Adrian Tchaikovsky is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel. The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, while And Put Away Childish Things won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction.
We had a fascinating conversation with Adrian about how his deep love of TTRPGs act as a primary engine for his prolific literary career. He explains how he uses roleplaying sessions as a form of prototyping to test complex world-building and create authentic, multifaceted casts of characters. We also discuss how the unpredictability of a gaming table helps him break out of authorial habits, his preference for blending hard sci-fi mechanics with high-fantasy stakes, and how decades spent behind a GM screen prepared him for the monumental task of managing the sprawling narratives in his award-winning series. Plus, he tells us about the new Children of Time TTRPG coming to crowdfunding soon...
Links:
Buy Adrian's books here: https://uk.bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=adrian+tchaikovsky
Follow Adrian on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aptshadow.bsky.social
Learn more about the Children of Time RPG: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/658eb1db-ebf3-4f51-b9bf-769c959554ed/landing
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