Preaching to the Choir: A New Novella by the Sunday Times Bestselling Author of the Children of Time Series

Terrible Worlds: Transformations

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Elena Mendes thought she understood what “old money” was.

She knew her boyfriend Ross Enderbough was rich. Like, “old money” rich. She knew he was the scion of some eccentric British line that predates the whole United States. She knew he didn’t really get on with his family, and that he fled to America to study free of their influence.

Ross has been summoned to Enderby, the family mansion built as a monastery centuries ago, for an exclusive, mysterious family gathering that happens only once a generation. Spouses and partners aren’t invited, but Ross has asked Elena to come anyway for moral support.

But there are secrets in the mouldering old pile, and terrors in the unkempt woods on the estate. And Elena slowly comes to realise that “old money” means so much more than she’d ever imagined…

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Novella, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2026

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.

Reviews

[Christine Garrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can immediately picture Preaching to the Choir being adapted into a horror film. It begins with a familiar genre setup: Elena Mendes accompanies her boyfriend, Ross Enderbough, to a gathering at his family’s ancient English estate. Ross comes from the kind of old money that predates the United States, but his relationship with his family is so stifling that he fled to America, where he met Elena.

To no one’s surprise, things feel wrong from the start. Elena and Ross arrive after dark at Enderby, a centuries-old monastery turned family mansion surrounded by neglected woods and creepy statues. Adrian Tchaikovsky’s descriptive writing makes the entire estate feel steeped in history, isolation, and something far more sinister. The atmosphere alone is enough to unnerve Elena and the reader…even before the true horror begins.

Elena does not receive a warm welcome. Ross’s relatives quickly remind him that this once-in-a-generation gathering is strictly for family. That reception alone would have sent me packing, but Elena persists. During her first night at Enderby, she witnesses evidence that something disturbing is happening within the family, only to find herself mysteriously forgetting what she has seen. By the time she realizes she needs to leave, the situation has become genuinely threatening.

The elder Enderboughs are an eccentric, entitled, and deeply distrustful group who do not take kindly to outsiders like Elena. They also keep secrets from the younger members of their own family, leaving Elena and Ross to uncover traditions far older and stranger than either of them understands. This once-in-a-generation meeting proves to be far more sinister than auspicious. It is certainly not your typical family reunion.

What begins as a gothic family mystery gradually becomes a tense survival story as Elena and others attempt to escape a bizarre, heavily wooded estate steeped in dangerous lore. Tchaikovsky reveals just enough at a time to maintain the mystery while steadily intensifying the danger. As usual, he chooses exactly the right words (some less commonly used than others) to make readers feel as if they are trapped inside this increasingly desperate situation.

Although Tchaikovsky is best known for science fiction and fantasy, Preaching to the Choir leans more explicitly into gothic horror. He is one of my favorite writers precisely because he can move between genres without losing the intelligence, imagination, and command of language that make his work so distinctive. Some authors really can write anything successfully.

Give this novella a try if you enjoy atmospheric horror filled with mystery, tension, sinister family traditions, and the growing certainty that everyone should have left the estate long ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Ian Payton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and dark story of a once-in-a-generation family get-together in the ranging old mansion of a long-standing wealthy and powerful English family. Elena, the American girlfriend of one of the family members is unwittingly and mistakenly brought along to this family gathering, much to the displeasure of the elders.

The atmosphere is deliciously creepy and foreboding, as some of the younger members of the family are increasingly concerned about what is going on, and what the purpose of the gathering is. The story has a gothic and claustrophobic feel, with an unsettling sense of what might be around the next corner. Any more detail than this would run the risk of being spoilers. And while the final conclusion was somewhat inevitable, the journey to get there was excellent.

I have enjoyed all of Tchaikovsky’s “Terrible Worlds” novellas, and this is up there with the best of them.

Thank you #NetGalley and Solaris for the free review copy of #PreachingtotheChoir without obligation. All opinions are my own.

(I also enjoyed the oblique reference to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

[BookishKB · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏚️🩸 Preaching to the Choir 🔪🕯️

I went into this novella completely blind, and I am SO glad I did because this book was wild. 🤣

I don't even know how to review it without giving anything away! This was a short, quick read, but it seriously packed a punch. The less you know going in, the better. 👀

I also really liked the ending! I thought I knew exactly where things were headed, but I was pleasantly surprised when the story went in a different direction.

