Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky - ARC Review

 Book Review: 

Alien Clay

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Release Date: Sep. 17, 2024   

Genre: Sci-Fi

Age Range: Adult

Goodreads Avg. Rating: 4.06 stars

Humanity has traveled to the stars and found distant planets to inhabit or study. One such planet is Kiln, a world with an unhospitable yellow atmosphere that is toxic to humans. Due to this, it is seen to work better as a prison planet. There are secrets lurking in the wild spaces beyond the human bubble of safety though.

Professor Arton Daghdev has always wanted to study other life forms. With the Mandates stranglehold on scientific research back on Earth, this seemed like an impossible goal. However, with one errant phrase, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a crackdown. Now bound for the studies he always wanted, it doesn't seem like what it's cracked up to be.

The first chapter does not give much for us to understand. We find our main character in a perilous situation and through the chapter he is slowly remembering how he got there. From there the known and yet bizarre will share the book equally.

This story takes place on the prison world of Kiln. It is more of a labor camp where high personnel loss is okay because there will always be more on the next ship in. What makes this planet's prisoners, well some of them, unique is that many are scientists. They are needed to help with the research into the ruins found on the planet and the native species still there. Kiln's native atmosphere is a bit toxic to humans but with a harsh decontamination, most are okay inside the biodome.

Our narrator is Arton Daghdev. He was a professor of xenobiology/ecology back on Earth. Arton led an unconventional life even before becoming part of a scientific political party. Interestingly when he first came under suspicion Arton didn't even believe he was being anti-establishment, only speaking scientific theories. Arton has a good grasp on the life system of Kiln and adapts fairly well all things considered. Through his whole experience, he remains curious and if not happy at least not fully beaten down. But this could be a positive spin being placed on it due to the first-person perspective of a future Arton. Who can say?

Prof. Daghdev is one of many political dissidents shipped on a one-way trip to Kiln. This world is one of several discovered by mankind's exploration of the stars. Life here is more unique than anyone back on Earth has realized though. All Arton ever wanted to do was get a chance to truly study an alien ecosystem and life. Now on Kiln, he is getting his chance just in a very inhospitable manner. Things are not as they seem though and Kiln is holding more secrets than even the scientists here could imagine.

This story went very differently than I would have guessed from the description. The first thing to note is that the science we look into with this one is biology and symbiosis. As with any Tchaikovsky book, the science is gone into well and at length as it drives us toward the epiphany at the end. Now how this all came together did involve some people being needlessly stupid but on the other hand, there was also a 1 in a million chance of success by the excursion team. Now the true end of the book is interesting with speculation. In this case, I'm okay with not a clear answer. It is very reminiscent of one of his other works though.

All in all this book was really good for what it was trying to do. However, it did lean a bit too political for me. Also, the science of this one wasn't my favorite and was a little gross at times.
Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the copy to review.

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