Book Series Guide

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Author guide

Adrian Tchaikovsky Books in Order

Adrian Tchaikovsky is a British science-fiction and fantasy writer whose bibliography ranges from epic fantasy and space opera to dystopian fiction, horror, shared-world novels, graphic fiction, and short-story collections. His major series include Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time, Echoes of the Fall, Dogs of War, The Final Architecture, and The Tyrant Philosophers. His work has won or been shortlisted for major genre awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the British Science Fiction Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Sidewise Award.

science fictionfantasyhorror

Catalog record updated August 25, 2026.

Adrian Tchaikovsky's Newest Book

Cover of Children of Strife

Children of Strife

novel · First published 2026

After Earth fell, ark ships hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in Earth’s forgotten past. A ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain is about to rediscover one such world, and an ark. Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship’s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark ... and the world below?

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Children of Time

Children of Time

The most representative entry point to Tchaikovsky's large-scale science fiction.

Cover of City of Last Chances

City of Last Chances

A strong entry point for his dark, character-rich fantasy.

Cover of Dogs of War

Dogs of War

A focused introduction to his recurring interests in nonhuman intelligence and personhood.

Cover of Guns of the Dawn

Guns of the Dawn

A standalone entry point for readers who want fantasy without committing to a series.

Cover of Elder Race

Elder Race

A concise introduction to his science-fiction and fantasy hybrid storytelling.

Read in order

Books by series

novel-series · completed

Shadows of the Apt

A ten-volume epic fantasy series about insect-kinden societies, technological change, and the war against the Wasp Empire.

Series guide →

1
Empire in Black and Gold
Book 1 · novel · 2008

The Lowlands’ city states have lived in peace for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization. Yet that peace is about to end. A distant empire has been conquering neighbours with highly trained soldiers and sophisticated combat…
2
Dragonfly Falling
Book 2 · novel · 2009

The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move – and the city of Tark will be first to feel their might. Salma and Totho prepare for battle, alongside their Ant-kinden brethren. And within Tark’s walls, they’ll face a force greater than any…
3
Blood of the Mantis
Book 3 · novel · 2009

Achaeos the seer has finally tracked down the stolen Shadow Box. But he has only days before this magical artefact will be lost to him forever. Meanwhile, the Empire's dread forces are mustering for their next great offensive. Stenwold…
4
Salute the Dark
Book 4 · novel · 2010

The mighty Wasp armies are on the march. And with war imminent, spymaster Stenwold must finally separate allies from false friends. He knows the Empire won’t stop until its flag hangs over Collegium, Stenwold's home city. Tisamon the…
5
The Scarab Path
Book 5 · novel · 2010

The war with the Wasp Empire has ended in a bitter stalemate, and Collegium has nothing to show for it but wounded veterans. Cheerwell Maker finds herself broken in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past. Meanwhile, the…
6
The Sea Watch
Book 6 · novel · 2011

A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black and gold army, a hidden threat is working against…
7
Heirs of the Blade
Book 7 · novel · 2011

Tynisa is on the run, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal, her past will at last catch up with her. Her father's ghost is hunting her down. At the same time, the…
8
The Air War
Book 8 · novel · 2012

All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, spies eye one another and ready their knives – while the people of Myna watch troops gather at its borders. Emotions run high as old fears reawaken. And in Collegium students…
9
War Master's Gate
Book 9 · novel · 2013

The Empire’s mighty imperial armies are marching on Collegium once more. They’ve learnt from past failures and this time their Empress will brook no weakness. Stenwold Maker’s aviators still dominate the skies, but their rule will soon be…
10
Seal of the Worm
Book 10 · novel · 2014

The Empire has vanquished its enemies at last, but at a terrible price. With her chief rival cast into the abyss, Empress Seda must face the truth of what she’s unleashed in her hunger for power. Now the Seal has been shattered, the…

collection-series · completed

Tales of the Apt

Collections and linked novellas set in the world of Shadows of the Apt.