I will definitely be listening to the audiobook as soon as it releases! 🎧

What to Expect
🕯️ Horror Novella
🏚️ Gothic Mansion
💰 Old Money
🤫 Family Secrets
🔪 Survival Horror
🖤 Isolated Estate
👀 Outsider FMC
_ _ _ _

📅 Pub Date: August 11, 2026
Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric and tense, this neo-gothic novella foregoes the languid Romanticism of traditional gothic literature in favor of snappy language and an urgent pace that parallels its social commentary. As Tchaikovsky seems fond of doing in his novellas, the story starts with a premise you have seen before, in countless traditional gothic stories as well as neo-gothic art such as Jordan Peele’s Get Out or Radio Silence’s Ready or Not, but it adds new twists and ideas to the story to keep the audience on their toes. There are a bounty of rich characters who bring an unexpected levity to the story that was a welcome contrast to the dark & stormy night atmosphere, and I appreciated the immediate coterie that was formed, and I enjoyed spending time with them. As usual Tchaikovsky is exploring themes related to social justice, most immediately the ideas of privilege, power, and morality. None of his explorations here are particularly new but they fit the story well and feel perfectly in lockstep with the story, not forced on the characters or world, and as such bring interesting and thoughtful viewpoints to the conversation. I especially like the idea he briefly mentions of “diffuse” evil, the nefarious and insidious type of evil that is not showy, it is not in anyone’s face, and so it festers unregulated in the shadows. This story wants you to address the privileges you have taken for granted and ask what you might sacrifice for power and prestige. Do wealth and power preclude you from normative social conventions? Is it possible to ever yield extraordinary power without being corrupted by it? When you are born with an inheritance of power and wealth are you responsible for the blood that has been shed by your forebears to acquire it?

This story moves quickly, has witty and clever dialogue, and a bunch of interesting and engaging characters. The world building borrows imagery and ideas common to the genre, but it employs them effectively and in service of story and idea. The underlining moral and thematic explorations are fun and add a reflective space to the story’s tight pacing and lean plotting. Eat the rich, protect the vulnerable, and avoid creepy old country estates the pre-date modern history!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts out great and the creepiness slowly builds until it's like panic time. But I had a problem with the end and character motivation, which is why I downgraded it to a 3. Not his best, but still beautifully written.

[Jamedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

When an author like Adrian Tchaikovsky writes something in a classical genre like gothic horror, I'm always curious to see how it is made unique; with Preaching to the Choir, we have Tchaikovsky's interpretation of such a classic motif as the bride to be learning about the secrets of her political family, in a heavy atmospherical proposal that still has those touches that makes you immediately recognise the author.

A story centered on Elena Mendes, who finds herself in the middle of a family gathering at the ancestral house of her boyfriend, Ross. He comes from one of those old, wealthy families, almost as antique as the house itself; Elena is not exactly thrilled to be in the middle of all of this, but when strange things start to happen, we soon discover there's more behind Ross' lineage and how they survive in the time.

A great take on the "ancient house/ancient lineage" motif, especially as Tchaikovsky gets the most building the atmosphere, creating that sensation that something onerous is happening; the outsider, Elena, is slowly trapped into the mystery, almost by an accident as the family didn't plan for somebody not related to the lineage. She wants to save Ross and the younger generation, but things will get progressively darker, submerging us into the secrets of the family.

In general, I found this to be a quite enjoyable bite of what Tchaikovsky can do outside of his usual genres (even if you could argue this is adjacent towards fantasy/sci-fi); said that, I think it could have benefited from being a bit longer, especially as I felt some concepts ended being under developed. Overall, another great entry in the Terrible Worlds series.

[Mark Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Enter a world where darkness and atmosphere collide in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s unsettling tale, Preaching to the Choir. I anticipated a moody, atmospheric read, but what I encountered was something far stranger and far more disturbing.

The story centers on Elena Mendes, who finds herself swept up in an eerie family gathering at the ancestral home of her boyfriend, Ross Enderbough. Ross hails from one of those impossibly old, fabulously wealthy families, the kind where the family tree seems to stretch back further than the building itself. Elena isn’t exactly thrilled to be there, especially when she senses that the Enderboughs do things a little… differently.

Enderby, the sprawling mansion where the family reunites, or should I say, where it seems the mansion itself *is* a character , exudes an ancient, gloomy presence. Once a monastery, it carries a sinister aura, and with the family only gathering once every generation, you quickly begin to understand why.

What makes this story compelling is Elena’s outsider perspective. Watching her decipher the strange, intricate web of family customs while Ross gets increasingly entangled adds a layer of tension. The family members, cloaked in their wealth and secrecy, create a palpably uncomfortable atmosphere, like listening to a dark, twisted comedy about old money.

And then, things take a sharp, sinister turn.

What starts as an awkward reunion morphs into something far darker, as the Enderboughs’ history, riches, and buried secrets intertwine ominously with the mansion’s foreboding presence. Tchaikovsky delights in playing with themes of old money, turning phrases into literal horrors that will make you think twice about inheriting wealth.

