The Architects: Evil Entities that possess neither a soul nor a mind. They have only one behavior: remaking any planet in their orbit into unlivable space. Unlivable space = unspace. See what self did there?
Colonials: Humans, what’s left of them
Around fifty-five years back, in the heart of the war, the freighter Samark exited unspace to find every wartime pilot’s worst nightmare: an Architect bearing down on them. They were bound for Forthridge Port, packed to the gills with refugees. Faced with their imminent demise, the crew started packing people into shuttles and escape pods, of which there was an entirely inadequate supply.
— Shards of Earth, p. 58
Self is really loving this book. It’s been a while since she’s stumbled across a good space opera. And Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of the best.
Stay tuned.