The Eighth Face

From a master of science fiction and one of the bestselling and most celebrated science fiction writers of his generation comes an electrifying new standalone novel of intrigue and existential reckoning.

What hides beneath the waves of an alien world?

On an island alone in the sea, a monastic community of clones live in the shadow of a wrecked spaceship. There are seven clone lineages in their Retreat, and just seven human faces in this world. They work, pray and replicate, knowing that all this was ordained – that their peaceful lives were intended by the Firstcomers who originally landed here. But the tide is about to turn. 

While serving a punishment detail on the beach, rebellious clone Six-Maijo makes a harrowing discovery: a body has washed ashore with a face belonging to no known lineage. Despite the disapproval of his superiors, Maijo pursues the mystery until he learns some questions are best left un-asked. What happened to the other half of their wrecked ship? Why is the sea casting up its corpses – and why won’t they stay dead?  

As the community fractures under the pressure of ancient guilt, the sea gives up terrible secrets. The Retreat is under threat, but are its true enemies inside or outside its walls?

• "The most inventive alien world I've ever encountered in SF... Pure Tchaikovsky. I swear the man is some kind of genius."
   
  Peter Watts, author of Blindsight on Shroud
• "Adrian Tchaikovsky explores worlds where no one else would dare to go, and the unimaginable becomes believable... This is hard-edged science fiction that never loses its soul."
  Sue Burke, author of Semiosis on Shroud
• "Crunchy, conceptual SF at its best...the best alien contact novel I've read since Peter Watts' Blindsight, and that is high praise indeed."
  Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon on Shroud
• "Thrilling, terrifying and fascinating in equal measure. A gripping story of survival and human endeavor against all odds. The most thought-provoking book I've read in a long time."
  Tim Peake, British ESA astronaut on Shroud
• "Clever, vivid and terrifying. Shroud is probably the most alien world anyone could possibly imagine. But no one has an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky."
  Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific on Shroud
• "A vision of extraterrestrial life that’s as fascinating as it is horrifying."
  BookPage on Alien Clay
• Tchaikovsky's latest (after Service Model, 2024) reveals that the clash is more than just between human and alien but between ideologies that can blind one from harsh realities.
  Booklist on Alien Clay
• "[A] mind-expanding planetary romp... Tchaikovsky continues to impress."
  Publishers Weekly on Alien Clay