Headlines:
Probing a new world
Strange creatures
Fighting back and together

Shroud was an unusual sci-fi, set in a world without light that was being explored for what it could offer, one where humans found more than they bargained for. The characters of this story were commodities to 'higher ups', worked to the bone, existing on stimulants and sleeping pills to be productive. It was a dull existence until Shroud made life interesting for them.

The MC Juna was the glue that kept the crew together and also one of the few that had some integrity. The main supporting character was Mai, a bit of a genius and a lot of a workaholic.

Shroud itself was home to 'things' of all kinds of descriptions. The stranger, the escort and the shrouded were all interesting but they felt creepy as well. It was hard to paint a mental picture of what these things were like but I came to feel mostly interested in them and not scared of them.

Needless to say, humans cannot be trusted in a first contact situation and so there was an unravelling of the exploitation of this world but it came back to bite them.

While this was an interesting story, it was a rather pacey read with a slow middle to three quarters and a romp to the end. Because the world was dark, dull and hard to sketch, the characters also felt less engaging at times. This wasn't my favourite Tchaikovsky book but I always know I'm going to get something unique and intelligent to grapple with.

Thank you to Tor for the review copy.