Children of Time

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: Mel Hudson

Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone 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?

©2016 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2017 Audible Ltd

Critic reviews

" Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human." (Patrick Ness)

A unique take on the alien

This was a very nice surprise. I read a lot of science fiction, and it's rare to come across a take on an alien society that is unique, and as well fleshed out as the author has achieved here.

The story concept is great, and the execution does not disappoint.

The start of the book didn't leave me expecting much - I found the main character in that early part pretty... cliche. Very glad to say that quickly got better though, much better.

A perspective I've never heard before

the point of view of spiders humans and artificial intelligence over thousands of years told brilliantly. I loved every second of this book!

outstanding!

This is an amazing story! I enjoyed every second of it (despite my fear of spiders).

Surprised by how much I loved this

What did you love best about Children of Time?

Such a unique story. Well written, captivating from beginning to end.

What does Mel Hudson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Phenomenal voice acting. Gets emotions across very well and does a nice job differentiating characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I was shocked by how much I loved this book. I am not a huge sci-fi fan but this book made me want to give the genre a try.

If I try to describe it to others, it sounds absolutely horrid. But Tchaikovsky does a sound job of adding enough detail to make such a read believable.

Hudson's voice acting was just the cherry on top. Highly recommend this one.

Reminded Me of 2001: A Space Odyssey…But It’s So Much More

It’s rare to come across a story with such familiar themes — the dangers of AI, the hubris of the human race, the loneliness of space exploration, the evolution and destruction of a species — yet told in such an original, fully engrossing story. This is a fascinating book and I had no idea what was going to happen, right up until the very end. DELIGHTFUL. The narrator was excellent as well. Highly recommend.

Good read, a little longer than it needed to be.

I enjoyed the book, but I felt that somehow it could have been halve the length and told the same story.

Couldn’t put it down

I started listening to this one even when not in my car, I liked it so much. An original storyline built on various ideas done before in sci-fi that is really engaging and multilayered in its complexity of ideas . I really had good visuals as if watching a movie (but it would be difficult to produce as a film without botching it). Narration is great. Hope to see more from this author.

Science Fiction not written by an idiot.

My biggest pet peeve when trying to enjoy science fiction is realizing the author was not as intelligent as I am. Either they throw the word "quantum" at you like it's some kind of magical word or they simply pretend science has found a way to violate all the laws of nature.
Not only is Tchaikovsky obviously well-educated and a genius at both science and storytelling, the science involved is frighteningly believable.

Imaginative

I read to think new thoughts or gain new perspectives. Looking through the eyes of super advanced force evolved spiders might just do, but not for the obvious reasons. Most alien life in fiction is given superficial differences from us, being more sophisticated or barbaric. This leads to them falling into old fantasy role usually filled by orcs or elves...

These spiders however, do not. They think differently, war differently, and love differently. but overall they are not US in a different light. I think that perspective is worth the drawn out human scenes and repetitive ravings of Dr. Kern. Check it out!

Inventive and thought-provoking!

A fascinating look into an alien, but familiar society. And a disturbing reflection on humanity.