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Children of Time #4
Children of Strife
Not yet published
Expected 19 Mar 26From the award-winning master of sci-fi Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Strife is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed Children of Time, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory.
In this epic adventure, we visit a far-future after earth fell, where ark ships had hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in earth’s forgotten past. We follow a ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain as they rediscover one such world, and an ark.
Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship’s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark . . . and the world below?
Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.
In this epic adventure, we visit a far-future after earth fell, where ark ships had hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in earth’s forgotten past. We follow a ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain as they rediscover one such world, and an ark.
Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship’s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark . . . and the world below?
Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.
400 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 19, 2026
6598 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Tchaikovsky
194 books17.9k followersADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 11, 2025
I am soo sorry i accidentally misclicked the star and it wont go off i didn't mean to.
Read
October 18, 2025Like many, the first Adrian Tchaikovsky I read was his uplift epic Children Of Time. Impressive as it was, I liked the sequel Children Of Ruin even more, not least because octopuses are better than spiders, but third book Children Of Memory felt like a mis-step, its decaying loops and dying world far too reminiscent of lockdown. As such, I was gratified when this fourth installment began by pretty much dismissing Memory's macguffin as a colossal dead-end, a rabbit-hole good for little more than making people lose all touch with reality (though I was a little sad that that book's redeeming feature, the sapient corvids, merit even less mention).
As it turns out, though, rabbit-holes are a big theme here; appropriately, the closest thing to a protagonist is called Alis, and there are a few supplementary nods to the correspondence. It's always been a series in which identity has been mutable; after all, the longest-standing character was already, before the first book was done, a human scientist who got uploaded into a computer before being copied from that operating system into one running on ants. But the sheer variety of ways in which the self of one or another character gets tweaked, branched, merged, shifted or dissolved this time out is dizzying.
The obvious way to play that would be as identity horror, and early on that seems to be what's happening. But as the story progresses, it twists. Because the two new elements added to the mix this time are the ones justifying that Strife. First off, a rival terraforming mission to the aforementioned Kern's, run by a consortium of self-proclaimed brilliant, genius, innovator, disruptor billionaires (or probably trillionaires at this point, actually; that part of Tchaikovsky's timeline is too close to our present for comfort, but certainly not close enough for the ultra-rich to still be bravely getting by on a mere twelve figures). Now, I'm getting a bit tired of this as a fictional motif, not least because the likes of Mountainhead always end up making the fictional analogues far more rounded and likeable than their factual originals. Tchaikovsky, though, manages to catch the utter emptiness of the bastards, yet with enough variation between the five of them that these sections remain blackly comic, rather than becoming a slog like Memory. And the notion of a planet built on their half-grasped Darwinism, personality flaws and overconfidence in their own abilities...well, I won't say it turns out about how you'd expect, because it is eventually sort of habitable, and I wouldn't trust Musk to keep a fishtank going. But it's pretty bad.
In the other corner, though: we've had passing mention before of the stomatopod culture which evolved in the seas of the spiders' world. Now, we get to meet one. And he is a delight. I think this may be the closest the series has come to playing evolution for laughs, but come on, mantis shrimp are pretty funny, a brightly coloured little critter with a lethal punch that's been known to die because of punching a hole in their own tank. Now picture a giant one that has guns too, and communicates in gnomic poetry, mainly expressing its exasperation that the current situation can apparently not be resolved by punching something. It's every SF 'warrior culture' thought through to the point of absurdity. And as we open, one of those, Cato, has to work with Alis to find out what exactly has happened to the rest of their spaceship's crew on what we but not they know to be the planet the rich dickheads built.
Obviously the plot from there involves a lot of daring rescues, dangerous biology, shit blowing up, and even punching (though never as much as Cato would prefer). But under that it's a story about restraining one's own worst appetites, about how treating identity as a fortress can easily mean letting it be a prison, diminishing the so-jealously-guarded self even before one considers the effect on others. One could certainly talk about it in terms of ego and id, except I think Freud would have been horrified by the shifting sands of personhood which Tchaikovsky instead sees as full of potential. And ultimately it all comes down to a rousing reminder that doing the right thing is the right thing to do. Which could easily be dismissed as the sappiest and most obvious of all the sappy, obvious morals, if the novel hadn't been so perfectly engineered that it reads as emerging organically, rather than clumsily superimposed, in a mirror image of the way the tycoons' ghastliness naturally emerges from the world they made. And given the way we're all trapped down the rabbit-hole their models and precursors have wrought, that moral feels far more vital and surprising than it ought.
(Netgalley ARC)
As it turns out, though, rabbit-holes are a big theme here; appropriately, the closest thing to a protagonist is called Alis, and there are a few supplementary nods to the correspondence. It's always been a series in which identity has been mutable; after all, the longest-standing character was already, before the first book was done, a human scientist who got uploaded into a computer before being copied from that operating system into one running on ants. But the sheer variety of ways in which the self of one or another character gets tweaked, branched, merged, shifted or dissolved this time out is dizzying.
The obvious way to play that would be as identity horror, and early on that seems to be what's happening. But as the story progresses, it twists. Because the two new elements added to the mix this time are the ones justifying that Strife. First off, a rival terraforming mission to the aforementioned Kern's, run by a consortium of self-proclaimed brilliant, genius, innovator, disruptor billionaires (or probably trillionaires at this point, actually; that part of Tchaikovsky's timeline is too close to our present for comfort, but certainly not close enough for the ultra-rich to still be bravely getting by on a mere twelve figures). Now, I'm getting a bit tired of this as a fictional motif, not least because the likes of Mountainhead always end up making the fictional analogues far more rounded and likeable than their factual originals. Tchaikovsky, though, manages to catch the utter emptiness of the bastards, yet with enough variation between the five of them that these sections remain blackly comic, rather than becoming a slog like Memory. And the notion of a planet built on their half-grasped Darwinism, personality flaws and overconfidence in their own abilities...well, I won't say it turns out about how you'd expect, because it is eventually sort of habitable, and I wouldn't trust Musk to keep a fishtank going. But it's pretty bad.
In the other corner, though: we've had passing mention before of the stomatopod culture which evolved in the seas of the spiders' world. Now, we get to meet one. And he is a delight. I think this may be the closest the series has come to playing evolution for laughs, but come on, mantis shrimp are pretty funny, a brightly coloured little critter with a lethal punch that's been known to die because of punching a hole in their own tank. Now picture a giant one that has guns too, and communicates in gnomic poetry, mainly expressing its exasperation that the current situation can apparently not be resolved by punching something. It's every SF 'warrior culture' thought through to the point of absurdity. And as we open, one of those, Cato, has to work with Alis to find out what exactly has happened to the rest of their spaceship's crew on what we but not they know to be the planet the rich dickheads built.
Obviously the plot from there involves a lot of daring rescues, dangerous biology, shit blowing up, and even punching (though never as much as Cato would prefer). But under that it's a story about restraining one's own worst appetites, about how treating identity as a fortress can easily mean letting it be a prison, diminishing the so-jealously-guarded self even before one considers the effect on others. One could certainly talk about it in terms of ego and id, except I think Freud would have been horrified by the shifting sands of personhood which Tchaikovsky instead sees as full of potential. And ultimately it all comes down to a rousing reminder that doing the right thing is the right thing to do. Which could easily be dismissed as the sappiest and most obvious of all the sappy, obvious morals, if the novel hadn't been so perfectly engineered that it reads as emerging organically, rather than clumsily superimposed, in a mirror image of the way the tycoons' ghastliness naturally emerges from the world they made. And given the way we're all trapped down the rabbit-hole their models and precursors have wrought, that moral feels far more vital and surprising than it ought.
(Netgalley ARC)
to-expect
May 14, 2025there's a date now!
Want to read
December 28, 2025I JUST FOUND OUT THIS EXISTED LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! March cannot come soon enough
January 25, 2026
ARC received from NetGalley.
The 4th entry in the Children Of trilogy! And I got to read it before all of ya's!
It was a pretty solid book. Better focus than book 3 as it is back with a better focus on the scifi type ecosystem that books 1 and 2 excelled with.
Divided across 3 galactic ages, there are a diverse range of interesting happenstances. You get to see the description of neat technological concepts and the human/non-human reaction to those.
The Structure
The book is divided into alternating parts over each of 3 galactic ages. In execution, I would say this was not done too well. Though each part on its own is quite engaging, there are multiple times where all tension is removed, since we know exactly what is going on, either from a previous or future age. This could have been remediated if the alternating was skewed in favor of revealing more about age 2, then 1, then 3. But overall, not a huge complaint. The story is the same regardless, but I felt that maybe about 10% of the book suffered as a result.
Age 1
Age 1 is tied for my favorite galactic age. Here, we get some jerks trying to terraform a planet. It introduces a new interesting terraforming concept, different than those in prior books in the series.
This age excels at that terraforming concept, which is tough to visualize but is fairly engaging to see in practice. A main focal point of the chapter is the jerkiness of the characters, which was somewhat fun to see. Though Tchaikovsky's character writing leaves something intangible for me to desire. We get a lot of internal dialogue, but something seems lacking. Perhaps the internal dialogue is more descriptive than emotive, so we never can get a great sense of what the main character of this age is actually like. As this is the case with characters of other ages as well, I will not mention it again in my next 2 sections.
Age 2
Age 2 is tied for my favorite galactic age. This age, we are introduced to last, though I think it would have been beneficial to introduce most of this first to give us something to wonder about ages 1 and 3.
This is probably also the shortest age, but short and sweet. Pretty optimistic, as we get a pretty decent portrayal of a beaten up earth, the desperation, yet great resourcefulness demonstrated in a blind quest to seek a new home.
Age 3
Age 3 is tied for my favorite galactic age. Here, things culminate, and they culminate somewhat satisfactorily. Unique to this age, is a Kern unit including a punchy shrimp that is interacting with the setup of this book.
The punchy shrimp is great. Probably the best part of the book. He is crude, will punch anything that gets in front of his "zone", and speaks in blunt poetry (or at least that is how it is translated).
In conclusion
This was a solid entry in the Children Of series. It does what prior works has done well, though not much more. Certainly worth a read if the first 2 books were your cup of tea.
3.8/5
The 4th entry in the Children Of trilogy! And I got to read it before all of ya's!
It was a pretty solid book. Better focus than book 3 as it is back with a better focus on the scifi type ecosystem that books 1 and 2 excelled with.
Divided across 3 galactic ages, there are a diverse range of interesting happenstances. You get to see the description of neat technological concepts and the human/non-human reaction to those.
The Structure
The book is divided into alternating parts over each of 3 galactic ages. In execution, I would say this was not done too well. Though each part on its own is quite engaging, there are multiple times where all tension is removed, since we know exactly what is going on, either from a previous or future age. This could have been remediated if the alternating was skewed in favor of revealing more about age 2, then 1, then 3. But overall, not a huge complaint. The story is the same regardless, but I felt that maybe about 10% of the book suffered as a result.
