I found this book hard to follow. So much is happening and I got confused. I felt the same way with book 1 but I hoped it was just growing pains since it was a new world with new technology. Unfortunately I couldn't lose myself in this story and therefore it felt too long

A fantastic follow up to Shards of Earth. Absolutely brilliant world building and expanding all the themes introduced in the first book. The first half of the book I did struggle through but the second half more than made up for it with its awesome environments and thrilling scenes.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Note: I ended up purchasing a final copy to read in the future.

The more I read the books set in the world the more I think it's just not for me. I can appreciate them for the epic space operas that they are, but I can't find motive behind any of the characters. My favorite parts of this book all take place on the planets and the interactions between the different species, because that's what I'm most interested in. Unfortunately, the things that I disliked would all be spoilers for not only this book, but the trilogy as a whole and the Children of Time trilogy. I did really appreciate the Moby Dick references though!

A great continuation of the story. I found the first half a little slower paced than I expected, but the second half more than made up for it. Eagerly awaiting the final installment.

This was a really great follow up to Shards of Earth! I felt a lot more comfortable in the first third of this book: I remembered most of the names and species and factions, and there was a nice glossary or encyclopedia to help. So the world definitely felt more comfortable, and I was quicker to pick up on things as they happened because of it.

Even still, there were some great new characters and species, and I continue to love the way Adrian uses major locations to pace the book: each new place was exciting and fresh and moved the pace alone even during a long story.

I don't remember if we had as much time following Havaer in the first book, but I particularly enjoyed those sections here. I am a sucker for a good detective/agent plotline and his story scratches that itch for me really well. Idris and Solace are still wonderful characters and I love the camaraderie of the crew of the Vulture God and their connected friends and companions.

I'm very excited for the conclusion of this trilogy, and thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5268003The Architects— the entirely ineffable beings who unravel worlds into fractal explosions— are back. And the Originator artifacts that previous repelled them are no longer working. Idris and the crew of the Vulture God journey to a planet with ancient Originator ruins that the Architects are dismantling so they can destroy the planet. Simultaneously, Havaer Mundy heads toward them with a curious lead that may spell disaster for more than just a single planet…

Shards of Earth as the first book I read in 2022 and one of my favorite sci-fi books of the year, so returning to this universe in early 2023 was a true pleasure. We see higher stakes and learn more about the alien beings populating this world. This is stellar sci-fi. Highly recommended.416

I don't know if <em>Eyes of the Void</em> was as good at <em>Shards of Earth</em>, but the two books are so tightly interlinked that it really just reads as the next half of the same book, and it was certainly just as much fun. If the level of mollusk weirdness was lower, the level of metaphysical weirdness was higher, so it all evens out. I continue to be amazed at Tchaikovsky's capacity to write highbrow big-ideas sci-fi, action packed space romps, and unexpected combinations of the two, and <em>Eyes of the Void</em> shows him taking a series that I thought fell firmly into the latter and elevating it to be almost as focused on big questions as his magnum opus <em>Memory of ...</em> series.

Frustrating; the first book in this series was a beacon of crunchy, fast-paced action with deep character work and natural developments from the situations its characters were put in. Unfortunately, when the Eyes of the Void is good, it is because Tchaikovsky has a single brilliant scene, not because the overall narrative is any good.

We spend the first third of the book on a planet slowly being eaten by drones of the Architects while a giant Obelisk that signals the planet and galaxy's destruction hangs heavy in the sky, and yet our characters, including our Intermediary Idris who has connected to the minds of these beings, is only briefly unnerved by this threat. He's more concerned about his student Ints and the horrors that they will have to go through to become like him and most egregiously, his standing in Hume society. At any moment the Architects could decide to one-shot-kill the planet and all its inhabitants, and the biggest concerns of all characters are petty interpersonal conflicts.

I would believe that the inhabitants of the planet would feel this way; we've seen in real life how petty we become when faced with mass death and suffering we cannot comprehend the severity of. But these characters are not the planet's inhabitants, they are there specifically *because* of the hanging Architects ship and Originator artifacts; these characters as was established in the first book, are and have been at the centre of the war against the Architects in the past, and now in the present, but now they're too busy punching each other to focus on literally the only thing they are alleged to care about.