This story is a blend of gothic gloom, subterranean secrets, and shocking surprises. At times, it feels like a twisted comedy of manners set among haunted halls, but don’t be fooled this is pure horror.

Elena’s journey to understand what’s really happening makes her a relatable guide to this strange world. Meanwhile, Ross’s strained relationship with Elena and his haunting family ties add depth and tension.

Though only 165 pages, Tchaikovsky packs a punch, with an isolated mansion, ancient rituals, monstrous entities, and social commentary about privilege and corruption.

If gothic horror, haunted mansions, dysfunctional families, and the dark side of wealth appeal to you, Preaching to the Choir is an absolute must-read.

Tchaikovsky’s signature style shines through as he pushes familiar ideas into unsettling new territory. And, honestly, it’s a relief not to have to attend any mysterious family gatherings at an ancient English manor any time soon.

A creepy, atmospheric, and wonderfully strange horror story that will leave you questioning what’s really going on, if you dare to read.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrian Tchaikovsky wrote a Gothic Horror novel. Who woulda thunk it?

Actually, I'm wondering if there's any niche of the genre he won't touch. 'Service Model' was an excellent story of AI/robots and human interaction, 'Shroud' was the best first contact story on an alien planet I've ever read, and there's his various sets of big, chunky series like 'Children of Time' and 'Tyrant Philosophers'.

Anyhow, in this book a college age scion of a generationally wealthy British family returns from America for a once-a-generation family reunion - and brings a girlfriend. This is Not Done, as various family members insist: this is for family only. Ross just thinks they're being stuffy and obdurate, but there's a very good reason - they have secrets: horrible, ghastly secrets that go the very core of the family's fortune and longevity.

No, they're not vampires. Nice guess, though. Our POV character, the American Elena Mendes, thinks so for a bit, but she's wrong but sort of on the right track.

Tchaikovsky rings the changes on the Gothic themes effectively, including the spooky woods full of rustlings and strange noises.

When we finally get to the inevitable conclusion, Tchaikovsky throws a nod to Ursula Le Guin by bringing up the Omelas question: Do you stay or do you go, now that you know? It may be an unexpected ending but I loved it.

[Alex Sarll]

Tchaikovsky's fourth book of the year* begins as pastiche gothic, a lad from a rich old English family bringing his American girlfriend to meet the family, who turn out to be a sprawling clan of grotesques assembled in an even more sprawling and grotesque ancestral home, which is of course positively stuffed with sinister secrets. The narration is beautifully pitched, so that Elena is clearly bright and engaging (I loved the description of a rhino's head on the wall: "Its expression suggested it knew exactly what percentage of its species it had represented when some pith-helmeted Enderbough scion had shot it"), but still thoroughly out of her element ("there was a wall of swords and breastplates and the long things that start off as spears but then decide they're going to be axes at the business end"), which in turn makes it more plausible that she's slow to fully twig that the Enderboughs are weird even beyond the weirdness to be expected of rich old English families. That, plus not wanting to give the more unwelcoming older relations the satisfaction, explaining why she sticks around despite the obligatory torrent of red flags. Which double as breadcrumbs, though when I thought I'd worked out what was afoot, I was entirely wrong. The real answer is ingenious, if not entirely convincing; it's a tempting metaphor for the perpetuation of power and privilege, but rooted so firmly in that self-assurance some of the rich and powerful display that it rather ignores how many others seem so desperately, embarrassingly insecure. Still, it's not as if a short chiller can be expected to fully anatomise a problem that has beset humanity for millennia.

*Not counting the graphic novel.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Zaynab]

what?

[Jay Brantner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick novella featuring the American lead making an ill-advised visit to her boyfriend’s ancestral home for their once-a-generation get-together. It immediately put me in the mind of something like Get Out, but for class instead of race. And the book doesn’t really make much secret about what it will be. It’s genre-aware, and while the details are saved for a later reveal, the horrifying basics come through pretty early. Everyone knows it’s dangerous, the question is whether they can escape.

I worried that the genre-awareness might make the story as a whole seem very matter of course, and while I do think the cost of the earlier reveals is a little bit of tension lost, but there’s enough kept back to make for an interesting finish. And not just interesting, it’s a finish that genuinely did not feel predictable, that was sufficiently horrifying and also did a good job diving into the themes.

This is the fourth I’ve read of Tchaikovsky’s Terrible Worlds novellas (IIRC he has nine, all standalones), and while this one doesn’t hit quite the heights of Ogres, it’s easily my second-favorite of the four.