Age 1
Age 1 is tied for my favorite galactic age. Here, we get some jerks trying to terraform a planet. It introduces a new interesting terraforming concept, different than those in prior books in the series.
This age excels at that terraforming concept, which is tough to visualize but is fairly engaging to see in practice. A main focal point of the chapter is the jerkiness of the characters, which was somewhat fun to see. Though Tchaikovsky's character writing leaves something intangible for me to desire. We get a lot of internal dialogue, but something seems lacking. Perhaps the internal dialogue is more descriptive than emotive, so we never can get a great sense of what the main character of this age is actually like. As this is the case with characters of other ages as well, I will not mention it again in my next 2 sections.
Age 2
Age 2 is tied for my favorite galactic age. This age, we are introduced to last, though I think it would have been beneficial to introduce most of this first to give us something to wonder about ages 1 and 3.
This is probably also the shortest age, but short and sweet. Pretty optimistic, as we get a pretty decent portrayal of a beaten up earth, the desperation, yet great resourcefulness demonstrated in a blind quest to seek a new home.
Age 3
Age 3 is tied for my favorite galactic age. Here, things culminate, and they culminate somewhat satisfactorily. Unique to this age, is a Kern unit including a punchy shrimp that is interacting with the setup of this book.
The punchy shrimp is great. Probably the best part of the book. He is crude, will punch anything that gets in front of his "zone", and speaks in blunt poetry (or at least that is how it is translated).
In conclusion
This was a solid entry in the Children Of series. It does what prior works has done well, though not much more. Certainly worth a read if the first 2 books were your cup of tea.
3.8/5
October 20, 2025
Having read all the books (and pretty much all of the authors previous books) in this series I would have rated book 1 as my absolute favourite with book 2 being very good and book 3 good but a drop in substance and style, this book I am glad to say is a return to the class of book 1, I have already pre ordered the audio book
November 10, 2025
Strife is a worthy addition to Tchaikovsky’s Children novels and a bit of a return to form after Memory, but doesn't quite recapture the magic. At its best, the book echoes the just-plausible-enough, madcap inventiveness that made uplifted spiders such a fresh addition to the genre ten years ago, but it’s not strong enough to step out of its predecessors’ shadow.
——————
To be fair, one of Strife’s biggest problems is the sheer size of the shoes it has to fill; in Time Tchaikovsky managed to reinvent heroic space opera (mostly) without humans, and then in Ruin he effortlessly switched the series to cataclysmic horror. The only catch is that by the end of Ruin, we are effectively left at the End of History. Sure, our spiders and rump Humans have countless new horizons to explore, but now that they’ve enlisted both Kern’s benevolent omniscient AI and the nigh-unkillable Nodans it’s hard to fit any more medium-scale stories into the setting: once you have nigh-omnipotent heroes, meaningful conflicts can only exist at the personal scale or in the form of unimaginably huge threats.
Faced with this choice, Strife opts for “both” and more besides. In the main branch of the story, our protagonists turn out to be just one very isolated tendril of theFederation Panspecific alliance, powerful but under-resourced and beset by a host of personal demons. On the other hand, they are pitted against planetary-scale intelligences that are effectively the gods of myth, animated by technology the book doesn’t really even try to explain in detail. And on the other other hand, maybe the real threat was themselves all along? These are all interesting angles, but even a writer as capable as Mr. T seems to struggle with following them all at once, never mind fitting in two additional prequel plotlines, showy perspectival tricks, and obligatory callbacks to the other three books in the series.
Unsurprisingly, this all leaves Strife feeling a bit overstuffed, or at least big-boned, but the back half of the book pays off handsomely once we get some momentum going. A few storylines are tied off a bit too neatly, mind you, and I have some serious quibbles about the gods’ super-secret form of communication that any modern physicist could have guessed at. Yet on the whole Tchaikovsky makes the plotting and character work satisfying and occasionally surprising, with just enough time given to building out various redshirts and historical figures and even outright villains that you can't escape the personhood of everyone on page, even if we necessarily spend more time with some people than others. And I mean, it’s hard begrudge a book that reimagines Commander Worf as a punchy space crustacean.
Strife doesn’t set a new bar for the series, and I’m not entirely convinced it justifies another outing after this one, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good time. I just hope Tchaikovsky can slow down enough to make sure he delivers a great time in the future.
——————
To be fair, one of Strife’s biggest problems is the sheer size of the shoes it has to fill; in Time Tchaikovsky managed to reinvent heroic space opera (mostly) without humans, and then in Ruin he effortlessly switched the series to cataclysmic horror. The only catch is that by the end of Ruin, we are effectively left at the End of History. Sure, our spiders and rump Humans have countless new horizons to explore, but now that they’ve enlisted both Kern’s benevolent omniscient AI and the nigh-unkillable Nodans it’s hard to fit any more medium-scale stories into the setting: once you have nigh-omnipotent heroes, meaningful conflicts can only exist at the personal scale or in the form of unimaginably huge threats.
Faced with this choice, Strife opts for “both” and more besides. In the main branch of the story, our protagonists turn out to be just one very isolated tendril of the
Unsurprisingly, this all leaves Strife feeling a bit overstuffed, or at least big-boned, but the back half of the book pays off handsomely once we get some momentum going. A few storylines are tied off a bit too neatly, mind you, and I have some serious quibbles about the gods’ super-secret form of communication that any modern physicist could have guessed at. Yet on the whole Tchaikovsky makes the plotting and character work satisfying and occasionally surprising, with just enough time given to building out various redshirts and historical figures and even outright villains that you can't escape the personhood of everyone on page, even if we necessarily spend more time with some people than others. And I mean, it’s hard begrudge a book that reimagines Commander Worf as a punchy space crustacean.
Strife doesn’t set a new bar for the series, and I’m not entirely convinced it justifies another outing after this one, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good time. I just hope Tchaikovsky can slow down enough to make sure he delivers a great time in the future.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
‘Children of Strife’ is a new science-fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is the fourth in his ‘Children’ series of books, set in a future where Earth is a ruined planet, distant worlds are identified to be terraformed into habitable environments as ark-ships of humans prepare to depart a dying Earth in an attempt to propagate mankind.
Much later, spacefaring humans, alongside other intelligent creatures, cooperate, share knowledge and explore galaxies in the hope of finding remnants of the Human diaspora, perhaps other intelligent life and planets with liveable environments. For some this is purely exploration and research; a quest for knowledge. I have read the previous three books in this series and have loved them all. Full of wondrous worlds, compelling plots, captivating characters and mind-boggling science.
It is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy ‘Children of Strife’, but frankly, why wouldn’t you ? They are all great reads. They introduce concepts, characters and worlds that form a continuous narrative throughout the series. It is a delight to directly and indirectly reconnect with some of these beings in this new book, meeting their distant descendants and seeing the impact they have had on planets, species, space travel and exploration.
For anyone who decides to read this book before the others, the author provides a summary of the three previous books in a preface entitled ‘What Has Gone Before’.
These document the main events of the three Ages of the previous books: Age of Terraformers, Age of Ark Ships and Age of Exploration. Also provided is a ‘Dramatis Personae’, listing the characters in the current book, the Age and space-ship they inhabit and their role onboard. Both are useful references to bookmark as it is easy to get confused and disorientated in the worlds created by Tchaikovsky.
‘Children of Strife’ takes place over the same three Ages, multiple generations of earth-time apart. The book is written with each chapter set in one of the Ages, helpfully labelled in the chapter title. Each Age has distinct groups of mostly new characters although remnants, influences and descendants overlap from previous books and between the Ages. The reader is advised to pay close attention to the people and events portrayed ! Some note taking may be useful to keep on top of things.
In this new book, the First Age (Terraformers) concerns a rebel group of space-faring scientists who have escaped from a failed Earth, loaded up with technology, going ‘off-grid’ to play God in creating their own habitable planet. They hope that one day followers in ark-ships will arrive and populate their terra-formed planet. What could possibly go wrong ? A reader expecting ‘Heart of Darkness’ scenarios will not be disappointed. Tchaikovsky writes stunning and frighteningly compelling dialogue. A character reflects on a scientific development on Earth in the past:
“…environgineers had tried to code for microbes to eat plastic…when they succeeded , the plastic-eating microbes had quickly matured to eat any damn thing.”
Amongst the cynicism and bravado, Tchaikovsky instills some characters with deeply moving thoughts on their destroyed planet:
“For a moment a spike of bleak sadness jabbed at her. It was towards what Earth had possessed and then squandered”
In the same paragraph Tchaikovsky invokes a chuckle:
“But of all the things she was, a hand-wringing hippy wasn’t one of them. What was done was done.”
A later period of time, the Second Age, begins with a team of spacefarers departing Earth, transporting a ‘cargo’ of human beings in deep-sleep, to a viable terra-formed planet that may or may not even exist. Tchaikovsky presents a crew member’s thoughts on the process:
“An opportunity to depart for the unknown, not particularly believing there was an habitable destination where you are headed”
and later, thoughts about the ‘cargo’:
“They’d have climbed into their suspension couches down on the ground, been put under, frozen into something that was death’s closest cousin”
The reader will sense a number of conflicting emotions amongst the crew. Desperation, excitement, uncertainty and of course the inherent danger of such an expedition. There is no return planned. One chilling aspect is ‘wastage’ as a certain percentage of the ‘cargo’ is expected not to wake-up for one reason or another. Amongst the wondrous scenarios Tchaikovsky presents, there are darker moments such as this which may cause the reader to pause, reflect and take a deep breath before continuing.
The Third Age is a much later period of time. Earth is but a distant memory, in time and space. A diverse crew of space-farers are navigating the universe, surviving, exploring and somehow surviving. Whereas the First and Second Age are populated with human beings, or at least some recognisable derivative, the Third Age is where Tchaikovsky’s characters really get interesting. Humans are somewhat hybrid beings, implanted with various enabling technologies. For readers of the previous ‘Children’ books, our old friend Avrana Kern returns, albeit in an AI form, but nevertheless, a welcome presence. The Queen of the Terraformers is still snarky, cynical and manipulative but also somewhat endearing in an odd way. Perhaps not the ‘adult in the room’ but far from the unhinged megalomaniac of the previous books.
And our old friends the Portids also make a welcome return (look away now if you have an aversion to these extra-large spiders that Tchaikovsky features prominently in previous books !). A new aquatic being also originally from Kern’s World, plays a prominent and most interesting role in this book. Given his deeply embedded tendency for violence, he is surprisingly a most appealing character. He is a Stromatopod, a marine crustacean that evolved in parallel with but separate from the spiders of Kern’s World. In Tchaikovsky description he :
“…personified a warrior breed…they thrived on hierarchy’s, conflict, aggression…Strife.”
and reflecting on his evolution, our Stromatopod:
“…is distantly aware that Humans …are the origin point of all this. His people derive from Human science. Having met Humans, he can only assume they lost a great deal over the millennia. They seem a hapless and poorly designed species.”
