Children of Ruin
_cover_art.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | Adrian Tchaikovsky |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction Space opera |
| Publisher | Tor UK |
Publication date | 2019 (paperback) |
| Publication place | UK |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 597 |
| ISBN | 978-0-3164-5253-3 |
| Preceded by | Children of Time |
| Followed by | Children of Memory |
Children of Ruin is a 2019 science fiction novel by British 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 third book in the series, Children of Memory, in 2022, and the fourth book, Children of Strife, in 2026.[2]
Plot
[edit]In the far future, humanity spread out into the stars with the aim of terraforming other worlds for future colonization in hope for future colonization. In one star system, two potentially habitable planets were found by the terraformers, who named the first Nod and the second Damascus. On Nod, new alien life was discovered for the first time in human history, and so plans to terraform the planet were put on hold to preserve the new life, and one of the terraformers, named Disra Senkovi, was sent to Damascus to terraform it. Before the crew could share their discovery with the rest of the world, growing conflicts between pro-science and anti-science factions escalated until the Earth itself was left barren and a deadly message for any spacefaring humans left. Senkovi introduced genetically modified octopuses, which he had a great fondness for, to the ocean planet, in order to fulfill a variety of tasks.
After the terraformers managed to survive, a parasite from the Nodan ecosystem managed to infect all of the terraformers on Nod, by incorporating their memories into itself. One of the infected terraformers managed to escape and landed on Damascus buried, with the spaceship shielding it from the ocean. After Senkovi died, the octupuses created a highly advanced civilization, never disturbing the resting place of the Nodan organism due to Senkovi's guidance.
Thousands of years later, the descendants of humanity consisting of humans, Portiid spiders, and an uploaded terraformer named Avrana Kern, detailed in Children of Time, set out in a ship named Voyager following a radio signal from the octopus civilization hoping to connect to another branch in humanity's legacy. They arrive to find the octopus civilization fractured, after a desperate octopus on Damascus disturbed the resting place of the Nodan organism a few generations before the Voyager arrived. The Nodan organism spread rapidly, leaving the octopus society stranded in space.
A human named Meshner is partially uploaded to his computer following experiments in translation technology, and him and Avrana Kern negotiate a detente with the Nodan organism, allowing it to join the ranks of the widening civilization and explore the stars. The octupuses are also able to develop superluminal travel due to relaxations in their society after the Nodan organism was no longer a threat.
Reception
[edit]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".[3] The Fantasy Hive writer T. O. Munro felt the novel "is as vividly colourful as an octopus in the throes of emotion".[4] 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".[5]
Accolades
[edit]Children of Ruin won the BSFA Award for Best Novel in 2019.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ BSFA Chair (18 May 2020). BSFA Awards Announcement for works published in 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Everything that's happened in the Children of Time series so far". www.panmacmillan.com. 16 April 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ^ Di Filippo, Paul (22 May 2019). "Paul Di Filippo Reviews Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky". Locus Online. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Munro, T. O. (23 September 2019). "CHILDREN OF RUIN by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Book Review)". The Fantasy Hive. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Hofer, Olivia (5 August 2019). "Children of Ruin review". Three Crows Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "2019 BSFA Winners". Locus. 18 May 2020.
External links
[edit]- Children of Ruin title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Children of Time series Archived from the original on Adrian Tchaikovsky official website