First impression: 17/20

[Beas Chattaraj · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Enderbough family is filthy rich, and like all these kind of ‘old money’ families, the Enderboughs had dark secrets. So when Elena Mendes, a normal girl from the States went with her British boyfriend Ross Enderbough to visit his estranged family, she was up against something she wouldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams. Because the woods are soaked in the blood of innocents and there’s a deal with the devil. As she, Ross and some other cousins try to escape from the hellish mansion, Elena realises that the Enderboughs have been hiding something truly dark within their lands. And it may be too late for her and Ross.
Creepy, gothic, action-packed novella with a weird ending. I have mixed feelings about that. The pace picked up from the first page itself and I was hooked. It was an interesting read. Recommend for horror enthusiasts.
I thank Netgalley and Solaris for the e-ARC.

[Lizardley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Another great novella from Tchaikovsky. The setting is appropriately creepy, the pacing is good, and Tchaikovsky writes Elena as a convincing American (aside from the use of the word "motorway"). I questioned why images were necessary to tell this story, but they do genuinely add something, as it's a bit challenging to envision what Tchaikovsky is putting down. The slow reveal of what is actually going on is very well done; it leaves you think that you should have been able to spot it all along, but it still comes across as a surprise.

A very fun spooky story; I wish I had been able to read it in autumn while out in the English countryside!

[Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lot like Get Out, only instead of a black guy having to escape an evil white family, it’s about an American having to escape an evil British household. I appreciate that Tchaikovsky wanted to warn us that all British people are monstrous inbred freaks leftover from the dawn of time, but honestly, we kinda already knew.

[Leticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing gothic story with a special 'Tchaikovsky-twist' to it.
One of the best books I read this year, which I also read in one sitting because I could not put it down.
I liked the latino girl/foreigner representation here too.

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley.
Thanks to NetGalley, Solaris and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Promiscuous Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Чайковський чудово пише, і початок дуже атмосферно-готичний, але друга половина і особливо мотивація героїні наприкінці сподобалися менше.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC against an honest review!


I never read Adrian Tchaikovsky in the horror genre, so I was eager to get to this novella!

The setting, which does a lot here, is well-handled with this huge mansion isolated from the rest of the world, its strange architecture and expansive rooms, its creepy forest where it's not a good idea to roam at night. The characters are believable - even though the family might be a bit much - and the horror creeps on the reader little by little. The photos/illustrations added to match the descriptions of the "things" were creepy - maybe because I saw these in the dark, just before bedtime, but still! And the whole idea of it sent chills down my spine! What an absolute nightmare to think of insects developping in your body, making you strong, until they burst out of you, killing you in the process!

The only real drawback might be that, as it is quite short, the repetitions are a bit too much. I got that the family was racist and didn't accept Elena, even the mere idea of her, but I didn't need it to be repeated so often in a short while. Same for the fact that, at the end, she thinks she'll die. It got me out of the story at times.
Plus, I think I should have read this book quicker to get the most of the tense atmosphere; it would have worked better, I think! I sensed that the novella was tense and dark, but I didn't "live" it properly, except for the ending...

... which I loved, with all the explanations brought by Neera. It felt a bit like the villain was explaining their plan because the novella was drawing to a close, but it was justified in the end - though I didn't like the interrogation part, it felt not quite authentic, but it might just be because it is used a lot and I'm a bit tired of it. I loved the reflection about power and visibility in the media: it felt quite right and logical, even if it might not be that simple. And I loved the very end too: it felt logical for Elena to choose to enter the family because, of course, she might have got out alive of Enderby, but she would always have looked over her shoulder in fear. She wouldn't have felt free, and she would have lived with the idea that these things lived too. It didn't feel right though, her accepting the egg, and she reflects back on it when Ross looks at her and realises what she did: she embodied the principles she believed in, the principles he wanted to live by, and, when she failed to follow them, he followed her. On the other hand, it felt right with her explanation and Neera's: while this thing is inside of her, she can do a lot of good in the world. The novella leaves Elena there, with the egg inside her, with confidence blooming; what will she do? Will she really do good in the world or will she let the Enderboughs' influence and wealth corrupt her? I totally got her decision, as I would have totally got it if she got the other way.


So, I'm glad I read this novella and discovered Tchaikovsky in another genre - even though it's still SF-oriented! I'll keep reading this author.

[Skirmantė · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Adrian Tchaikovsky book and it did not disappoint at all.

The eerie, dark atmosphere hooked me right away. The pacing was consistent too. Nothing dragged or felt like it fell out of the story while I was reading.

The plot itself was pretty predictable, but honestly that didn't bother me much. I still had a great time with it overall. The cast of characters really carried things for me, they felt dynamic and distinct.

Elena stood out especially. She's the sole American surrounded by this rich old British family, and that contrast was written really well. You could feel her as the outsider in a way that added a lot to her character.

The one thing I'm still not sure about is the illustrations. I don't know if they actually added anything to the story for me, but they were interesting enough to look at, so I don't hold it against the book.

