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Orbit

Alien Clay

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"A staggering, alien vision of deepest solidarity." – Esquire, Best of the Year. From Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky comes a far-future epic that confirms his place as a modern master of science fiction, in which a political prisoner must unlock the secrets of a strange and dangerous planet. The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates, the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after arrival, he discovers that Kiln has a secret. Humanity is not the first intelligent life to set foot there. In the midst of a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem are the ruins of a civilization, but who were the vanished builders and where did they go? If he can survive both the harsh rule of the camp commandant and the alien horrors of the world around him, then Arton has a chance at making a discovery that might just transform not only Kiln, but distant Earth as well. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orbit


Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 17, 2024


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316578975


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 74


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.45 x 1.09 x 8.25 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #29,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #185 in Space Operas #216 in Science Fiction Adventures #667 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#185 in Space Operas:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • New and exciting planet to explore.
Format: Paperback
This will give you good ideas of what it might be like on a planet with more complex and faster evolving biology than Earth has. Humans have made it to the planet Kiln and treat it as a reasearch and prison planet. Very cool and unexpected things happen with great detail. It was so fun to read. I love the ending. If you like imaging what other planets in the Milky Way are like you should read it. Probably my second favorite book by Tchaikovsky after Chilren of Time. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2025 by Amazon Customer
    • good ideas, meandered about
Format: Kindle
Great start. Interesting local. Good character development. Then got bogged down as though author paid by the word. Much like those movies that would’ve been really good if they were just 30min shorter. It’s no “Children”, but an ok-good read.
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2025 by G
    • Alien life like no other and resistance to boot. Great for our times
Format: Paperback
a. I have not read any other Adrian Tchaikovsky, and chose this book as a semi-utopian/optimistic book for the end of a class. It follows and is narrated in first person from the perspective of Prof Arton Daghdev (don’t pronounce the “g”). He was part of a resistance cell on Earth but was shipped over 30 years in cryo-stasis to Kiln where he is tasked with uncovering artifacts from an ancient civilization. At first liked by the commandant he is arrested for plotting against him and given the lowest station work on the world. The world is interesting—the plant and animal life is nothing like on Earth—they can’t eat Earth life and Earth-beings cannot eat them. They are not species though, because they seem to change different parts, or to be nested inside each other, but not as parasites, but allies. This book is fantastic and has an interesting thought both about biology and about revolution. Certainly written in the spirit of Kropotkin if not influenced by him. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2025 by Obi-Wan-Kentucky
    • Prison planet, interstellar dystopia, and alien life
Format: Kindle
After loving this writer's "Children of Time" trilogy, I came to this book with high expectations, but found it lacking. Except for the main character, all the other characters are flat. The alien biology is based on ideas from his previous books. The dystopian interstellar 'empire' that he describes is interesting and the fascist government is a warning for our times. As in other books, he is not always open to the reader about what is going on so we do get surprises while reading. Summary: a decent book with some interesting plot twists and characters, but not the writer's best . ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2025 by Dave
    • Good story though somewhat predictable at times.
Format: Kindle
Adrian writes a good story. He creates fascinating worlds with characters that are well developed and often thought provoking. This story is no different there. We have our main character who is a political prisoner and highly educated academic being sent to a death colony of a planet to be forced labor. The trip takes decades, the prisoners sent through the atmosphere like the disposable fodder they are onto a world that appears to actively hate them and seeks to destroy them by whatever means necessary. On top of that the Warden is a rather sadistic individual who fancies himself an academic. Since the majority of other prisoners are also academics and even if they escape they are lightyears from home with no real exit plan we have the makings of a quandary. While some parts of the plot are predictable, the strange science of the planet itself is fascinating in the thought provoking way of the authors that explores humanity, sentience and freedom of thought. It really is a good book and while not in the league of others Adrian has written it definitely deserves a place on the shelf. Thank you netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book so I can write an honest review. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2024 by RavenousReader
    • One morning I awakened Oh bella ciao…
Format: Kindle
“One morning I awakened Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao One morning I awakened And I found the invader.” These lyrics, born from anti-fascist resistance, feel like a core thread running through Alien Clay. The Mandate—an authoritarian regime in the novel—feels like a reflection of where the U.S. government might be heading. The book explores how fascism affects not just politics, but science, culture, and daily life. When this rigid system crashes into a truly alien world—one that human minds can’t easily understand—change becomes unavoidable. Without preaching, the author suggests that the way beyond fascism isn’t more control or power, but a willingness to change, to listen, and to imagine a different kind of future. This idea seems eerily fitting for the world we are currently navigating. The book is a great read with excellent pacing and thoughtful world building that bases itself in very believable science. I recommend it highly and without reservation. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2025 by Brian
    • Childhood's End for our era
Format: Kindle
Absolutely beautiful. This is chock full of xenobiology and evolutionary theory, political intrigue, musing about consciousness, exciting action, and everything that I crave in science fiction. I can't recommend it enough!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2025 by Ryan A. Brown
    • I love Tchaikovsky’s world creation ideas.
Format: Kindle
Tchaikovsky does it again. His ability to create a believable utterly alien world and make it work within the limitations of the English langauge is beyond par. The world of Kiln is an amazing accomplishment, told through the eyes of a dissent professor from an authoritarian earth government. Naturally, being a dissent, he is sent to a prison camp on a foreign world. The themes of being prisoner have been explored before by Tchaikovsky, but this is really something different. On the downside, there are times when the narrative overwhelms the story and the sheer volume of description loses the reader for periods. But, I kept reading because I really wanted to know where this was going. Perhaps that is Tchaikovsky’s magic. Read it, get immersed in the story, and enjoy it. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2025 by Harry S. Steinmetz

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