CBR18 Bingo – joker: because some call them the space cowboy…
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky is the first book in the Final Architecture series. I see his work recommended a lot and I think I know his work. Then I realize I’m thinking of an imaginary person who is part Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and part Arkady Martine. So I’m happy to finally read something by the actual author.
Humans are settling into the galactic space community when a mysterious and seemingly all-powerful space enemy attacks. Retrospectively, humans were warned, but this isn’t the time for shoulda woulda coulda because the Architects destroyed the planet Earth.
Humans go all over the place. Some are clone-ish space amazons and they fight. Some join the space cult that warned them. Some throw spaghetti at a wall and end up with genetically modified people who ask the Architects to please stop and go away.
That last one works, by the way.
Just kidding!
… is what I assume the Architects said as they u-turned.
Solace, a space amazon, is sent to pick up her old pal Idris so he can ask them to leave again. Idris cannot deal with this shit and he’s fine staying with his found family of space cowboys.
So Solace fills out a space cowboy application, puts ‘infiltration and conscription’ as her goal for joining up, and is mostly accepted by the ragtag space misfits.
Adventures in politics, conspiracy, betrayal, and battle ensue.
There are two more books in this series and the author has dozens of others. I’ll read at least one more. And probably another if all his work is this fun.
