Children of Ruin
First edition
AuthorAdrian Tchaikovsky
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
Space opera
PublisherTor UK
Publication date
2019 (paperback)
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages597
ISBN978-0-3164-5253-3
Preceded byChildren of Time 
Followed byChildren of Memory 

Children of Ruin is a 2019 science fiction novel by author Adrian Tchaikovsky, the second in his Children of Time series. The novel was well received, winning the 2019 BSFA Award for Best Novel.[1]

The book was followed by the sequel Children of Memory in 2022.

Synopsis

A long time ago, humanity spread out into the stars with the aim of terraforming other worlds for future colonization. In one of these star systems, two habitable planets were found. On one, alien life was discovered, but it was not as primitive as it first appeared. The other planet was covered in ice and was terraformed into an ocean planet. One of the terraformers introduced genetically modified octopus to the ocean planet, which developed their own civilization.

Thousands of years later, the descendants of humanity and their new arachnid allies follow a mysterious radio signal to a distant star, hoping to find the society of another of mankind's legacies. What they find is a system in chaos as warring factions struggle against the tide of what the terraformers awoke long ago.

Reception

The book was met with critical acclaim. Writing for Locus, Paul Di Filippo said that "Tchaikovsky performs all the wonders of the first book, while at the same time making some quantum jumps in his sequel".[2] The Fantasy Hive writer T.O. Munro felt the novel "is as vividly colourful as an octopus in the throes of emotion".[3] Likewise, Three Crows Magazine writer Olivia Hofer wrote "Children of Ruin is a truly original, evolution-based science fiction novel unlike any other", but said that "despite being a gripping sequel, is very similar to its predecessor. Perhaps too similar".[4]

Accolades

Children of Ruin won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel in 2019.[5]

References

  1. ↑ BSFA Awards Announcement for works published in 2019, retrieved 2022-12-04
  2. ↑ "Paul Di Filippo Reviews Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky". Locus Online. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  3. ↑ "CHILDREN OF RUIN by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Book Review)". The Fantasy Hive. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  4. ↑ Crows, Three (2019-08-05). "Children of Ruin review". Retrieved 2022-12-04.
  5. ↑ "2019 BSFA Winners". Locus. May 18, 2020.
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