The book is good, the plot tightens as it goes on, but I am frustrated. Tchaikovsky spins his wheels when he doesn't need to. This is the plotting and focus of a less talented writer and I am disappointed.

This is a fantastic sequel to Shards of Earth. I highly recommend reading that one before diving into this one. And there's still at least one more to go in the series. But as sequels go, this one is terrific. Solid characters, skillful writing, and a captivating story. Science fiction at its best!

I read this as an ARC from the publisher.

It’s the second in Tchaikovsky’s ambitious Space Trilogy that began with Shards of Earth and deals with humanity under threat due to enormous entities known as the Architects that come to inhabited worlds and basically unmake them, killing everything that lives there. Earth was destroyed in the past by one of these things and in the first book protagonist Idris Telemmier, one of the INT’s created by humanity to pilot ships in Unspace (the very clever way that faster-than-light-travel is achieved in these books). Talks one of the Architects into not destroying humanity’s new main home and gets it to go away. The adventure of that book takes place 50 years later as the Architects threaten to return as Idris lies low on the space salvage ship the Vulture God with its motley crew of misfits who somehow manage to be a found family in the best way.

In this book, the Architects have come back and are busily unmaking human and alien worlds, including ones that have the remains of the Originator civilization on them, worlds they wouldn’t touch previously. Idris has defected from the main human faction Hugh, to the Parthenon, a genetically engineered race of women, who are attempting to create their own INTS to pilot ships. And they’re trying to do it without the horrible operations and genetic modifications Idris, himself endured. He has agreed to help them so new INTS can be brought into service without slavery or torture.

But as soon as the Architects return, it is clear that humanity and all its allied races have run out of time. And Idris, his friends, and even some of his enemies, are plunged into a race against time to find some way to get the Architects to back off once more. And this time, there’s a plot deep within Hugh, that threatens humanity as a whole from the inside. A plot initially uncovered by Hugh agent Havaer Mundy, an old antagonist of the Vulture God crew, who ends up being their ally for much of this book.

There are a ton of plot twists and political intrigue and a pretty straightforward police investigation in all this. But, as usual, Tchaikovsky deftly brings all the concurrent plot threads together very neatly and tells a gripping story in the process. There are a lot of well-drawn characters. All the Vulture God crew, and several new characters get opportunities to shine and do important things to drive the plot. And you really care about them and the outcomes. Even characters who are irritating have clear motivations and do important things in the story.

Humanity is at stake, but maybe even more than that, as Idris finds out as he uses Originator tech to stare into the void of Unspace and begins to see the pattern of the universe and possibly, the origin of the Architects.
You probably should start with the first book in this series. But if you come in here, you’ll still get a thrilling tale and a really interesting take on spacefaring societies. The aliens are really alien in this. They don’t think or react like humans at all. And it makes it really interesting. And the whole idea of Unspace and how it’s used. Very original.

This is what science fiction was invented to do. Show us a glimpse of something really different.

Possible Triggers:
Death | Torture

Summary:
This is the second book in the ‘Final Architecture’ Series. The book starts about 6 months after the events of book 1.

Characters:
This story follows the same characters as it does in the first book.

Idris: So I know I mentioned him in my review of the first book. But, this man is just so freaking relatable. I love that he struggles to formulate the words to communicate his thoughts/ideas. I adore that his friends see and recognize where he needs help and they are willing and able to step in and be there for him when he needs/asks for it. I love that they are willing to tear completely through space not even because Idris has a specific need he’s to fulfill but genuinely because they care about him (this isn't conveyed enough (in other books) where it actually FEELS like they care). I love that he has his Idris-isms. He's just so distinctly himself. Best relatable series hero ever.