A little later when addressing a Human colleague he:
“…is trying to be nice and not inadvertently or instinctively kill her.”
Tchaikovsky addresses inter-species communication invoking both science and humour. A description of one Human, who is:
“…waving her hand around vaguely in a way that wouldn’t communicate much to another Human, let alone to him.”
Nevertheless, during a stressful situation, a tender moment between species is evident:
“…she visibly takes hold of herself, and he appreciates that. Courage. The willingness to risk harm, crosses species boundaries.”
Without revealing any spoilers, the situations and dynamics within the Ages change. Habitats evolve. Characters develop, mutate or regress. Conflicts arise and are addressed in one way or another. Seldom diplomatically. Little goes according to plan.
The overall plot is complex but satisfying. This is one of those books I read slowly towards the end. Prolonging the pleasure. Perhaps what I found most satisfying or at least most memorable are the smaller plot elements. The challenging situations where ‘Human’ traits come to the fore. Compassion, bravery, fragility, hubris and so on. And of course Tchaikovsky does not limit humanity to Human beings. Kern is a wonderfully developed character. At times hilarious, at times blunt, sarcastic and manipulative but also clever, skilful and protective.
The spiders, a dominant Portia and a subservient Fabian, come to an accommodation, an understanding between equals. The new character, the Stromatopod, is a welcome addition from Tchaikovsky vivid imagination. Think of a human-sized being, with barely repressed aggression, in a powerful, augmented body. Asset or liability ? It’s a fine line. He is hilarious, scathing in his worldview and a scene stealer. But also surprisingly philosophical, exhibiting elements of atonement for his past along with a fondness for some of his shipmates. A practical crew member who gets thing done…
Other powerful scenes are particularly well presented by Tchaikovsky. For example the severely depleted ‘cargo’ of humans quickly evacuating their failing spaceship and somehow finding their way to a terraformed planet, not really knowing where to land, what to expect. Memorable scenes with leadership, bravery and tenacity coming from unexpected places. Quite something to read and take in; the wonder and awe of such an event.
The Three Ages come together in the final chapters. Tchaikovsky elegantly wraps up several plot lines as the various characters, at least those that survive, come to terms with their lives. Amongst this diverse group, we see fine examples of charity, magnanimity, tolerance and acceptance. Tchaikovsky quietly and convincingly presents the cast of characters as deeper, richer beings with closer, warmer relationships, within and across species boundaries.
It is a mostly optimistic and uplifting conclusion, albeit tempered with warnings about technology and unintended consequences. What if planet-scale terraforming and bioengineering goes wrong ? A character offers a warning on “creation by committee”:
“…what should have been a stately and measured dance of biochemical interaction turned into a mosh pit…a thousand different experiments blossoming and dying…Unrestrained biological chaos on a global scale.”
Some characters in ‘Children of Strife’ are less formed than others. Some are slightly shallow and one-dimensional. The reader will care little how they fare. They add relatively little to the plot developments. Others, those characters more deeply portrayed are quite something. Endearing and memorable. Revealing or perhaps developing qualities considered of little value or worth to their species. It is one of Tchaikovsky best skills, introducing non-human characters that the reader will accept, warm towards or at leat understand and tolerate.
I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Tchaikovsky science-fiction work in the past, either in series format or as stand-alone novels. This may not be his very best work; my expectation of a new Tchaikovsky book is always very high. Tchaikovsky’s future worlds and fascinating inhabitants are a delightful experience for anyone new to his writing. The splendour and awe he creates is hard to maintain indefinitely and is perhaps slightly diminished in this book. Nevertheless I think it is a fine addition to the ‘Children’ series. Perhaps a bookend ?
I wish the author and publishers great success with this fine book; a worthy addition to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s body of work.
‘Children of Strife’ is a new science-fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is the fourth in his ‘Children’ series of books, set in a future where Earth is a ruined planet, distant worlds are identified to be terraformed into habitable environments as ark-ships of humans prepare to depart a dying Earth in an attempt to propagate mankind.
Much later, spacefaring humans, alongside other intelligent creatures, cooperate, share knowledge and explore galaxies in the hope of finding remnants of the Human diaspora, perhaps other intelligent life and planets with liveable environments. For some this is purely exploration and research; a quest for knowledge. I have read the previous three books in this series and have loved them all. Full of wondrous worlds, compelling plots, captivating characters and mind-boggling science.
It is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy ‘Children of Strife’, but frankly, why wouldn’t you ? They are all great reads. They introduce concepts, characters and worlds that form a continuous narrative throughout the series. It is a delight to directly and indirectly reconnect with some of these beings in this new book, meeting their distant descendants and seeing the impact they have had on planets, species, space travel and exploration.
For anyone who decides to read this book before the others, the author provides a summary of the three previous books in a preface entitled ‘What Has Gone Before’.
These document the main events of the three Ages of the previous books: Age of Terraformers, Age of Ark Ships and Age of Exploration. Also provided is a ‘Dramatis Personae’, listing the characters in the current book, the Age and space-ship they inhabit and their role onboard. Both are useful references to bookmark as it is easy to get confused and disorientated in the worlds created by Tchaikovsky.
‘Children of Strife’ takes place over the same three Ages, multiple generations of earth-time apart. The book is written with each chapter set in one of the Ages, helpfully labelled in the chapter title. Each Age has distinct groups of mostly new characters although remnants, influences and descendants overlap from previous books and between the Ages. The reader is advised to pay close attention to the people and events portrayed ! Some note taking may be useful to keep on top of things.
In this new book, the First Age (Terraformers) concerns a rebel group of space-faring scientists who have escaped from a failed Earth, loaded up with technology, going ‘off-grid’ to play God in creating their own habitable planet. They hope that one day followers in ark-ships will arrive and populate their terra-formed planet. What could possibly go wrong ? A reader expecting ‘Heart of Darkness’ scenarios will not be disappointed. Tchaikovsky writes stunning and frighteningly compelling dialogue. A character reflects on a scientific development on Earth in the past:
“…environgineers had tried to code for microbes to eat plastic…when they succeeded , the plastic-eating microbes had quickly matured to eat any damn thing.”
Amongst the cynicism and bravado, Tchaikovsky instills some characters with deeply moving thoughts on their destroyed planet:
“For a moment a spike of bleak sadness jabbed at her. It was towards what Earth had possessed and then squandered”
In the same paragraph Tchaikovsky invokes a chuckle:
“But of all the things she was, a hand-wringing hippy wasn’t one of them. What was done was done.”
A later period of time, the Second Age, begins with a team of spacefarers departing Earth, transporting a ‘cargo’ of human beings in deep-sleep, to a viable terra-formed planet that may or may not even exist. Tchaikovsky presents a crew member’s thoughts on the process:
“An opportunity to depart for the unknown, not particularly believing there was an habitable destination where you are headed”
and later, thoughts about the ‘cargo’:
“They’d have climbed into their suspension couches down on the ground, been put under, frozen into something that was death’s closest cousin”
The reader will sense a number of conflicting emotions amongst the crew. Desperation, excitement, uncertainty and of course the inherent danger of such an expedition. There is no return planned. One chilling aspect is ‘wastage’ as a certain percentage of the ‘cargo’ is expected not to wake-up for one reason or another. Amongst the wondrous scenarios Tchaikovsky presents, there are darker moments such as this which may cause the reader to pause, reflect and take a deep breath before continuing.
The Third Age is a much later period of time. Earth is but a distant memory, in time and space. A diverse crew of space-farers are navigating the universe, surviving, exploring and somehow surviving. Whereas the First and Second Age are populated with human beings, or at least some recognisable derivative, the Third Age is where Tchaikovsky’s characters really get interesting. Humans are somewhat hybrid beings, implanted with various enabling technologies. For readers of the previous ‘Children’ books, our old friend Avrana Kern returns, albeit in an AI form, but nevertheless, a welcome presence. The Queen of the Terraformers is still snarky, cynical and manipulative but also somewhat endearing in an odd way. Perhaps not the ‘adult in the room’ but far from the unhinged megalomaniac of the previous books.
And our old friends the Portids also make a welcome return (look away now if you have an aversion to these extra-large spiders that Tchaikovsky features prominently in previous books !). A new aquatic being also originally from Kern’s World, plays a prominent and most interesting role in this book. Given his deeply embedded tendency for violence, he is surprisingly a most appealing character. He is a Stromatopod, a marine crustacean that evolved in parallel with but separate from the spiders of Kern’s World. In Tchaikovsky description he :
“…personified a warrior breed…they thrived on hierarchy’s, conflict, aggression…Strife.”
and reflecting on his evolution, our Stromatopod:
“…is distantly aware that Humans …are the origin point of all this. His people derive from Human science. Having met Humans, he can only assume they lost a great deal over the millennia. They seem a hapless and poorly designed species.”
A little later when addressing a Human colleague he:
“…is trying to be nice and not inadvertently or instinctively kill her.”
Tchaikovsky addresses inter-species communication invoking both science and humour. A description of one Human, who is:
“…waving her hand around vaguely in a way that wouldn’t communicate much to another Human, let alone to him.”
Nevertheless, during a stressful situation, a tender moment between species is evident:
“…she visibly takes hold of herself, and he appreciates that. Courage. The willingness to risk harm, crosses species boundaries.”
Without revealing any spoilers, the situations and dynamics within the Ages change. Habitats evolve. Characters develop, mutate or regress. Conflicts arise and are addressed in one way or another. Seldom diplomatically. Little goes according to plan.
The overall plot is complex but satisfying. This is one of those books I read slowly towards the end. Prolonging the pleasure. Perhaps what I found most satisfying or at least most memorable are the smaller plot elements. The challenging situations where ‘Human’ traits come to the fore. Compassion, bravery, fragility, hubris and so on. And of course Tchaikovsky does not limit humanity to Human beings. Kern is a wonderfully developed character. At times hilarious, at times blunt, sarcastic and manipulative but also clever, skilful and protective.
The spiders, a dominant Portia and a subservient Fabian, come to an accommodation, an understanding between equals. The new character, the Stromatopod, is a welcome addition from Tchaikovsky vivid imagination. Think of a human-sized being, with barely repressed aggression, in a powerful, augmented body. Asset or liability ? It’s a fine line. He is hilarious, scathing in his worldview and a scene stealer. But also surprisingly philosophical, exhibiting elements of atonement for his past along with a fondness for some of his shipmates. A practical crew member who gets thing done…
Other powerful scenes are particularly well presented by Tchaikovsky. For example the severely depleted ‘cargo’ of humans quickly evacuating their failing spaceship and somehow finding their way to a terraformed planet, not really knowing where to land, what to expect. Memorable scenes with leadership, bravery and tenacity coming from unexpected places. Quite something to read and take in; the wonder and awe of such an event.
