Children of Time Audiobook By Adrian Tchaikovsky cover art

Children of Time

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Children of Time

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Mel Hudson
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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 Fantasy Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Space Exploration Space Opera Interstellar Survival Mind-Bending Thought-Provoking

Editor's Pick

A unique tale of human survival
"Less skilled writers could have gotten lost in this cleverly high-concept vision of humanity after earth. And lesser narrators might not have brilliantly realized this vision—which includes sentient spiders, people—in audio. But luckily, we have Adrian Tchaikovsky and Mel Hudson at the helm here, resulting in an equally mind-bending and satisfying listen."
—Sam D., Audible Editor

Featured Article: The Best Sci-Fi Audiobooks to Blast You into Another Galaxy


There’s a certain magic in losing yourself in the imaginative world of science fiction. But when new landscapes and realities are paired with brilliant audio performances, the experience is more immersive than ever. We’ve curated some of the best science fiction audiobooks, ranked not only for their vividly constructed narratives, but also for the compelling, stellar narration that brings them to life. So grab your headphones and settle in as reality fades away.

Featured Article The Best Sci Fi Audiobooks to Blast You into Another Galaxy
Innovative Concept • Dual Narrative Structure • Epic Scope • Thought-provoking Themes • Satisfying Conclusion
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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 unique take on the alien

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

A perspective I've never heard before

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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.

Surprised by how much I loved this

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

outstanding!

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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.

Couldn’t put it down

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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.

Science Fiction not written by an idiot.

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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.

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

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

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

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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!

Imaginative

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

Inventive and thought-provoking!

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