Shroud

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: Sophie Aldred

On a planet shrouded in darkness, a stranded crew must fight for survival. But, the darkness may have plans of its own in this wildly original story from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Award–winning author of Children of Time.

They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . .

New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists – and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.

Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .

Critic reviews

"The most inventive alien world I've ever encountered in SF... Pure Tchaikovsky. I swear the man is some kind of genius."
—Peter Watts, author of Blindsight

"Adrian Tchaikovsky explores worlds where no one else would dare to go, and the unimaginable becomes believable... This is hard-edged science fiction that never loses its soul."

—Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

"Crunchy, conceptual SF at its best...the best alien contact novel I've read since Peter Watts' Blindsight, and that is high praise indeed."—Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

"Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. A gripping story of survival and human endeavor against all odds. The most thought-provoking book I've read in a long time."—Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut

"Clever, vivid and terrifying. Shroud is probably the most alien world anyone could possibly imagine. But no one has an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky."—Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific

"A vision of extraterrestrial life that’s as fascinating as it is horrifying."

—BookPage on Alien Clay

Tchaikovsky's latest (after Service Model, 2024) reveals that the clash is more than just between human and alien but between ideologies that can blind one from harsh realities.—Booklist on Alien Clay

"[A] mind-expanding planetary romp... Tchaikovsky continues to impress."—Publishers Weekly on Alien Clay

Possibly my new favorite Tchaikovsky novel.

Familiar themes and story patterns for Tchaikovsky’s science fiction, if you’re familiar with them, but probably the most personally cathartic one I’ve encountered. I was practically crowing in certain places near the end of the book. Very fun.

The best book I've read so far in 2025

I loved the world building and the characters. The ending made me want to go back to the first chapter and start it all over again

Great Book!

I'm a big fan of Tchaikovsky and love his sci-fi / consciousness books, they always offer an amazing perspective.

Like a mix of The Martian and Hail Mary/Arrival

Liked it a lot. had a slight issue with one nitpicky element of the story, but it was relatively easy to imagine it possibly could have happened the way it was written. lots of pretty fun and wild things happen, makes you think and you feel like you are exploring with the characters. the author does a great job of writing incredibly unique aliens, and this is maybe my favorite of the bunch. the narrator was excellent, and I may go looking for something else she has done just to hear her voice again.

driving plot, fascinating characters, excellently relayed ideas

I'm a big fan of this author and this book reads similarly to some of his other work, which I love. I enjoy the hard science fiction, and I'm always fascinated by the technology that he comes up with. This author's creativity and the ability to surprise the reader is always a delight. The storyline was incredibly compelling and I couldn't stop listening. I can't wait for a second one; if that's in the works I will buy it immediately! if you like sci fi, this is a must read.