Rating: 4/5 stars

Adrian Tchaikovsky has fully embraced his “speculative biology-era”, and I’ve done nothing but cheer him on from the sideline ever since. For far too long, the science-side of hard sci-fi was dominated by physics, and I love Tchaikovsky’s way of bringing alternative biology to that same height, and out of the realms of “Searching for Bigfoot-novels”.
This year, he brought us not one, but two releases within this niche: Alien Clay and Saturation Point. Although I enjoyed both, it’s undeniable that the two read extremely similar, almost as if written from the same outline, but focusing a slightly different evolutionary concept.

Saturation Point is set in a dystopian future where the Earth has been wrecked by climate change and global warming, making large parts of the globe uninhabitable to humans. The constant threat of new contagions and viruses keeps communities isolated, whilst large corporations do their best to find ways to make a profit within the increasingly hostile natural environments around them.
Our story follows a female scientist, through a series of briefing notes, as she recounts her experiences within “The Zone”; a band of wild rainforest around the equator where heat and humidity make it impossible for warm-blooded animals to survive. Combining her recounting of her first trip into the Zone, mixed with her latest upcoming mission, we get a glimpse into a truly hostile world of nature, corporate greed, and the insignificance of humanity in the face of both.

What I Loved:
As mentioned: Tchaikovsky is a master of this style of sci-fi. What Alien Clay did for the biological concept of symbiosis, Saturation Point does for thermoregulation. Elements of horror, thriller and action are combined into a cohesive whole that feels like an incredibly complete story, despite its short length of under 200 pages. Because of Tchaikovsky’s strong grasp on the biology behind his world, he’s able to bring the world to life without overexplaining it to you as the reader. Perhaps even better within his novella’s than his full-length novels, he balances showing-vs-telling, especially when it comes to the ethical questions he brings up. This is climate fiction that is scary without being preachy, which is something I can always appreciate.

What I didn’t love:
Epistolary or “interview-style” novels are often hit-or-miss for me, but the protagonists narrative voice, brought to live brilliantly by the audio-narrator Emma Newman, really pulled me in.
That leaves me with only a single valid point of criticism, which is that Saturation Point felt so similar to Alien Clay. And in that comparison, Alien Clay wins by a long stretch. Luckily though, this isn’t an evolutionary competition where only the strongest may survive. I’m happy to have both Alien Clay and Saturation Point next to each other, and think Saturation Point, for its shorter runtime, makes for a perfect entry into this authors extensive backlog.

Readalikes: Alien Clay (obviously, for aforementioned reasons) and a mix of Annihilation and Predator, but without the charming campiness of the latter.

This was a quick introduction to the author’s work, I enjoyed the world building and the fact the action wasn’t too long in coming.

As always, Adrian Tchaikovsky delivers, this time it is a eco- thriller novella.
The story is set in a world controlled by corporations and devastated by climate change, where people who live in fear of viruses and in constant isolation. Not scary at all.
Then we are introduced to 'The Zone' an inhabitable jungle where the main character find herself hunted down, giving me some Predator vibes.
After finishing the book I was somehow surprised that it was just a novella, because it honestly felt like a "complete" book.
The writing is that good. If you are familiar with the author, you know what I'm talking about.
I listened to the audiobook version and it was really good, I liked the narrator a lot.

Thank you Tantor Audio!

Its giving,. 1987 Predator ! I loved a mesh of sci-fi thriller and real science. Our planet is truly falling apart and we humans are certainly causing our own demise via climate change and global warming; Tchaikovsky hit close to home with this one. I usually love an eco-fiction, but I don't think this one was particularly sparkling to me. Not sure what about it, but I didn't feel connected to the characters nearly enough to be scared for them. I think this book needed a little more something to be outstanding. Maybe I just loved Predator too much and nothing may ever live up to it in my eyes!

Still recommend, though. For all sci-fi / thriller / horror readers out there. Much thanks to Netgalley for my audio edition.

OK someone stop Adrian Tchaikovsky, he writes too much! Never going to complete his backlog because he is a machine.

How much do you know about thermoregulation? It's kinda important. "Saturation Point" takes Doctor Jasmine Marks back to hell, her old research site. Jokes aside, it is called the Hygrometric Dehabitation Region, an area we physically can not live in. 20 years ago she was part of a team studying this area to see if it had agricultural applications. They only learned that there is no place for humans there. After a plane crashes inside the HDR she is being sent in on a rescue mission to evacuate any potential survivors. I'm sur the corporation funding it is being totally upfront about everything.

Narrated by Emma Newman, the tone shifts certain characters have, so clean.

Reasons to read:
-Learn something about thermoregulation
-Corpos have a rough time
-The need for a scientist to get answers
-OK that was a real sinister twist for the ending

Cons:
-Hey look, new climate change based worry!

Tras disfrutar de la siempre estupenda charla de Adrian Tchaikovsky en el Celsius, de la mano del acertado Borja Bilbao, me di cuenta de que me faltaba por leer uno de sus libros publicados este año. Y digo uno porque es muy difícil estar al día con la cantidad de cosas que publica, así que ya ni os cuento cómo sería recuperar su obra menos reciente.


Saturation Point es una novela corta que habla de muchos temas desde una perspectiva biológica, cada uno más interesante y, por desgracia, pesimista que el anterior. El libro se narra desde el punto de vista de la doctora Jasmine Marks, que dos décadas atrás sobrevivió a un estudio en la Zona, una creciente extensión de terreno en el ecuador con unas condiciones de humedad y calor tan extremas que imposibilitan la vida de cualquier animal de sangre caliente. Tras esta traumática experiencia, vuelven a requerir sus servicios en una misión de rescate en la Zona.

Creo que he disfrutado tanto de la obra ayudada por la narración impecable de Emma Newman, que ya ha colaborado con Tchaikovsky en otros audiolibros como Guns of Dawn y que sin duda se perfila como una de las narradoras más atractivas del mundillo. La elección de la voz y el tono, la emulación de situaciones reales como un ataque de ansiedad y en general, su desempeño en la interpretación, sitúa la producción del audiolibro en un nivel muy alto.

En cuanto a los temas que trata el autor en el libro, quizá el más evidente es el cambio climático y cómo la adaptación al medio puede llegar a resultar insuficiente. Y la evolución, forzada o no, siempre se ha caracterizado por dejar atrás los experimentos fallidos. Es por esto que Saturation Point recuerda a otras obras como To be Taught, if Fortunate aunque con una aproximación muchísimo más pesimista y no sé si sería justo decir realista. También tiene ciertas similitudes con la obra de Derek Künsken, que explora las posibles evoluciones del ser humano con sus homo quantum, homo eridanis…

Otra cosa que hace Tchaikovsky tiene mucho mérito también, pues en apenas 5 horas de audiolibro es capaz de explicarnos de una manera amena y educativa el funcionamiento de los sistemas de liberación del calor en los animales y la posible evolución de la creación de proteínas en los incorrectamente nombrados seres de sangre fría, sin por ello sobrecargar el ritmo de la historia.

Aunque la elección del punto de vista y del narrador me parece acertada, es cierto que a veces se nota cierto apresuramiento en el relato, como si de repente el escritor se diera cuenta de que lo que tiene que presentar es una novela corta y no un tocho de 1000 páginas. Esto ocurre solo en momentos puntuales y es fácilmente perdonable. Me cuesta más aceptar la perfecta intercambiabilidad de los personajes secundarios, diseminados al azar por la Zona para dejar patente el nivel de amenaza de la propia naturaleza. Supongo que esto está directamente relacionado con la longitud de la obra. No es un impedimento para el disfrute y ni siquiera llegar a ser una crítica es tan solo un comentario.

En definitiva, creo que el audiolibro Saturation Point es una lectura estupenda, pero también reconozco que quizá leerlo en plena ola de calor no fue la decisión más acertada. A lo mejor en otoño hubiera sido menos asfixiante.

July 21, 2024, was the hottest recorded day on Earth (as of this writing, per climate scientists, see: https://pulse.climate.copernicus.eu/), which made this a fitting and timely audiobook novella from the mind of Adrian Tchaikovsky.
It takes place in a not-so-distant future Earth when the equatorial regions are so hot that they can no longer sustain human life. Some 20 years earlier, a scientist led an expedition to see if there were ways to farm, mine, or otherwise monetize this hot Zone. Most of the researchers who accompanied the scientist died on the government-funded expedition. One of the survivors is working in a dead-end research job when she is “strongly encouraged” to return to the Zone on an important and secret rescue mission.
This is an adventure novel, a mystery, and, because it is from Adrian Tchaikovsky, full of relevant and interesting science tidbits. It is written as a series of diary or log entries by the researcher who returns to the Zone. Wonderful audiobook narration captures her excitement, fear, doubt, etc. as she re-enters the hot Zone 20 years later with updated equipment and a new group of colleagues.
The novella contains some elements from earlier books, including a mad female scientist not unlike the one in Children of Time. But it is not at all necessary to have read that trilogy to appreciate this topical novella.
It’s easy to imagine the ways in which businesses will try to make money from our increasingly dire ecological crises, the shortcuts to profiteering, and the corners cut to show results faster. Yet this story is not preachy or pedantic. The world-building is rich and the tension mounts as the expedition progresses. It is scary and/or hopeful, depending on your perspective.
My thanks to the author, publisher, audiobook producers, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of #SaturationPoint for review purposes. Another home run for Adrian Tchaikovsky!
Publication date: July 30, 2024

Prescient!

Evolution. Climate change.

It reads like a sci-fi thriller.

Scientists and soldiers are in the Zone on a mission. The climate is deadly so who or what is killing them off?

Great ending!!

Thank you NetGalley & Tantor Audio! Good narration! The suspense & mystery of it gripped me from the start and I listened to it in one sitting.