Series guide →

1
Spoils of War
Book 1 · collection · 2016

Tales of the Apt is a companion series to the best-selling decalogy Shadows of the Apt, gathering together short stories from disparate places and supplementing them with a wealth of new tales written especially for the series. Together,…
2
A Time for Grief
Book 2 · collection · 2017

A new collection of stories that shed fresh light on the dangerous and complex world of the insect-kinden, including three that are previously unpublished. The Tales of the Apt series provides a different perspective on the fantastic…
3
For Love of Distant Shores
Book 3 · collection · 2018

A narrative reminiscent of Phileas Fogg meets Professor Challenger, featuring the exploits of scientist-cum-adventurer Doctor Ludweg Phinagler, as recorded by his (semi-)faithful assistant, Fosse. A maverick academic, Phinagler, mounts a…
4
The Scent of Tears
Book 4 · collection · 2018

A Shared world volume featuring stories from selected authors set in the realm of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt novels.

novel-series · ongoing

Children of Time

A far-future science-fiction series about humanity, uplifted spiders, terraforming, and the survival of civilizations across worlds and generations.

Series guide →

1
Children of Time
Book 1 · novel · 2015

Adrian Tchaikovsky's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home…
2
Children of Ruin
Book 2 · novel · 2019

'My most anticipated book of the year' - Peter F. Hamilton, Britain's no.1 science fiction writer Children of Ruin follows Adrian Tchaikovsky's extraordinary Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award. It is set in the same…
3
Children of Memory
Book 3 · novel · 2022

From the acclaimed, award-winning author of Children of Time comes an unparalleled narrative of alien contact and human discovery in this follow-up to Children of Ruin.
4
Children of Strife
Book 4 · novel · 2026

After Earth fell, ark ships hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in Earth’s forgotten past. A ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain is about to rediscover one such…

novel-series · completed

Echoes of the Fall

A heroic fantasy trilogy in a world ruled by shapechanging peoples and beast gods.

Series guide →

1
The Tiger and the Wolf
Book 1 · novel · 2016

In the bleak northern crown of the world, war is coming Maniye's father is the Wolf clan's chieftain, but she's an outcast. Her mother was queen of the Tiger and these tribes have been enemies for generations. Maniye also hides a deadly…
2
The Bear and the Serpent
Book 2 · novel · 2017

Maniye, child of both Wolf and Tiger clans, has been named Champion of her people. But they’re unsure if she’s an asset – or a threat. To buy time, she joins Prince Tecuman’s warband of outcasts and heads south, to help him gain his…
3
The Hyena and the Hawk
Book 3 · novel · 2018

From the depths of the darkest myths, the soulless Plague People have returned. Their pale-walled camps obliterate villages, just as the terror they bring with them destroys minds. In their wake, nothing is left of the true people: not…

shared-world-series · ongoing

After the War

A shared-world heroic-fantasy sequence set after the defeat of a world-conquering warlord.

Series guide →

1
Redemption's Blade
Book 1 · novel · 2018

Ten years ago, the renegade demigod known as the Kinslayer returned. His armies of monsters issued from the pits of the earth, spearheaded by his brutal Yorughan soldiers. He won every battle, leaving burnt earth and corruption behind.…
2
The Tales of Catt and Fisher: The Art of the Steal
Book 2 · collection · 2020 Optional

novel-series · completed

Dogs of War

A science-fiction series examining engineered soldiers, artificial intelligence, personhood, and posthuman politics.

Series guide →

1
Dogs of War
Book 1 · novel · 2017

My name is Rex. I am a good dog. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's…
2
Bear Head
Book 2 · novel · 2021

WELCOME TO HELL CITY, MARS Jimmy Martin has a sore head. He's used to smuggling illegal data in his headspace. But this is the first time it has started talking to him. The data claims to be a distinguished academic, author and civil…
3
Bee Speaker
Book 3 · novel · 2025

The end of the world has been and gone. There was no one great natural disaster, no all-consuming world war, no catastrophic pandemic. Only scores of storms, droughts, and selfish regional conflicts. Humanity was not granted a heroic end.…

novel-series · completed

The Final Architecture

A space-opera trilogy about humanity's struggle against planet-destroying alien Architects.

