• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023

Review: Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

September 29, 2021 by Jared Besse Leave a Comment

Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis

In Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.

But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).

But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon… 

Review

I’m a big Adrian Tchaikovsky fan. Children of Time and Cage of Souls are two of my favorite sci-fi books and I’ve read a few other of his books as well. I had yet to dive into any of his novellas, and when I saw this*, I knew I needed to read it.

Elder Race begins as a classic fantasy story with a young princess out on a quest to prove herself by going to get the reclusive of a sorcerer to come fight the demon hurting her people. However, this is Tchaikovsky, so nothing is quite as it seems.

I don’t want to spoil this too much, so if a different kind of fantasy story mixed with science intrigues you, I highly recommend picking this up. Well written, good characters and filled with interesting ideas and developments, this is a great novella.

Ok, if you want a few more details, minor spoilers for the story follow (worth noting that other reviews include many of these minor spoilers as does the basic description).

The premise of the story hinges on the fact that the great sorcerer is actually an anthropologist sent from Earth to study a far off distant colony as they evolve and grow. His crew has left him and he is awoken from sleep asked to join the princess on her quest. In each proceeding chapter, the story flips the perspective of the narrative. Lyn, the princess’s story is told from typical 3rd person fantasy POV, while Nyr, the sorcerer’s is told from first person present tense with a distinct sci-fi feel and flavor.

It’s a super unique style of book and there’s one chapter in particular that knocked my socks off with how it was written. I really enjoyed seeing the world from each of their perspectives and how that changed the style of the book itself. The only fault with this style is the switch from 3rd person to 1st person present tense can be jarring at times, taking me out of the story. But this was a minor flaw.

Now, Tchaikovsky always does super fascinating stuff with technology, time, and nature. So it wasn’t a huge surprise to me that it there were also plenty of other interesting ideas in this story such as a prohibitor on emotions and the challenge of relating to a culture that has shifted over time while you observed from a distance along with many other ideas. 

Overall, Elder Race is a great mash up of sci-fi and fantasy that deserves to be read by anyone looking for a unique take on an old formula!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy to review!

Filed Under: Fantasy, Reviews, Science Fiction Tagged With: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Book Review, elder race, Fantasy, Novella, Review, Science Fiction

About Jared Besse

Jared is a long time fantasy reader who re-connected with the genre a few years back. New to the blogging scene, he currently lives and works in Dallas TX. His favorite works include epic fantasy, the occasional grimdark, and character driven books above all else. He is constantly on the hunt for books and authors so he can dive into exciting new worlds. Part of the SPFBO #7.

Other Reviews You Might Like

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Review: Blindspace (Book #2 of The Common) by Jeremy Szal

Review: New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. Adrian M. Gibson on Author Roundtable: Indie Marketing (with Kian N. Ardalan, Ryan Cahill, Aparna Verma & Gourav Mohanty)March 23, 2023
  2. zidane on Review: A Fractured Infinity by Nathan TavaresMarch 14, 2023
  3. Gary Weston on Bender’s Top 10 Fights in Fantasy BooksMarch 14, 2023
  4. David S on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 13, 2023
  5. Komikinime on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 11, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In