Children of Ruin

Manages to make “We're going on an adventure” the most terrifying thing to hear.
Take the spiders from the previous book, add octopuses, a planet full of strange aliens, and a dangerous swarm intelligence.

Wonderful book with an amazing detail of world building. Some of the sub ply towards the end can get a bit tedious but overall it's a great read.

I found it very confusing, I lost track over who is where and what is happening to who quite a few times. It feels somewhat rushed, like 2 books cramped into 1. The story is beautiful, the horror very real and the idea is great. For me it just needed more explaining, and the jumping back and forth between different locations is confusing. Children of time felt a bit more structured, and maybe the idea of children of ruin is that it is meant to be as confusing as the octopus's are (than hats off great job!), but it feels like it needed to be 2 books to me.

Just as thought-provoking as the first entry of the series—if not more so, “Children of Ruin” bent my brain a little bit. With grand questions of consciousness, language, emotions, legacy, and history, I found myself both satisfied with the attempts at the answers as well as dumbfounded. Although this entry is much headier, more philosophical, and inherently more alien than “Children of Time,” I did find it a bit less engaging narratively speaking. Simply by the nature of the less human (or Human, I should say) characters involved, the actual story being told slipped in the background as the intellectualism became more imperative to actually comprehend the ideas being portrayed. (Granted, this feels more like a side effect of the author just being intellectual himself, call it the “Dune” conundrum.)

Anyway, great book. Would recommend.

Definitely not just a repeat of the first book, nor a straightforward continuation. I was worried it might just be about the two species figuring out how to coexist on Kern's world, but thankfully this book explores plenty of new territory!

Cool non-human intelligences of all sorts, cool exploration of the splitting up of consciousness into several distinct parts. Some exciting high tension moments, but...

Some of the world building exposition/history felt a little slow, and ends up feeling like it just exists to prolong the tension in the part of the story we're not currently reading.

It also felt like I was being constantly explained the same core traits and tendencies of the various species of creature in the book. A little tiring sometimes.

Still loving the electrical/biological hybrid computers.

A brilliant expansion of the previous books themes and plot, with some fantastic new additions. Thoroughly entertaining high-concept space opera. It's fun to think about trying to explain this book to someone who has never read science fiction.

The only criticism you could make is that the section where the original crew land on Nod and slowly discover what is happening there is one of the most thrilling and thought-provoking pieces of sci-fi horror ever written. Even though the rest is still great, it's impossible for any book to match the perfection of that section.

Generic story, painfully dragged out pacing, overall boring and disappointing, especially compared to the first book.

4.5, I loved the new cast of characters introduced in book number 2. Senkovi in particular was hilarious and an excellent portrayal of the genius scientist who never stopped to ask if he should but only if he could and the effects are incredible. Once again the portrayal of the manner in which a different species might think/perceive the world if they developed sentience was fascinating. It was even more well done in this case since the octopi manner of thinking is much more alien than the portids. Fascinating to experience. Also the alien life/parasite on nod was truly horrifying at first which was not a feeling i was expecting going into this book. Only reason its not 5 stars is i think the ending wrap up of everything with the alien parasite was a little too clean cut and simple. I find it hard to believe that this alien parasite can simply be talked out of taking over the universe but it does make some sense within the context of their storyline. Still too simple and clean for me but im not mad enough about it to ding it more than half a star.

It was so difficult to get through the first part of the book. But then it picks up beautifully! Still, I kind of enjoyed the first book of the series better.

Overview: “Children of Ruin” by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a brilliantly crafted science fiction novel that seamlessly intertwines the narrative of a small science crew arriving to terraform a distant planet, with a narrative based much later exploring the consequences of their actions. Thought-provoking and intricately layered, the book delves into profound questions about intelligence, communication, and the unintended outcomes of our actions.

More detailed thoughts: Much like its predecessor, “Children of Ruin” continues Tchaikovsky's unique storytelling, offering a captivating exploration of complex themes. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of a distant star system where humanity's legacy takes unexpected forms and rubs up against truly alien life. The novel introduces the awesome spectacle of spacefaring uplifted octopuses, adding a fascinating layer to the diverse tapestry of intelligent life.

The core of the story is the pursuit of a mysterious radio signal that leads the descendants of humanity and their arachnid allies to this distant star system. The challenges they encounter include not only the intricacies of communication with dancing zero G octopuses but also the presence of an intelligent alien microorganism that threatens the delicate balance of the ecosystem.

