Hardcover, 597 pages

English language

Published May 15, 2019 by Tor.

ISBN:
978-1-5098-6583-3
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4 stars (19 reviews)

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. And it's been waiting for them.

5 editions

Children of Ruin

3 stars

This is the sequel to Children of Memory. It's got some similar set up to the first book, in that it's got a dual perspective (historical development of Nod and Damascus, and then current time trip there with characters from the first book) and it's got some uplifted non-human creatures (octopuses!!). However, I think this book also has a huge new horror element to it that the first book didn't have that it pulls off very successfully and creepily.

This book suffers a little bit from second book syndrome in that the first book felt much more tightly crafted and the ending resonated in a satisfyingly foreshadowed way. Book two is doing a few too many similar things, and it doesn't quite all come together in the same way. I think for a book two of a (presumed?) trilogy, I was hoping for more indication of some larger planned arc …

Review of 'Children of Ruin' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

"We're going on an adventure!"

If you liked the previous novel in this series, Children of Time, you're likely to enjoy this one just as much if not more (I definitely did). If you haven't read it, I suggest you start with that one (also great) and then read this sequel. Otherwise, you'll be missing out.

Both novels take place in universes that feel very grounded in reality. The way in which the various species present evolve over time, communicate with each other, perceive the world around them and interact with it, feels satisfyingly plausible while simultaneously feeling truly alien.

These books put you in the shoes of wildly different characters (humans as well as very alien aliens) to tell a story spanning wide swathes of time and space.

The stories being told are enjoyable and tense romps, if that's what you're looking for. If you're interested in digging a …

Imaginative scifi at it's best

5 stars

Tchaikovsky's Children Of Series focuses on the lifeforms left behind by mankind's self-destruction. The sentient spiders from Children of Time are back, and are exploring a solar system caught in a civil war. One of science fiction's strengths is being able to imagine other beings, and Tchaikovsky's depictions of their life and thoughts are excellent here as well.

A Phenomenal Sequel

5 stars

What a great book. In my last update, I mentioned not being surprised about where the story was at that point, but almost immediately after writing that the story took a wild turn that I didn't see coming at all. The last half of the book took so many twists and turns, making for some very exciting reading. The past couple of days I had a hard time using my free time for anything other than reading this book, it was that captivating.

Children of Ruin builds off its predecessor, Children of Time, and takes the saga to new heights. I can't wait to dive into the final book of the series, Children of Memory, and see how it all wraps up.

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