The Three Ages come together in the final chapters. Tchaikovsky elegantly wraps up several plot lines as the various characters, at least those that survive, come to terms with their lives. Amongst this diverse group, we see fine examples of charity, magnanimity, tolerance and acceptance. Tchaikovsky quietly and convincingly presents the cast of characters as deeper, richer beings with closer, warmer relationships, within and across species boundaries.
It is a mostly optimistic and uplifting conclusion, albeit tempered with warnings about technology and unintended consequences. What if planet-scale terraforming and bioengineering goes wrong ? A character offers a warning on “creation by committee”:
“…what should have been a stately and measured dance of biochemical interaction turned into a mosh pit…a thousand different experiments blossoming and dying…Unrestrained biological chaos on a global scale.”
Some characters in ‘Children of Strife’ are less formed than others. Some are slightly shallow and one-dimensional. The reader will care little how they fare. They add relatively little to the plot developments. Others, those characters more deeply portrayed are quite something. Endearing and memorable. Revealing or perhaps developing qualities considered of little value or worth to their species. It is one of Tchaikovsky best skills, introducing non-human characters that the reader will accept, warm towards or at leat understand and tolerate.
I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Tchaikovsky science-fiction work in the past, either in series format or as stand-alone novels. This may not be his very best work; my expectation of a new Tchaikovsky book is always very high. Tchaikovsky’s future worlds and fascinating inhabitants are a delightful experience for anyone new to his writing. The splendour and awe he creates is hard to maintain indefinitely and is perhaps slightly diminished in this book. Nevertheless I think it is a fine addition to the ‘Children’ series. Perhaps a bookend ?
I wish the author and publishers great success with this fine book; a worthy addition to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s body of work.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Dissenter, a ship carrying a collection of misfits from various species travel to another world that was left to fend for itself for centuries after a devastating computer virus disabled most technology, leaving terraforming efforts to evolve from its early stages... perhaps with a little help from a engineered biological virus that accelerated evolution. This one, however, is different, operated independently by a rival to Kern who was more a billionaire CEO than a scientist, and a team of less successful underlings of mostly the same character mold, the type who would happily backstab each other to reach the top, if that were possible. What life would they usher into the one world they were allowed to work on? Centuries after whatever they started, visitors find that life is plentiful, and extremely hostile, even to ships in orbit... and, on the Dissenter, Alis is brought out of theraputic stasis to find that half of the crew have gone missing, thanks to this hostile, invasive life. Of course, some of the crew of the Dissenter are pretty hostile and aggressive themselves, at least in potential, including a captain whose people evolved from a mantis shrimp that wants to immediately punch any perceived threat, even Alis if she gets too close, and Alis' therapist, an example of the Nodan life they fear may be going feral on the planet. If that happens, the whole biosphere is in danger.
Disclaimer: I was able to read an advanced readers ebook of this from the publisher through Netgalley. I don't think it affected my review, but be aware anyway.
Of course, this is the fourth book in the author's Children of Time series, and I didn't request an early look at this one randomly, I'm already a big fan. Presumably, you are too. The books all build on previous books, with some familiarity with life forms detected in previous books being welcome, maybe even necessary, and some plot threads directly building off the last book (although they're mostly for setting up one character's initial predicament). So, I imagine you want to know if you'll get that same pleasure as previous books. For me, I mostly did, however with an acknowledgement that it did feel a lot less ambitious of a story. This might be deliberate effort because in the last book I spent a good chunk of it with no clue what was happening or how he was going to wrap it up in a way that made sense... he did, by my count, but I could easily see some readers finding it TOO complicated and the author resolving to correct that issue. This book, by comparison, is fairly straightforward (by the standards of the author... it still qualifies as ambitious science fiction that broadens the mind). As a reader of the rest of the series and familiar with SF tropes in general, I had a decent guess at what was going on pretty early that turned out to be more or less on the mark. Even one of the hallmarks of the series, a new alien viewpoint to explore, was pretty tame by the standards of the previous book, one of several viewpoint characters and who is interesting but could also fit right in as the Klingon-stand-in for a space opera universe. That said... I still really enjoyed reading this installment and pretty much raced through it with constant interest. Tchaikovsky's become one of my favorite authors, and even if I'm pretty sure I know where the story's going, that doesn't significantly ruin the enjoyment for me... it's a bit like reading a book you once loved but can't remember many of the actual details of... but better, because there still is genuine novelty and surprises, and even if I guessed at some of the big high concept reveals, aspects of the denouement were still interesting enough to keep me turning pages wanting to see how it would all turn out. His handling of ordinary character interaction has gotten better since the first book, as is the strength of the prose, to the point where I actually really liked the last few paragraphs just as writing.
If this was to be the last book, it might be a little bit of a disappointment, but only in the sense that it doesn't feel like it especially advances the overall universe and thesis statement like previous books did, it's just "another book in the setting." If there are more books to come, this is a perfectly good middle segment. I feel like at this point, at least for me, the author would have to really screw up to earn less than a 4 star rating for books in this series. And no such screw-ups occurred, so that's what I'm scoring it, 4 stars. And, although I got an ebook version for review purposes, this is absolutely a book I will buy in paperback when that option becomes available, just so I can have physical copies of all the books in a series I love.
Disclaimer: I was able to read an advanced readers ebook of this from the publisher through Netgalley. I don't think it affected my review, but be aware anyway.
Of course, this is the fourth book in the author's Children of Time series, and I didn't request an early look at this one randomly, I'm already a big fan. Presumably, you are too. The books all build on previous books, with some familiarity with life forms detected in previous books being welcome, maybe even necessary, and some plot threads directly building off the last book (although they're mostly for setting up one character's initial predicament). So, I imagine you want to know if you'll get that same pleasure as previous books. For me, I mostly did, however with an acknowledgement that it did feel a lot less ambitious of a story. This might be deliberate effort because in the last book I spent a good chunk of it with no clue what was happening or how he was going to wrap it up in a way that made sense... he did, by my count, but I could easily see some readers finding it TOO complicated and the author resolving to correct that issue. This book, by comparison, is fairly straightforward (by the standards of the author... it still qualifies as ambitious science fiction that broadens the mind). As a reader of the rest of the series and familiar with SF tropes in general, I had a decent guess at what was going on pretty early that turned out to be more or less on the mark. Even one of the hallmarks of the series, a new alien viewpoint to explore, was pretty tame by the standards of the previous book, one of several viewpoint characters and who is interesting but could also fit right in as the Klingon-stand-in for a space opera universe. That said... I still really enjoyed reading this installment and pretty much raced through it with constant interest. Tchaikovsky's become one of my favorite authors, and even if I'm pretty sure I know where the story's going, that doesn't significantly ruin the enjoyment for me... it's a bit like reading a book you once loved but can't remember many of the actual details of... but better, because there still is genuine novelty and surprises, and even if I guessed at some of the big high concept reveals, aspects of the denouement were still interesting enough to keep me turning pages wanting to see how it would all turn out. His handling of ordinary character interaction has gotten better since the first book, as is the strength of the prose, to the point where I actually really liked the last few paragraphs just as writing.
If this was to be the last book, it might be a little bit of a disappointment, but only in the sense that it doesn't feel like it especially advances the overall universe and thesis statement like previous books did, it's just "another book in the setting." If there are more books to come, this is a perfectly good middle segment. I feel like at this point, at least for me, the author would have to really screw up to earn less than a 4 star rating for books in this series. And no such screw-ups occurred, so that's what I'm scoring it, 4 stars. And, although I got an ebook version for review purposes, this is absolutely a book I will buy in paperback when that option becomes available, just so I can have physical copies of all the books in a series I love.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book (expected publication date of March 19th, 2026) in exchange for my honest feedback!
In this series, the first book focused on the evolution of spiders to sentient beings. The second book discussed a truly non-earth-based lifeform, as it learned to understand life as it evolved on Earth. The third book covered a planet full of contradictions, that ultimately was attributed to a foreign machine trying to allow life to thrive where it couldn’t. And now, the fourth book covers a planet that was terraformed by another set of earth-based humans, with nothing but selfish, malevolent, and self-aggrandizing intents.
Children of Strife follows exiles, refuges, and mavericks from three different ages, all running towards a world that has the potential to be primed for Earth-based life. The sly and selfish inhabitants of the Pancreator, fed up of living in the shadow of Avrana Kern, snatch up a planet that has strong terraforming potential, hoping to make a safe haven for mankind, so long as they accept these rebels as their omnipotent leaders (first age). The desperate humans onboard the Marduk are hoping to restore humanity on a world they believe might be terraformed, since their home planet Earth is dying and will not be able to support life for long (second age). And the misanthropes aboard the Dissenter have stumbled upon a previously unknown terraformed world, and half of their crew, having gone ahead to investigate, are sending a distress signal without any further information (third age).
To be frank, I have no idea how to review this book. It is wild. It covers various ways humans could be immortalized, through uploading their consciousnesses as data sets, allowing them to be sentient AIs, and act as gods. It compares the umwelts of different species, such as humans, spiders, and shrimps, as they try to understand one another, and bridge communication gaps. It shows how kind and loving humanity can be when at its best, and how devastating their reach can be at their worst.
I get that this is science fiction. I do. But, like, having a plant that can evolve to live in the vacuum of space, that seems like a step too far past the plausible. I don’t know exactly where that line lies, but I can accept two sentient spider beings uploaded into the same robotic brain, having to coexist as something between an individual and two unique beings; I can (somewhat) accept mankind playing god over a planet like it’s Age of Mythology, living past the expiration of their physical bodies and brains; I can even accept that a non-earth-based life form can absorb earth-based life and master all of their complexities and mimic them seamlessly and develop a consciousness that is comparable to human sentience. But plants living and thriving in the vacuum of outer space is just too much for me.
Further, this book was just a lot. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just think it was a lot to keep track of. I copied the character list from the beginning of the book, and annotated it heavily, which is the only way I was able to follow anything. There was just too much going on. It was satisfying how the stories all converged, but wow, it was dense. This would have been much more digestible as two or three separate books, where the scenes are first set, and then the convergence of those stories are their own book. (This is a criticism I’ve had with previous books in this series as well.)
I have absolutely no idea how the author is able to come up with these ideas. These books are definitely some of the most “out-there” stories I’ve ever consumed. But wow, it was a fascinating read. Once again, you just have to go with it. Don’t try to follow every single scientific complexity or character motivation. It won’t work out well for you. But go with the story, just accept that you won’t follow the entire thing, and this is a magnificent epic.
In this series, the first book focused on the evolution of spiders to sentient beings. The second book discussed a truly non-earth-based lifeform, as it learned to understand life as it evolved on Earth. The third book covered a planet full of contradictions, that ultimately was attributed to a foreign machine trying to allow life to thrive where it couldn’t. And now, the fourth book covers a planet that was terraformed by another set of earth-based humans, with nothing but selfish, malevolent, and self-aggrandizing intents.