Tchaikovsky's ability to juxtapose the development of spacefaring octopuses with the tale of the remnants of human civilization that first arrived in the system long ago is both skillful and thought-provoking. The novel maintains a delicate balance, prompting readers to reflect on the nature of intelligence, the consequences of our actions, and the nature of coexistence.

The author skillfully weaves together very different perspectives, providing gripping mini tales within the overarching narrative that explore the challenges and triumphs of the different species and groups. The revelations about the ultimate fate of the terraforming crew and the consequences of their actions add layers of depth to the narrative, prompting contemplation about the essence of existence.

“Children of Ruin” is not merely a science fiction novel; it is a profound meditation on the intricacies of life, intelligence, and the connections between different forms of consciousness. Tchaikovsky's storytelling prowess elevates the novel, inviting readers to ponder the broader implications of our choices and the ever-evolving nature of existence.

This turned out to be a weird one. Too many faceless and so utterly uniform aliens that they don't even need their own names. It kinda worked with spiders in the first book, but this time it just felt hollow. There was an attempt to introduce diversity in the end, but at this point they were mostly just other names, without real personalities behind them.

The parasite problem, Kern's solution and their eventual ‘living happily after' was interesting, but a bit predictable and in the end - anticlimactic. It took more pages running from the parasite than opening these-of-We's eyes to the total wrongness of their existence. And they're just like 'Oh, OK, We's bad, let's make peace'. Hm...

I liked Fabian's arc though. Totally nailed the ‘enough this underestimating males bullshit' development. I think he had the strongest personality in this book and I'm happy for him that in the end he managed to keep this newly found confidence and build on it.

I loved Children of Time so much that I did something I rarely ever do and immediately picked up the second book of the trilogy to read. Sadly it couldn't keep up the frenetic momentum of the first book. Children of Ruin felt way slower and Tchaikovsky once again draws from his zoology background to poke at the challenges of interspecies communication — which frankly started to feel a bit “been there, done that.”

Nonetheless the alien collective revealed midway through the book vocalizing their mantra “We are going on an adventure” is easily one of the more terrifying species I've encountered on the page. I could have read an entire book (albeit through my fingers) about this consuming entity and my hats off to Tchaikovsky for penning some truly chilling moments of alien horror.

But sadly it too often got mired in its own plodding structure and I felt none of the stakes I should have with the other characters. Maybe I did myself no favours by reading this so quickly after the first. The themes echoed across the books and I couldn't help but find this the weaker of the two.

Children of Ruin is good, but it's not quite as good as the first book in the trilogy.

To begin with, it looks as if it is going to follow a similar plotline to that, but with octopuses instead of spiders (this much is obvious from the opening paragraphs). However, it soon heads off in a different direction. We get the background of how the octopus civilisation got its start, but far less of its history, with the focus on the inhabitants of the human ship that originally explored the system they end up in. Partly, that's due to the fact that the octopuses are even more alien than the Portiids, so their history has less resemblance to a human one. But it's also, one assumes, to avoid repetition.

This is initially intercut with a story about a human/Portiid ship discovering the system and seeing the outcome of events unfolding in the other parts; this is deftly done to keep things mysterious even though we know that octopuses have to be involved somehow. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there is something else at work as well, and this becomes the main antagonist, with some moments of horror as the seemingly unstoppable threat advances. It's all part of this series' exploration of non-human intelligence and it manages to keep this story feeling different from its predecessor even though it's dealing with the same general topics.

Still, the characters are once again not as memorable as the concepts and, without quite the same sweep as the first volume, it doesn't come up to the same mark. But it's a good read, nonetheless, and it looks like the third book will be off somewhere different again, keeping this more varied than the basic premise might suggest.

To say this is just a copy Children of Time is like saying Lord of the Rings is just a copy of Hobbit.

I wasn't very keen on reading a sequel that copies the plot of the original book, especially when that original book was a disappointment (because of how overhyped it is). But Ruin improves on everything I didn't like in the first book and then adds much more alien and fascinating first encounter into the mix, along with a sprinkle of The Thing and Arrival.

I struggled with Time mainly because I didn't like any of the characters much, Portiids were fascinating but still kind of antropomorphic in their behaviors. In contrast, “aliens” of this book are pure anarchy incarnate. Admittedly, it was stretched to the edge of suspension of belief. They are more advanced than Old Empire in certain aspects, despite not being fully conscious by human measures (they think the same of us).

