Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Jun. 14th, 2025 10:00 am
In Adrian Tchaikovsky's Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.
Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.
But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).
But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…
Tchaikovsky has a habit of writing books in series; unfortunately, that isn’t the case with this one. Add to that its short length, and it’s a bit of a disappointment, because I would love to continue reading about Lynette and Nyr. Both are interesting characters who must learn to cooperate if they stand of chance of overcoming what threatens their land.
You get to know Lynesse from the start; it’s her quest and she has her mind set on what she must do. She goes to ask for help from who she thinks is a sorcerer, unaware that what she sees as magic is the technology of an advanced people. Nyr is not a sorcerer, but because of his situation, it takes a while to get to know him. And just as you are, the story ends.
The story jumps back and forth between their perspectives; for Lynesse it’s magic; for Nyr it’s science. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of world views that makes for an intriguing story.

( Mount TBR 2025 Book Links 1-20 )
21. We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
22. America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War by H.W. Brands
23. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
24. The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
25. A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
26. Lost and Found by Marilyn Harris
27. Strange Weather: Four Short Novels by Joe Hill
28. Three Wild Dogs by Markus Zusak
29. Full Throttle by Joe Hill
30. Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next #2) by Jasper Fforde
31. Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