Overall a solid introduction to this author for me, and I'm curious to check out more of his work now.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Conor Monaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope Tchaikovsky never stops writing these terrible world novellas.

I think there’s a chance some would find this story archetype almost too familiar and knock it for that but for me this was a right place right time I think because I loved it. This is a very familiar story that plays out somewhat how you would expect and I think that’s perfect for a novella.

Adrian gets going right away no wasted time gets in and out and writes the story you want. I love when he leans into horror which he does here really well. In fact I could have gone for even more horror.

And of course it’s Tchaikovsky so…. You guessed it bugs! The man just loves bugs.

[Nicola Blackbourn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars

It took me a while to get into this book as it was a completely different style to the other books by Adrian Tchaikovsky that I have read. As a short little novella though it was an interesting and quick read that kept me hooked and in suspense until the end.

[Rajin Malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite 4, nice twists

[Mikael Cerbing · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit by the numbers book about a brittish upperclass familys hidden secret in horror format.
It was a good book, but I have read it before. More or less.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent! What can’t AT do? I really enjoyed this gothic horror novella. The narrator was good.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’ve seen this story before – or at least we think we have. Scion of wealthy English family decides to take his American girlfriend home to the moldering family pile for a reunion. He’s a bit embarrassed about the staid, fusty traditions his family insists on, but he either loves her enough to let her see where he came from – or is scared enough of his family to need backup to get through the ordeal.

Or, most likely, a bit of both.

The vast, sprawling mansion, complete with gargoyles watching over everything and seemingly everyone, may not be moldering, but it certainly is a stately family pile. Also an extremely eerie and downright gothic monstrosity – for, as it turns out, multiple definitions of both ‘gothic’ and ‘monstrosity’. Definitely complete with monsters.

Elena Mendes thought she understood what her boyfriend Ross Enderbough was getting her into. Ross thought he knew all the truths about his uber-rich and extremely influential family that he needed to know. They were both very, very wrong.

About pretty much everything they thought they knew. About the Enderboughs, about the family, about the evils that money and influence are capable of, and most of all, about the way the world really, really works.

They’re about to find out how little either of them really knew about, well, anything at all. Especially about each other.

Escape Rating A: I thought I knew what I was getting into with this one. Then again, Elena and Ross did too. We were ALL wrong. Really, really wrong. Very much like Elena, creepily, utterly captivated (for both senses of that word) but wrong. (I was particularly captivated by Emma Newman’s narration. I couldn’t turn my ears away, and I couldn’t let myself listen late at night because that way undoubtedly lay terrible nightmares and the story was nightmare enough in the full light of day!)

This turned out to be one of the tales as old as time. Not that one. The other one. The one about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely, forever and ever, amen. Not that any deities to which one could say an amen to get invoked in this story.

The creepy gothic atmosphere reminded me a LOT of Simon R. Green’s Ishmael Jones series – which very nearly led me down a much less gruesome primrose path than the one the actually got. Ross and Elena walk up to a creepy, gothic mansion, already on alert that something monstrous is hiding in the cellar, or up in the attic, or among the family secrets. Most likely, all of the above.

There’s certainly a sense early on that somewhere along the way the Enderboughs made a Faustian bargain with someone, and that the latest generation of the family has been ordered back to the family seat to pay their dues to whoever or whatever has granted the family their centuries – if not longer – of wealth and influence. Those twentysomethings, Ross and his cousins, are aware that most likely the family has a veritable army of skeletons hidden in the depths of the family closet, but they expect monsters of the human variety.

What they get is something far, far worse. And much, much harder to walk away from. Or even run.

For most of the story, in addition to being utterly creeped out, it read like the true horror version of Tanya Huff’s Direct Descendant. Both are stories where the ancestors have made monstrous bargains in return for future prosperity and expect each generation of their descendants to continue the deal. Direct Descendant, because it is COZY horror, as much of a contradiction in terms as that is, ends in a compromise. The deal is changed to eliminate the monstrosity of the thing – at least for present and future generations.

Preaching to the Choir, very much on the other hand, is NOT cozy. There is a compromise, but not the kind that changes the deal. At all. It just opens a window in the skeleton closet so that someone outside the family can climb IN – with eyes wide open.

In the end, as one of the characters reveals, this story is in dialogue with Ursula LeGuin’s classic, Hugo-Award winning short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. (And, by extension, Isabel J. Kim’s Nebula-Award winning response, Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole.

The original story wraps around the question of whether peace and prosperity are worth the truly heinous moral and ethical cost that one city is willing to pay to maintain them. And whether, and how, the people who walk away with the knowledge of that cost are just as guilty as the people who actually benefit. Kim’s later response throws the vast reach of social media into the mix, moving the question from being about “them” to being about “us”.

