Cage of Souls

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: David Thorpe

Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Humanity clings to life on a dying Earth in an epic, far-future science fiction novel from an award-winning author.

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 prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity.

Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. This is his testament, an account of the journey that took him into the blazing desolation of the western deserts; that transported him east down the river and imprisoned him in the verdant hell of the jungle's darkest heart; that led him deep into the labyrinths and caverns of the underworld. He will meet with monsters, madman, mutants.

The question is, which one of them will inherit this Earth?

©2019 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2019 Head of Zeus

Science + fantasy + zoology = Tchaikovsky Grand Slam

Mr. Tchaikovsky: You’ve written another amazing story. The characters in this book had depth and personalities and adventure. You’ve built a world that is full of mystery and danger and yet somehow civilized and relatable.

What turns this story into a masterpiece however is listening to Mr. Thorpe narrate your novel. I can affirm that, regardless of genre, I will forever purchase future Tchaikovsky + Thorpe audiobooks. Mr. Thorpe captures your writing style so well with his delivery and it’s my opinion that using any other narrator in the future would be a disservice to your storytelling.

Mr. Thorpe: I do not have the written words to compliment your performance. It was, by far, the best story I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. I didn’t know narrators could have fans, but you’ve created one with this book. Like most people, I have favorite authors and will blindly listen to anything that is released - however, I am now actively going through your past works and making purchases based not on the books content, but because I know you will turn something great into a magical experience.

This was one of the few books where I’d rather put my earbuds in and listen to on the sofa rather than talk to my wife. It was just that good.

“Sorry honey, Stephan Avani is playing chess again, let’s talk tomorrow”

Easy 5 stars

Long book don't walk away

You'll lose track like I did but I caught up. good story, interesting ending. I enjoyed it

amazing book, absolute 🔥

Narrator is a perfect fit narrative and world building were immaculate read it sucka

Wish this was a series!

I’ve become an avid reader of A.T. and am only 1/4 of the way through his books. This is a great one! Only criticism is I WANT MORE! 🤩

Fantastic

Absolutely fascinating ingenious story written by a master of the craft at the top of his game.

masterful inversion in style

This title seems to be more overtly humorous than his other books. I am only a small fraction of the way in and already totally immersed in the world.

Tchaikovsky and Thorpe are a wonderful team

Loved the cage of souls. Tchaikovsky has so many wonderful ideas and is great at conveying alien feelings or perspectives with a sense of otherness with just enough familiarity to make it even creepier.

Stefan Advani is our reluctant narrator and Tchaikovsky plays with setting, timing and testing the limits of being human. Stefan has an education, a will to live, and a problem of being in the right place at the right time. We see all of his humanity and courage set against comments of cowardice and only doing the right thing because of the esteem of his fellows.

The great portrayal of the other that was Gaki a psycho with a smile who truly does whatever he wants with little to no regard for authority.

David Thorpe does a wonderful job bringing the cast to life. An array of voices to keep each character separate and some wonderful talk from the others in the book. "Wardens gonna toast ya"

The books is a tragedy. We see the loss of idealism and the ending of humanity is within sight. the heir apparents are starting to make themselves known with no real reason why. Even in these dire circumstances humans must try to maneuver for advantage of get crushed for being in the way of those with power and authority.

I enjoyed it. I'd recommend it.

Fantastic story, incredible narration.

Very different feel from Tchaikovsky’s other books but so, so good. Got hooked early and loved every minute thereafter. Sad it’s over now.

A gem of the Dying Earth sub genre

I can understand the mixed response of others, as this isn’t Tchaikovsky’s usual fare, and it certainly depicts an unforgiving and fairly dark world. But it’s a fascinating world, the building of such being Tchaikovsky’s strong suits. The darkness of the setting is balanced by the protagonist’s wit, and hai observations bring the world to life. Absolutely worth checking out for any fan of the author or the Dying Earth sub genre and the adventure/travelogue genres.

Narration excellent, book engrossing

This book captured my attention, even though it is fairly bleak. It’s not a masterpiece like Children of Time is, but then what is? However it is a solid entry, with strong characterization of the main character, and themes that resonate with both current and recurring issues of human life.

This book is more of a man’s world than his other books, with several female characters being viewed through fairly narrow lenses. However, unlike many authors, this is actually done intentionally, and even explicitly called out several times.

Overall, this was another strong book and I’m thrilled to have found this prolific and talented author.