Series guide →

1
Shards of Earth
Book 1 · novel · 2021

Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien 'Architect'. Some escaped, but millions more died. So to protect its colonies, humanity shaped the minds of Idris and others into weapons and sent them into battle. But the Architects…
2
Eyes of the Void
Book 2 · novel · 2022

After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artifacts—vestiges of a long-vanished civilization—could save a world from annihilation. This time, the…
3
Lords of Uncreation
Book 3 · novel · 2023

The Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us the third and final novel in an extraordinary space opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.…
4
Salvation's Child
Book 4 · graphic-novel · 2026 Optional

The Architects - planet-sized aliens who cannot be bargained with - have destroyed Earth. Now, a woman called Marta desperately tries to protect her daughter Xavienne amongst the human diaspora. But does Xavi hold the secret to saving…

novel-series · ongoing

The Tyrant Philosophers

A dark fantasy series about the Palleseen campaign to impose reason, perfection, and political control on an imperfect world.

Series guide →

1
City of Last Chances
Book 1 · novel · 2022

There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched…
2
House of Open Wounds
Book 2 · novel · 2023

City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the <i>Palleseen</i> have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. As their legions scour the world of superstition with the bright flame of reason, so they deliver a mountain of…
3
Days of Shattered Faith
Book 3 · novel · 2024

Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time. As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends –…
4
Lives of Bitter Rain
Book 3.1 · novella · 2025 Optional

Outreach is that part of the Pal machine responsible for diplomacy — converting enemies into friends, achieving through words what an army of five thousand could not, urging the oppressed to overthrow the bloody-handed priests, evil…
5
Pretenders to the Throne of God
Book 4 · novel · 2026

Eres Ffenegh - “the City on the Back of a Crab” - is the next state slated for conquest by the Palleseen, but its citizens won't give up sovereignty easily, and the siege has now dragged into the harsh Eresi winter. The defenders – both…

novella-series · completed

The Expert System

A science-fiction novella sequence about isolated societies, inherited technology, and the limits of human understanding.

Series guide →

1
The Expert System's Brother
Book 1 · novella · 2018

After an unfortunate accident, Handry is forced to wander a world he doesn’t understand, searching for meaning. He soon discovers that the life he thought he knew is far stranger than he could even possibly imagine. Can an unlikely…
2
The Expert System's Champion
Book 2 · novella · 2021

It's been ten years since Handry was wrenched away from his family and friends, forced to wander a world he no longer understood. But with the help of the Ancients, he has cobbled together a life, of sorts, for himself and his fellow…

novella-series · ongoing

Terrible Worlds

A loose umbrella for standalone science-fiction and fantasy novellas exploring social collapse, transformation, technology, and alienation.

Series guide →

1
Ironclads
Book 1 · novella · 2017

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad – the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war – but…
2
Firewalkers
Book 3 · novella · 2020

he Earth is burning. Nothing can survive at the Anchor, not without water and power. But the ultra-rich, waiting for their ride off the dying Earth? They can buy water. And thanks to their investment, the sun can provide power. But…
3
Ogres
Book 5 · novella · 2022

It's always idyllic in the village until the landlord comes to call. Because the landlord is an Ogre. And Ogres rule the world, with their size and strength and appetites. It's always been that way. It's the natural order of the world.…
4
Walking to Aldebaran
Book 2 · novella · 2019

My name is Gary Rendell. I’m an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “astronaut, please!” I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut. I got lucky; when a probe exploring the…
5
One Day All This Will Be Yours
Book 4 · novella · 2021

Welcome to the end of time. It’s a perfect day. Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there’s no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that’s sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we…
6
And Put Away Childish Things
Book 5 · novella · 2022

Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children's books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids' television presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His…
7
Saturation Point
Book 6 · novella · 2024

Doctor Jasmine Marks is going back into hell. The Hygrometric Dehabitation Region, or the “Zone,” is a growing band of rainforest on the equator, where the heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. A human…
8
The Hungry Gods
Book 7 · novella · 2025

The Gods have returned to the world. Amri was a Rabbit, one of a tribe of survivors scratching out an existence in the blasted landscape of a shattered, poisoned world. The Seagull fight, the Pigeon trade and the Cockroach scavenge, but…

novella-series · completed

Terrible Worlds: Revolutions

Three dystopian novellas about inequality, environmental ruin, and systems of power.

