Thoroughly enjoyable read with a great pace, relatable characters and flowing narrative. The story was right up my street and was the ending to a great trilogy that I was hoping for. I would certainly read more Adrian Tchaikovsky without hesitation.

Adrian Tchaikovsky remains the only author who I will read religiously (not an easy task considering his incredible output) and I'm still yet to be disappointed by anything he's written. 'Lords of Uncreation', the third and presumably final instalment of its trilogy, does a brilliant job of brining the story at break-neck speed to its satisfying conclusion. If you've enjoyed the two previous novels, you'll love this one. The stakes just get higher and higher and you really feel it - an authentic cast of characters really sell the whole thing on an emotional level. The novel is very high-concept, but without interrupting the momentum and enjoyment of the story. I only wish I could spend longer in this universe.

Wow. What an ending to this amazing trilogy. Adrian Tchaikovsky has taken this series to an epic level and given me a thoroughly satisfying sci-fi adventure through a unique and creative futuristic world. This has to be up there in my top sci-fi series and any fans of sci-fi must read it. Of course anyone who has already read book one and two will know that the characters in this series shine through in their originality and believability and book three does not disappoint.

Lords of Uncreation takes the mind-bending abilities of Idris to new levels. At times it was a struggle to try to get to grips with what he could possibly be seeing and doing, but that's fitting, because how can any of us really truly follow what Idris can see.

Suspense, twists, action, humour, emotion - it has it all. So sad to say goodbye to these characters, but happy to have completed their journey with them.

The Lords of Uncreation is the third and final book in the Final Architecture trilogy. Adrian Tchaikovsky answers so many of the questions posed in the first two books but also leaves some unanswered, which I kind of like in books as we don't need the answers to everything. It leaves a bit of room for further exploration of this universe if Tchaikovsky wants to do so. This is a space opera that has been massive in scope and has been a fun, intriguing read.

The story is mainly about Idris Telemmier, who has uncovered a secret that changes everything. We knew from Eyes of the Void that Idris as uncovered the Architects' greatest weakness. One that we do, thankfully, learn about. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds.

Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris' discovery as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive and self-defeating war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of higher intelligence.

Deep within unspace, where time moves differently and reality isn’t quite what it seems, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity’s daring – and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.

Lords of Uncreation provides almost all the questions that I had about the Architects. They could have remained a mystery, and I'd have been okay with that. But I'm also cool with knowing more about them because I did want to know. The answers, though, are not as important as how those answers fit in with the characters' journeys. If Idris was so far removed from the answers that they were basically meaningless to him, then the answers lose an awful lot of meaning. So it was pleasing to see some ties in there and how things fit together.

My only complaint is I'd rather have fewer POVs so we can focus more on a few characters and develop some scenes a bit more. It's a massive universe that Tchaikovsky has built, and it loses a bit of an edge with so many POV changes throughout. Focus on two characters, and it would have been amazing - but I know that's likely just my personal preference, as I'm not a huge fan of having a handful of POVs.

The story has been a journey, and the ending is worth it. I powered through the final half of the book because not only can you sense the end is in sight, but there's real meaning behind events, and you can feel it building to something great. It became a great way to end the series, with a little bit of scope for more, but even if there isn't, this is a good way to end it.

Lords Of Uncreation has the misfortune to belong to a glut of space opera where the antagonist is "an unknowable force from before time hellbent on stopping space travel". Of course, there is nothing wrong with going back to the same well as others as long as you bring something new, and usually, Adrian Tchaikovsky can be trusted to do that. But what has been interesting about this trilogy as it has unfolded is that the balls he threw in the air in the first book haven't quite landed where they might. It feels like an embarrassing problem to have to create a few too many charismatic characters, but as the focus shifted between books, it feels like Tchaikovsky's own interest changed, and certainly, the character who felt like the lead in the first book, has been nearly sidelined by the end. His grumpy old science experiment "hyperspace" jumper is still in the middle and still quite a dull info-dump guy, but the paraplegic in her mechs, and even a bunch of the bad guys start to overshadow the book before we get to the metaphysical ending.

I've enjoyed this trilogy but I don't think that it quite hung together. It is chock full of interesting ideas, and its initial setting (the diaspora of Earth once it has been destroyed) is instantly interesting. But Perhaps the addition of alien races, the Space Warrior Nuns, the generation ship faction, the archaeologists, fencing lawyers and - my biggest problem - calling the diaspora of humanity Hugh. In many ways the ebbs and flows of the characters felt very organic, and for all the cynicism built into the series about how bad humanity can act, and the entropic evil before the beginning of time, there is still a lot of heroic hope here. But its probably Tchaikovsky's general success rate that I found this a smidge disappointing.

