Welcome to Kiln. The greatest discovery in mankind’s history of exploring the stars is here: evidence of alien civilisation. But, where are the builders? There’s no shortage of life – creeping, crawling, stomping, deadly kinds of life. But no intelligence to explain the structures, the writing…

You might thing that Professor Arton Daghdev would be delighted to find himself at the epicentre of everything an exobiologist could dream of, but here’s the rub: Kiln is a prison colony. It’s where criminals are sent on a one-way ticket, especially the useful academic rebels – aka, anyone who won’t toe the ruling dictates of what is ‘correct’. But with the labour camp run with the same unbending iron rule that saw him exiled from home, real science might not get a look in – at least not before the planet’s flora and fauna figure out how to get a toehold in this strange, new flesh…

Well. I didn’t need proof that Adrian Tchaikovsky is an absolutely amazing author, but here we are: wow, this is stunning!

How to even begin expanding on that? The genius probably lies in the juxtaposition of the fantastically alien world – beautiful, deadly, and utterly outwith the scope of human understanding – with the very human, inner world of Arton as our first person narrator. If I had any complaints about this book it’s that the beginning in particular is very dark, on a human level: corrupt dictatorship rule, expendable human lives, privation, pain – it’s not a comfortable read, and if I’m wholly honest I might well have put it down for being too dark, had I been in even a slightly more fragile state of mind.

But timing aligned, and on I read – and oh, the way the mysteries build and start to unfold! Hope seesaws with despair, and then… Oh, and then!! Well, yes, you will have to read it for yourself 😉

I’m sure a more deft reviewer could wax lyrical about themes – nature vs. civilisation, maybe? Control vs. yielding to circumstances, working with not against? People de-humanising their fellow people, while expecting a wholly alien world to make such a narrow kind of sense. There are layers and layers, if your mind works like that. I loved it, but at the same time it was enough that the story just swept me up and carried me along with scale, twists, and just such imagination.

Absolutely recommended. Tchaikovsky hasn’t disappointed me yet, and still this book was just epically ‘wow’.

Wow. I really, really enjoyed this. The world building and descriptions were fantastic, it felt like I was there. I liked the characters. Some of them were likeable but even the ones that weren't were understandable. I liked very much that it wasn't a world similar to earth with similar lifeforms as is usually the case. I would definitely want to read more about this world.

"Alien Clay" feels like it began life as a short story and probably would have been better that way. The plot drags a bit in places and put me in that "just get on with it" frame of mind. Don't get me wrong, the story is brilliant, the writing is brilliant, but the characters stay a little bit too removed and there's too much excess fluff to merit 5 stars.

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

I'm hoping to come back and leave a more detailed review later (apologies to the team, I'm a little unwell)

Exciting, dark and nuanced, Alien Clay is a strange mix of contemporary science fiction with that classical feeling. A detailed, visceral landscape that is both beautiful and terrifying full of complicated characters and an enchantingly thrilling story.

This book took me a very long time to get through. I found the premise intriguing and the way the world was set out was well done, but the pacing here is what pulled my rating down. There were long passages where not a lot happened, and I lost interest and struggled to keep reading. There were some sections that were exciting and I flew through. I do enjoy sci fi but am realising that more "traditional" sci fi tends to drag a bit and is probably not for me. It is excellently written and probably highly enjoyable to those who prefer this genre

Oh, I enjoyed this!
I loved Children of Time, and this in places has a similar feel.
A totalitarian and controlling regime called the Mandate disposed of dissidents, revolutionaries and anyone who they just didn’t much like by sending them to a prison planet a very, very long way away.
The story starts with a prison barge arriving at Kiln, one of the prison planets; it hits the ground running from the first sentence, which pulled me straight in.
Narrated in the first person by an academic dissident exiled to Kiln, who discovers he was deliberately sent here to use his specialist knowledge to work out the extremely complicated ecology of Kiln. There’s a big mystery which the Mandate expects answers to.
It’s a place where life is bleak and brutal and death is one wrong step away.
This is an intriguing and well paced novel, lots of excitement, and it piques the curiosity, doling out little hints and clues to the mystery of Kiln.
There’s one section which gets a bit confusing- sort of like in Children of Memory, which I found quite convoluted- and the narrator shares the contents of his dreams a lot, but mostly the pace is good and I finished the last 54% in one page-turning sitting.