Which winds back around to Elena’s choices at the end of the story. Because she can choose to benefit from the heinous thing, or she can choose to walk away, knowing that no one will believe her if she ever tries to expose what really happened. But she can’t “unknow” what she knows, so she’ll always be part of the monstrosity, no matter what choice she makes for herself. She’ll always be complicit, even if she walks away. Which makes her choice obvious – and utterly chilling.

Originally published at Reading Reality

[Saif Shaikh | Distorted Visions · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ARC review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.

Score: 👴🐜💀

Extending his Terrible Worlds: Transformations novella series, the mad genius Adrian Tchikovsky offers up Preaching to the Choir. A quick gothic horror laced fantasy tale with a charmingly creepy British mansion, less charming but still creepy rich stuffy aristocrats, wrapped up with some good ol’ fashioned body horror!

I make no reservations about being a Tchaikovsky fanatic. I boldly proclaimed that I will pick up anything with his name on it, and a new review copy with his label gives me enough serotonin to last the week! Still, this is the THIRD Tchaikovsky novel I have reviewed in the first half of 2026, and there is at least one more to go. This seriously calls into question the man’s inhuman levels of productivity!

Stepping away from his long-form fantasy and sci-fi series, Preaching to the Choir is the second offering of the Transformations subsection of his Terrible Worlds anthology extravaganza. Admittedly, this anthology was set up before my deepdive into his catalog so I was mostly unaware of the previous entries, but the novella format makes it easier to jump right in.

With Preaching to the Choir that means jumping into an eerie mansion filled with uniquely off-putting characters. When the scion of the Enderbough family, Ross Enderbough invites his girlfriend Elena Mendes to his family estate for a long overdue reunion, he sees it as an opportunity to introduce his American girlfriend to his stiff-upper-lip, British family. However, Elena is thrust right into an uncanny display of wealth and power with horrific consequences.

Preaching to the Choir hits all the right notes in the gothic horror fantasy trope-list, creepy mansions, off-putting characters, bodies turning up where they shouldn’t and other accoutrements to raise the readers’ hackles. Seen through the eyes of a regular middle-class American woman, Elena’s perspective of the Enderbough family, across the several generations in attendance covers the whole gamut of British aristocratic stereotypes. The entitlement, arrogance, and disdain for her middle-class stock is on full display as she is sneered at by cousin, parents, looming uncles and leering aunts alike. Tchaikovsky’s own British stylings make the setting particularly familiar. The initial set up gave me a rather Wodehouseian vibe, albeit with enough trimmings of terror to set my teeth on edge.

Obviously, things at the Enderbough manor are not what they seem, and Elena is pulled into a horror mystery with inclusions of creature features and body horror, both expert pulls from the Tchaikovsky bag of tricks!

Sadly, beyond the on-the-nose commentary on the evils of oligarchic supremacy with very real-world parallels, Preaching to the Choir follows an altogether predictable plot with expected story checkpoints and staple tropes. Given a larger wordcount of a full-length novel, I am sure that the author would have deepened the lore and character arcs further, but was hamstrung by the shorter novella format. What we get instead is a truncated and shallow expose of familiar gothic horror.

This may have been a rare miss for me in Tchaikovsky’s extensive catalog, but does very little to dampen my spirits for future releases. Yet, those who are gothic horror fantasy nerds will still find plenty of insectile goodness from Preaching to the Choir and should jump head first into his Terrible Worlds!

Advanced Review Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Solaris Books and NetGalley.

Read this review and more on my Medium page: Distorted Visions

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[Joe Karpierz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who reads my reviews, or talks to me about genre writers, or who has to listen to me blather on about which writers they should read, knows that I've become quite the Adrian
Tchaikovsky fan. He is a prolific author who writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, and I haven't read a book of his that I haven't liked. Imagine, then, my delight when I received an email from NetGalley informing me that Solaris had approved my request for an advance reader copy. Honestly, I'd forgotten that I'd requested it, so it was a pleasant surprise when it showed up in my inbox a couple of weeks ago.

"Preaching to the Choir" is the second of Tchaikovsky's Terrible Worlds: Transformations novellas. In it, Ross Enderbough invites his girlfriend Elena Mendes on a trip to England to introduce her to his very rich, very upper crust, and very eccentric family during one of their once in a generation family gatherings. Ross left England for the United States to get away from the family, as he doesn't get along with them. However, attendance at the family gathering is mandatory, so he doesn't have much choice as to whether he should attend. The problem is that outsiders - meaning spouses and girlfriends - are not invited or allowed at the gathering. Elena is not welcome, and although the older family members try to get her to leave and stay somewhere off the grounds, they eventually relent. There is an undercurrent of tension, however, between the family and Elena.

