Children of Ruin

A human outpost lies derelict in space until a scout ship discovers it – and a planet best left unexplored . . . From the author of the hugely acclaimed Children of Time , winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

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

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

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

Breathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers

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

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

A refreshing new take on post-dystopia civilizations, with the smartest evolutionary world-building you’ll ever read

Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building

Children of Time is a joy from start to finish . Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human

This is superior stuff , tackling big themes – gods, messiahs, artificial intelligence, alienness – with brio

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

Essential science fiction , a book not to be missed

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 cannot recommend it enough . It's a helluva first contact story, and that's only like its 5th most interesting feature!

One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction

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.