Reading the Hugos

Alien Clay

A book club in which we read current and potential Hugo Award nominees.

The Hugos are one of the most prestigious awards for Science Fiction and Fantasy media, and one of only a few major awards that are actually voted on by readers! Let's get together to discuss current and potential future Hugo Award nominees and decide whether we would vote for them or not.

The book selection for April is Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

On the distant world of Kiln lie the ruins of an alien civilization. It’s the greatest discovery in humanity’s spacefaring history – yet who were its builders and where did they go?

Professor Arton Daghdev had always wanted to study alien life up close. Then his wishes become a reality in the worst way. His political activism sees him exiled from Earth to Kiln’s extrasolar labor camp. There, he’s condemned to work under an alien sky until he dies.

Kiln boasts a ravenous, chaotic ecosystem like nothing seen on Earth. The monstrous alien life interacts in surprising, sometimes shocking ways with the human body, so Arton will risk death on a daily basis. However, the camp’s oppressive regime might just kill him first. If Arton can somehow escape both fates, the world of Kiln holds a wondrous, terrible secret. It will redefine life and intelligence as he knows it, and might just set him free. . . .

For teen and up readers. Books can be checked out at any NLRPLS library location or online on the Libby app. For more information, contact Megan at Laman Library. No registration required.

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