The gathering is held on the grounds of a family mansion built hundreds of years ago. The story takes place almost exclusively within the mansion, with some forays out to the overgrown and unkempt grounds. The mansion is creepy, labyrinthine, and as you might guess, holds many secrets. The family itself is no better when it comes to being creepy and holding secrets. As the story advances weird things happen, and the younger members of the family begin to question what's going on and why they are here at all. This ends up being a good thing for Elena, for as an outsider she feels much the same way. The elder members of the family keep telling them that they will learn what is happening soon, but once Elena spots a dead body being carted out of the mansion, "soon" isn't soon enough.

I wasn't aware that Tchaikovsky wrote horror stories, although novellas like "Walking to Aldebaran" and "Hungry Gods" should have been a clue. "Preaching to the Choir" is a creepy
gothic horror novel, complete with the creepy architecture of the mansion with scary things lurking around every corner in the dark, frightening things lurking on the mansion grounds, and the monstrous creatures that are at the heart of the story. The family secret - because every story like this involves a family secret - is not only frightening from a body horror standpoint but is frightening from the implications of what is revealed about the family.

"Preaching to the Choir" is another fine work from Tchaikovsky. Sure, we've seen the "let's take the girlfriend to meet the weird family" any number of times, and scary gothic mansions that contain odd and frightening things in the dark are not unusual either, but this story works because the characters are believable, the plot is well handled, and the story is written with Tchaikovsky's usual skill. The story is a slow burn, but once it picks up it gets moving and before you know it, it's over. I do recommend this for all fans of Tchaikovsky, as well as fans of well written horror.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It happens often that we hear about an author and are interested in their books but for one reason or another, we never actually pick them up. That happened to me with this author. I heard about “Children of time” and while the concept sounded very cool, I feared it was too hard sci-fi for me. I'm still a beginner when it comes to that genre. Then I found out he wrote fantasy too and I love fantasy but still, I never picked up those books. So when I saw this novella, I realised this was the perfect book for me to finally give this author a chance and I think the rating spoils that it was a good choice. So for anyone in a similar situation, I would definitely recommend this book to see if you vibe with the author’s writing.

I only needed to see the book being compared to two movies I love (Knives Out and Ready or Not) to know I wanted to read it. I do have to say it's a lot more Ready or Not in my opinion but that's never a bad thing. I do love that movie. I just knew I was going to have a good time reading the book but I actually had an ever better time than expected.
I was curious to learn what this family's secret was, since that's a common thing in both movies referenced. And it was so interesting and fun to put the pieces together. From the very beginning, we get clues of something very wrong happening and that makes the book so intriguing. It being a novella also makes it perfect to binge read. Obviously, given the premise, it can be a fun Halloween read. But why not a beach read too? It's fast paced and perfect for a summer day out too. Beach reads don't all have to be cutesy romances. Some of us enjoy reading about weird families while sunbathing.

As I said, the pace is fantastic. And the length of the book is too. Everything is explained but not over explained. There are no boring moments and the tension is there on every page. While it wasn't the craziest revelation I've read in a book, it was really cool. Well done and the way the story ended actually made a lot of sense. When I first finished the book I was a bit surprised. But thinking back to the rest of the story and how some characters behaved…yes, it makes sense. Maybe I expected it to be a bit more explosive, given the Ready or Not comparison (yes, pun intended) but this story is its own thing.

If I were to add a little complaint to the review, it'd be the relationship between Elena and Ross. When we first met them, I liked their dynamic. And I can understand Ross changed the way he behaved due to being back with his family. Also, I never knew if I could trust him (or anyone in his family) so I get that could be a choice made by the author but…these two are supposed to be dating and sometimes they felt like just acquaintances. Again, some of it I get but it did make me frown a few times. Still, not enough to prevent me from really enjoying the book.

Reading this novella has really made me want to prioritise all the other books written by this author. And I hope there are more stories in this little series because they're really fun.

Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kerena · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 3.5 stars rounded up **

This was my first experience reading Adrian Tchaikovsky, and while I can definitely see why he's so highly regarded, Preaching to the Choir didn't quite win me over.

The novella takes the classic gothic cliché (a sprawling country estate, old money, an unsettling family gathering, and long-buried secrets) and develops it in unexpected and imaginative ways. Elena joins her boyfriend Ross for a weekend with his wealthy family, only to discover that their traditions hide something far stranger than the usual family skeletons.

The atmosphere is easily the book's greatest strength. Tchaikovsky creates a wonderfully eerie setting, with the manor and its grounds dripping with gothic charm and a constant sense of dread. I enjoyed gradually uncovering the family's secrets, and the central concept is both original and thought-provoking, raising interesting questions about inheritance, identity, and morality without overexplaining everything. The photographs and illustrations of artefacts scattered throughout the novella were a nice touch and really helped bring the story to life. I do think I would have liked a little more insight into how the central mystery actually worked. While the ambiguity wasn't a flaw, I found myself wanting just a bit more explanation.

