash is more than just between human and alien but between ideologies that can blind one from harsh realities.—Booklist on Alien Clay

"[A] mind-expanding planetary romp... Tchaikovsky continues to impress."—Publishers Weekly on Alien Clay

Tchaikovsky’s Shroud: Humanity from the Outside In

One thing this book does exceptionally well is present a truly alien perspective. The chapters from the Shrouded’s point of view feel convincingly different and make the humans seem almost as foreign as the aliens themselves. I found myself rooting for the aliens more than the people, especially given how dystopian and corporate the human side of the story is.

Tchaikovsky nails the first contact dynamic. Both sides struggling to communicate and understand each other when everything about their minds and senses is incompatible. The confusion and frustration on both sides feels creative, and it’s refreshing to see a story where neither species has easy answers.

If you like stories that genuinely try to imagine what real alien contact would be like, with all the misunderstandings and moral ambiguity that come with it, this is worth your time.

Another Win for Adrian Tchaikovsky!

So excited to be starting a new series from one of SciFi’s masters! But Adrian, a cliffhanger? Really?

A little slower than most of his work, but fascinating and instantly engaging. I find this authors breadth of knowledge and his ability to communicate it to be astounding and I must admit somewhat intimidating… not enough to stop me from reading/listening mind you, just impressed.

If you have enjoyed any of this other work, you’re going to love it.

Wow. In-depth world building, Insightful SF Horror. A+

I’ve read most of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books. Some I loved. Some I found too fantastical. Shroud stands alone as a stellar combination of all that I most enjoy.

Wonderful use of intelligent and expressive language. Rich world building while not hammering the reader with technical details of the world’s history. There is obviously the Shrouded, but the deft revelation of the human situation post-earth is deliciously creepy and slow to develop.

The pacing, the horror, the all too human humor in the face of corporate de-humanization and frighteningly obscure Shroud - the author is a virtuoso at the top of their craft. And then there’s the plot - at once so simple, and evolving into many streams, challenges, struggles internal and external - I won’t spoil anything beyond saying that I was continuously entertained throughout. I loved it.

great

the in depth consideration of how life might evolve on another planet. and great intertwining of the characters

Would've been way better experience if multi-narrator

Interesting story and compelling characters. But the story experience would have been vastly improved if there was multiple narrators, even if it was just one male and one female narrators.
Worth a listen, nevertheless.