Children of Strife follows exiles, refuges, and mavericks from three different ages, all running towards a world that has the potential to be primed for Earth-based life. The sly and selfish inhabitants of the Pancreator, fed up of living in the shadow of Avrana Kern, snatch up a planet that has strong terraforming potential, hoping to make a safe haven for mankind, so long as they accept these rebels as their omnipotent leaders (first age). The desperate humans onboard the Marduk are hoping to restore humanity on a world they believe might be terraformed, since their home planet Earth is dying and will not be able to support life for long (second age). And the misanthropes aboard the Dissenter have stumbled upon a previously unknown terraformed world, and half of their crew, having gone ahead to investigate, are sending a distress signal without any further information (third age).
To be frank, I have no idea how to review this book. It is wild. It covers various ways humans could be immortalized, through uploading their consciousnesses as data sets, allowing them to be sentient AIs, and act as gods. It compares the umwelts of different species, such as humans, spiders, and shrimps, as they try to understand one another, and bridge communication gaps. It shows how kind and loving humanity can be when at its best, and how devastating their reach can be at their worst.
I get that this is science fiction. I do. But, like, having a plant that can evolve to live in the vacuum of space, that seems like a step too far past the plausible. I don’t know exactly where that line lies, but I can accept two sentient spider beings uploaded into the same robotic brain, having to coexist as something between an individual and two unique beings; I can (somewhat) accept mankind playing god over a planet like it’s Age of Mythology, living past the expiration of their physical bodies and brains; I can even accept that a non-earth-based life form can absorb earth-based life and master all of their complexities and mimic them seamlessly and develop a consciousness that is comparable to human sentience. But plants living and thriving in the vacuum of outer space is just too much for me.
Further, this book was just a lot. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just think it was a lot to keep track of. I copied the character list from the beginning of the book, and annotated it heavily, which is the only way I was able to follow anything. There was just too much going on. It was satisfying how the stories all converged, but wow, it was dense. This would have been much more digestible as two or three separate books, where the scenes are first set, and then the convergence of those stories are their own book. (This is a criticism I’ve had with previous books in this series as well.)
I have absolutely no idea how the author is able to come up with these ideas. These books are definitely some of the most “out-there” stories I’ve ever consumed. But wow, it was a fascinating read. Once again, you just have to go with it. Don’t try to follow every single scientific complexity or character motivation. It won’t work out well for you. But go with the story, just accept that you won’t follow the entire thing, and this is a magnificent epic.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! I requested it having read book 1 and being absolutely blown away by it. I didn't actually expect to receive the ARC, so when I did, I did firstly have to read book 2 and 3 (oops). But turned out to be good: they were still very fresh in my mind! Unfortunately, I had expected the book to pick up where it left off in book 3. And while we did (sort of?) start back on Imir, it did not look back on the ending.
The first part is... pretty confusing. Most of it is slow and it took me literal days to get into the flow of this book, and it only really picked up when the crew landed. After which I finished it relatively quickly. It starts of slow, because there are a lot of new things, concepts and characters we have to learn about. We've got Kern, and well, that's it, that's who we knew from the previous books. I did really miss the presence of spiders and octopuses, and was very surprised to learn about the addition of Cato. For me it felt like 'oh we HAVE to have a new species in every book, so let's see what I haven't tapped into yet' instead of an actual logical addition to the worldbuilding. I did grow to like him, especially with his funny speech patterns and when learning about his background, although it was very convenient that he was there for the ending.
I do think this book is just too much. It has the first, second and third age, and the second and third both have multiple POVs. The amount of times I went 'wait where and who are we?' was a sign that it was difficult to keep track of it all. Which was a shame, because there were some POVs I'd happily have spend more time with (Neco, Cosimir, Mira, Cato), but instead we get a lot of screentime with Kott and her nasty crewmates (also, the first age sounds like an allaround pretty bad place? From Hartman to Kern, we have not met one single likeable person from that time?) That did make me feel like we did spend too much time in that age, as not a lot happened, there was a lot of repetition, and because none of these people were likeable (which, I know, was the point but still). I just didn't want to be there. However, I did really like being back in the second age. I find that I enjoy that age the most, which I also really liked in book 1, but lacked in the 2nd and 3rd book. They just didn't have the grittiness and desperation that came with fleeing Earth, and the characters in the second one didn't come from a place of privilege and had such perseverance. But book 1 does remain the greatest in the series still, because while this was more in line with book 1, the solutions were too neat and too convenient. Maybe it's me, but there's a repetition in the way the storylines are finished up that is starting to almost feel like a gimmick. It feels like we've reached the limit of what can be done with this world and storyline.
I did like the new world, how it was build, what was done to it to make it progress, while simultaneously holding it back. And stylewise this was just as good as I'd expect from Tchaikovsky. He really does know how to paint a picture, which is especially impressive with all the non-human characters and different ways of communication. I do always like to see the limits of what can be done with them.
I'd give it 3,5 stars, rounded up to 4.
The first part is... pretty confusing. Most of it is slow and it took me literal days to get into the flow of this book, and it only really picked up when the crew landed. After which I finished it relatively quickly. It starts of slow, because there are a lot of new things, concepts and characters we have to learn about. We've got Kern, and well, that's it, that's who we knew from the previous books. I did really miss the presence of spiders and octopuses, and was very surprised to learn about the addition of Cato. For me it felt like 'oh we HAVE to have a new species in every book, so let's see what I haven't tapped into yet' instead of an actual logical addition to the worldbuilding. I did grow to like him, especially with his funny speech patterns and when learning about his background, although it was very convenient that he was there for the ending.
I do think this book is just too much. It has the first, second and third age, and the second and third both have multiple POVs. The amount of times I went 'wait where and who are we?' was a sign that it was difficult to keep track of it all. Which was a shame, because there were some POVs I'd happily have spend more time with (Neco, Cosimir, Mira, Cato), but instead we get a lot of screentime with Kott and her nasty crewmates (also, the first age sounds like an allaround pretty bad place? From Hartman to Kern, we have not met one single likeable person from that time?) That did make me feel like we did spend too much time in that age, as not a lot happened, there was a lot of repetition, and because none of these people were likeable (which, I know, was the point but still). I just didn't want to be there. However, I did really like being back in the second age. I find that I enjoy that age the most, which I also really liked in book 1, but lacked in the 2nd and 3rd book. They just didn't have the grittiness and desperation that came with fleeing Earth, and the characters in the second one didn't come from a place of privilege and had such perseverance. But book 1 does remain the greatest in the series still, because while this was more in line with book 1, the solutions were too neat and too convenient. Maybe it's me, but there's a repetition in the way the storylines are finished up that is starting to almost feel like a gimmick. It feels like we've reached the limit of what can be done with this world and storyline.
I did like the new world, how it was build, what was done to it to make it progress, while simultaneously holding it back. And stylewise this was just as good as I'd expect from Tchaikovsky. He really does know how to paint a picture, which is especially impressive with all the non-human characters and different ways of communication. I do always like to see the limits of what can be done with them.
I'd give it 3,5 stars, rounded up to 4.
December 15, 2025
Netgalley ARC review.
The last time I read a volume in this series, it was Children of Ruin, the second in the series. I didn’t enjoy it much. Rich in ideas, it was nevertheless a bit of a drag to read and felt (at 576 pages) over-long.
Which is where I would have left it. In fact, I completely skipped Children of Memory, the third book (512 pages in paperback) with no regrets. But then, somehow, I persuaded myself to read a Netgalley ARC of the fourth in the series, Children of Strife, and here we are.
I did feel as if I’d missed an episode, so don’t go thinking this will be easy to pick up if you haven’t read the previous three. We’re still with uplifted octopodes, and there’s some kind of uplifted shrimp, too, and there’s still the uploaded intelligence of Kern. We begin in the confused point of view of a woman who has spent a lot of time inside a simulation and died multiple times (see book 3, I assume) and she now struggles to tell the difference between reality and simulation. She has been in therapy with the something else we encountered in book 2, the creature who just grew and absorbed and became other forms of life, but has now been somehow domesticated into its own individual person.
All of which was a struggle, because it was mixed in with other narratives about humans of the Second Age evacuating a dying Earth a long time after the First Age terraformers, who were the ones with all the uplifting technology and more. But wait, we’re also in a rogue terraforming ship with some terraformers who hated Kern and were kind of exiled and stuck with each other. There are five of them, and they are trying to terraform a planet, but they’re a bit shit at it, so they cheat.
First Age, Second Age, and also Third Age, which is our present day team of explorters who encounter a planet they don’t know, which seems to have ships in orbit that have been colonised by plant life from the planet below, which seems able to survive in the vacuum of space. Part of their own team, the other half of their ship, has been invaded by this thing, and they fear for the lives of their colleagues…
So we’ve got three time periods, multiple narrative viewpoints (more than three) and of course the narratives converge, but it all takes a long time to happen. Once again, I found myself struggling to get through something that was too long and too detailed. Beneath all the exposition is an interesting plot and some fascinating ideas, but it’s hard to stick with its, yes, 704 hardback pages.
If you love the previous volumes, you might love this, so dive right in. If, like me, you swore off after the second book, then my advice would be to steer clear.
The last time I read a volume in this series, it was Children of Ruin, the second in the series. I didn’t enjoy it much. Rich in ideas, it was nevertheless a bit of a drag to read and felt (at 576 pages) over-long.
Which is where I would have left it. In fact, I completely skipped Children of Memory, the third book (512 pages in paperback) with no regrets. But then, somehow, I persuaded myself to read a Netgalley ARC of the fourth in the series, Children of Strife, and here we are.
I did feel as if I’d missed an episode, so don’t go thinking this will be easy to pick up if you haven’t read the previous three. We’re still with uplifted octopodes, and there’s some kind of uplifted shrimp, too, and there’s still the uploaded intelligence of Kern. We begin in the confused point of view of a woman who has spent a lot of time inside a simulation and died multiple times (see book 3, I assume) and she now struggles to tell the difference between reality and simulation. She has been in therapy with the something else we encountered in book 2, the creature who just grew and absorbed and became other forms of life, but has now been somehow domesticated into its own individual person.
All of which was a struggle, because it was mixed in with other narratives about humans of the Second Age evacuating a dying Earth a long time after the First Age terraformers, who were the ones with all the uplifting technology and more. But wait, we’re also in a rogue terraforming ship with some terraformers who hated Kern and were kind of exiled and stuck with each other. There are five of them, and they are trying to terraform a planet, but they’re a bit shit at it, so they cheat.
First Age, Second Age, and also Third Age, which is our present day team of explorters who encounter a planet they don’t know, which seems to have ships in orbit that have been colonised by plant life from the planet below, which seems able to survive in the vacuum of space. Part of their own team, the other half of their ship, has been invaded by this thing, and they fear for the lives of their colleagues…
So we’ve got three time periods, multiple narrative viewpoints (more than three) and of course the narratives converge, but it all takes a long time to happen. Once again, I found myself struggling to get through something that was too long and too detailed. Beneath all the exposition is an interesting plot and some fascinating ideas, but it’s hard to stick with its, yes, 704 hardback pages.
