Eyes of the Void, Review

1st August 2022 Eyes of the Void, Review

Adrian Tchaikovsky has become one of my favourite authors in recent years, and Shards of Earth was enjoyable. There was so much to love, even though I struggled with the scale of things. Space is unbelievably massive, and we're tiny. I'm sure I'm not the only person that struggles with scale when it comes to these things.

Humanity is in turmoil, fearing extinction, as the moon-sized Architects have returned. Some believe alliances with other species can save them. Others insist humanity must fight alone. They all know that no one has the firepower or technology to ensure victory.

Idris's role as an Intermediary (Int) - altered to navigate deep space - make him one of humanity's only weapons. It also helps that he's faced down an Architect before. He's therefore forced back into action where he has to find something to stop the Architects' advance. To do so, he must return to the nightmare of unspace, where his mind was broken and remade. There, he'll make a discovery about the Architects that will change everything that humanity thinks about them.

Eyes of the Void

If the idea of the Architects blew your mind in Shards of Earth, then prepare to have the remaining pieces shattered.

The Architects are going to be the stars of this series. It wouldn't be a Tchaikovsky sci-fi book if an alien species wasn't an important player. Whilst they're not a character you follow, they are most certainly the series' focal point. If you're wondering how their existence could possibly drive the story forward any further than the first book, then you're in for a pleasant surprise with the ending.

Idris is once again the book's main character, but his character has taken a bit of a change. Instead of being unwilling to participate in the war, he's become an active agent. He makes his own decisions and finds new ways of using his Int powers. It's a nice change in the character development that might be a bit polarising to some readers who loved him in the first book. But this isn't a guy that'll sit back and take it forever, and knowing that he's possibly the only person who can make a difference, it seems like a logical step in his character development. I fully expect him to change further in the third book, given the events of Eyes of the Void.

Other characters seem to take more of a back seat in this instalment. It might just be my way of thinking, but Idris's story is what propels the story forward. The relationship between Olli and Solace progresses as they work together throughout. They're not the best pairing and have conflicting opinions on a lot of things. They're coming together as a working team, though.

Solace is a vat-grown Parthenon soldier, designed with an ideal in mind. Olli, captain of the Vulture God, is disabled and uses a device called the Scorpian to move around. Solace seems to see beyond Olli's disability and shows respect for how Olli adapts to her environment. Olli sees the Parthenon soldiers as individuals who had no more choice in how they were born than Olli did. Two very different characters in every sense, which leads to some interesting dialogue and thoughts when they're interacting.

And then there's Havaer, who has a slightly bigger role than he did in Eyes of the Void. He's following the Vulture God and discovers a data packet that contains information on Humanity's ultimate plan for survival. It's a discovery that shakes Havaer to his core, making him question his loyalties. I expect he'll play an even more prominent role in the overall story in the next book because of this.

Eyes in the Void is a brilliant follow-up to The Shards of Earth. It seemed more fast-paced and tense. I also loved learning a bit more about the Architects. I still struggle with the scale of what's happening just because Space is enormous, and some of what's talked about are just massive. I enjoyed it slightly more than the first and cannot wait for the final part. I'm fully expecting it to blow my mind!

Rating: 4/5