Eyes of the Void Review | Adrian Tchaikovsky

You know when you see the sequel for a much-loved book, and you have to drop everything to get straight to it? That was me when I received a copy of Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I adored the first in The Final Architects series and couldn’t wait to get back to the Vulture God and it’s crew. Here’s my full review.

Publisher: Tor | Date: 2022 | Genre: Science Fiction

Plot: After eighty years of fragile peace, the Architects are back, wreaking havoc as they consume entire planets. In the past, Originator artefacts – vestiges of a long-vanished civilization – could save a world from annihilation. This time, the Architects have discovered a way to circumvent these protective relics. Suddenly, no planet is safe.

Facing impending extinction, the Human Colonies are in turmoil. While some believe a unified front is the only way to stop the Architects, others insist humanity should fight alone. And there are those who would seek to benefit from the fractured politics of war – even as the Architects loom ever closer.

Idris, who has spent decades running from the horrors of his past, finds himself thrust back onto the battlefront. As an Intermediary, he could be one of the few to turn the tide of war. With a handful of allies, he searches for a weapon that could push back the Architects and save the galaxy. But to do so, he must return to the nightmarish unspace, where his mind was broken and remade.

What Idris discovers there will change everything.

I received Eyes of the Void from Black Crow in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Eyes of the Void Review

I discovered Tchaikovsky’s writing last year, and fell in love. I was so grateful to receive a copy of Eyes of the Void, and pleased I managed to fit in a re-read of Shards of Earth to refamiliarize myself with the characters, concepts, and epic-ness of this world.

Characters

We return to our band of reprobates in the crew of the Vulture God, punching above their weight with all the sass and attitude we’ve come to love. Idris takes centre stage again, and I love his character development. His ‘I’m-weak-but-going-to-fight-back-just-to-be-annoying’ attitude is great, and adds humour where it’s needed. Although some of his revelations went over my head, I love his character (and Tchaikovsky’s writing) that it didn’t deflect from the story.

Olli and Kit are as fun as ever, but Kris gets the chance to do more. She’s more than just a lawyer this time, and seeing her in the hot-seat and her responses to it made her a really engaging character. She does a lot more than keep Idris out of trouble.

Solace is again along for the ride, although we didn’t get as much page-time with her this time around – or, at least, not as much development. Mundy also re-emerges, and the spy-side of the story was fun to follow.

We’re introduced to some fresh characters, as well as the return of some familiar faces. I liked that the narration stayed with the original crew though, rather than having to figure out this new arrival.

World Building

The characters (mainly Idris) start to understand more about their universe and what everything they’ve taken for granted truly means. The reader also becomes more immersed in this complex world, and it was fun going down this rabbit hole with them!

As mentioned, there were times when some of the concepts went over my head and I got a little lost. But Tchaikovsky has a way of writing that sweeps you up in the story that it doesn’t detract from the pleasure. It might, however, if you aren’t a big science fiction fan.

Pacing/Tension

I’m glad I had the chance to re-read the first when diving into the second; it had been a while and it meant I wasn’t trying to figure things out. There’re enough hints dropped that it wouldn’t have been necessary, though, although thankfully without any exposition reminders.

For a fairly long book, the pacing isn’t the quickest. There’s diplomacy and science to navigate through, as well as actual space. But the tension is high: just as you think you can take a breath, something else kicks off that keeps you hooked. It never drags – I was engrossed from the first page to the last, and it’s left me wanting more.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a science-fiction fan, you need to read The Final Architect books. The first was brilliant; the second, fantastic. I loved it from beginning to end: the characters, the world, the plot… It had everything I was looking for in an epic science-fiction novel and can’t recommend it more.

Also in the series:

• Book one: Shards of Earth

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram