Shroud

In this thrilling if somewhat long-winded meditation on extraterrestrial life and the trouble that awaits humanity if it tries to exploit the outer terra, Hugo Award winner Tchaikovsky (Service Model) imagines a distant galaxy being eyed for Earth’s Third Stage Commercial Expansion. Within this galaxy, the planet Shroud appears uninhabitable, with no light source and an atmosphere of “roiling smoker’s fug.” But when the space vessel Garveneer detects an “all-frequencies storm of radio traffic” emanating from the planet, a Special Projects team awakens from deep-freeze hibernation to investigate. Using drones, the scientists discover the planet is crawling with a “hive mind” of tubular creatures. Before any theory about the worms’ origin can be developed, however, a collision disrupts research and sends two team members—narrator Juna and macro engineer Mai—hurling toward Shroud in a two-person pod. Stranded, they manipulate the pod to cross the planet’s cavernous landscape hoping for rescue even as they take the opportunity to observe Shroud’s strange inhabitants—who study the humans right back. The old-fashioned Vernian adventure meshes well with the vividly rendered world full of bizarre creatures. This space fable is sure to please Tchaikovsky’s fans. (June)