But that doesn't change the fact that I couldn't stop reading this book. With Time I always had to force myself to get through human chapters because they bored me, annoyed me. Here every chapter was another fascinating piece to the puzzle. It got tedious towards the end when I was expecting some similar “twist” like in the first book and Tchaikovsky kept stretching the revelation. However, that's about my only criticism, book could've been tiny bit shorter.

I liked the characters here, not a single one annoyed me like in previous Tchaikovsky's books that I read. And I liked Kern the most? What? A ship computer that became a junkie and hides it from her crew? Sign me up!

It is true, it follows the same template as Time, but it doesn't matter here. The new setting is so interesting that it amply compensates for the rehash of certain plot twists and turns. He also plays with the culture mix of Humans and Portiids really well, the differences, the commonalities. He builds upon them.

Finally a great novel from Tchaikovsky. Until now I saw the potential, the ideas he comes up with are great but the execution in Dogs of War and Children of Time left a lot to be desired in every other aspect. Well, here it is.

3,5

This series is definitely a new favorite of mine. I wasn't sure where Tchaikovsky was going to go after CoT, but I really enjoyed the direction, especially because I like octopuses and arguing about the correct pluralization of “octopus.” The hardest thing I find about the series is trying to explain it to others as the serious, intelligent take artificial intelligence, space exploration, and what makes us Human without just saying “And also there are spiders and octopuses and they have spacesuits...” It sounds so silly, but it's all very well done.

If you liked CoT, it's worth your time to continue. Definitely read CoT first though or you are going to be very lost.

Nu stiu cum, dar Tchaikovsky reuseste sa ma faca empatic si pentru niste paraziti???

A really nice sequel to my favourite sci-fi book, Children of Time. This time around it's not spiders, but octopuses! I did find myself getting a bit lost towards the end (probably doesn't help that I didn't binge it and read it over a couple of weeks). The wow factor wasn't quite as there versus the first book, hence the 4 star rating.

Hmm. After the glorious Children of Time, this was deeply disappointing, although I am not sure if this wasn't simply because I listened to the audiobook this time (I read the first one).

After the emotional highs and low of the first book, this felt more like a dry history. In addition, the various technological leaps that the story revolved around seems less like things that naturally evolved from the behaviours of the characters (as in the first book) and more like macguffins to allow the plot to proceed.

Towards the end we are meant to believe that extremely complex ideas can be communicated between 4 very different species using 4 very different communication techniques in a high stress scenario, with one of those techniques essentially being glorified flag signals in an unfamiliar language. Then, to round things off, FTL travel is invented by an octopus essentially telling its tentacles to "get on with it and don't worry me with the details". This doesn't so much strain credibility as pulverize it.

As I say, I am not entirely sure this wasn't down to the audio performance, which seemed very flat and surprisingly academic. Based on the first book, Adrian Tchaikovsky is obviously very good at creating a believable, involving world out of unexpected situations, however this completely failed to come across in this sequel.

For anyone else interested, I strongly recommend reading this rather than listening.

A good yarn, as long as you can ignore the impossible science and biology.

I do believe I enjoyed this book better than Children of Time, which is quite a surprise since I loved that one so much. This one had a whole new depth to it, and it was also very unsettling, and who doesn't like being unsettled by science fiction. It's hard to review this book without spoilers, but I want to keep adventuring in Tchaikovsky's incredibly constructed future.

Much faster pace than the first book. Very fun. Loved it!

A good follow up to the first book. The author makes a great effort to look at how intelligent octopus would interact with other life, just as he did with arachnids in the first.

The main problem with these books is the reader doesn't have a character to follow throughout both books. Ivanna is one of the only characters the reader can follow but who has gone from being a human to a computer to good knows what she is now.

A good hook at the end with introducing the faster then light drive (FTL). I'm hoping to see life which humans had no hand in creating and how the new formed union of species in their ships will interact with them.

After the wonderful “Children of Time”, in which the author marvelously depicted a society of intelligent spiders, I wondered what could possibly be done as a sequel, which “Children of Ruin” was touted as being. I won't spoil the answer here, but I will say Tchaikovsky resoundingly answered with a tour-de-force using another unexpected animal, this time weaving it into the fabric of the nearly post-human universe with ingenuity, emotion, and genuinely ground-breaking concepts and story line. Add to that wonderfully-complex environment a totally alien entity which both humans and spiders (and the new creatures I mentioned before) have to deal with to save not only their lives but their worlds, and you have this blockbuster of a book. Great reading!

Well, that was a good book!