If you love the previous volumes, you might love this, so dive right in. If, like me, you swore off after the second book, then my advice would be to steer clear.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Supremely enjoyable and eminently thought-provoking. I had an absolute blast with Children of Strife.
*This will be a spoiler-free review.*
Thank you to the publisher, Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC.
Book #4 in the "Children of..." series is, to my mind, the perfect summation of book #2 (Ruin) and #3 (Memory).
This will undoubtedly elicit different reactions from different people, because opinions on those entries vary, and while I myself didn't love Children of Memory, Children of Strife actually made me appreciate it more in hindsight.
It used the more questionable elements introduced in Book #3 extremely well and it fed the narrative in very interesting ways.
This book really does have a bit of everything I wanted from a new book in this series.
We see new uplifted species and worlds, we see experimental bio-engineering, we see both a breadth and depth of philosophy and understanding that comes in all shapes and sizes, literally.
The book alternates between three distinct ages of humanity.
The First Age is the first wave of terraformers who fled Earth, those from the same era as the original Avrana Kern, some of whom turn out to be her rivals.
The Second Age is where we see the fallout of what was left of Earth after the collapse. Humanity dragging itself up and out of the ashes of its dying world.
The Third Age is the fledgling space opera and Panspecific Galactic Culture that we know of as "the present".
The way Tchaikovsky brings all these plot lines together is absolutely superb. What we see and learn from one era informs and enlightens upon the others. It's very satisfying, and requires (and rewards) careful and deliberate reading.
Tchaikovsky is a phenomenal writer, and getting better all the time it seems. His output is incredible, his imagination is vast, and you can tell just how much research and passion goes into his stories.
There were a few instances in which a word was used that pulled me out of the story a bit, some modern vernacular that stuck out to me as weird, such as the term "hella", and the concept of "Cosplaying" within the mind of a Mantis Shrimp.
I'm aware that I'm reading a proof copy and those words choices could be subject to change, but considering this is almost 700 pages and only two words felt out of place - I'd say that's pretty good going, even if they make it to the final version.
That being said; Children of Strife will be released on March 26th 2026. Thank you again to Pan Macmillan for sending me an early copy for review. I absolutely loved it, and I will forever be open to reading whatever Tchaikovsky you fancy sending my way.
5 stars, top marks.
*This will be a spoiler-free review.*
Thank you to the publisher, Pan Macmillan for sending me an ARC.
Book #4 in the "Children of..." series is, to my mind, the perfect summation of book #2 (Ruin) and #3 (Memory).
This will undoubtedly elicit different reactions from different people, because opinions on those entries vary, and while I myself didn't love Children of Memory, Children of Strife actually made me appreciate it more in hindsight.
It used the more questionable elements introduced in Book #3 extremely well and it fed the narrative in very interesting ways.
This book really does have a bit of everything I wanted from a new book in this series.
We see new uplifted species and worlds, we see experimental bio-engineering, we see both a breadth and depth of philosophy and understanding that comes in all shapes and sizes, literally.
The book alternates between three distinct ages of humanity.
The First Age is the first wave of terraformers who fled Earth, those from the same era as the original Avrana Kern, some of whom turn out to be her rivals.
The Second Age is where we see the fallout of what was left of Earth after the collapse. Humanity dragging itself up and out of the ashes of its dying world.
The Third Age is the fledgling space opera and Panspecific Galactic Culture that we know of as "the present".
The way Tchaikovsky brings all these plot lines together is absolutely superb. What we see and learn from one era informs and enlightens upon the others. It's very satisfying, and requires (and rewards) careful and deliberate reading.
Tchaikovsky is a phenomenal writer, and getting better all the time it seems. His output is incredible, his imagination is vast, and you can tell just how much research and passion goes into his stories.
There were a few instances in which a word was used that pulled me out of the story a bit, some modern vernacular that stuck out to me as weird, such as the term "hella", and the concept of "Cosplaying" within the mind of a Mantis Shrimp.
I'm aware that I'm reading a proof copy and those words choices could be subject to change, but considering this is almost 700 pages and only two words felt out of place - I'd say that's pretty good going, even if they make it to the final version.
That being said; Children of Strife will be released on March 26th 2026. Thank you again to Pan Macmillan for sending me an early copy for review. I absolutely loved it, and I will forever be open to reading whatever Tchaikovsky you fancy sending my way.
5 stars, top marks.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Children of Strife is the much-anticipated fourth installment in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s award-winning Children of Time series. If you enjoyed the previous books, especially the first two, this continues the high-concept story evolution of the earlier books with a more personal narrative through the eyes of new characters (and of course some of those we know already....ahem...Kern).
Adrian Tchaikovsky is an author I am always interested in reading and having an opportunity to review a pre-release copy of Children of Strife, was an amazing opportunity.
Plenty of reviews will lay out the premise for you, which essentially continues the story of the panspecific community of uplifted animal species, now sentient across sections of the post-human fallout of failed terraforming projects. In Children of Strife, terror-forming would be a more appropriate term. The book focuses across timelines from pre-war to present day, around a hellish world; both it's creation and present day consequences read often more like horror infused with hard sci-fi than what I would expect.
This however allows the author room to push the possibilities provided by the science to the limits. The new characters of Cato (the mantis shrimp Captain) and Alis (the damaged scientist unsure of reality) are genuinely likeable.
Perhaps the hook for me in this series is that through the exploration of different species, lifted into sentience and encouraged to engage with the panspecific community, we can explore how animal traits inform their societal development and behaviour. Indeed, what makes us human? What instincts are hardwired within us, that may have gotten us this far, but perhaps not much too further?
If you are a fan of "hard" sci-fi that isn't afraid to get weird, this is a must-read. Children of Strife addds a new layer of dark, unforgiving horror amid the questions of what it means to be human. And could you be friends with a giant shrimp with a warrior attitude?
Maybe this lost a star as the author sometimes seems to labour a point a bit too much for my taste, but I genuinely love the ideas he plays with in this series and enjoy the characters immensely.
Adrian Tchaikovsky is an author I am always interested in reading and having an opportunity to review a pre-release copy of Children of Strife, was an amazing opportunity.
Plenty of reviews will lay out the premise for you, which essentially continues the story of the panspecific community of uplifted animal species, now sentient across sections of the post-human fallout of failed terraforming projects. In Children of Strife, terror-forming would be a more appropriate term. The book focuses across timelines from pre-war to present day, around a hellish world; both it's creation and present day consequences read often more like horror infused with hard sci-fi than what I would expect.
This however allows the author room to push the possibilities provided by the science to the limits. The new characters of Cato (the mantis shrimp Captain) and Alis (the damaged scientist unsure of reality) are genuinely likeable.
Perhaps the hook for me in this series is that through the exploration of different species, lifted into sentience and encouraged to engage with the panspecific community, we can explore how animal traits inform their societal development and behaviour. Indeed, what makes us human? What instincts are hardwired within us, that may have gotten us this far, but perhaps not much too further?
If you are a fan of "hard" sci-fi that isn't afraid to get weird, this is a must-read. Children of Strife addds a new layer of dark, unforgiving horror amid the questions of what it means to be human. And could you be friends with a giant shrimp with a warrior attitude?
Maybe this lost a star as the author sometimes seems to labour a point a bit too much for my taste, but I genuinely love the ideas he plays with in this series and enjoy the characters immensely.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I had a quick look at the other reviews……some are almost as long as the book itself! If you want an in-depth analysis, read some of them.
So I’ll be brief….
I liked it - a lot. Hence the 4*.
Make sure you read the ‘what came before’ at the start. Tchaikovsky(A.T.) has created a rich, complicated universe and many events of previous novels are relevant to this story.
Keep in mind that the three storylines are thousands of years apart, as the story jumps from one to another. Initially they feel like three completely different stories. Gradually you can see how they are going to merge, though not without some surprise twists. And when they do merge - collide might be a better description - it becomes a glorious rollercoaster ride, passing at breakneck speed through the Hall of Mirrors, Jurassic Park, Ancient Greek legend and The Little Shop of Horrors simultaneously. **Mini spoiler at the end of my review.
A.T. has populated the story with brilliant characters, some you will love to hate, others you will love, even though you probably shouldn’t. ‘Cato’ might just be my new favourite character.
He also balances darkness - horror, even- with dark humour beautifully, and I found myself getting caught up empathically at various points, genuinely anxious during some of the events.
Why not 5*? It’s long, and in places very complicated. This is not a story you can read when you have 10-15 minutes to spare. It needs to be read in big chunks. And whilst A.T. is an incredible writer, I felt at times he was spending a very long time in asides, which for me interrupted the flow of the story a little.
Mini spoiler below!
>
>
>
>
**Mini spoiler: on finishing the book, I was sorely tempted to get rid of all my houseplants! I was even eyeing up the cat and the goldfish with suspicion.😄
So I’ll be brief….
I liked it - a lot. Hence the 4*.
Make sure you read the ‘what came before’ at the start. Tchaikovsky(A.T.) has created a rich, complicated universe and many events of previous novels are relevant to this story.
Keep in mind that the three storylines are thousands of years apart, as the story jumps from one to another. Initially they feel like three completely different stories. Gradually you can see how they are going to merge, though not without some surprise twists. And when they do merge - collide might be a better description - it becomes a glorious rollercoaster ride, passing at breakneck speed through the Hall of Mirrors, Jurassic Park, Ancient Greek legend and The Little Shop of Horrors simultaneously. **Mini spoiler at the end of my review.
A.T. has populated the story with brilliant characters, some you will love to hate, others you will love, even though you probably shouldn’t. ‘Cato’ might just be my new favourite character.
He also balances darkness - horror, even- with dark humour beautifully, and I found myself getting caught up empathically at various points, genuinely anxious during some of the events.
Why not 5*? It’s long, and in places very complicated. This is not a story you can read when you have 10-15 minutes to spare. It needs to be read in big chunks. And whilst A.T. is an incredible writer, I felt at times he was spending a very long time in asides, which for me interrupted the flow of the story a little.
Mini spoiler below!
>
>
>
>
**Mini spoiler: on finishing the book, I was sorely tempted to get rid of all my houseplants! I was even eyeing up the cat and the goldfish with suspicion.😄
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A welcome return to the Children of Time universe introduces us to a group of maverick crewmates as they explore a strange planet populated by humans from an ancient Ark ship.
I really struggled with the first quarter of this book as it flicked between eras and just felt confusing and full of characters that we were never given a chance to get to know. However, as the book settled into more of a rhythm and the storylines started to converge it began to hook me in.
The original ancients who turn a world into a plaything for gods are a wonderful study in narcissism and show hints of what Kern might have become in different circumstances. They reminded me of the current crop of tech bros that surround Trump. Kott is the only one with any redeeming features but that's a vey low bar.
I would have loved a little more focus on the Ark crew - both their escape from a dying Earth and their early years on the killer planet. Their were some really promising characters in this segment that were never given a chance to develop and just became a means to an end within the larger story arc.