A very unusual book, although this author has shown his vivid imagination in other books. I did enjoy reading it, although it wasn't a very light or easy read. but there did come a point where I found it very difficult to put this book down!
The setting was great, and any sci-fi lover will enjoy the method of arrival at the planet. Anyone who enjoys strange planets, strange plants and archaeology will also be intrigued.
I will continue to look out for books by this author, most are pretty compelling.

What could happen when the entire world, not just a country, turns into totalitarian regime run by one organization/government? We would be f*d. It´s as simple as that. This is what this book is about. It´s about looking for freedom elsewhere, in free thinking, in science, in an alien world.
I love the idea for this story, the worldbuilding and how the Kiln´s world is made up. I am not a fan of the main male character Arton and the first person narrative. Usually I don´t care which type of narrative is used, but here first person somehow doesn´t fit.
The novel starts with a bang, then slows down and at times it drags on until another bang. This uneven pace might find its fans, but others might find it rather frustrating.
Interesting plot, not a great main character and creative science will surely capture many readers.

I really love the feeling of being able to trust the author: whatever the new book is that Adrian Tchaikovsky publishes next, you can be assured it is going to be a solid read. Different books of his left me with a different kind of feeling, but it was always hand-in-hand with a sense of time well-spent in a world that felt crafted to feel real and lived in.

This applies to this standalone SFF novel as well. (Let me take a pause here to through some flowers at the fact that standalone novels still exist; I just love being able to experience a story without having to go through multiple installments). It doesn't have crazy break-neck action or a sprawling, intergalactic scope of a space opera; if anything, it feels very contained to a locale, the way books about explorers and expeditions do. In a way, it is just that, except the explorer in question is kind of a victim of the circumstances, as Arton is in exile in what is essentially a research prison. I found the read slow but very gratifying, and the moral themes resonant. An easy recommendation for fans of the genre.

Unexpectedly the new Tchaikovsky's novel is a remarkable prison drama in a dystopian future. All this in a far distance planet where this first contact story takes place. With an relatively open ending, this is another proof of the constant remarkable level of all Tchaikovsky's work.

Another excellent piece of world building from Tchaikovsky, creating a vivid sense of an alien planet as well as the political context back on Earth through the first person narrative. The emphasis on Acceptable Wastage is so telling, especially in the hideous sounding travel arrangements through the stars, and then the mixture of prison camp and university hierarchy is intriguing. The symbiotic form of life on Kiln is fascinating and the slow realisation of what happens after prolonged exposure is perfect, setting the book up for a cracking finale. Superb read.

(3.5 rounded up to 4.0.)

I enjoyed the whole concept of the book, but the ending is something quite special. The book title is inspired.

This is only the second piece of work that I've read. My first was his five-star novella, Ogres, and I truly think that I was spoiled as something to compare another book to. Tchaikovsky's world building is first-class, the writing and storytelling are very good - beautiful and poetic in places - it's easy to understand and, for the most part, flows well, and I loved the slow build-up. I did find myself skimming some pages as there seemed to be a lot of repetition. I'm not sure if this was meant or if, perhaps, the book needed a final, final edit. I wanted more information on the planet as the alien ruins, but that's just me. I need to know everything!

Well worth a read, and this will make you ponder what it actually means to be a human on an alien planet.

I chose to read an ARC of this work, which I voluntarily and honestly reviewed. All opinions are my own. Many thanks to the author, the publishers, and NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ecopy.

What a book, I really enjoyed this novel, the writing was so engaging and the world building was created with such a rich and lavish flare.
The storyline kept me gripped and I really enjoyed the direction it went
The characters were all created with a uniqueness which brought this story to life!
Excellent read!

Revie
"Because it can’t be hell without fellow sinners to suffer amongst."

Alien Clay provides further evidence of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s unparalleled and unfathomable imagination. A master storyteller and world builder, Tchaikovsky delivers yet another fascinating speculative vision of an alien ecology, that is both innovative and immersive.

