''Children of Ruin'' is a 2019
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel by author
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Czajkowski (spelled as Adrian Tchaikovsky for his books) is a British fantasy and science fiction author. He is known best for his series ''Shadows of the Apt'', and for his novel '' Children of Time''.
''Children of Time'' was awarded t ...
, the second in his
Children of Time series. The novel was well received, winning the 2019
BSFA Award for Best Novel
The BSFA Awards are given every year by the British Science Fiction Association. The Best Novel award is open to any novel-length work of science fiction or fantasy that has been published in the UK for the first time in the previous year. Seriali ...
.
The book was followed by the sequel ''
Children of Memory
''Children of Memory'' (''Niños de la Memoria'') is a documentary film produced by Kathryn Smith Pyle and Maria Teresa Rodriguez and directed by Maria Teresa Rodriguez. From 1980–1992 about 75,000 women, men and children died and disappeared du ...
'' 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, alien life was discovered, but it was not as primitive as it first appeared.
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
Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to:
Entertainment
* Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front
* ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine
** ''Locus Award' ...
'', 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". The Fantasy Hive writer T.O. Munro felt the novel "is as vividly colourful as an octopus in the throes of emotion". 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".
References
External links
*
''Children of Time series''on Adrian Tchaikovsky official website
{{BSFA Award Best Novel
2019 British novels
2019 science fiction novels
Novels set on fictional planets
Works about women in war
Tor Books books