Adrian Tchaikovsky Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Adrian Tchaikovsky

Adrian Tchaikovsky is incredibly prolific, writing everything from massive ten-book fantasy series to hard science fiction, space operas, and Warhammer tie-ins. Because his style and settings vary widely, the best starting point depends on what you enjoy most:

• For Hard Sci-Fi Fans: Begin with Children of Time. It is his most famous work, won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and is a perfect showcase of his biology-rooted worldbuilding featuring sentient, uplifted spiders.
• For Epic Space Opera Fans: Start with Shards of Earth, the first book in his Final Architecture trilogy. It offers classic, action-packed space opera with unique alien factions and planet-destroying threats.
• For Epic Fantasy Fans: Start with Empire in Black and Gold, the opening volume of the ten-book Shadows of the Apt series. This is a "bugpunk" steampunk-flavored fantasy where human cultures are based on insect traits.
• For Standalone Seekers: Try Elder Race (a brilliant blend of sci-fi and fantasy told from two perspectives) or Alien Clay (a survival story set on a harsh penal colony planet).

The Children of Time Trilogy

This award-winning science fiction series explores deep time, terraforming, and how non-human minds evolved. The books must be read in publication order:

1. Children of Time (2015)
2. Children of Ruin (2019)
3. Children of Memory (2022)

While the first book is a complete story on its own and can be read as a standalone, the subsequent books expand the universe by introducing sentient octopuses and mysterious, synthetic intelligences.

The Shadows of the Apt Universe

Tchaikovsky’s debut series is a colossal ten-book epic fantasy set in a world divided between the magical "Inapt" and the technologically-minded "Apt" insect tribes (Kinden). Read the main series in order:

1. Empire in Black and Gold (2008)
2. Dragonfly Falling (2009)
3. Blood of the Mantis (2009)
4. Salute the Dark (2010)
5. The Scarab Path (2010)
6. The Sea Watch (2011)
7. Heirs of the Blade (2011)
8. The Air War (2012)
9. War Master's Gate (2013)
10. Seal of the Worm (2014)

Spin-Offs and Connections: The Tales of the Apt collection of short stories (including Spoils of War and For Love of Distant Shores) expands on side characters. Additionally, his fantasy trilogy Echoes of the Fall (beginning with The Tiger and the Wolf) is set on a different continent of the very same planet. Instead of insect traits, the people of this series shift into vertebrate animals. You can read the two series independently, though reading Shadows of the Apt first provides subtle worldbuilding connections in the later volumes of Echoes of the Fall.

The Final Architecture Trilogy

If you prefer massive space battles, weird gravity mechanics, and ancient cosmic mysteries, this trilogy should be read in order:

1. Shards of Earth (2021)
2. Eyes of the Void (2022)
3. Lords of Uncreation (2023)

Understanding Shared Worlds and Database Errors

Because Adrian Tchaikovsky is a frequent contributor to collaborative universes and anthologies, online book databases often erroneously credit him with writing entire series. Here is the truth behind those listings:

• The Afterblight Chronicles: Databases list a 20-book series under his name. In reality, this is a shared post-apocalyptic universe. Tchaikovsky only wrote the novella Journal of the Plague Year (2014), which was released in a shared omnibus. He did not write the other books.
• Warhammer Settings: While databases display a list of over 190 books, Tchaikovsky has only written a few select titles for Black Library. His main contributions are the Warhammer 40k Genestealer Cults novel Day of Ascension (2022) and the Age of Sigmar novel Starseer's Ruin (2025), alongside short stories like "On the Shoulders of Giants" (2022), "Web of Ruin" (2023), and "Written in Stars" (2024).
• Imaginings: This is a multi-author short story series published by NewCon Press. Other books in the series (like Tanith Lee's Colder Greyer Stones) are written by their respective authors. Tchaikovsky's sole contribution is Volume 6, Feast and Famine (2013).
• After the War: Tchaikovsky wrote the first book in this post-fantasy-war series, Redemption's Blade (2018), which functions as a standalone. The sequel, Salvation's Fire, was written by Justina Robson.
• Monstrous Little Voices: A Shakespearean fantasy collection. Tchaikovsky contributed only the novella "Even in the Cannon's Mouth" (2016).

Other Major Series, Sequences, and Novellas

Tchaikovsky has also written several shorter, self-contained sequences:

• The Tyrant Philosophers: A dark, satirical fantasy series about magic, revolution, and militarism. Read in order: City of Last Chances (2022), House of Open Wounds (2023), and Days of Shattered Faith (2024).
• Dogs of War: A near-future sci-fi duology about bioengineered animal soldiers. Read Dogs of War (2017) first, followed by Bear Head (2021).
• The Expert System: A sci-fi survival duology consisting of The Expert System's Brother (2018) and The Expert System's Champion (2021).
• Made Things: A fantasy sequence comprising the prequel short story "Precious Little Things" (2017) and the novella Made Things (2019), focusing on a street thief and her magical puppet companions.