The book takes place in a future where a dystopian Earth utilises alien planets as prison colonies, with the prisoners providing free and disposable labour. Enter Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident, who is literally dropped onto planet Kiln with little hope of survival beyond his landing.

The first person narrative, solely from Daghdev’s perspective, lends to the mystery of the planet; through Daghdev’s journey, we learn about the planet, its inhabitants, the politics of the prison camp, and by association, that of Earth. This style and perspective works well, maintaining anticipation and intrigue throughout, which made this story a real page turner.

"There are no spiders. There are worse things than spiders."

Life on Kiln is not as we know it. This is where the author’s imagination takes us on a trip of sheer mind-blowing ideas and spectacle. The nature of Kiln is mysterious and unusual to say the least. This is first contact with a difference – close encounters of a revolutionary kind.

The ecology of the planet is linked strongly with the themes of the book. The inhabitants of the planet are the metaphorical clay in the Kiln.

"What links us to the world links us to each other."

The human story works in symbiosis with the planet’s nature, with strong themes of evolution and revolution. Whilst the Sardonic cynicism of Daghdev’s narrative adds to the dystopian feel, there is a distinct undercurrent of hope – that things can get better and worth fighting for. Empathy, evolving relationships, and philosophical musings of working together is better than working against one and other. The parallels between the revolutionary aspects of the human contingent and the evolutionary nature of the planet work very well together.

Despite some minor pacing issues, where I felt the story became a little bogged down in the middle third, I had a very enjoyable time with this story. The author, through the narrative style, leaves subtle hooks in each chapter that makes you want to continue to the next chapter. As a standalone novel it has a satisfying ending, leaving room for questions and speculation afterwards. The philosophical and metaphysical aspects provide food for thought on the impact of the themes explored in the story.

Overall, Alien Clay is a solid example of what speculative fiction should strive to be – imaginative, thoughtful, philosophical, and good fun too! A story that challenges the status quo, inviting the reader to think and to question.

Adrian Tchaikovsky quickly has become one of my favourite authors, and with Alien Clay he has delivered yet another reminder of why that is. So if you are looking for a standalone entry point to Tchaikovsky, then Alien Clay would be a very good place to start.

Well, I was impressed that Tchaikovsky managed to get me to love giant spiders in Children of Time, but in Alien Clay he's succeeded in helping me empathise with some seriously creepy fungi. That's master storytelling!
The worldbuilding here is quite dark, but, as ever, the takeaway message of the book is hope-filled. There's this ongoing analogy of the human body as an authoritarian regime that resists change, set within a dystopian regime... I can't even describe how excellent this layering of metaphor is!

This is for me the SF writer of the moment and this title is as good as any of his - which is saying a lot. Themes of contemporary (if chilling) resonance, blended with exciting involvement to rival the best fantasies. This is a must read for fans and a great intro for AT newbies. Move aside George Orwell.

Alien Clay is a slow-burn sci-fi novel with a massive and ambitious crescendo of an ending! This is a tricky review to write, since the highlight of the novel for me is the final 60 pages where everything knits together dramatically, which would veer heavily into spoiler territory. This probably won’t be a surprise for anyone who’s read Tchaikovsky’s books before and knows how good his worldbuilding is – if you haven’t, then buckle up as you’re in for a treat!

The planet of Kiln is a worthy addition to the rostrum well-crafted worlds Tchaikovsky has created. It is a world where the biology and ecology are so radically different from that of Earth, that the narrow mindset of the ruling Mandate is struggling to comprehend what makes the planet tick. The planet is being used as a penal colony, with a key focus on discovering more about the mysterious ruins that dot the planet that imply the presence of intelligent life. The book did a fantastic job of showcasing how communications and collaborations between distant planets can be so tricky. The journey between Earth and Kiln is around 30 years, which really weighs on the mind of the camp commandant – news and new recruits will take 30 years to arrive after setting off, and any requests for supplies, support or specific personnel will have to wait for the 60-year-round trip! It’s a clever time gap to use, as it’s still somewhat possible for the mind to grasp the scale, as opposed to the many books that span hundreds or thousands of years in transit. These references really instil a feeling of isolation in the penal colony, and reinforce the idea that the trip to Kiln really was one-way.

