Elder Race

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she's an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn't a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, and his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon.

• ISBN10: 1250768721
• ISBN13: 9781250768728
• Publish Date: 16 November 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I have been so unbelievably excited for Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I fell in love with Tchaikovsky's work a few years ago when his novella Made Things was released. Since then, I have enjoyed many other stories, and this start to a new series is no exception.

Are two souls enough to save a planet? That is the question. Lynesse is the Fourth Daughter of the queen, which generally means that she is not at risk of finding herself on the throne. But that doesn't stop Lynesse from caring about her people.

When a demon begins to terrorize those around her, she doesn't hesitate to approach an Elder sorcerer for help. Unfortunately, Nyr is neither a sorcerer nor of the belief that the monster is a demon.

“How much worse to think yourself wise, and still be as ignorant as one who knew themselves a fool?”

Elder Race is arguably one of the boldest and most beautiful science fiction novels I've read this year. It is so creative and immense; it's almost too difficult to find words to describe the experience or how it made me feel.

Lynesse's story is compelling, and I immediately found myself carried away by it all. She's the perfect protagonist, being compassionate yet determined in equal measures. I'm not going to lie; I was basically rooting for her from the start.

More than that, I love how magic and technology collide within these pages, as science and lore battle to the end. It made for such a unique read, one that I feel will be lingering in my mind for quite some time. Does anyone want to place bets on how long it will be before I cave and reread it?

Thanks to Tor.com and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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