Tchaikovsky maintains the standard of storytelling in this continuation of the saga. taking us deeper into the universe's struggle for survival

(Content warnings: moderate gun violence/violence)

Look, if it's been a couple months since you read the second book, you're probably gonna find the first couple chapters of Lords of Uncreation quite rough - there's a disorientating time skip between the books, you get thrown head-first into the plot, it takes forever to wade through, I know. KEEP GOING. GET TO OLLI'S FIRST CHAPTER. That is when I remembered that Oh, Right, This Series Rules, and spent the next 85% of the book having the time of my life.

And speaking of Olli! Oh man, her storyline is absolutely the highlight of this book for me; it went in a direction I did not expect at all, and it was both enormously satisfying and very narratively fulfilling. Not to mention how incredible it is to see a physically disabled character who gets to shine like this. (And get the girl! Even if it's only mentioned offhandedly one (1) time. Canon gay Olli is very important to me as someone with a huge gay crush on her okay!!!). She also remains as sarcastic and funny as ever, and her and Kittering's banter brings some delightful humour to the book. Olli spinoff series WHEN!

Not much else to say about the majority of the book other than I enjoyed it immensely! The one thing that brought it from 5 stars to 4 for me was the ending, which I've got a lot of mixed feelings about. It really stuck out to me that some of the more exciting reveals - notably the Originators', well, origins, and their Grand Plan™️ - felt a little... underused? For such a central mystery it got weirdly brushed aside with only a couple lines. And there was SO MUCH potential there for some absolutely chilling cosmic horror, so I was really surprised (and disappointed) to see it left unexplored like this, especially with how much this series leans into cosmic horror with unspace. Also, was it just me, or did some of the unspace stuff towards the end sound a little too much like fantasy gibberish made up on the go?

Finally, this probably has more to do with my personal preferences when it comes to character endings, but a lot of them kinda fell flat for me. <SPOILER AHEAD> I did love where Olli's arc in particular led her, but Idris... less so, and I'm not much of a fan of found family stories where they all just split up and go their separate ways in the end. Yes, even if they meet up for tea sometimes.<END SPOILER>

That being said! I really did thoroughly enjoy the ride, and I think the book is a solid finale to the trilogy, even if it isn't quite the ending I was hoping for.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Impressive ending for the trilogy. I can’t say anything else that this finale is perfect for this story and everything that Tchaikovsky built during the previous two books makes total sense with what you read here, including few exciting scenes. Due to the immensity of the scenario, there are enough stories pending to be told from all these races, beings, and species that I would not be surprised of the author returns to this later in his career. Brilliant.

Let’s get one wrinkle immediately straightened out – this series initially was called Architects of Earth and at some stage between books one and two, became The Final Architecture. I didn’t mention it previously because I didn’t notice, but if you go back to read the first two books in the series, before picking up this one – and I highly recommend that you do – then I wanted to clear up any possible confusion.

While there is a convenient Story So Far at the start of this book, which I found very handy as a prompt, you’ll lose a great deal of story if you don’t take the time to go back to the first two books. This is a detailed world, full of cataclysmic events and ongoing consequences on a pan-galactic scale. As a result, there is quite a lot of telling throughout. It’s not my favourite mode of narration, as I far prefer being immersed in a story and learning what’s going on as the main characters deal with the situation. However, that simply wouldn’t have worked in this instance.

What had stuck with me from the previous two reads, is the disparate cast of characters. They are all by this point more than a bit broken by their ongoing ordeals. Each one is dealing with the fallout to the best of their ability. Solace, the gene-modified soldier, particularly snagged my sympathy as her world of command and obey suddenly became up-ended and she found herself having to question all that she’d previously utterly believed in. While this is an ongoing sci fi theme, Solace grappled with this without a lot of the usual hand-wringing and angst. And that’s what I loved about all these characters. Most are facing crazily dangerous situations, particularly poor old Idris, who I suppose is my favourite – but self pity isn’t on the agenda. Tchaikovsky is good at portraying grumpy, somewhat miserable and contrarian protagonists that we nonetheless end up really rooting for – and this time around is no exception.

I enjoyed the previous two books, but this one is definitely my favourite. And while there is plenty of action throughout, the pacing is manageable because Tchaikovsky takes the time to explain the wider implications throughout. Maybe readers with better memories than mine would have found it aggravating – I was just grateful, as the plethora of factions, politicking and characters, good, bad and grey would have otherwise overwhelmed me.

