Person
Adrian Tchaikovsky's book recommendations
Key facts
- Adrian Tchaikovsky has recommended or discussed 11 books on podcasts, as of December 31, 2025.
- Adrian Tchaikovsky has talked about books on 2 podcasts, as of December 31, 2025.
- Those books came up in 2 episodes, as of December 31, 2025.
- The 3 books Adrian Tchaikovsky has mentioned in the most episodes, not counting Adrian Tchaikovsky's own, as of December 31, 2025: After atlas, Babel and Mythago Wood.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Adrian Tchaikovsky aired on December 31, 2025.
Updated
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Adrian Tchaikovsky appears on, in one place — not just one.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s most recommended books
- After atlas by Emma Newman
- Babel by R. F Kuang
- Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
- The dancers at the end of time by Michael Moorcock
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Adrian Czajkowski is a British fantasy and science fiction author. Heavily influenced by the natural world, his books frequently deal with themes of artificial intelligence and alienness, often in the context of non-human characters. He is best known for his series Shadows of the Apt, and for his Hugo Award-winning Children of Time series. During podcast appearances on shows like How I Write and The Ezra Klein Show, Adrian discussed his own creative processes and recommended several books that inspired his sense of the numinous and his approach to storytelling. He recommended Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes as a prime example of writing immersive and effective fight scenes through the perspective of a visor slot. He praised Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood and Susanna Clarke's Piranesi for capturing an incredible sense of a hidden, very real world just out of sight. In science fiction and fantasy, Adrian highlighted Emma Newman's After Atlas for its bleakly plausible human politics and R.F. Kuang's Babel for its examination of imperialism and language. Additionally, he mentioned Michael Moorcock's series The Dancers at the End of Time, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and his own novel Children of Ruin to illustrate narrative structures, character motivations, and the combination of multiple concepts into a complete novel.
Books recommended by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Children of Time
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an acclaimed science fiction novel that chronicles the evolution of an advanced civilization built by intelligent genetically modified spiders.
Discussed“So for example, with the spiders in Children of Time, I turned out to have a very a really fluky connection at the Natural History Museum that meant I could go over there here in London.”
Where to get it
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Children of Ruin
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an imaginative science fiction novel that explores deep space exploration, alien encounters, and the evolutionary development of non-human intelligence, notably octopuses.
Discussed“So for example in Children of Ruin, which is the second of my kind of big sci-fi books in that series, I wanted to write about uplifted octopuses because they are very fascinating creatures, but that felt like half a book.”
Where to get it
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After atlas
After Atlas is a science fiction novel by Emma Newman set within her expansive Planetfall series, exploring complex societal structures and human politics.
Recommended“after Atlas by Emma Newman is when I'd throw out there that's a relatively recent science fiction book in her planetful series and I throw it in there mostly because it has some of the most sort of bleakly plausible bad human politics going on there”
Where to get it
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Babel
Babel is a fantasy novel by R.
Recommended“now another recent book is um RF quang's Babel which has the most astonishing examination of imperialism and language and appropriation as part of its uh fantasy plot”
Where to get it
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Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock is a landmark work of mythic fantasy that explores a British forest concealing ancient archetypes and mythical entities born from human collective consciousness.
Recommended“There are a couple of books I have read which have inspired me this incredible sense of the numinous. The numinous. Yes, of this kind of just the all of there being just a world that is just out of sight but is very very real and you can you get that I mean so Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood is”
Where to get it
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Piranesi
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is a critically acclaimed fantasy novel that follows an isolated protagonist navigating a surreal, statue-filled labyrinth known as the House.
Recommended“...and Susanna Clarke's Piranesi is another both of which are books I absolutely love and at some point I want to write a book that inspires a similar kind of sense...”
Where to get it
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The Heroes
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie is a gritty grimdark fantasy novel that focuses on a single brutal three-day battle from the perspectives of various participants on both sides.
Recommended“He wrote a book called The Heroes. There is a very large battle in The Heroes which you are basically seeing through the slot in someone's visor...”
Where to get it
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Dogs of War
Discussed“So, there's in Dogs of War the main character is Rex. He is an bioengineered dog who is being used as a military asset.”
Where to get it
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The dancers at the end of time
Discussed“There is a story that I mean, Michael Moorcock wrote a series called The Dancers at the End of Time, which is set in such a far future, there are basically about seven people left...”
Where to get it
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The Hobbit
The Hobbit by J.R.R.
Discussed“So, for example, you know, Smaug in The Hobbit is an embodiment of greed, and Tolkien is taking that directly from Fafnir in sort of Anglo-Saxon myth.”
Where to get it
Books by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Children of Time
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Dragonfly falling
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Blood of the mantis
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Shards of Earth
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Children of Memory
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Spiderlight
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Dogs of War
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Empire in black and gold
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Alien Clay
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Children of Ruin
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Doors of Eden
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Eyes of the Void
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Lords of Uncreation
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Service Model
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The scarab path
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Salute the dark
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Heirs Of The Blade
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The Air War
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War Masters Gate
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Seal of the Worm
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City of Last Chances
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Tchaikovsky: How to Write Absurdly Well | How I Write | How I Write | 2025-12-31 | 15 |
| Inside the Minds of Spiders, Octopuses and Artificial Intelligence | The Ezra Klein Show | 2023-02-24 | 2 |