Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Title: Children of Time
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Page Count: 600
Rating: B
Format Read: Audiobook
Genre: Science Fiction
Keywords: Spiders, Space, War
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A race for survival among the stars... Humanity's last survivors escaped earth's ruins to find a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome its dangers?

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?

My Review:

My 2019 reading goals included trying to read some science-fiction books, not a genre I particularly have liked in the past. Children of Time is my second science fiction pick of the year and I was pleasantly surprised by this nicely paced space drama about the future of the human species when faced with extinction and a dead planet.

I enjoyed the familiarity of a space drama centered around people fighting for survival on a spaceship but mixed with the unexpected twist of massive and highly intelligent spiders. The way that they develop as a species from the earliest pages to the concluding remarks was both fascinating and unexpected. A careful reader could find many parallels to modern Earth debates to discuss as the arachnids and the world they create is explored on each page.

Book clubs could easily use the struggles of the spiders to discuss concepts such as sexism, equality, science, environmentalism, religion, and war. As someone that generally avoids political discussions I thoroughly enjoyed the approach the author took of examining the issues through such a unique avenue. By exploring the issues through spiders it is easier to discuss.

If you are worried about the science part of this science fiction novel I wouldn't be. While at first glance the tech seems like it would have to be complicated, it really isn't. I would say most of the terms the author uses would easily be understood by most people that made it through seventh or eight grade general science. Even if those were struggles the author provides enough context to make everything clear.

As far as whether or not this one is appropriate for children it is debatable. Sex is referred to very rarely but there is a fair amount of profanity littered throughout the book.

I recommend this space odyssey full of nightmarish intelligent arachnids. If science fiction is not your normal genre I also give high praise to the audiobook narrated by Mel Hudson. Her reading is calm and well paced, never distracting from the story itself. This novel is smart, interesting, and at times heartbreaking. I fully intend to read the sequel, Children of Ruin, due out May 2019.