As for the ending – it was lump-in-the-throat moving and yet uplifting at the same time. Which isn’t easy to achieve. If you enjoy classic space opera adventure that spans worlds and a variety of interesting aliens – and a couple of truly horrible villains, then this series comes highly recommended. While I obtained an arc of Lord of Uncreation from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

In space opera we need the final act to be memorable. Throw everyone in the fire; everything is on the line and most of all it needs to feel epic. Stretch the mind; immerse the reader and make us have all as they say the feels. When it’s the culmination of a great series then all of the above is what I’m seeking and so I’m very pleased to say Lords of Uncreation by Adrian Tchaikovsky delivers all of this in spades with the concluding volume to their The Final Architecture series which also has a beautiful theme pulling everything together across the three excellent books.

A brief reminder where we have got to. The galaxy and all its powerful factions are rocked by the return of the truly alien and unknowable Architects – crystalline moon-sized aliens whose appearance leads to spaceships, populations, and entire worlds such as old Earth being destroyed and left as gigantic structures floating in space. They have been stopped always at an excessive cost. A rogue spacer crew of the salvage vessel The Vulture God have found themselves at the heart of the conflict and in particular the Intermediary Idris a key par in the last conflict has very reluctantly come back into the action. Finally, a mysterious alien ship that bends the laws of reality has been found and Idris has discovered that in the mysterious dimension known as Unspace the Architects themselves are being controlled by a hidden force. Now the various factions of the galaxy are facing up to having to work together to stop their worlds being destroyed but not everyone can see the greater good as the best outcome for themselves.

This is a gorgeous skilled piece of writing and for the readers of this series it’s very much a wonderful way to see these characters for one last time and most of all the way though fear what will happen to them. The initial sense that finally the galaxy is coming together is shown in a tense stand-off with an architect that delivers a deep sense of joy and hope and then the next half of this book is very much the rug being pulled from us adding in new danger as self-destruction for simple greed risks everything. It’s very interesting that the series has as its main powers each a recognisable future version of civilization that we tend to always see in space opera – isolated humans; feudal humans working hard for capitalism; genetically designed perfection and our own AI spin-offs. Each views the other with suspicion and that’s even before truly alien worlds are added to the mix. The linking theme is in a vast universe quite a few in each of these civilisations think there still isn’t room for everyone else and naturally decide when the stakes are high to do something just for themselves. The idea of people retreating inwards rather than working together is a very 21st century theme and very much been at the heart of the series. I loved this first half for the reversals in fortune; fightbacks and also people having to decide whose side they are all on. It very much then sets up the final half which delivers the remaining characters to have to decide to fight the immense odds and make a last stand.

What I loved about this story is that each of the main characters we have followed, and each key mystery set up in the story gets explained and it all clicks together with great timing and panache. Ollie the skilled captain of the Vulture God who works in a variety of artificial machines to work around her physical disabilities gets a fascinating section of the story and her relationship with the deeply enigmatic alien (and super large clam-shaped) crime lord and more known as The Unspeakable Aklu, The Razor and Hook. Ollie’s storyline bridges both halves of the novel in a really fascinating way. I also enjoyed the way Solace has to finally decide if she will continue to always obey the orders of her Partheni commanders which is very much her inherent nature despite her friendships with the Vulture’s crew and desire to take a stand on her own. However, this is also very much Idris’ story – everything he has done from the moment he became an Intermediary has pushed him reluctantly to this place and time. He’s physically pushed to the limit (and is being repeatedly resuscitated in the process!); his desire and some would say obsession to find out what drives the Architects puts him in conflict with everyone else and yet we see he is very much prepared to put himself on the edge of everything including the universe. The latter sections of the story reveal what and why these attacks have been happening and it’s a small human versus ultimate immense powers that makes the finale mythic and also an outcome nail bitingly too close to call . I can’t mention everyone’s plots but evech main character we’ve met along the way has an arc that supports the bigger plotline. It is satisfying to see how characters have grown and alliances shifted but nothing ever quite feels easy. We know this is going to hurt and stretch the crew one final time and it really does. But that essential empowering theme comes across throughout that people have to learn to be better by working together.

I think a sign of how much I’ve enjoyed these books is that by the end I’m left wondering now that this epic tale is done what happens next. It’s a whole new tempting universe and we got to see it happen. This finale offers legal battles; starships warring in space; last minutes rushes across the galaxy; alien super weapons and people deciding to do the right thing no matter what. I savoured this book as everything I’ve invested in these past few years paid off. Tchaikovsky lands this epic tale perfectly and it was so much fun to dive into. Strongly recommended and if you too have waited for this final edition, I think you’ll be very pleased how it concludes!

