Children of Ruin
Published on 20. February 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
576 pages
978-1-5098-6585-7 (ISBN)
Description
It has been waiting through the ages. Now it's time . . .
'Asimov or Clarke might have written this' - Stephen Baxter, co-author of The Long Earth
A scout ship discovers a human outpost lying derelict in space - and a planet better left unexplored. Set in the same universe as Children of Time, this is a thrilling narrative from the award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky.
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 awoke something on Nod. Something better left undisturbed.
And it has been waiting for them.
'Books like this are why we read science fiction' - Ian McDonald, author of the Luna series
Children of Ruin follows Adrian Tchaikovsky's extraordinary Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award. It is set in the same universe, with new characters and an original narrative.
* * *
Praise for the series:
'Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human' - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls
'Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building' - James McAvoy
'A fabulous sense of scale that only someone as talented as Adrian Tchaikovsky can pull off' - Peter F. Hamilton, author of Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016
'Asimov or Clarke might have written this' - Stephen Baxter, co-author of The Long Earth
A scout ship discovers a human outpost lying derelict in space - and a planet better left unexplored. Set in the same universe as Children of Time, this is a thrilling narrative from the award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky.
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 awoke something on Nod. Something better left undisturbed.
And it has been waiting for them.
'Books like this are why we read science fiction' - Ian McDonald, author of the Luna series
Children of Ruin follows Adrian Tchaikovsky's extraordinary Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award. It is set in the same universe, with new characters and an original narrative.
* * *
Praise for the series:
'Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human' - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls
'Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building' - James McAvoy
'A fabulous sense of scale that only someone as talented as Adrian Tchaikovsky can pull off' - Peter F. Hamilton, author of Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016
Reviews / Votes
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, author of <i>Proxima</i> 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, author of the Polity series 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, author of <i>Desolation Road</i> Breathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers -- Gareth Powell, author of <i>Stars and Bones</i> 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, author of <i>How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying</i> I couldn't put it down. There is an effortless quality to Adrian's writing and you've clearly got another winner on your hands -- James Oswald, author of the Inspector McLean series A refreshing new take on post-dystopia civilizations, with the smartest evolutionary world-building you'll ever read -- Peter F. Hamilton, author of <i>Exodus: The Archimedes Engine</i>, on <i>Children of Time</i> Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building -- James McAvoy on <i>Children of Time</i> Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human -- Patrick Ness, author of <i>A Monster Calls</i> and the Chaos Walking series, on <i>Children of Time</i> This is superior stuff, tackling big themes - gods, messiahs, artificial intelligence, alienness - with brio -- <i>Financial Times</i> on <i>Children of Time</i> The novel's clever interrogation of the usual narrative of planetary conquest, and its thoughtful depiction of two alien civilisations attempting to understand each other, is an exemplar of classic widescreen science fiction -- <i>New Scientist</i> on <i>Children of Time</i> Essential science fiction, a book not to be missed -- <i>SFBook </i>on <i>Children of Time </i> An entertaining and thought-provoking novel of post humanity, survival and legacy . . . Children of Time is an enormously interesting and well drawn SF novel -- <i>SFSignal </i>on <i>Children of Time</i> I cannot recommend it enough. It's a helluva first contact story, and that's only like its 5th most interesting feature! -- Ezra Klein, <i>New York Times</i> columnist on <i>Children of Time</i> One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction -- Christopher Paolini, author of <i>To Sleep in a Sea of Stars</i>More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5098-6585-7 (9781509865857)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, has practised law and now writes full time. He's also studied stage-fighting, perpetrated amateur dramatics and has a keen interest in entomology and table-top games.
Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel. The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, while And Put Away Childish Things won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction.
Adrian is the author of the critically acclaimed Shadows of the Apt series, the Echoes of the Fall series and other novels, novellas and short stories. Children of Time won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Children of Ruin and Shards of Earth both won the British Science Fiction Award for Best Novel. The Tiger and the Wolf won the British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel, while And Put Away Childish Things won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction.