A very satisfying reading experience - Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite modern authors.
Excellent characters, depicted in an unusual narrative structure that works brilliantly.
A sufficiently advanced composition that is indistinguishable from magic. ( )

I wish I hadn't put off reading this one for so long. I should know by now I'll enjoy basically anything Adrian Tchaikovsky writes.

What a great take on the old Clarke-ism, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." The alternating perspectives really did well to highlight how much different backgrounds and cultural understandings can affect interpretations of events. The book length was also pretty perfect for this story, any longer and I think the message would have been too watered down or lost in the plot. ( )

I wonder if Adrian Tchaikovsky is capable of writing a book I will not like?

Oh, how I savoured this…

The world comes alive, even though the details are few. I really liked the mixture of sci-fi and fantasy, with one POV character being in the sci-fi story, while others are in a fantasy book.

The characters are lovingly drawn. Watch them stumble through, trying to understand each other, speaking almost the same language, but not in the same way. Lonely and depressed Nyr, who wants to belong, and who should really stop using that DCS. Lyn – the fiery, courageous, rebellious Lyn, who does the right thing, the hard thing, just because there is nothing else to do. What about the night when Lyn, Esha, Allwer and Nyr told each other stories to keep darkness at bay? That was beautiful.

There was a classic sci-fi feel about this novella, and I mean it in all the best ways. At times I could have sworn I was reading Le Guin.
( )

I really enjoyed this book, attempting to deal with really odd things. Cultural bridges can be difficult to build and misunderstandings can complicate everything. Loneliness and desperation collide here. Monsters are not always malevolent, but sometimes just so different They/you can't imagine what they are or what they want. ( )

Great three way mix of Sci Fi, Fantasy and Cosmic horror. Very interesting look at language from two differing perspectives throughout.
Recommend. ( )