Children of Ruin

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: Mel Hudson

The astonishing sequel to Children of Time, the award-winning novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

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.

Critic reviews

"Intensely detailed and handily researched, Tchaikovsky's saga creates a deeply immersive narrative."—Booklist

"A novel of sublime plot twists and spectacular set pieces, 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. A hugely satisfying sequel"—Stephen Baxter

"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

"Children of Ruin is 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

"Once again, Tchaikovsky performs all the wonders of the first book, while at the same time making some quantum jumps in his sequel ... the underlying message of persisting through misunderstandings, fear, and hatred until harmony and new balances are reached is not just preached, but embodied in thrills both corporeal and intellectual. Tchaikovsky's good sense of pacing and his ability to make arcane scenes and concepts vividly transparent all contribute to a winning tale ... With the guiding spirit of Poul Anderson hovering over his shoulder, and the buttressing work of peers like Vernor Vinge and Paul McAuley standing to either side, Tchaikovsky has made that rare transition from master of fantasy to master of SF."—Locus

"Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human."—Patrick Ness

"Brilliant science fiction and far out world building."—James McAvoy on Children of Time

"A refreshingly new take on post-dystopia civilizations, with the smartest evolutionary worldbuilding you'll ever read."
—Peter F Hamilton on Children of Time

"Like a Stephen Baxter novel with an epic sweep of history (see his Evolution, for example), added to a broad cast of a Peter Hamilton Space Opera and the narrative drive of, say, a David Brin or a Greg Bear old style SF novel, Children of Time soon got me hooked."—SFF World on Children of Time

"Children of Time has that essence of the classic science fiction novels, that sense of wonder and unfettered imagination but combined with this is the charm of a writer who really knows how to entertain, how to spin a good story. Essential science fiction, a book not to be missed."
—SF Book on Children of Time

Worth every second

The best sci-fi I've listened to in a long time. Possibly ever. Beautiful. Hopeful. Empathetic. Everything you've wanted from Star Trek but better and delivered in potent tight narrative with lovable characters. I hope there's another!

Incredibly Good!

Wow, what a storyline and concept! Great book made even better by Mel Hudson’s brilliant narration! Highly recommended!

Simply amazing continuation of the series.

The first book in this series was amazing. This book gets even better. The author is truly talented at perspective building from a wide and largely unfamiliar point of view from other species and cognative architectures. Easily one of my favorite scifi stories of all time.

Great storytelling!

I didn't think it would be as good as Children of Time but it surprised me. I enjoyed it very much.

loved it.

This book could be read as a stand alone but is an excellent continuation and follow up to " Children of Time ". Follow the human race through thousands of years of adventure, technacacy, and ultimately war and self annihilation. As man spread throughout the stars no life was found, so the planets were seeded and infected with the human spark of intelligence. More planets than grains of sand on earth but precious few suited to humanity's need. This posses only a delay for terraforming to take affect. Will mankind survive and be able to live in peace with their children...