Positives:
+ ‘The story so far’ and an ‘important characters’ page in the very front before you even begin? HOW PERFECT. I love when books do this. A++ for refreshing my memory before I deep dive into the story. Also the sexy timeline information in the back of the book as well as a glossary? *chef’s kiss* beautiful.
+ Adrian Tchaikovsky writes the best freaking alien species ever. I love that so many of them are so outside of the realm of anything I have ever read before. Mollusk overlords? Check. Creatures that have to live in a built form in order to maintain a cohesive form to communicate with others? Check! Loch Ness Space Beastie? Check!
+ I really enjoyed seeing some of the Hanni culture in this book. It wasn’t a huge amount, but even getting to dip into the surface level a little more was fantastic.
+ A++ for the increase of stakes in this book.

Final Thoughts:
This review is literally taking me an age to finish (it's going on over 2 weeks now and I still can't formulate the words). How to fully express how awesome I thought this book was without spoiling anything at all. So I wanna preface this review with I LOVE THIS BOOK. I want to talk about it, I want to see fanart of it, I want it to be one of the big ‘talked about’ space operas.

This book took me a ridiculous amount of time to finish. I actually started it a month before it was due to be released and somehow it managed to take me 2 months to actually finish the book. I don’t know what my deal was; this book was fantastic. The pacing was insane, the aliens fascinating. The stakes were ridiculously high. You got to see more culture, more fighting, more intrigue, more EVERYTHING! This is a great second book in a series and I can not wait to see how the series concludes.

The first book laid out a great number of weird and fascinating alien species with humans just being one of many, combined with gigantic Architects that go about plopping into real space to completely transform planets into weird sculptures, much to the mind-blowing terror of the millions of people or intelligent species living there.

We followed the crew of the salvage ship Vulture God and barely scraped by one such horrifying encounter with a reveal that the big bad is not, indeed, the Architects, but something else that drove them. And, then there are the Originators, another huge mystery that wraps up all the intelligent species in yet another conundrum.

Of course, that hardly describes the usual and normal problems of opportunistic species taking advantage of the chaos to start interstellar wars and the like, but here we are. And, nothing quite beats the terrified scrambling of so many intelligent species with all the collateral damage that implies. It makes for a truly excellent space opera. I look forward to following all these, my favorite characters from the Vulture God and their quest to survive. Like middle stories like The Empire Strikes Back, we come closer to finding out what exactly is going on and who the big bad is in Eyes of the Void, but this is a book that is just getting ready for the big blow out of the finale in the last novel of the series.

This book was a wild ride and a great segway between the first and third (and final) books of the series. The pain and anguish of Idris plays throughout the book, from the very beginning to the very end. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout to keep you guessing and to keep the plot a secret. The book sets up the final book in the trilogy brilliantly by leaving things teetering on the edge, making you need to know what happens next and how things work out for Idris, his crewmates, and the universe.

I am a huge fan of Tchaikovsky and was not disappointed with his latest release. I look forward to what he puts out in the future!

The fate of humanity is dire in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s second book of The Final Architecture series. After eighty years of tense silence the Architects are not only back, they are fixed on destroying all inhabited worlds. Originator artifacts that once protected planets from these moon-sized aliens no longer work. In Eyes of the Void, death is coming to all.

Eyes of the Void takes place shortly after the events in Shards of Earth. The entire galaxy has been thrown into pandemonium. Architects have found a way to bypass Originator tech that the Hegemony once used to shield planets. The use of Intermediaries or Ints, people who can travel through Unspace and communicate with the Architects, is the only solution left. Despite abysmal success rates, creating more Ints is paramount. The feud over control of these Ints may bring forth a new galactic war.

Idris Telemmier is an Intermediary first class and one of the most experienced Unspace pilots. Yet, his two-time war hero status is matched with a polarizing reputation. For some who had witnessed human colonies fall entirely subservient to alien cults, it is crucial for humanity to fight alone. Idris had deflected the Architects away in the war. He betrayed his own kind. With humanity on the verge of annihilation once more, all are watching Idris. What will he do next?

Idris Telemmier’s plight in Eyes of the Void is a gripping classic. While he wants nothing more than to vanish from the center of universe’s attention, he recognizes his responsibility. His decisions will forever change the course of humanity. His mistakes will aid its end. Idris as the reluctant hero proves a well written trope has its place in modern works.