(4.5 Stars, rounded up to 5 for NetGalley)

This was a really good Horror/Sci-Fi Story. The narration is excellent, the characters are unique and identifiable, and the plot is intriguing. It is hard to believe how much action was packed into a very short story. But it didn't feel rushed, and it had a perfect pace.

If I had to compare this to something, I would say it is a lot like the movie Predator, combined with Anaconda. I really liked this story a lot.

A truly gripping sci-fi/horror tale of man's hubris, the merciless ways in which nature retaliates and a message that life will find a way in any environment. Only it may not be what we planned or expected. The story blends elements from the classics Roadside Picnic and The Island of Dr. Moreau, yet revolves around the catastrophic collapse of the world's climate and the chilling and bizarre ways in which both the planet and humanity adapt. The narrative is in epistolary form, written from the perspective of an ecologist in the field and is both incredibly taut and claustrophobic as it traces her journey deep into the mysterious "Zone". Tchaikovsky masterfully weaves in details of cutting edge ecology and biology to make the tale all the more convincing and alarming. The audio narration by Emma Newman is absolutely fantastic.

With the ability to create expansive and creative worlds that often toggle genres so that there is a true hyphen between scifi-fantasy, Tchaikovsky once again demonstrates why he is one of my utterly top favorite currently working authors. Even though this is a novella, it manages to provide a very solid and broad world setting that exceeds to give the reader a solid idea of the type of climate both literal and social the characters exist in concisely. Small aspects such as a side note about how recent history treated immigrants, to the constraints of a world where most of us are withdrawn to others, to the current economic system in place, provide us with a decent idea of the ideologies that persisted. While this wasn't necessary it is that type of grounding that is in addition not in detriment to the main narrative that always leaves me impressed. That's before were even touch the concepts at the heart of the novella.

While he might be known more for his space epics, "Saturation Point" brings back the stellar science and focuses on the biochemical and ecological. Now, while I am fairly literate I don't consider myself even remotely savvy when it comes to comprehending sciences and maths without aggressive effort on my part. But the author's descriptions and summaries are so concise that I not only feel like I've followed along but am once again astounded by the breadth of knowledge this man knows and has connected. It is one thing to be knowledgeable. It is another to be able to communicate those concepts and facts in an accessible manner. Tchaikovsky does both.

Written as a series of audio recordings, the semi epistolary style is one I've always been a fan of. There was significant strength in the main character's voice. There was very natural rhythm to her thoughts and in-the-moment reactions. My experience of this was assisted by my case by a wonderful narration job as I received an audio copy. there is something in the tonality and wonder that almost taps into the cozy-subgenre only to be ripped away to true scenes of tension and even brutality but also for the most part just feels charming. There is a anticipation that is sometimes from excitement, sometimes from terror.

Part adventure, part mystery, part speculation on evolutionary history and future, Tchaikovsy once again delivers some memorable characters, speculative statements, and well fleshed out hypothesis on nature of the kind of the earth and of the morality found in humans and society's puppets. It taps into that classic sci-fi tale sort of vibe where it is the possibility and the unknown combined with potentially feasible turns of current technology and recent future possibilities that I know I at least am a sucker for.

I truly enjoyed this novella. I may not have been as invested in it as his other works, but for a short piece it does everything you can hope a novel will do-deliver a good romp.

Of course, this reminds me of Annihilation, another amazing story. Doctor Jasmine Marks has to return to a dangerous area 20 years after a disastrous earlier expedition. The area itself is dangerous, but once there, Dr Marks finds more and different kinds of dangers. On one level, this is a terrific read because of the well-written action bordering on horror, but this story also has a lot to offer in the way of interesting ideas. I listened to the audiobook courtesy of NetGalley and the narration helped bring out more excitement.

I've had a number of Adrian Tchaikovsky books, actually series, on my "to be read" shelf for a few years now. They came highly recommended by friends with similar reading taste to mine. My problem is that I tend to set higher expectations when I get glowing recommendations and if the result doesn't live up to it, its a bigger disappointment than an unknown author especially when the folks that provided the recommendation ask what I thought. When I saw this novella, not part of any series, I thought that it would be a great low-stakes way to try out this highly acclaimed author. I admit that I was not disappointed. The story way fascinating and intelligent. I was quickly absorbed into the tale of Dr. Jasmine Marks and felt transported into this "zone" in which she finds herself (it may have helped a bit that I was listening to the audiobook while outside on a hot summer day in South Florida). There are a few interesting twists in the adventure and it is all tied up in a clever ending. I'm pleased that I chose to read this story and can't wait to read another book by the author. This is definitely a good story for readers of science fiction who want to sample this award-winning author's work and I'm sure that fans of his past books will enjoy it too.
Reading (or listening to) this story as an audiobook further enhanced my experience and the voice actor that brought this story the additional dimension deserves a round of applause for the outstanding performance.
(4.5/5)
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Tantor Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.