Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Children of Time

By Adrian Tchaikovsky

  • Release Date: 2018-09-18
  • Genre: Science Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 1,433 Ratings
$9.99 On itunes Buy on Amazon

Description

Adrian Tchaikovsky's Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

Who will inherit this new Earth?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

Reviews

  • Dragged on for so long

    2
    By Jaj5003
    This was a tedious read. Won’t be reading the others in the series. Great concept, but an absolute SLOG.

  • A unique perspective for sci fi fans

    5
    By nachpablo
    Honestly I don’t know where to start, because there’s a lot this book does right, and even more to unpack. The spider society is complex, almost a complete 180 to what we know as humanity. Their technology is organic, functioning off of biochemical principles, and heavily reliant on their spider silk as a material. And the author does a great job of selling how truly different their “spider intellect” is to ours. They think in a different physical orientation than us, which extends to their mentality. The Gilgamesh is intended to be an ark ship for the last bits of humanity, a last shot at survival, and essentially a glorified deep freezer when functioning at full capacity. Despite its noble intentions though, it becomes more of a mobile prison as every planet the crew finds is uninhabitable for human life, except for one. Dr Avrana Kern was a brilliant scientist spearheading a terraforming project intended to see a prepared planet with intelligent life. A shuttle was filled with monkeys injected with a nano-virus that accelerates the growth and evolution of a species. Things went awry, and the monkeys onboard did not survive the impact, but her experiments were a success. She had successfully seeded the planet with intelligent life. Discovering this last hope for humanity causes a drastic change in the priorities of the crew, as they put all their hopes into settling there, but Kern wishes to prevent any interruptions to her experiment knowing the destructive capabilities of humanity. Using her advanced technology she prevents them from landing and key crew begin vying for power as they think of ways to combat Kern and her satellite. This book is a brilliant commentary on the effects of threats to one’s survival and confinement, especially as far as the humans are concerned. They are trapped aboard the Gilgamesh, and Avrana Kern herself is trapped in stasis within the observation satellite. Forced with no other option in their minds, they go to the most drastic of options in an attempt to survive. While the unique philosophy and perspective of the spiders makes you wonder how differently intelligence can express itself. I was left with many questions but none about the book itself, it simply made me more curious about the world again.

  • This author’s got it all.

    5
    By Whim1954
    I’ve read all of his books but never left a review. Trust me…he’s awesome.

  • An unforgettable adventure

    5
    By Cosmic_Pearl
    The book is beautifully written. The characters struggles of individual and group survival progress the story in a natural and endearing way. I could not put this book down once I started. One of the best sci-fi/fantasy novels I have read this year. I enjoyed the focus on the characters and shared humanity. A must read!

  • Ok

    2
    By SLC-MTL
    Interesting story, but none of the characters were particularly interesting or engaging. As a reader, you just didn’t care about them

  • It might have been good

    2
    By xswatts
    If I had finished the book. The story wanders around so much I kept trying to figure out what the point of it was. It had potential but the story got lost in the story.

  • A Mirror on The Best and the Worst of Humanity

    4
    By Wolfboy3000
    I thought this was a beautifully crafted tale that reflected on the best intentions and the worst instincts of humanity. It vividly illustrates how we craft religious significance to phenomena we do not understand. The evolution of two civilizations and their eventual collision make you quietly root for both sides in their struggle for survival. Personally, I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, inconsistent with the rest of the story, and tidy to the point of being anticlimactic. It’s as if an editor walked by and, with ten pages to go, said “you’d better have a happy ending”. But the philosophical journeys were enjoyable and thought provoking.

  • A wonderful book to read

    5
    By YoiubhgA
    I loved the blend on the fantastical and humorous. A great read, full of characters one can attach themself too. I chance for humanity to survive. I loved this book.

  • An interesting read.

    4
    By Mateo reads
    A good read. A bit far fetched but hey that’s science fiction!

  • Wow.

    5
    By ratherhaveabeer
    Incredible book, unlike anything I’ve read before.

Comments

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