Eyes of the Void did read as more of a setup piece for the third book in the series. While action-packed, this second installment adds depth to Tchaikovsky’s universe. We learn more about established alien species and Unspace. Tchaikovsky is exceptional in presenting truly outlandish aliens and giving them authenticity. The same is true for his enhanced humans. I especially enjoyed learning more about the Parthenon and the symbiotic Tothiats.

I love Tchaikovsky’s concept of Unspace. His depiction of this real and nonexistent void heightens my imagination. The mystery hidden in Unspace feels truly limitless. I crave to understand its secrets. Eyes of the Void rejuvenated my inherent sense of wonder for space.

Eyes of the Void amplifies everything from the first book. There are more battles, more Architects, and so much more to learn about Tchaikovsky’s universe. I am all too eager for book three.

Published by Orbit on May 3, 2022

The crew of the Vulture God returns in Eyes of the Void, the second book of the Final Architecture trilogy. The first novel built the future in which the novel is set. This one expands the reader’s understanding of the universe while advancing (albeit slowly) the fight between the Architects and the various human and nonhuman species who are fleeing the Architects’ grand design.

At the end of the first novel, the Architects took a break, perhaps in response to contact made by Idris Telemmier, one the original humans who was designed to stay awake while navigating through unspace. Now the Architects are back, redesigning worlds in an apparent desire for a different aesthetic. The redesigns are unfortunately fatal to all life on the planet, as they involve pulling some of the planet’s core to its surface.

In the first novel, the Architects did not bother worlds that had artifacts of the Originators. Soon after Eyes of the Void commences, the Architects are carefully removing artifacts from a world that has been colonized by the Divine Essiel, leaders of a religious cult who make an improbable promise of protection from the Architects to those who build and occupy a “great new temple.” Idris happens to be on that world for a time, but various individuals from multiple species would like to capture him for their own purposes.

Idris is the novel’s most interesting character, if only because he has been forced into a life he never wanted. Having been given the extraordinary but painful ability to see into unspace without being driven mad, Idris feels compelled to use that power for the greater good while satisfying his own fear-driven curiosity about the true nature of unspace and its inhabitants. That curiosity will be at least partially satisfied by the novel’s end.

The remaining crew of the Vulture God spend most of the novel trying to rescue each other. They hope to snatch Idris from the Divine Essiel’s planet before it is destroyed. They hope to snatch Kris Almier, their knife-wielding lawyer, from the clutches of the Uskaro family, residents of a prosperous colony world. They need to rescue one of the characters a second time. Solace, one of the warrior-angels known as the Parthenon, does much of the rescuing. Solace’s character, having been developed in the first novel, undergoes little change in the second. Kris and Idris are the most interesting characters in this installment.

The Naeromanthi are one of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s most interesting creations. Realizing that living on a planet made them vulnerable to the Architects, the Naeromanthi built and filled huge arks and dispersed them throughout the galaxy. The quickly lost the cultural referents that come with planetary attachment and developed into a nomadic culture, scavenging whatever they can find from other planets and ships. It occurs to some humans that they should follow a similar path.

Eyes of the Void is wordy. Descriptions of unspace and Idris’ reaction to it are often redundant. Padding is not an issue I’ve noticed in Tchaikovsky’s other work. It is, however, an issue in the second novel of many sf trilogies. Still, the novel serves its purpose as a bridge between a fascinating first novel and the promise of an equally fascinating conclusion.

RECOMMENDED

Eyes of the Void is a fantastic follow up to Shards of Earth, revealing even more about this complex world and the even more complicated political machinations. The novel follows the same POV characters as the first, with the very welcome addition of Ollie, and finds our ragtag team once again caught between various political factions, all of whom are appear to be vying to use the current period of unrest for individual gain and power grabs. Idris, of course, is stuck in the middle of all the schemes and machinations. But in this book, we see Idris regain some autonomy over his life and taking actions because he wants to -- not because he's obligated or forced to. This personal journey also leads Idris to uncover some shocking truths about the Originators, Architects, and the very fabric of the universe. Of course, these answers only lead to bigger and more complicated questions. But that's exactly the type of storytelling and suspense I'm looking for in Tchaikovsky novels.

