Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Adrian Czajkowski (spelt as Adrian Tchaikovsky for his books; born June 1972) is a British fantasy and science fiction author. He is best known for his series Shadows of the Apt, and for his Hugo Award–winningTemplate:Efn Children of Time series.[1]
Children of Time was awarded the 30th Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016. Author James Lovegrove described it as "superior stuff, tackling big themes – gods, messiahs, artificial intelligence, alienness – with brio".[2]
Biography
Adrian Czajkowski was born in Lincolnshire in Woodhall Spa in June 1972.[3] He is of Polish descent.[4] He cites the natural world as an early influence, along with naturalists such as Gerald Durrell and David Attenborough, and he was fascinated by the Natural History Museum. "From there", he says in interview, "wanting to understand the behaviour – the minds – of the nonhuman started to take precedence."[5]
He studied zoology and psychology at the University of Reading although he eventually became disillusioned with the content of the course.[6] He then qualified as a legal executive.[7] He was employed as a legal executive for the Commercial Dispute Department of Blacks, Solicitors, of Leeds[8] until late 2018 when he became a full-time writer.[7]
Tchaikovsky's first foray into writing was in 1996 when he submitted several stories for publication in Xenos magazine. In the early 2000, he won Xenos's annual competition with the short story The Roar of the Crowd, only for the magazine to fold pre-publication.[9]
In 2008, after Tchaikovsky had spent fifteen years trying to get published, his novel Empire in Black and Gold was finally published by Tor Books (UK)Template:Spaced ndashan imprint of Pan MacmillanTemplate:Spaced ndashin the United Kingdom.[10] The series was later published in America by Pyr Books. Tchaikovsky expressed the desire that the Polish editions of his novels feature the original Polish spelling of his surname,[11] but these too used "Tchaikovsky".[12]
On 23 January 2019, Tchaikovsky was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts by the University of Lincoln.[13]
He lives in Leeds with his wife and son.[14][15][16]
Writing career
Tchaikovsky revealed the basis of Shadows of the Apt in an online essay entitled "Entering the Shadows" at Upcoming4.me.[17]
Whilst studying at the University of Reading, he managed a role-playing game named Bugworld. The game concerned the story of the insect-people of the Lowlands threatened by the encroaching Wasp Empire. From this original scenario, the entire series of books grew.[18]
Tchaikovsky still uses role-playing games to help develop his stories, but now also uses live action role-playing, which assists in describing the numerous action and battle sequences in his books. He is currently involved with the LARP game Empire.[19]
Tchaikovsky has regularly expressed his intention regarding the Shadows of the Apt series not to make science better than magic,[20] or vice versa: "This is another key element, really: the magic/tech divide is a concept that turns up here and there in fantasy, but usually one side is good (mostly magic) and the other (dirty polluting tech) is bad. With the world of the kinden, they’re basically both as bad as the people who use them, whether it’s blood sacrifice in a Mantis-kinden grove or the Wasp Empire’s city-levelling weaponry."[21]
Themes
Themes in Tchaikovsky's books include: "the frailties of human bureaucracy and the difficulty we have in seeing beyond the human perspective,"[22] and "the terrible things we do to each other and the dogged resistance offered by the victim-participants in the vile mills of misery that are totalizing governments and wars of aggression."[23] Critics have commented positively on his "definitive" depiction of alien civilizations[24] and his treatment of "huge themes about belief, artificial intelligence, legacy, discovery, alienness and much more."[25] In an interview with Jon Sutton for the British Psychological Society, Tchaikovsky says that "Human perception of time is one of the biggest limitations of being human," and that this shortcoming lies behind many current problems, such as climate change.[26]
Awards and nominations
Tchaikovsky has received the following literary awards and nominations:
| § | Indicates a declined award |
|---|
| Year | Work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Children of Time | Arthur C. Clarke Award | Won | [2] |
| 2017 | The Tiger and the Wolf | British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel | Won | [27] |
| 2019 | Children of Ruin | BSFA Award for Best Novel | Won | [28] |
| 2020 | The Doors of Eden | Philip K. Dick Award | Nominated | [29] |
| Sidewise Award for Alternate History for Long-form | Won | [30] | ||
| 2021 | Shards of Earth | BSFA Award for Best Novel | Won | [31] |
| 2022 | City of Last Chances | BSFA Award for Best Novel | Won | [32] |
| Elder Race | Hugo Award for Best Novella | Finalist | [33] | |