As the final entry in the (fittingly) Final Architecture series, I'm going to tread lightly about the plot in this one. If you're wondering whether you can jump into it without reading the others - no, please don't. The mystery around unspace, the architects and the originators is so much more compelling (and understandable) when you've been there since the beginning.

This is an observation rather than criticism, but I tend to find Tchaikovsky books take a little while for me to get into - I think it's something about the depth of the writing, you need to bury yourself in a few chapters before you can fully appreciate the whole world he's built. And there's a lot of conflict between different groups to wade through in this one before we start getting closer to the heart of his mysteries.

Ultimately though, the journey is worthwhile and Lords of Uncreation is a solid ending to the trilogy. It was a world and time I very much enjoyed visiting.

“the Architects were a lot like ancient conceptions of God. Too vast for comprehension, and yet they could note the fall of a sparrow. They were powerful enough to appreciate the universe at every level all the way down to the atomic. And that included, somewhere along the chain, the human.”

My thanks to Pan Macmillan/Tor for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Lords of Uncreation’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

This is the third and final book in the Final Architecture Trilogy, following ‘Shards of Earth’ and ‘Eyes of the Void’. As this is a trilogy and so a continuous developing story, the books do need to be read in order. As a result I won’t give details about the plot in order to avoid spoilers for the earlier books.

This proved an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. It had everything that I have come to love in Tchaikovsky’s science fiction, including plenty of action, good characterisation, weird alien life forms, strong world building, and of course humour. The banter between his characters as they confront cosmic dangers was very welcome.

Adrian Tchaikovsky opens with ‘The Story So Far’ to serve as a reminder of the characters, ships, concepts, and events of the first two books. I appreciate this so much as it allowed for a smooth re-entry into this rich universe. Following the main text he concludes with a glossary and timeline.

Overall, I am always confident when I read Adrian Tchaikovsky’s science fiction. I found ‘Lords of Uncreation’ a very satisfying conclusion to this epic space opera. I have no hesitation in highly recommend it and the Final Architecture Trilogy as a whole.

Wow, another really, really long book to finish off this unusual trilogy. If you have read the other two books, it will be easy to pick up where you left off, and so this last book seems to have more action than world building, which for me was good. The characters we know, so they just develop further, and quite a few of them are really interesting. The end was mostly satisfying, and did make sense with what had happened.
The thing I do find about these books is that, as well as being long, they are written by someone who won't write 20 words when 50 can do, and who does love unusual or archaic words. So in that respect, it reminds me of literary fiction, which I don't care for. But in originality, it is great sci-fi, so that half-star went back on.
I must say, though, that if you haven't read the other books you will probably struggle with this one. However, for those who have, it is a must-read. But allow yourself a long time to do so.

A fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy.
For me, this is the best book in the series. Full of fun, literal laughs (in science fiction? Brilliant!) and a worthy conclusion to an epic story. All the characters are there and it leads to a sufficiently worthy and satisfying conclusion. But until that point, the plot races along, as there are no explanations and back stories required this time and the reader can just devour and enjoy the story until the end.
There is no doubting the skills and the pedigree of this author and mammoth science fiction stories are clearly his forte. The author creates technology, aliens and entire worlds that are somehow novel, interesting and tangible.
This trilogy is absolutely worthy of the time to devote to reading, appreciating and loving this story.
As ever, I am grateful to the publishers in allowing me chance to read this author's work, as Adrian Tchaikovsky is simply incapable of writing a poor book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the third and final book in 'The Final Architecture' series. So hear me out when I say I rated this otherwise fantastic book as a four star . Now whilst the author, Adrian Tchaikovsky, inevitably showcased his incredible imagination and world-building skills with the introduction of new alien species and cultures that are fascinating to learn about, I just unfortunately found it nothing short of a slog 😅 I’m really sorry to the die hard fans that I couldn’t rate it a five star. It could simply be that I prefer a faster paced version of sci fi but if you love an epically drawn out space opera then look no further.

The character of Junior, in particular, was a standout for me and I imagine he is a fan favourite. The humor in the book is perfectly timed and found myself having hold back a LOL at some points 😅
This book is a perfect ending to the series and really did exceed my expectations even if it took me an eye watering amount of time. In hindsight I’d probably have rated it 5 star if I had listened to the audiobook version instead - I do love leaving them running as I drive about all day in the car. I digress…. this is engaging and has all the hallmarks of an author that knows the ins and out of this world and its scientific workings. I highly recommend this book to any sci-fi fans looking for a fantastic read. It’s a definite Four stars from me.

