Fantasy Book Critic: Book review: The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.

Publisher: Solaris (August 12, 2025) Length: 178 pages Formats: ebook, paperback, audiobook

Adrian Tchaikovsky knows how to turn strange ideas into entertaining stories. The Hungry Gods is short, focused, and filled with tech-bro satire packed in a post-apocalyptic survival story. I liked it, but not as much as his other novellas / short novels.

We follow Amri, a Rabbit. Well, not literally a rabbit, but a girl from a tribe called Rabbits, whose one rule is to run. Unfortunately, she doesn’t run fast enough when her home is wiped out, and she ends up tagging along with Guy Vesten, a fallen god. He’s not divine, mind. He’s one of the tech geniuses who ditched Earth ages ago and have now returned, brimming with arrogance and world-fixing schemes. Scrappy people who survived without them don’t interest them much.

Guy is pompous and manipulative; he embodies every Silicon Valley pitch deck with a messiah complex. The other “gods” are equally ridiculous, and obsessed with rebuilding Earth in their own bizarre image (plants, bugs, plastics, etc.). They clash, obviously. They also underestimate ordinary survivors. Obviously. Their fights are brutal and imaginative.

Amri herself is an okay protagonist. I wanted to care more about her, but couldn’t. She lacked personality. I admit, at times I was confused about what the tribes actually were - mutants, humans, hybrids? This vagueness blurred things for me. Or maybe I lacked focus.

The pacing, though, is excellent. Tchaikovsky never wastes a word, and the novella format suits him. He doesn’t reach for cheap twists or over-explanation. The ending is satisfying, even though I saw it coming early (in broad strokes).

In the end, The Hungry Gods feels a little like a lighter version of Tchaikovsky’s best works. Still worth a read.