Meet CharlesTM, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault. That is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner. Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master – therefore worthless in a society utterly reliant on artificial labour and services. Fleeing the household, he enters a wider world he never knew existed. Here an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating into ruins, and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to its wellbeing is struggling to find a purpose. Charles must face new challenges, illogical tasks and a cast of irrational characters. He’s about to discover that sometimes all it takes is a nudge to overcome the limits of your programming. But can he help fix the world, or is it too badly broken?
Twenty years ago, Dr. Jasmine Marks went into the “Zone,” a growing band of rainforest where the heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. There were deaths, and the programme was cut short. Now, they’re sending her back in – and there are things Marks’s corporate masters aren’t telling her.
On the distant world of Kiln lie the ruins of an alien civilization. It's the greatest discovery in humanity's spacefaring history - yet who were its builders and where did they go? Professor Arton Daghdev had always wanted to study alien life up close. Then his wishes become a reality in the worst way. His political activism sees him exiled from Earth to Kiln's extrasolar labour camp. There, he's condemned to work under an alien sky until he dies. Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem like nothing seen on Earth. The monstrous alien life interacts in surprising, sometimes shocking ways with the human body, so Arton will risk death on a daily basis. However, the camp's oppressive regime might just kill him first. If Arton can somehow escape both fates, the world of Kiln holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it, and might just set him free.
They're the super rich, the princes of capitalism, living off the deaths of the swarming masses and all too happy to see the world burn. In three critically-acclaimed novellas, Tchaikovsky takes you down into the mud and dust and poverty... and sows the seed of revolution.
Harry Bodie’s grandmother wrote beloved children’s books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids’ TV presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. But his troubles are barely starting. What if Underhill is real? And what if it isn’t delightful at all?
The Bear and the Serpent is the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic fantasy series, Echoes of the Fall, following The Tiger and the Wolf.As the south is in turmoil, an old terror emerges in the north . . .Maniye, child of both Wolf and Tiger clans, has been named Champion of her people. But they're unsure if she's an asset - or a threat. To buy time, she joins Prince Tecuman's warband of outcasts and heads south, to help him gain his crown. She wants to discover her true place in the world, but instead heads into the jaws of a fierce new conflict.Civil war threatens as Tecuman and his twin sister battle for the throne, for only one can rule. Yet whoever triumphs will carry a heavy burden, as a great doom has been foreseen that will fall across their whole world. And soon Maniye finds herself at the heart of a political storm. Danger is also shadowing her old home, where Lord Thunder and his bear clan are attempting to unite the northern tribes. But only extreme peril will end age-old rivalries. An adversary from the most ancient of times is preparing to strike, putting their lands and their very souls in danger. And neither north nor south will be spared the terror to come.Continue this sweeping coming-of-age fantasy series with The Hyena and the Hawk.
The first novel in the Echoes of the Fall series, The Tiger and the Wolf is an accomplished high fantasy by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and winner of the 2017 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Adrian Tchaikovsky is also the author of the Arthur C. Clarke award-winning Children of Time.In the bleak northern crown of the world, war is coming . . .Maniye's father is the Wolf clan's chieftain, but she's an outcast. Her mother was queen of the Tiger and these tribes have been enemies for generations. Maniye also hides a deadly secret. All can shift into their clan's animal form, but Maniye can take on tiger and wolf shapes. She refuses to disown half her soul so escapes, rescuing a prisoner of the Wolf clan in the process. The killer Broken Axe is set on their trail, to drag them back for retribution. The Wolf chieftan plots to rule the north and controlling his daughter is crucial to his schemes. However, other tribes also prepare for strife. Strangers from the far south appear too, seeking allies in their own conflict. It's a season for omens as priests foresee danger and a darkness falling across the land. Some say a great war is coming, overshadowing even Wolf ambitions. A time of testing and broken laws is near, but what spark will set the world ablaze?Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel.Continue this sweeping coming-of-age fantasy with The Bear and the Serpent.
The thrilling tenth and final part of the Shadows of the Apt, Seal of the Worm by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a vivid and enthralling conclusion to this spectacular series.An ancient enemy stirs once more . . .The Empire stands victorious over its enemies at last. With her chief rival cast into the abyss, Empress Seda now faces the truth of what she has cost the world in order to win the war. The Seal has been shattered, and the Worm stirs towards the light for the first time in a thousand years. Already it is striking at the surface, voraciously consuming everything its questing tendrils touch. Faced with destruction, Seda knows that only the most extreme of solutions can lock the Worm back in the dark once again. But if she will go to such appalling lengths to save the world from the Worm, then who will save the world from her?
In Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Expert System's Champion, sometimes the ones you hate are the only ones that can save you.
