Adrian Tchaikovsky: Lords of Uncreation (Paperback, 2023, Tor Books)
Paperback, 608 pages
English language
Published May 2, 2023 by Tor Books.
He's found a way to end their war, but will humanity survive to see it?
Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything -- the Architect's greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy's great powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand together against this shared terror.
Human and inhuman interests wrestle to control Idris's discovery, as the galaxy erupts into a mutually destructive war. The other great obstacle to striking against their alien threat is Idris himself. He knows that the Architects, despite their power, are merely tools of a higher intelligence. Deep within unspace, their masters are the true threat. Masters who are just becoming aware of humanity's daring - and taking steps to exterminate this annoyance forever.
Adrian Tchaikovsky completely delivers a sweeping space opera with this finale to his Final Architecture trilogy.
He's gifted at writing flawed and broken characters who persevere, humans from different cultures that influence their actions, and aliens who really don't think like humans but still act in ways that are consistent and believable.
The 2nd book was a slog to get through but this third and final novel wraps up the series well. As always, Adrian’s strengths are his world building, characters, and he always leaves you with things to think about. This universe contains some of my new favorite characters.
I have loved the first two volumes of this trilogy. But this one, for some reason, was a bit of a slog, imo. Also, I'm not smart enough to enjoy loose ends.
This book brought the series to a satisfying end. My only complaint is that the whole thing seems to run long with a lot of repetition. Probably about a third of the entire saga could have been cut. But still a fun ride regardless.
