Shroud
by Adrian Tchaikovsky · first published 2025
80% recommend10% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Science fiction built around genuinely alien intelligence rather than humanlike aliens; readers praise its convincing, unsettling strangeness and suit fans of Rendezvous with Rama and Blindsight.
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…it, but Blindsight by Peter Watts gave me the same feeling of "this is incredibly alien and I have no idea what will happen next". Other books with a similar plot structure and deeply alien vibe: - Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky (recommended elsewhere in this thread) - Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds I know there's one I'm forgetting.
on “Rendezvous with Rama” ↗- One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford - Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky - The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera I keep a reading list at quinnkeast.com/reading. Would love to see others’ if any has one to share!
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read in 2025?” ↗Some highlights from this year include: - The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera - Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - The Devils by Joe Abercrombie - A Frog In The Fall (And Later On) by Linnea Sterte (A graphic novel) Overall I'm at 65 books on the…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗For those who already read Rendezvous with Rama but need their alien aliens fix I can highly recommend "Shroud" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is a similar theme with modern writing and convincing aliens as is pretty much expected by now from Tchaikovsky.
on “Rendezvous with Rama” ↗This short story is set in the same universe as Tchaikovsky's excellent "Shroud" novel and in fact it's the same ship. I wonder where it sits in the chronology because I think the ending of Shroud surely permits an interesting sequel.
on “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” ↗In Shroud, Tchaikovsky does very alien (“real” aliens, not “uplifts”) very well. Anthropocentrically, it does not “end well.” Literarily, it vies for my favorite SciFi read of ‘25. Technically, I read “There Is…
on “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” ↗i just finished Children of Time and found it to be incredibly rewarding. However, I think I prefer Shroud if I were to pick a favorite of Adrian Tchaikovsky. I think he did a very capable job of crystallizing the concept of an alien intelligence that has evolved in a environmental substrate completely foreign…
on “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” ↗While reading Pushing Ice a very common thought I had was "did Reynolds want to do a Rama sequels?" Shroud is great, easy recommendation. Another of Tchaikovsky, Alien Clay, also great, also very alien.
on “Rendezvous with Rama” ↗For another perspective on this, see the book Shroud (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shroud_(Tchaikovsky_novel)), there is all sorts of nifty commentary on oxygen related to your point. (it's a great book in general, but the bit about our use of a volatile…
on “George Goble died recently – known for first dual-CPU-Unix and fast BBQ lighting” ↗This is cool but I'd love the option to filter out the author of the book you entered. I put in Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky and almost all the books are others by him, which is fine but doesn't really mix up the stuff I'm reading.
on “Show HN: I scraped 3B Goodreads reviews to train a better recommendation model” ↗…https://www.goodreads.com/series/43520-void Of Alastair Reynolds: - Pushing Ice https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48991704-pushing-ice - Eversion https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60097716-eversion Of Adrian Tchaikovsky: - Shroud https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230237860-shroud - Elder Race https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56815367-elder-race - Alien Clay https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199851460-alien-clay - Going…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…transforming humans into infiltrators. The Max Kammerer books (e.g. Beetle in the Anthill) involve this storyline and are very good, probably not well known today. I tried Tchaikovsky (both Children of Time and Shroud) and found him to be completely unengaging as a writer. Just really dull writing and flat characters. Watts and Reynolds are much better writers. Watts in particular can really pack a punch.
on “Rendezvous with Rama” ↗