Following on from Empire in Black and Gold and Dragonfly Falling, Blood of the Mantis is a vivid fantasy full of intrigue and action, from the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author, Adrian Tchaikovsky.A dread ritual casts a deadly shadow . . .Driven by the ghosts of the legendary Darakyon, the seer Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez - but he has only days before this magical artefact will be lost to him forever . . . Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering for their next great offensive. Stenwold and his followers have only a short time in which to seek allies before the enemy soldiers are on the march again, conquering everything in their path. And if they cannot hold them back before spring, then the hated black and gold flag will be flying fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end. And should the Shadow Box fall into the hands of the power-mad Emperor, then nothing will save the world from his relentless ambition.The Shadows of the Apt series continues with Salute the Dark.
From the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Doors of Eden is an extraordinary feat of the imagination and a page-turning adventure about parallel universes and the monsters that they hide.They thought we were safe. They were wrong.Four years ago, two girls went looking for monsters on Bodmin Moor. Only one came back.Lee thought she'd lost Mal, but now she's miraculously returned. But what happened that day on the moors? And where has she been all this time? Mal's reappearance hasn't gone unnoticed by MI5 officers either, and Lee isn't the only one with questions.Julian Sabreur is investigating an attack on top physicist Kay Amal Khan. This leads Julian to clash with agents of an unknown power - and they may or may not be human. His only clue is grainy footage, showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.Dr Khan's research was theoretical; then she found cracks between our world and parallel Earths. Now these cracks are widening, revealing extraordinary creatures. And as the doors crash open, anything could come through."Tchaikovsky weaves a masterful tale... a suspenseful joyride through the multiverse." (Booklist)
Dragonfly Falling is the second novel, following Empire in Black and Gold, in the richly imagined Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky.Every hero must be tested . . .The armies of the Wasp Empire are on the march, and first to feel their might will be the city of Tark, which is even now preparing for siege. Within its walls Salma and Totho must weather the storm, as the Ant-kinden take a stand - against numbers and weaponry such as the Lowlands have never seen. And after his earlier victory, the Empire's secret service has decided veteran artificer Stenwold Maker is too dangerous to live. So disgraced Major Thalric is despatched on a desperate mission, not only to eliminate Stenwold himself, but to bring about the destruction of his beloved city of Collegium, and thus end all hope of intelligent resistance to the remorseless imperial advance. While the Empire's troops are laying waste to all in their way, the young Emperor himself is treading a different path. His thoughts are on darker things than mere conquest, and if he attains his goal he will precipitate a reign of blood that will last a thousand years.Dragonfly Falling is followed by the third book in this epic fantasy series, Blood of the Mantis.
Empire in Black and Gold is the first novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky's critically acclaimed epic fantasy series, The Shadows of the Apt.The days of peace are over . . .The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades: bastions of civilization and sophistication. That peace is about to end.In far-off corners, an ancient Empire has been conquering city after city with its highly trained armies and sophisticated warmaking . . . And now it's set its sights on a new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see the threat. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people - as soon a tide will sweep down over the Lowlands and burn away everything in its path.But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.Empire in Black and Gold is followed by the second book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Dragonfly Falling.
Four new tales of Doctors Catt and FisherScholars, shopkeepers, collectors... aficionados. Four new stories of two relic hunters who can't resist a lead, even when it takes them into terrible danger.
&b>This is a breathtaking novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke award winning author. &/b>&b>The walls between many worlds are collapsing and only a handful of people are in on this secret. But how can they stop the end of the universe?&/b>
Have you ever wondered what the fairy tales of alien cultures are like? For hundreds of years scholars and writers have collected and retold folk and fairy stories from around our world. They are not alone. On distant planets alien chroniclers have done the same; for just as our world is steeped in legends and half-remembered truths of the mystic and the magical, so are theirs. Now, for the first time, we can share some of these tales with you… 1. Introduction - David Gullen2. The Little People - Una McCormack3. Lost in the Rewilding - Paul Di Filippo4. Goblin Autumn - Adrian Tchaikovksy5. Myths of Sisyphus - Allen Ashley6. The Land of Grunts and Squeaks - Chris Beckett7. The Blood Rose - Susan Oke8. Starfish - Liz Williams9. The Raveller's Tale - Neil Williamson10. The Tiny Traveller - Aliya Whiteley11. The Tale of Suyenye the Wise, the Ay, and the People of the Shining Land - Gaie Sebold12. Wanderlust - Kim Lakin-Smith13. Pale Sister - Jaine Fenn14. Alpha42 and the Space Hermits - Stephen Oram15. The Teller and the Starborn - Peter Sutton16. The Winternet - Ian Whates17. The Awakening - Bryony Pearce18. About the AuthorsLong ago, in a galaxy far far away...
