Alien Clay, by 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 . . .
I finished this book a while ago, but haven't been able to leave a review until now, because I simply didn't know how to put my feelings into words.
This book is, at its very foundations, remarkable.
You can read the blurb, but it doesn't describe the sheer experience of the tale. Yes, it looks at politics, social systems, exploring identity and other worlds. it tells of alien - utterly alien, not even the slightest bit human - life and what that might mean when making contact. The fear of the unknown, the greater differences between other humans than those aliens, the need to find what personal and shared truth, life and unity is...
There's a LOT going on here, but while it may be 'hard' science-fiction, it reads like a beautiful (and often terrifying) dream. Skilfully told, with visuals that allow the reader to smoothly traverse the paths of Kiln with its protagonists, I stayed up very late to see this one through. There was literally no way I could put it down without knowing what would happen, because it is so very unpredictable - and the conclusion is simply glorious.
Yes, there's horror. There's strangeness, violence and all that the Deep Unknown of space can be. But then I thought: why would alien life be as simple and humanoid as, say, Star Trek, when it can be as weird and wonderful as this?
I'm using a lot of enthusiastic words here, but that's because this really is one of those books that you just have to experience for yourself. This is science-fiction in its truest sense: it's about humanity when taken out of traditional structures, thereby discovering what its core truth really is.
I hadn't read any Adrian Tchaikovsky before, and have worked immediately to remedy that. Also he seems prolific, so I'm looking forward to his upcoming titles this year alone!
One of my Books of 2024, easily. A huge recommend.