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  • Shards of Earth

  • The Final Architecture, Book 1
  • Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
  • Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (155 ratings)

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Shards of Earth cover art

Shards of Earth

Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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Publisher's Summary

From the author of the thrilling science-fiction epic Children of Time, winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award. Shards of Earth is the first high-octane, far-future space adventure in Adrian Tchaikovsky' Final Architecture trilogy.

The war is over.

Its heroes forgotten.

Until one chance discovery . . .

Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade his mind in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers.

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien enemy. Many escaped, but millions more died. So mankind created enhanced humans ­such as Idris – who could communicate mind-to-mind with our aggressors. Then these ‘Architects’ simply disappeared and Idris and his kind became obsolete.

Now, Idris and his crew have something strange, abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects – but are they really returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy as they search for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, and many would kill to obtain it.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2021 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

What the critics say

"One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction." (Christopher Paolini)

What listeners say about Shards of Earth

Average Customer Ratings
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing but not for the uninitiated

This is great hard sci-fi, but may not be for the casual sci-fi fan, but if you like the Revelation Space, Children of Ruin, or Void series this is for you.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Solid but a little shallow

Missed opportunities to dive deeper into concepts while focusing on action and violence. Meh

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Eugenics

Doing the apology of eugenics is not acceptable. Point bar.

No idea how this book is rated any favorably.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Probably a good book but can't finish

This is probably a great book.. but the narration is like being read a story from siri or a robot. Hard listen. I want to finish but I can't. The lack of emotion and drama confuses scenes and blurrs the story making it boring. Sorry, but just can't finish it. I'm sure it's a good book though based on what I did listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

what a ride

that's true scifi imo, non stop ride in a very imaginative universe, highly recommend

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not worth the credit

I found this book to be lacking character building and a drag to listen to. I did finish the book but will not be listening to anymore from this series as there was no excitement in the writing or intrigue in the story itself.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Worthwhile beginning to fantastic series

Though this book is not without flaws, it's a fun read and will get you to the subsequent books which have all the benefits of the first and none of the flaws. What were the flaws? Mainly some repetition of the core conflict which felt a bit like filler or a tool that wasn't entirely effective. The book has really fun characters though and nicely sets up the interesting world.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

No gravitas. Can’t get past the narration 😡

I’ve picked up this book several times and the honey smooth lilt of the narrator doesn’t convey the urgency of universe gone awry.

Great narrator but not for this story.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Well it’s no Children of Time…

Main character is like a leaf in the wind, and the more interesting side characters don’t get enough time in comparison.

Narration is good, but a little screechy at times.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Tremendous narration, good story.

Not hard science fiction, for sure, and it felt like a departure from his other works, but I enjoyed it very much. The performance by the narrator is one of my all time favorites.

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