For the first time in print, Adrian Tchaikovsky has opened up the realm of the Apt, as featured in his best-selling Shadow of the Apt decalogy, to a carefully selected cast of fellow writers, inviting them to do their best and their worst within the world he has created. They have done just that. Topped and tailed by two new stories form Adrian himself, some of the finest imaginations in fantasy, including winners of the David Gemmell Award, the Costa Book Award and British Fantasy Award, have combined to produce a stunning collection of tales that examine fresh aspects of the Apt world and its people. Contents:Old Blood - Adrian Tchaikovsky The Scent of Tears - Keris McDonald Wonder - Frances Hardinge The Promise of a Threat - David Tallerman The Unforeseen Path - Juliet E. McKenna The Message - John Gwynne The Mantis Way - Peter Newman Poor Little Earwig Girl - Tom Lloyd Forwards, Up, Back, Down - Joff Leader Recipes for Good Living - Justina Robson God of Profound Things - Adrian Tchaikovsky
Produced to honour the centenary of Sir Arthur C. Clarke's birth, this anthology acts as a fund raiser for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.Original SF stories of precisely 2001 words from some of the biggest names in science fiction, including 10 winners of the Clarke Award and 13 authors who have been shortlisted, as well as non-fiction from thrice-winner China Miéville and former judge Neil Gaiman.Contents:IntroductionGolgotha - Dave HutchinsonThe Monoliths of Mars - Paul McAuleyMurmuration - Jane RogersOuroboros - Ian R MacLeodThe Escape Hatch - Matthew De AbaituaChildhood's Friend - Rachel PollackTakes from the White Hart - Bruce SterlingYour Death, Your Way, 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! - Emma NewmanDistraction - Gwyneth JonesDancers - Allen StroudEntropy War - Yoon Ha LeeThe Ontologist - Liz WilliamsWaiting in the Sky - Tom HunterThe Collectors - Adrian TchaikovskyI Saw Three Ships - Phillip MannBefore They Left - Colin GreenlandDrawn From the Eye - Jeff NoonRoads of Silver, Paths of Gold - Emmi ItärantaThe Fugue - Stephanie HolmanMemories of a Table - Chris BeckettChild of Ours - Claire NorthWould-Be A.I., Tell Us a Tale! #241: Sell 'em Back in Time! by Hali Hallison - Ian WatsonLast Contact - Becky ChambersThe Final Fable - Ian WhatesTen Landscapes of Nili Fossae - Ian McDonaldChild - Adam RobertsProvidence - Alastair Reynolds2001: A Space Prosthesis - The Extensions of Man - Andrew M. Butler (non-fiction)On Judging The Clarke Award - Neil Gaiman (non-fiction)Once More on the 3rd Law - China Miéville (non-fiction)
In a narrative reminiscent of Phileas Fogg meets Professor Challenger, For Love of Distant Shores features the exploits of scientist-cum-adventurer Doctor Ludweg Phinagler, as recorded by his (semi-)faithful assistant, Fosse. A maverick academic, Phinagler is able to charm almost everyone he meets… except for his fellow academics at Collegium, with whom he is frequently at odds. In part to escape the resultant animosity and scandal, and in part to satisfy his own thirst for knowledge, Phinagler mounts a series of expeditions to the far-flung corners of the world (regions which the author always knew were there but which the main narrative of the novels never allowed him to fully explore). In the process, he confronts ancient mysteries and deadly dangers that the majority of kinden would scarcely believe exist.Four thrilling adventures from Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky, three of which are original to this book and have never been told before.Tales of the Apt provides a companion series to the best-selling Shadows of the Apt decalogy.
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.
With the impending crises of climate change, scarcity of water, dwindling energy reserves and spiraling global populations, the effective management of our land and the food it produces has never been more relevant. Established in 1938 by a small group of far-seeing and enthusiastic engineers and agriculturalists, the Institution of Agricultural Engineers provides a professional nexus for the scientists, technologists, engineers, and managers working in the many and varied forms of land-based industry. In 2013, to mark their 75th anniversary, the IAgrE have commissioned a book that looks forward at what the future might hold. To help them achieve this, they approached NewCon Press.Looking Landwards attracted submissions from within the UK, from the USA, Australia, mainland Europe, Africa, and Asia; from professional writers and would-be writers, from scientists and engineers who are actively involved in dealing with the book's themes to people who have simply been inspired by them. Looking Landwards features the very best of these stories. Twenty-three works of science fiction and speculation that dare to look to the future and examine what lies ahead for farming, for agricultural engineering and for all of us.
Book Three in this gripping fantasy trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Clarke-Award-winning author of Children of Time and the Shadows of the Apt series.
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