Series guide →

1
Ironclads
Book 1 · novella · 2017

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad – the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war – but…
2
Firewalkers
Book 2 · novella · 2020

he Earth is burning. Nothing can survive at the Anchor, not without water and power. But the ultra-rich, waiting for their ride off the dying Earth? They can buy water. And thanks to their investment, the sun can provide power. But…
3
Ogres
Book 3 · novella · 2022

It's always idyllic in the village until the landlord comes to call. Because the landlord is an Ogre. And Ogres rule the world, with their size and strength and appetites. It's always been that way. It's the natural order of the world.…

novella-series · completed

Terrible Worlds: Destinations

Three speculative novellas about journeys to impossible, dangerous, or altered destinations.

Series guide →

1
Walking to Aldebaran
Book 1 · novella · 2019

My name is Gary Rendell. I’m an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “astronaut, please!” I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut. I got lucky; when a probe exploring the…
2
One Day All This Will Be Yours
Book 2 · novella · 2021

Welcome to the end of time. It’s a perfect day. Nobody remembers how the Causality War started. Really, there’s no-one to remember, and nothing for them to remember if there were; that’s sort of the point. We were time warriors, and we…
3
And Put Away Childish Things
Book 3 · novella · 2022

Harry Bodie has a famous grandmother, who wrote beloved children's books set in the delightful world of Underhill. Harry himself is a failing kids' television presenter whose every attempt to advance his career ends in self-sabotage. His…

novella-series · ongoing

Terrible Worlds: Transformations

A sequence of novellas about the unsettling consequences of biological, social, and existential change.

Series guide →

1
Saturation Point
Book 1 · novella · 2024

Doctor Jasmine Marks is going back into hell. The Hygrometric Dehabitation Region, or the “Zone,” is a growing band of rainforest on the equator, where the heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. A human…

novella-series · ongoing

Terrible Worlds: Innovations

A sequence of novellas about runaway technologies and creations turning against their makers.

Series guide →

1
The Hungry Gods
Book 1 · novella · 2025

The Gods have returned to the world. Amri was a Rabbit, one of a tribe of survivors scratching out an existence in the blasted landscape of a shattered, poisoned world. The Seagull fight, the Pigeon trade and the Cockroach scavenge, but…

shared-world-series · ongoing

The Afterblight Chronicles

A multi-author post-pandemic shared-world series published by Abaddon Books.

Series guide →

1
The Bloody Deluge
Book 1 · novella · 2014

A year ago, civilisation died, drowning and choking on its own blood in the brutal scourge of the Cull. Eking out a living on the newly primitive land, British-born biochemist Katy Lewkowitz finds a new life as a doctor among the small…

franchise-series · ongoing

Warhammer 40,000

Adrian Tchaikovsky's published fiction in the Warhammer 40,000 shared universe.

Series guide →

1
Day of Ascension
Book 1 · novel · 2022

Exciting new Warhammer 40,000 novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky/ On the forge world of Morod, the machines never stop and the work never ends. The population toil in the mines and factoria to protect humanity from the monsters in the void,…
2
Human Resources
Book 2 · novella · 2025

Set years before Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s all-too plausible short story navigates a world where humans are increasingly redundant. “Holring and Baselard value your contribution to our team” As one of the last non-robot…

franchise-series · ongoing

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

Adrian Tchaikovsky's published fiction in the Warhammer: Age of Sigmar shared universe.

