It tells the story of Arton Daghdev, a biologist who rebels against a fascist government on Earth and is exiled to a labor camp on an alien planet.
Daghdev's theories contradict the Mandate's assertion that humanity is the pinnacle of evolution, and he additionally consorts with more direct revolutionary thinkers.
Excursions is the most dangerous job, composed of teams of laborers who are forced to leave the Mandate compound to inspect newly identified ruins.
Kirkus concluded by calling the book "a savagely satirical take on the consequences of repressive doctrine and the power of collective action.
"[3] In a separate review for Locus, Russell Letson stated that Alien Clay "combines [science fiction] with prison-camp and resistance-to-tyranny narratives."
Letson also compared the novel to Morphotrophic, while drawing further comparisons between the Mandate and the totalitarian government of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
Letson concludes that Alien Clay's "ingenuity lies in the way Tchaikovsky intertwines the prison-camp story line with Daghdev’s commentary on totalitarian regimes.
"[4] In another review for Locus, Paul Di Filippo praised Tchaikovsky's ability to publish three great novels in 2024, writing that "similar runs of brilliance in the field" are few and far between.