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Children of Ruin  By  cover art

Children of Ruin

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Mel Hudson
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Publisher's summary

Children of Ruin follows Adrian Tchaikovsky's extraordinary Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award for Best Science Fiction Novel. It is set in the same universe, with a new cast of characters and a thrilling narrative.

It has been waiting through the ages.

Now it's time . . .

Thousands of years ago, Earth’s terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life – but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity’s great empire fell, and the program’s decisions were lost to time.

Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth.

But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed.

And it’s been waiting for them.

©2019 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd (P)2019 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

All underpinned by great ideas. And it is crisply modern - but with the sensibility of classic science fiction. Asimov or Clarke might have written this (Stephen Baxter)
You know you’re in for a ride. . . This book thoroughly engaged me. Children of Ruin is a humdinger of a book I enjoyed immensely (Neal Asher)
Magnificent. This is the big stuff – the really big stuff. Rich in wisdom and Humanity (note the 'H'), with a Stapledonian sweep and grandeur . . . Books like this are why we read science-fiction (Ian McDonald)
Breathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers (Gareth Powell)
Wonderful – big, thinky SF that feels classic without being mired in the past, absolutely crammed with fun ideas . . . Anyone who likes sweeping, evolutionary-scale stories will love this (Django Wexler)

What listeners say about Children of Ruin

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    5 out of 5 stars

One the best Sci-fi reads I have ever encountered

This series of books is perhaps one of the best I have ever found. Very creative, original and it makes you feel like there are some scientific basis behind the whole plot. I’m bad at doing reviews but I have to say this is the best I have found in a long time.Both, children of time and Children of ruin are some of the best sci-fi out there!
I also think the performance is amazing. Very well done. Completes the whole experience!

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  • 06-04-19

Exceptional sequel

Defies tropes and tired plot lines. Fantastic unfolding of backstory throughout the book, developed characters with motivation, tension and problems to solve. The development of conflicts between species and their positional viewpoint is exceptional.

I loved this novel even more than the first of the series.

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It will be hard to find...

It will be hard to find a more imaginative well written, well performed audio book

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VERY detailed. This is the Sci Fi for us real fan

It takes real talent to create a believable tale of space venturing spiders. I've enjoyed both of these so much.

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It’s just as good, if not better

I didn’t think it possible, but this sequel is almost as good as the first - maybe even better. I love the storyline, the telling of the story, the characters, and everything. These are the two best books in my library. Love, love, love this book! Oh, and any new books should be read by Mel Hudson - she’s the best!

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fantastic!

This is a great follow up to the first book. Highly recommend you get this if you enjoyed the Children of time.

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Rather unique

Ticked all my boxes is in a very novel way. Narrator grows on you as well.

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Soooo good

It started as a boring book… but. Stay with it. Two hours into the book it begins to unfold.. majestic

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Book 2- very good, but...

So, book 1 (no spoilers), really stepped off into an unexpected realm of Sci-fi, this is a continuation... and is more complicated than the first, but the shock factor cork popped in book 1. Don't get me wrong, it's very good, especially if you are into super techy SF. This is HI-SCI-FI !!

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Literally the best story ever

Listen to this book. You will leave it with such a feeling of hope and optimism. You owe this to yourself.

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