This review was made possible by Net Galley Always a appreciated never a chore #LordsofUncreation #netgalley #panmacmillan

Idris Telemmier, Intermediate, has uncovered the Architect’s great secret – they are puppets doing the bidding of masters far stronger than the planet destroying Architects. If the Architects don’t do as their masters tell them then they are punished. Leaping on this revelation, the Cartel, which normally operates in the shadows, seize control of human and inhuman efforts to create a weapon that will destroy the Architects once and for all.
But Idris sees things differently. He understands that unless the Masters are dealt with, the war will continue unnecessarily, with massive casualties on both sides while the Masters remain untouched. However, as the allied factions of humans and other living beings break apart, with different sides fighting for the weapon, Idris’s cries for reason go unheard. Idris must fight on his own, but then he always has been alone. This explosive end to The Final Architecture trilogy brings the Masters of unspace against an annoyance of a man who never wanted to be a hero in the first place.
If you’re reading this review, then I’m guessing you’ve already read the first two books and want to know if the ending is as powerful as the rest of the series. The good news is – yes. We finally meet the Masters, the force behind the Architects, and catch a glimpse of their motivations and feelings towards humanity. They are worth the wait, a force so powerful that humanity faces annihilation without support from other races.
All the world-building and character arcs in the previous books come to fruition in Lords of Uncreation. This means there is plenty of action as Tchaikovsky trusts his reader to remember the different factions and their self-interests, and so doesn’t waste page space by needless repeating things. My favourite action sequence is in the middle, with a coup against the Cartel by the Partheni and the Voyenni, which involves space battles and hand-to-hand combats in the ships and scattering the main characters. It was a clever piece of writing, with all the sections falling neatly into place for the reader while leaving the characters at their most exposed.
For me, the real masterpiece of the story was keeping the characters true to form throughout. There were no sudden bouts of heroism or treachery; their actions are consistent, complex and rational, meaning there is no neat ending, but who wants that anyway? I won’t deny that I expected some of the characters’ ends, such as Idris’s and Olli’s, but that’s because there was no other realistic outcome for them. It made reading a tense, nerve-shredding affair as I came to the end of one of the best series I have ever read.
Looking at The Final Architecture series as a whole entity, it is one of those rare things where everything works together. For me, there was no off-pacing or saggy middle or deus ex machina coming in to save the day. And the overall message that it took everyone; human, Hiver, Essiel, Partheni, Hannilambra and Naeromathi, to defeat the Masters is a powerful one, especially in the world we are in today where we must pull together as humans rather than the countries of our birth to battle climate change and war from other people.
Lords of Uncreation is an explosive ending, full of deceit and comradery, rebellion and bloodshed. It is the ending the series deserved, and I am honoured I had an advanced copy for review.

Following the main text Tchaikovsky provides various reference material including a glossary, lists of characters, ships, and worlds, and a comprehensive time line.

This is the final part of a trilogy, and it pulls everything together beautifully. The array of people and the slow but steady unveiling of what the Architects are capable of, and that they are not the ones that choosing to attack and destroy planets, captivated me the most in Shards of Earth. I was dying to know what bigger power could be controlling something the size of a moon, and I was hoping for further information from Eyes of the Void. The fact that any more discoveries were avoided in that book was the main source of my annoyance, but I also had issues regarding the way the core crew of the scavenger ship Vulture God was divided up.

Can I just sit here and cry for a while? You can hand me tissues and comfortingly pat me on the back... "Lords of Uncreation" is the end of the trilogy ("The Final Architecture"), and I honestly don't know what to do with myself now the last page has passed in front of my eyes. It's a terrific and satisfying wrap-up. I loved the writing, characters, plot... and it's over... Until I schedule a re-read!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this. It's a fantastic read.

This is the final part of a trilogy, and it pulls everything together beautifully. There's a lot going on here. At one point, which I assumed was the climactic scene, I realised I was just over half way through. Having said that, I was torn between tearing through it and deliberately slowing myself down. I wanted to stay in this world. I've been through a lot with these characters, and it was hard saying goodbye to them.

Nobody writes "otherness" quite like Tchaikovsky. His aliens are definitely alien, not just humans in fancy dress. He writes politics well, and this is written on an epic scale. Definitely a 5 star read.

This series has made me even more excited to dive into Adrian Tchaikovskys back catalogue!

Being a massive Sci-Fi fan I couldn’t wait to delve into Tchaikovskys work 🤓
There are some similarities with The Expanse series... My powers of deduction also tell me that the author is probably a Star Trek fan 🖖

The crew of the Vulture God made this a fun read with enough action and planet hopping to keep me interested.

Being part of a 3 book series means this has more time to explore the universe thats been created.