The ending of the first book in this trilogy left things in a very precarious place. The factions of humanity were on a knife's edge teetering on the precipice of all out war. The world-destroying race of Architects was back and wreaking havoc at a rapid pace. Even the worlds previously protected by the revered clam overlords, the Essiel, now seemed threatened with destruction since the ancient artifacts they used as a shield didn't seem to be a deterrent anymore. This book builds on all of these tensions in some pretty explosive ways. Will humanity come together, along with all the other species, to confront the common threat? Or will they splinter and destroy each other before the Architects get the chance? I'm not going to answer that question, but I will say that the politics and motivations explored by the author were fascinating to follow and provided interesting thought experiments that mirrored some relevant real-world situations.

The world-building in these books is truly an amazing feat of imagination. All the different locales and alien races were so much fun to read, even if things did get a bit dense at times. The mysteries of the Architects, Originators, and unspace were all heavily explored. The few answers this book gave just opened up even more questions, and it all has me really excited to see the direction that the third, and final, book takes. While interesting, some of the exploration of these concepts felt a bit too abstract for my taste, especially the information about unspace. There was also quite a lot of repetition in the way unspace was described throughout the book, and I got tired of it pretty quickly. For example, I lost count of the number of long-winded reminders of unspace not being real space. Despite these hiccups, the sheer amount of information about this universe and its inhabitants subtly weaved into the narrative was mind-boggling, and I found myself completely absorbed in it more often than not.

All of the characters were back for this sequel, which made me really happy. They make such a great team with all their VERY different personalities. The exploration into Idris's psyche and what it meant to be an Int was quite fascinating. He had a lot to come to terms with in this novel, and I found his journey of accepting his prominent role in shaping the future of the universe to be a compelling one. I also really loved that Kris was given a bit more of the spotlight in this one. It allowed her skills as a lawyer and a fighter to be showcased, as well as some inner conflict about her instincts and her past. Most of the rest of the cast felt a bit static in comparison, but I didn't mind because I just legitimately like this group of characters so much. Many of them did have subtle arcs, as well, but they just didn't get the same spotlight that Idris and Kris seemed to get in terms of growth, which I think was mostly a by-product of having so many characters and POVs alongside the heavy focus on all the mysteries and conflicts.

Overall, I really loved this book. The mysteries, exquisite world-building, tense politics, and stellar cast of characters came together to create something truly unforgettable. I'm definitely looking forward to the conclusion. Idris and the rest of the characters have some huge, universe-altering decisions to make, and I'm curious to see what they will do with the information they learned at the end of the book. I rate this book 4 out of 5 giant clam overlords. :)

Adrian Tchaikovsky does not disappoint. So I rushed out immediately to read the first book in this new series, "Shards of Earth". The world building is extensive and detailed. The storytelling is strong and the characters are compelling. In this science fiction space adventure the action is non-stop. Humanity is spread throughout the universe, interacting with varying degrees of success with creatures from other worlds. An existential threat is at the center of things. Politicians, pundits, scientists, and warriors, criminals and traders jockey for position, power, and survival.

My only criticism was that the detailed world building and battle scenes left me longing for more character interaction.

My review is primarily from the physically copy I read. The digital copy allowed me to continue reading during night on my phone.

This was a fantastic sequel in this epic space series. For me, the draw is the incredible worldbuilding. This imagined future is vast and complex with intricate politics between the different factions. The series technically hits on several classic tropes of the genre, yet the story never feels derivative or tired. Instead I love how these elements how these handled.

Once again, the prose is solid. My only drawback appears to be a personal one, but I find that the author always keeps his readers at a distance from his characters. While I love the overarching story, I fail to form much attachment, even for characters that we followed for two books. Despite those small quibbles, I really enjoyed this book.

I would highly recommend this series to science fiction readers but you will need to start back at the beginning with Shards of Earth.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.