Series guide →

1
Starseer's Ruin
Book 1 · novel · 2025

<p>A Warhammer Age of Sigmar Audiobook</p> <p>A loyal Seraphon is sent to the ruins of a derelict temple-ship to recover an ancient prophecy, but other forces are set on finding the same ruins for very different reasons. Will Irixi…

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

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Novels (12)

Guns of the Dawn
novel · 2015

First, Denland’s revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought…
Even in the Cannon's Mouth
novella · 2016

Illyria’s Duke Orsino has raised new, powerful allies, and in a last-ditch attempt to win the war, Don Pedro and his brother John, wise old Jacques and the physician Helena sail to Milan to appeal in person for the wizard Prospero’s aid.…
Cage of Souls
novel · 2019

The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a…
Made Things
novella · 2019

A new novella from award-winning author Adrian TchaikovskyWelcome to Fountains Parish--a cesspit of trade and crime, where ambition curls up to die and desperation grows on its cobbled streets like mold on week-old bread. Coppelia is a…
Precious Little Things
novella · 2019

A prequel to the magical novella Made Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Precious Little Things" is a Tor.com Original short story offering a new perspective while set in the same action-packed gaslamp world. At the Publisher's request, this…
The Doors of Eden
novel · 2020

They thought we were safe. They were wrong. Four years ago, two girls went looking for monsters on Bodmin Moor. Only one came back. Lee thought she'd lost Mal, but now she's miraculously returned. But what happened that day on the moors?…
Elder Race
novella · 2021

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 House on the Old Cliffs
novella · 2022
Service Model
novel · 2024

Murderbot meets Redshirts in a delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Elder Race and Children of Time. To fix the world they must first break it, further. Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant…
Alien Clay
novel · 2024

The planet of Kiln is where the tyrannical Mandate keeps its prison colony, and for inmates, the journey there is always a one-way trip. One such prisoner is Professor Arton Daghdev, xeno-ecologist and political dissident. Soon after…
Shroud
novel · 2025

An utterly gripping story of alien encounter and survival from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time. They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . . New planets are fair game…
Green City Wars
novel · 2026

Down these mean streets a beast must walk... Meet Skotch. Racoon, P.I.—Yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn't too illegal, whatever that means. A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn't raise any hackles, nor any alarms,…

Other (4)

Hauntings
collection · 2012
Feast and Famine
collection · 2016
The Private Life of Elder Things
collection · 2016

From the wastes of the sea to the shadows of our own cities, we are not alone. But what happens where the human world touches the domain of races ancient and alien? Museum curators, surveyors, police officers, archaeologists,…
The Best of Adrian Tchaikovsky
collection · 2026

Frequently asked questions about Adrian Tchaikovsky

Who is Adrian Tchaikovsky?

Adrian Tchaikovsky is a British science-fiction and fantasy author from Lincolnshire. He studied zoology and psychology at the University of Reading before becoming a professional author.

Sources: adriantchaikovsky.com (opens in a new tab)bloomsbury.com (opens in a new tab)

What did Adrian Tchaikovsky do before becoming a full-time writer?

After studying psychology and zoology, Tchaikovsky worked in law as a legal executive in Reading and Leeds. He now writes full time.

Source: hachettebookgroup.com (opens in a new tab)

What influenced Adrian Tchaikovsky’s interest in nonhuman characters?

He has said that the natural world, David Attenborough, Gerald Durrell, and London’s Natural History Museum shaped his interest in animal behavior and nonhuman minds. His background in zoology also informs his recurring focus on insects, spiders, and other creatures.

Sources: grimdarkmagazine.com (opens in a new tab)adriantchaikovsky.com (opens in a new tab)

Which major awards has Adrian Tchaikovsky won?

Among his major wins, Children of Time received the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin won the 2019 BSFA Award for Best Novel.

Sources: clarkeaward.com (opens in a new tab)bsfa.co.uk (opens in a new tab)

What themes define Adrian Tchaikovsky’s writing?

His work frequently explores artificial intelligence, alien awareness, and the challenge of understanding minds unlike our own, across both science-fictional and fantastical settings. Nonhuman perspectives are a particularly distinctive feature of his fiction.

Sources: adriantchaikovsky.com (opens in a new tab)grimdarkmagazine.com (opens in a new tab)