Where the novella ultimately fell short for me was in its characters. Elena is a competent and likeable protagonist, but neither she nor Ross ever feel fully developed beyond what the plot requires. As a result, I never became especially invested in their relationship or their fate. The novella's length also works against it here, as I was left wishing there had been more room to flesh out both the characters and their relationships.

Even so, Tchaikovsky's writing is often rich and haunting, with several passages that linger long after you've finished reading. However, he occasionally reaches for unusual turns of phrase that interrupted the flow for me, pulling me out of the story as I reread sentences to make sure I'd understood them.

While Preaching to the Choir didn't completely click with me, its lean but effective worldbuilding and imaginative central concept elevate what could have been a fairly conventional gothic horror story. As a first introduction to Adrian Tchaikovsky's work, it didn't quite convince me this is one of his best, but it definitely left me curious to explore more of his writing.

Massive thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Elli (Kindig Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Sci-Fi books – two of his titles; Alien Clay and Service Model were my Kindig Gems of 2024. When I heard he has recently started a horror novella series I could not wait to request Preaching to the Choir and jump in!

When Elena Mendes is invited to an event at her very rich British boyfriend’s family estate, she is excited to get a peek into the world of old money. However, when they are told the invitation is only extended to blood relatives and she is not welcome, she starts to wonder what secrets are hiding in the crumbling manor house with its creepy stone figures.

Preaching to the Choir feels very much like a traditional horror story. Although it is a novella it is well-written by assured storyteller Adrian Tchaikovsky who puts us at (un)ease right away. We are instantly sympathetic to Elena and her boyfriend Ross, who doesn’t get on with his family. We are introduced to a large cast of characters in the wider family, but nothing gets confusing. The horror elements begin right away, with creepy gargoyles and carvings and secret meetings in the middle of the night. The book also contains some photographs of the carvings which really helped me to picture what I was reading about – I’m not quite sure where these pictures came from, but I enjoyed the creepy vibe of them.

I think the story itself is nothing particularly revelatory, I had guessed what was happening early on, and it felt very much like a story that I’ve read before – albeit a well-told one. I was still hooked but I don’t think there’s anything particularly new in the plot. I really enjoyed the twist ending, which is something you come to expect from Tchaikovsky’s work. As a Brit, I was a little confused at the repeated use of the phrase ‘the family pile’ to describe the mansion and land. Although the slang is technically correct, it’s not really a phrase that is used much in British culture and should have been swapped out for ‘Estate’ in my opinion (unless of course, it’s something used more commonly in the upper echelons of society that I’m unaware of!). I’m also a little confused by the title of the book, which doesn’t seem to fit with the plot.

Overall, Preaching to the Choir is a fun horror read that is well-told by a master author - it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but it was a fun read nonetheless. Thank you to NetGalley & Solaris for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For more of my reviews check out Kindig Blog

[Michael MRBookReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first thought after reading Preaching to the Choir is: I need to read more from Tchaikovsky! This novella was excellent. I loved the setting: a gothic, old-money, sprawling mansion estate with endless rooms and hallways. I also loved the mix of European old-money fuddy-duddies from a variety of generations, along with the FMC, Elena, the lone American who is joining her boyfriend at his family get-together in said mansion.

Tchaikovsky is wonderful at setting the scene, not just physically but situationally. How he described the family members’ immediate dislike and disapproval that Elena, the outsider, has tagged along on this important family gathering was one of my favorite parts of the story. I really enjoyed how the displeasure of the characters was described while also describing the characters themselves.

Uncle Jas was a barrel on legs, aquiline nose, greying. His mouth didn’t seem to have the muscles to smile. It only curved downwards. Small dark eyes flicked to Elena. “Who in buggery’s this?”

Being an American reading this, the insults and sarcasm were top-notch.

“Gil!” he barked, without taking his coal-chip eyes off her. “Someone’s brought some baggage back from the Colonies.”

Gilchrist’s eyes consented to the fact of her.

After the family moves on from trying to ship Elena away from the mansion, the true story begins about why this once-in-a-generation event is happening and more of the backstory of this ancient, wealthy, powerful family and its origins begins to unravel. The younger generation of the family uncover mysteries of their family and soon realizes the benefits they were born with and into don’t come free.

you never actually stepped far enough away to find out where the bars were. Doesn’t mean you weren’t in a cage.

Overall, this was truly an excellent spooky, gothic novella, and I highly recommend it. I already knew that Tchaikovsky was a world-renowned author famous for his prolific writing, but this has strongly piqued my interest in exploring more of his work.

Thank you, Solaris, for providing me with this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 / 5

Format: eARC via NetGalley