The maverick crew of the Dissenter were fascinating - an offshoot of Kern, Alis, a woman who struggles to tell fantasy from reality, Portifabian the merged spider consciousness, the mysterious missing Mira, and ships captain, the magnificent Cato, a violent mantis shrimp with a terrifying back story. Their adventures on the planet occasionally felt like Alis in Wonderland, particularly when the grinning Kott cat turned up.
I loved the development of Cato's character in the latter half of the book and the way the group of individuals started to become a proper crew. By the end of the book I found myself really hoping for the further adventures of the Dissenter under the leadership of Cato!
I really struggled with the first quarter of this book as it flicked between eras and just felt confusing and full of characters that we were never given a chance to get to know. However, as the book settled into more of a rhythm and the storylines started to converge it began to hook me in.
The original ancients who turn a world into a plaything for gods are a wonderful study in narcissism and show hints of what Kern might have become in different circumstances. They reminded me of the current crop of tech bros that surround Trump. Kott is the only one with any redeeming features but that's a vey low bar.
I would have loved a little more focus on the Ark crew - both their escape from a dying Earth and their early years on the killer planet. Their were some really promising characters in this segment that were never given a chance to develop and just became a means to an end within the larger story arc.
The maverick crew of the Dissenter were fascinating - an offshoot of Kern, Alis, a woman who struggles to tell fantasy from reality, Portifabian the merged spider consciousness, the mysterious missing Mira, and ships captain, the magnificent Cato, a violent mantis shrimp with a terrifying back story. Their adventures on the planet occasionally felt like Alis in Wonderland, particularly when the grinning Kott cat turned up.
I loved the development of Cato's character in the latter half of the book and the way the group of individuals started to become a proper crew. By the end of the book I found myself really hoping for the further adventures of the Dissenter under the leadership of Cato!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
** I received an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is scheduled to be published on March 17, 2026 in the US. **
Possible Triggers:
Slight Body Horror
Summary:
Book 4 of the ‘Children of Time’ Series.
Characters:
There are sets of characters that make an appearance in the separate episodes of time (broken up in 1st, 2nd, & 3rd ages) around the world that the books revolve around (Marduk). I adored so many of them. No character felt unimportant. I especially adored the team that the book follows in the third age. PortiaFabian, Cato, Mira, Alis are fantastic as heck. Cato being the particular favorite. LOVED LOVED getting to learn about his species culture, history, as well as his personal back story.
Positives:
+ The humor in this book is epic; subtle & witty! I feel for my children as I would burst out laughing and then read them a passage to provide them context. But really you need everything for the context.
+ SUCH a cool way for the story to unfold. I loved skipping backwards and forwards through time. Seeing Marduk's steps of evolution from the different characters PoV’s.
+ Amazing character development.
Final Thoughts:
SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I absolutely loved this addition to the series. It reminded me a lot of the feeling I had reading the first book. Absolute delight and joy. Wonder at learning so many details about an already cool critter. Excitement at the drama that unfolds. I loved the characters, the worlds, the history. Getting to revisit some of the worlds or species from the previous book. All in all absolutely recommend for anything that loves more Sciency Sci-fi.
Possible Triggers:
Slight Body Horror
Summary:
Book 4 of the ‘Children of Time’ Series.
Characters:
There are sets of characters that make an appearance in the separate episodes of time (broken up in 1st, 2nd, & 3rd ages) around the world that the books revolve around (Marduk). I adored so many of them. No character felt unimportant. I especially adored the team that the book follows in the third age. PortiaFabian, Cato, Mira, Alis are fantastic as heck. Cato being the particular favorite. LOVED LOVED getting to learn about his species culture, history, as well as his personal back story.
Positives:
+ The humor in this book is epic; subtle & witty! I feel for my children as I would burst out laughing and then read them a passage to provide them context. But really you need everything for the context.
+ SUCH a cool way for the story to unfold. I loved skipping backwards and forwards through time. Seeing Marduk's steps of evolution from the different characters PoV’s.
+ Amazing character development.
Final Thoughts:
SUCH A GOOD BOOK. I absolutely loved this addition to the series. It reminded me a lot of the feeling I had reading the first book. Absolute delight and joy. Wonder at learning so many details about an already cool critter. Excitement at the drama that unfolds. I loved the characters, the worlds, the history. Getting to revisit some of the worlds or species from the previous book. All in all absolutely recommend for anything that loves more Sciency Sci-fi.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In Children of Strife, Adrian Tchaikovsky takes us on three distant but connected journeys. In the earliest timeline, corporate terraformers with overinflated egos are trying (and often failing) to speedrun evolution on the planet they're overseeing. In the second, you get to see a bit of what's left of Earth when the ark ships first take off to escape the human homeworld. In the third, you follow a woman who, after spending too long in a reality simulation, has trouble believing her experiences are real.
As the three timelines converge, you experience what might be the funnest of the four books in this series so far, though the main appeal is, of course, Tchaikovsky's detailed and thoughtful exploration of different types of intelligences. There's all the weird intelligences we're familiar with from other books in the series (including the warrior mantis shrimp civilization hinted at in previous installments, so get ready to learn a whole lot about their biology and culture). There's also a host of brand new critters and machines, all of which raise mind-bending questions about language, communication, subjectivity, empathy, and identity. The book also has a lot to say about the threats posed by alluring new technologies and the limits and dangers of greed.
If you like science fiction, I can't recommend this series enough. It's funny. It's epic. It's genius. We're now four books in, and I have not been disappointed yet. (Some people didn't like book three. Those of you in that camp, you'll be glad to know that Children of Strife is more similar in content and style to Children of Time and Children of Ruin.)
~Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a Digital ARC. All opinions are my own.~
As the three timelines converge, you experience what might be the funnest of the four books in this series so far, though the main appeal is, of course, Tchaikovsky's detailed and thoughtful exploration of different types of intelligences. There's all the weird intelligences we're familiar with from other books in the series (including the warrior mantis shrimp civilization hinted at in previous installments, so get ready to learn a whole lot about their biology and culture). There's also a host of brand new critters and machines, all of which raise mind-bending questions about language, communication, subjectivity, empathy, and identity. The book also has a lot to say about the threats posed by alluring new technologies and the limits and dangers of greed.
If you like science fiction, I can't recommend this series enough. It's funny. It's epic. It's genius. We're now four books in, and I have not been disappointed yet. (Some people didn't like book three. Those of you in that camp, you'll be glad to know that Children of Strife is more similar in content and style to Children of Time and Children of Ruin.)
~Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a Digital ARC. All opinions are my own.~
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Every Adrian Tchaikovsky book I dive into is an absolute feast for the imagination, and Children of Strife is no exception to that rule.
A complex combination of moral questions and dilemmas, interwoven with science, in an unforgiving fight for survival where playing God leads to dire consequences.
An absolute masterclass in building a story that develops over time and across multiple generations, presenting all the key points and problems flawlessly.
In the last instalment, we tackle again the results of the terraforming projects and all the questions that were left.
We have a familiar character returning to the scene in the face of the ship's AI assistant, Kern, and her presence brought a really nice balance to the chaos.
Alis - a scientist plagued with nightmares that feel almost like they are predicting events and tie beautifully with everything happening around them.
And of course it won't be an Adrian Tchaikovsky book if there isn't an amazing non-human character that grabs your attention and doesn't let go.
I absolutely loved the part-mantis, part-shrimp, violent, grumpy captain Cato, and his character arc and story just hooked me in.
The story's vibe was so anxiety-inducing and suffocating at times that it shows how immersed and invested you get without even realising it.
Although the book can be read without having your toes dipped into the previous books, I wholeheartedly suggest going through them first because the depth of this spacious story is so much more fulfilling knowing the past.
Loved this book and always a fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky.
A complex combination of moral questions and dilemmas, interwoven with science, in an unforgiving fight for survival where playing God leads to dire consequences.
An absolute masterclass in building a story that develops over time and across multiple generations, presenting all the key points and problems flawlessly.
In the last instalment, we tackle again the results of the terraforming projects and all the questions that were left.
We have a familiar character returning to the scene in the face of the ship's AI assistant, Kern, and her presence brought a really nice balance to the chaos.
Alis - a scientist plagued with nightmares that feel almost like they are predicting events and tie beautifully with everything happening around them.
And of course it won't be an Adrian Tchaikovsky book if there isn't an amazing non-human character that grabs your attention and doesn't let go.
I absolutely loved the part-mantis, part-shrimp, violent, grumpy captain Cato, and his character arc and story just hooked me in.
The story's vibe was so anxiety-inducing and suffocating at times that it shows how immersed and invested you get without even realising it.
Although the book can be read without having your toes dipped into the previous books, I wholeheartedly suggest going through them first because the depth of this spacious story is so much more fulfilling knowing the past.
Loved this book and always a fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Read this courtesy of NetGalley. Opinion is my own.
I've been following this series for years, reading the books as they come out, so this may be recency bias speaking, but I think it's my favourite volume since Children of Time. A new terraformed planet - but a malicious one. A new story - but a plant horror-tinged one. And three sets of characters - the first terraformers, billionaires and narcissists arguing over how to rework the planet in their image. The humans of Earth, post-apocalyptic refugees on an ark ship. And a rag-tag team of explorers of different species, cognitions, characters.
I loved the structure, and found the horror to be extremely effective. There is some verbosity that might have, perhaps, been trimmed with good results, but the wordy style is part and parcel of Tchaikovsky, I suppose. The middle part feels less developed, character-wise, which is a pity - but the explorers and the terraformers are both greatly developed and fascinating, even if not particularly likable. And the significance of community and communication, as always
It brings together all the worldbuilding from the previous three volumes, and then puts it together into a new terrifying setting and it's utterly gripping. Honestly, it works great as an ending for the series, but if there's anything more, I'll be first in line to read a continuation.
I've been following this series for years, reading the books as they come out, so this may be recency bias speaking, but I think it's my favourite volume since Children of Time. A new terraformed planet - but a malicious one. A new story - but a plant horror-tinged one. And three sets of characters - the first terraformers, billionaires and narcissists arguing over how to rework the planet in their image. The humans of Earth, post-apocalyptic refugees on an ark ship. And a rag-tag team of explorers of different species, cognitions, characters.
I loved the structure, and found the horror to be extremely effective. There is some verbosity that might have, perhaps, been trimmed with good results, but the wordy style is part and parcel of Tchaikovsky, I suppose. The middle part feels less developed, character-wise, which is a pity - but the explorers and the terraformers are both greatly developed and fascinating, even if not particularly likable. And the significance of community and communication, as always
It brings together all the worldbuilding from the previous three volumes, and then puts it together into a new terrifying setting and it's utterly gripping. Honestly, it works great as an ending for the series, but if there's anything more, I'll be first in line to read a continuation.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
While I enjoyed book one of Children of Time I struggled with Children of Ruin and Children of Memory. But I’m happy to say that Children of Strife is even better than book one and I feel like on reread I’ll enjoy books two and three more knowing where Tchaikovsky‘s taking the series.
