Alien Clay
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovskyby Adrian Tchaikovsky
Shares rank 63 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended for giving an intuitive grasp of a difficult scientific concept and for being very alien. One critic found it too similar to Tchaikovsky's other work.
Recommended for giving an intuitive grasp of a difficult scientific concept and for being very alien. One critic found it too similar to Tchaikovsky's other work.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Praised among Tchaikovsky's best books
“Cage of Souls, Alien Clay and Service Model are some of his finest”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “Science Fiction Is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?” “Another of Tchaikovsky, Alien Clay, also great, also very alien.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Rendezvous with Rama” “Alien Clay and Service Model are also great.”
Comment from 1 Jul 2026 in “Newly discovered spider builds spring loaded snare to catch ants” - Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Often recommended alongside Service Model
“Cage of Souls, Alien Clay and Service Model are some of his finest”
Comment from 8 Mar 2026 in “Science Fiction Is Dying. Long Live Post Sci-Fi?” “Alien Clay and Service Model are also great.”
Comment from 1 Jul 2026 in “Newly discovered spider builds spring loaded snare to catch ants”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Alien Clayby Adrian TchaikovskyThis page | 7 | 1 | 88% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“basically the same book, which I found disappointing”
“Alien Clay and Service Model are also great.”
“Another of Tchaikovsky, Alien Clay, also great, also very alien.”
“Cage of Souls, Alien Clay and Service Model are some of his finest”
“A similar theme to Adrian Tchaikocsky's most recent standalone work "Alien Clay"”
“I think it gives the best intuition I’ve seen for a scientific concept that can be difficult to really grok otherwise.”
“Honorable mention: Alien Clay.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.