Lead POV character Arton Daghdev is a revolutionary wannabe whose choice ideologies have landed him on the penal colony. Though the commandant clearly has grand ambitions for the recent crop of academic dissodents in furthering the camp’s research, you see over the course of the novel how Arton often can’t seem to help himself when the opportunity comes to rebel. While I found his character a little muddy at times, he was a good POV to explore the different hierarchies in the colony. Daghdev’s internal monologue tended to be quite witty with sarcastic quips aplenty, and similar to his character, I must admit I found the humour a bit hit and miss, and did fall flat in places for me.

Overall, I would deinifely recommend this one to experienced fans of Sci-Fi who like the themes of discovery of new worlds and alien artifacts. The payoff for the book’s buildup was undoubtedly great, though I did struggle with the pacing of the novel and found it quite laborious at times to get through, so I wouldn’t pick Alien Clay out for a new reader to the genre. While I don’t think the book was one of Tchaikovsky’s top works overall, I’m all there for watching him push the boundaries for more ambitious and impressive feats of worldbuilding!

A continuation of form for Adrian Tchaikovsky - there's something about his work involving first contact and evolution in particular that really appeals to me, and Alien Clay is no exception. I'm definitely going to check out more of his work now. Alien Clay feels quite different from The Children of Time novels in tone, and perhaps more informal. Though the world-building doesn't get particularly in-depth, the environment and society seem plausible all the same. There's also plenty of tension and body horror within the story. I found myself utterly gripped, and given some food for though.
4.5 rounded up to 5.

Alien Clay is inventive and gripping sci-fi, allografted with more than a little body bio-horror, but I found its twists and turns a bit trope-ier and more predictable than I'm used to from Tchaikovsky. It's a worthy evocation of works like Annihilation, The Fifth Head of Cerberus. and even Scavenger's Reign, but never manages to really push the (squamous, rugose) boundaries of this little sub-genre of the Weird. 3.5/5, rounded up.

—————

The worrying truth at the heart of body horror, from Kafka's Metamorphosis on, is that our bodies are malleable. They change naturally over time of course, but can also be changed for us so easily, by violence, infection, infestation. And of course, if you then take the materialist line that our bodies precede and determine our selves, you can imagine yourself into some very scary places. Tchaikovsky is happy to go there, of course, and the early sections of Alien Clay do a great job of establishing just how...squicky...life on his setting of Kiln can be, violating both human ideas of parasitism and symbiosis and bodily integrity with equal nonchalance. I honestly wish Tchaikovsky had spent a bit more time exploring Kiln's endlessly changeable jungle and its native inhabitants, as the snapshots we do get of Kilnish life — spidery critters with pneumatic muscles, black-fanned and occasionally explosive "trees" — are fresh and exciting.

By contrast, Kiln's human visitors are pretty standard: a thuggish Earth government, the Mandate, has sent its political prisoners to die investigating Kiln's jungles for Science, overseen by doctrinaire military chiefs and faceless security goons. Our narrator, Prof. Daghdev, and a few other characters are a bit less paint-by-number than this, and the author does a good job of detailing the camp's hierarchy and history. But it's all fairly depressingly true both to human history and to genre conventions. As you'd expect, the plot requires the colonizers eventually make some Very Bad Decisions that threaten their rigid order, though we're largely spared cliche horror-movie impulses to split the party up or pet the scary-looking worm monster on the head. 

But even if the story isn't always novel, it's still enlivened by Tchaikovsky's small touches, little things like the relentless cheapness of the humans' nickel-and-dime gulag or the way he never quite allows you to forget the background sounds of Kiln's jungle. And some of these grace notes are wonderfully subversive: one of the book's most surprising threads is that Kiln's alien inhabitants aren't the usual shambling metaphors for the lumpenproletariat, empty-eyed consumerism or soulless communism so much as they are...democratic socialists? If only the rest of the book had been this unexpected.

A really interesting story, but I feel as though there was too much description and the plot is really bogged down by scientific mumbo jumbo that just isn’t interesting and doesn’t really add much to the story. Yes we know that the MC is a scientist. It doesn’t have to be harped on about throughout the whole story. It would have been enough to know his occupation and his purpose for being in the prison. I feel it would have added more to the story if we had more description of the alien planet and more of a backstory for the side characters.