| 2023 | And Put Away Childish Things | BSFA for Best Shorter Fiction | Won | [34] |
| The Children of Time series | Hugo Award for Best Series | Won§Template:Efn | [35] | |
| Ogres | Hugo Award for Best Novella | Finalist | [36] | |
| 2024 | Saturation Point | BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction | Won | [37] |
| 2025 | Alien Clay | Philip K. Dick Award | Special Citation | [38] |
| Hugo Award for Best Novel | Pending | [39] | ||
| Service Model | Hugo Award for Best Novel | Pending | [39] | |
| The Tyrant Philosophers | Hugo Award for Best Series | Pending | [39] |
Bibliography
Novels
Shadows of the Apt
- Main novels
- Empire in Black and Gold (2008), Template:ISBN
- Dragonfly Falling (2009), Template:ISBN
- Blood of the Mantis (2009), Template:ISBN
- Salute the Dark (2010), Template:ISBN
- The Scarab Path (2010), Template:ISBN
- The Sea Watch (2011), Template:ISBN
- Heirs of the Blade (2011), Template:ISBN
- The Air War (2012), Template:ISBN
- War Master's Gate (2013), Template:ISBN
- Seal of the Worm (2014), Template:ISBN
- Tales of the Apt (short story collections)
- Spoils of War (2016), Template:ISBN
- A Time for Grief (2017), Template:ISBN
- For Love of Distant Shores (2018), Template:ISBN
- The Scent of Tears (2018), Template:ISBN
Children of Time
- Children of Time (2015), Template:ISBN
- Children of Ruin (2019), Template:ISBN
- Children of Memory (2022), Template:ISBN
Echoes of the Fall
- The Tiger and the Wolf (2016), Template:ISBN
- The Bear and the Serpent (2017), Template:ISBN
- The Hyena and the Hawk (2018), Template:ISBN
Bioforms
- Dogs of War (2017), Template:ISBN
- Bear Head (2021), Template:ISBN
- Bee Speaker (2025), Template:ISBN
The Tyrant Philosophers
- City of Last Chances (2022), Template:ISBN
- House of Open Wounds (2023), Template:ISBN
- Days of Shattered Faith (2024), Template:ISBN
- Lives of Bitter Rain (2025) (novella), Template:ISBN
- Pretenders to the Throne of God (2026) Template:ISBN
- Shards of Earth (2021), Template:ISBN
- Eyes of the Void (2022), Template:ISBN
- Lords of Uncreation (2023), Template:ISBN
Standalone novels
- Guns of the Dawn (2015), Template:ISBN
- Spiderlight (2016), Template:ISBN
- Cage of Souls (2019), Template:ISBN
- The Doors of Eden (2020), Template:ISBN
- Alien Clay (2024), Template:ISBN
- Service Model (2024), Template:ISBN
- Shroud (2025), Template:ISBN
After the War
- Redemption's Blade (2018), Template:ISBN, is the first book in a multi-author series. The series continued with two books by Justina Robson.
- Day of Ascension (2022), is Tchaikovsky's first Warhammer 40,000 novel, and like his short story Raised in Darkness from Inferno! Volume 6 (2021), concerns the insidious Genestealer Cults.
- On the Shoulders of Giants (2022), is a part of the multi-author anthology On the Shoulders of Giants and Other Stories, Template:ISBN
Novellas
Expert Systems
- The Expert System's Brother (2018), Template:ISBN
- The Expert System's Champion (2021), Template:ISBN
Terrible Worlds
- Revolutions
- Ironclads (2017), Template:ISBN
- Firewalkers (2020), Template:ISBN
- Ogres (2022), Template:ISBN
- Destinations
- Walking to Aldebaran (2019), Template:ISBN
- One Day All This Will Be Yours (2021), Template:ISBN
- And Put Away Childish Things (2023), Template:ISBN.
- Transformations
- Saturation Point (2024), Template:ISBN.
- The Hungry Gods (2025), Template:ISBN.
Standalone Novellas
- Made Things (2019), Template:ISBN
- The House on the Old Cliff (Dyslexic Friendly Quick Read) (2021), Template:ISBN
- Elder Race (2021), Template:ISBN
Short stories
- "The Final Conjuration" in Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets: An Anthology of Holmesian Tales Across Time and Space (2014) Template:ISBN, a collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories.
- "Where the Brass Band Plays" in Urban Mythic 2 (2014), Template:ISBN[40]
- "Shadow Hunter" in Grimdark Magazine, issue #1[41]
- Human Resources (2025), is set in the world of Service Model, Template:ISBN
Other collections
- Feast and Famine (New Con Press, 2013), Template:ISBN. This collection contains the stories "Feast and Famine", "The Artificial Man", "The Roar of the Crowd", "Good Taste", "The Dissipation Club", "Rapture", "Care", "2144 and All That", "The God Shark" and "The Sun in the Morning".
- The Bloody Deluge (2014), Template:ISBN. Part of The Afterblight Chronicles by Abaddon Books.
- The Private Life of Elder Things (2016), ISBN 978-1911034025. Co-authored by Keris McDonald and Adam Gauntlett. A collection of new Lovecraftian fiction about confronting, discovering and living alongside the creatures of the Mythos.
- Terrible Worlds: Revolutions (2023), Template:ISBN. Collects three novellas: Ironclads, Firewalkers and Ogres.
Critical studies and reviews of Tchaikovsky's work
- The Doors of Eden
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Notes
References
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External links
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