Cage of Souls

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: David Thorpe

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

All my favorite sci-fi elements wrapped into one

I absolutely loved this book. This was only my third Tchaikovsky, the first two being “Children of Time” and “Children of Ruin”, and I can definitively say that I enjoyed “Cage of Souls” far more. Not to say I didn’t enjoy the first two installments of COT, I really did (especially the first one), but I was never gripped by them as much as COS. The futuristic dystopian theme, the mixture of futuristic and archaic technologies (and how their “archaic” tech is still futuristic), the sped up evolutionary development…all of it. I almost wonder if this was the precursor of the society that, thousands of years later, would take to the stars, in search of some eight-legged friends?
Not to say I don’t have some gripes with it, and a lot of questions went unanswered. For example, was I the only one waiting for that killer silver chain-thing to make its stated (possible) reappearance?!? Or how Gacky’s movements were almost akin to it? I half expected Gacky to have somehow been the creature. I could go on for days with all the questions I have but, nonetheless, I loved every minute of listening to this book.

On that note, David Thorpe made the experience of listening just that much more enjoyable. I have listened to A LOT of books and, if he’s not the best I have ever heard, he has to be in my top three favorite narrators, right up there with Stephen Fry. I was worried at first, he has the tendency to take long pauses while catching his breath and it was a little irritating at first, but he grew on me fast. His emotional conveyance was fantastic, especially when doing Gregor. He’s truly a professional.

Nice

Nice. Good book. New weird(ish). Think China M. (but more fun, less political). Strange, but this author has a similar background to mine (law, zoology, sociology). One of the best new weird I've read (or listened to) recently.

Another great story by Tchaikovsky

I really enjoyed this book. The other books I have listed to by Tchaikovsky were space themed but this one is completely different. It had a lot of interesting characters and elements that kept me interested from the beginning to the very end.

Phenomenal stand-alone story

I’m a huge AT fan and have finished a few of his series, including shadows of the apt. His books are captivating and varied. The performance was a perfect fit for this book and I look forward to finding more books narrated by Thorpe. If you’re looking for a single bite story that feels beautifully complete and simultaneously leaves you wanting more from ancillary characters this is a must.

Monsters everywhere

Easy listen especially after Shards of Earth trilogy that was a chore to finish. Children of… was great, but like this one off with fantastic narrator