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Alien Clay
- Narrated by: Ben Allen
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
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Alien Clay
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Summary
Alien Clay is a thrilling far-future adventure by acclaimed Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
They travelled into the unknown and left themselves behind . . .
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 . . .
This audiobook edition includes an exclusive interview between Ben Allen and Adrian Tchaikovsky.
‘A warning for a future we don’t want . . . Highly recommended’ – Tade Thompson
‘Unputdownable. Adrian Tchaikovsky is fast becoming the voice of his generation in British SF’ – Stephen Baxter
‘One of our finest writers of SF right now . . . an excellent story told with Adrian's trademark skill and flair’ – James Oswald
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What listeners say about Alien Clay
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Judi Blakeburn
- 17-04-24
Another great book by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Brilliant concept and so relevant for our times. I liked the first person perspective.
Great narrator too
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Robert Wattam
- 06-04-24
Thoroughly enjoyable
As far as Scifi goes this is perfect for me. Suspense, intrigue and some wholesome characters on all 3 sides of the fence.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sean
- 08-04-24
Another great book by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I loved this book, from the alien ecology to the politics, which has a lot to say about our current situation and the need for authoritarian regimes to be validated by the people they hate because they can't control them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bob Conrod
- 15-04-24
Fantastic
Yet another display of fantastic, suspenseful writing. Loved it from start to finish. Hopefully there will be more stories coming based in this storyline
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- JohnW
- 06-04-24
1984 Meets Avatar
Great protagonist, great story. Almost a hypothetical solution fulfilling communism, only solved in fantasy horror.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Youssii
- 17-04-24
The most imaginative alien biology in modern science fiction
Adrian Tchaikovsky always delivers incredible biology but really outdid himself with this one, creating a whole alien ecology that feels fundamentally different to our own but still feels scientifically grounded.
The protagonist is sarcastic narrates the thoughts and feelings of an exiled academic who failed to be the kind of revolutionary he wanted to be on dictatorship earth.
Perhaps what is most terrifying is not the Elephant's Dad who stampedes through the forest, or the cackling infected researcher who hoots and laughs in the night, but the fact that the human society known as the Mandate feels as though it really could lie in our real world future.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr.M
- 30-03-24
Brilliant Xeno-Biology sci-fi from Adrian
Adrian has a unique ability to describe alien life-forms in a way that feels truly convincingly alien. That is what this book is truly about. Oh it's about humans, it's about a prisoner, it's about other prisoners and guards and camp commandants but all of that takes a back seat to the xeno-biology and the philosophy around it.
That's really saying something by the way, because Adrian writes utterly brilliant characters and internal monologues. It's not just a philosophy of the alien, it's a philosophy of ourselves.
The last time I saw someone write so well about the uglier side of human internal nature was Mark Twain in The mysterious stranger. Yet the xeno-biology somehow steals the show.
Adrian, if you ever happen to read this review, thank you for writing my favorite books over and over again and please keep it up. May it never end.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- P. FORDE
- 05-04-24
Intriguing from start to finish
I enjoyed the world building , the biology on point as you would expect ,A great book well narrated . listen to it .
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- aravis
- 13-04-24
Worthwhile science speculation and a solid story arc.
Worthwhile science speculation and a solid story arc. Multiple perspectives on totalitarianism , we don't know what the political bias is, only it's effects.
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- Gareth L.
- 01-04-24
Avatar meets Speaker for the Dead.
I've read and watched too much sci-fi because everything I read is inspired by something else. This particular story is extremely well written and for someone less grizzled it's original, especially the modula
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