Children of Strife starts with three separate ages that eventually converge to the present period of space exploration by the many uplifted species from books 1-3. We are introduced to a new world that has been created by a group of scientists from the same period of Earth as Kern who in attempting to create a new utopia for those fleeing the dying Earth crating a living hell and the ark ship that eventually arrives and try’s to make life there.
Then in the present we have a ragtag group of outcasts all struggling to fit into this new society out exploring the universe while trying to make a place for themselves in this new world. There’s the usual Human, spiders, Kern and a Nodian named Mira. We also finally get the POV of Cato, a Mantis shrimp, from the spiders world. I honestly think he was my favorite character in Children of Strife. Here’s to hoping Tchaikovsky continues exploring this ever expanding universe!
Received from NetGalley
Children of Strife starts with three separate ages that eventually converge to the present period of space exploration by the many uplifted species from books 1-3. We are introduced to a new world that has been created by a group of scientists from the same period of Earth as Kern who in attempting to create a new utopia for those fleeing the dying Earth crating a living hell and the ark ship that eventually arrives and try’s to make life there.
Then in the present we have a ragtag group of outcasts all struggling to fit into this new society out exploring the universe while trying to make a place for themselves in this new world. There’s the usual Human, spiders, Kern and a Nodian named Mira. We also finally get the POV of Cato, a Mantis shrimp, from the spiders world. I honestly think he was my favorite character in Children of Strife. Here’s to hoping Tchaikovsky continues exploring this ever expanding universe!
Received from NetGalley
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The first 2 books in the series are among my favorite modern scifi books but Children of Memory didn't hit quite the same. Children of Strife was a big step up from Memory but still didn't reach the heights of Time or Ruin. As always Adrian's ideas and ability to explore fun and exciting What-Ifs for the future of humanity (and other species) remains top notch. His imagination and exploration of wild scifi concepts is the reason I keep returning to his work and it's on full display here.
Children of Strife follows 3 main story lines and a lot of where it struggles is balancing the pacing of those separate plot lines. This was a minor blemish on the first 2 books in the series as well but 1 of the 3 plot lines was so much more exciting to me that the others could feel a bit like a chore at times. While other series get can get bogged down with new characters plot lines, the new group of terrafromers were actually the highlight this time around. While the other story lines did drag at times when they did converge, it was a satisfying conclusion.
All in all still a very exciting entry to a very fun series. If you loved the first 2 but were let down by book 3 I think Children of Strife is well worth another shot.
Children of Strife follows 3 main story lines and a lot of where it struggles is balancing the pacing of those separate plot lines. This was a minor blemish on the first 2 books in the series as well but 1 of the 3 plot lines was so much more exciting to me that the others could feel a bit like a chore at times. While other series get can get bogged down with new characters plot lines, the new group of terrafromers were actually the highlight this time around. While the other story lines did drag at times when they did converge, it was a satisfying conclusion.
All in all still a very exciting entry to a very fun series. If you loved the first 2 but were let down by book 3 I think Children of Strife is well worth another shot.
November 24, 2025
The fourth installment of The Children of Time series takes a step away from memory to focus on the struggles of the space travelers. A team of giant egos terraformed a planet, then they all want to be gods and fight (like petty children) for dominance of their planet. Then there is a research vessel, stranded and battling for survival. The only ones left aboard are a reawakened crewmember, Alis, with her own internal issues, captain Cato, a mantis shrimp (because Tchaikovsky needed to give us a character with at least eight legs), and the AI Kern. This series continues to challenge the warm sentiments of space operas that many of us grew up with on TV and in movies where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few...or the one. Look deep enough and there is a cautionary tale of letting the big egos with deep pockets control space and maybe some sentiment on persisting life through AI or just read it for the well-written story.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Children of Strife is a yet another superb addition to Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic Children of Time sci-fi series that tracks events around the terraforming of planets following the gradual demise of Earth.
This book focusses on a new planet, with the plot spanning thousands of years as we experience the full spectrum of life emerging on a new world, and the consequences that follow.
The first third or so of the story did drag for me whilst slowly setting the scene but, as always, things began to fall into place and the mind-bending science(fiction) took things to another level, with things escalating to a thrilling and satisfying conclusion. Tchaikovsky's ability to develop non-human characters so effectively and so quickly is my favourite aspect of these books. We learn so much yet always want more. Cato in particular was a brilliant addition to the cast and the technological aspects that allow the many species featured to communicate is incredibly imagined.
A slow-burner but again worth the effort and it's 4.5 stars from me.
A massive thank you to Pan Macmillan, Tor and NetGalley for the ARC. What a blast!
This book focusses on a new planet, with the plot spanning thousands of years as we experience the full spectrum of life emerging on a new world, and the consequences that follow.
The first third or so of the story did drag for me whilst slowly setting the scene but, as always, things began to fall into place and the mind-bending science(fiction) took things to another level, with things escalating to a thrilling and satisfying conclusion. Tchaikovsky's ability to develop non-human characters so effectively and so quickly is my favourite aspect of these books. We learn so much yet always want more. Cato in particular was a brilliant addition to the cast and the technological aspects that allow the many species featured to communicate is incredibly imagined.
A slow-burner but again worth the effort and it's 4.5 stars from me.
A massive thank you to Pan Macmillan, Tor and NetGalley for the ARC. What a blast!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The latest installment of the Children of Time series continues the wonder, the drama, and the existential questioning of the previous three books. This time around we have less of the spiders, and no octopi or corvids. We do get a stomatopod (a mantis shrimp, google it for an image of the punchiest fighter in all the galaxies) who is worth the price of the whole book. We also get lots more about the machine of Children of Memory and the monster from Nod and Children of Ruin, hence the existential questioning of what makes a self? a soul? purpose? community? We also get space settlers who are brave because they must be and whose doom is forever hanging over them. Much of the book is spent with 5 egomaniacal geniuses who are set on dominating each other and everything around them. This keeps things darker than our three previous adventures and the threads of hope feel pulled to the breaking point. Still an enthralling, mind bending read and an expansive world I always wnjoy returning to.
Thank yo Netgalley for the ARC!
Thank yo Netgalley for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Children of Strife was a book I had tempered expectations for but was still excited to read, especially after Children of Memory and how different I felt that one was compared to the first two.
Well here it is..... and it's a lot. Ideas of the first three books show up in this one and original ideas so this book does feel the most dense of the series.
I wasn't a huge fan of the writing structure with this story as we are split up into 3 Ages and so it does feel blocky but those segments don't over stay their welcome and so the pacing does not feel bad, although I did enjoy seeing some of the struggles with the earlier Ages that were not covered in the previous books.
His characters all still suck.... not his writing of those characters, but they are all flawed and love to smell their own farts.
Overall, I am still impressed with his storytelling and his ability to be so flexible with this writing for all of his books(that I have read so far). Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Well here it is..... and it's a lot. Ideas of the first three books show up in this one and original ideas so this book does feel the most dense of the series.
I wasn't a huge fan of the writing structure with this story as we are split up into 3 Ages and so it does feel blocky but those segments don't over stay their welcome and so the pacing does not feel bad, although I did enjoy seeing some of the struggles with the earlier Ages that were not covered in the previous books.
His characters all still suck.... not his writing of those characters, but they are all flawed and love to smell their own farts.
Overall, I am still impressed with his storytelling and his ability to be so flexible with this writing for all of his books(that I have read so far). Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I have just finished my ARC of this impressive fourth tome in the "Children" series which brings together Tchaikovsky's creations from Children of Time, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory.
Besides another inventive and entertaining translation of an earth lifeform (Mantis Shrimp) into an extra terrestrial environment, Tchaikovsky plays with ideas of self and consciousness in another planet despoiled by the ancient terraformers of Kern's generation, and then haphazardly settled by contemporaries of the arkship Gilgamesh, before being visited by the multi-species crew of the generally co-operative pan-specific civilisation that grew out of the encounters in the previous three books.
As always I have thoughts and will take some time to collect them for a full fantasy-hive review, but this book is an absolute treat and a fitting additional jewel in the crown of the "Children of ..." series.
Besides another inventive and entertaining translation of an earth lifeform (Mantis Shrimp) into an extra terrestrial environment, Tchaikovsky plays with ideas of self and consciousness in another planet despoiled by the ancient terraformers of Kern's generation, and then haphazardly settled by contemporaries of the arkship Gilgamesh, before being visited by the multi-species crew of the generally co-operative pan-specific civilisation that grew out of the encounters in the previous three books.
As always I have thoughts and will take some time to collect them for a full fantasy-hive review, but this book is an absolute treat and a fitting additional jewel in the crown of the "Children of ..." series.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Solid entry in the Children of… series.
This one tied in aspects of the older books a bit more than the others. I liked that. It’s nice that the deeper the series goes, more nods to past books are happening.
I struggled with the format of the book. We jumped from different groups of people which broke up any anticipation that was building. I was OK with it in the first book but found it hard to parse in this one for some reason.
I loved the new uplifted “animal” in this one. No spoilers here. This is the biggest highlights of this series and in this regard Strife did not disappoint.
There was a little bit of horror in here that was captivating and welcome. I thought Ruin also displayed a bit of this, albeit in a different way. Just know that it’s something new and slightly horrifying 😂
Thanks to Orbit Books for the eARC. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This one tied in aspects of the older books a bit more than the others. I liked that. It’s nice that the deeper the series goes, more nods to past books are happening.
I struggled with the format of the book. We jumped from different groups of people which broke up any anticipation that was building. I was OK with it in the first book but found it hard to parse in this one for some reason.
I loved the new uplifted “animal” in this one. No spoilers here. This is the biggest highlights of this series and in this regard Strife did not disappoint.
There was a little bit of horror in here that was captivating and welcome. I thought Ruin also displayed a bit of this, albeit in a different way. Just know that it’s something new and slightly horrifying 😂
Thanks to Orbit Books for the eARC. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I love this author, I love this series, and I loved the new turns we pass through in this book. As always, there's a lovely mix of the things that the author likes (bugs, hive minds, mixture of evolutionary and computational complexity, etc.) but it never really feels forced. This is just such a great series that makes all of these things and weirdnesses click together perfectly.
I really liked the alternative perspective on the Terraforming project, the story from Earth, and the distinctions we get to see between humans and Humans and other versions of this.
Lastly, I didn't love the third book in this series as much as the other two, but I REALLY enjoyed the way that the story and ideas in that book played into this one. It was a GREAT payoff and the themes from the third book were really great for supporting the story of Terraformers, humans, and the new galactic reality.
I really liked the alternative perspective on the Terraforming project, the story from Earth, and the distinctions we get to see between humans and Humans and other versions of this.
Lastly, I didn't love the third book in this series as much as the other two, but I REALLY enjoyed the way that the story and ideas in that book played into this one. It was a GREAT payoff and the themes from the third book were really great for supporting the story of Terraformers, humans, and the new galactic reality.
January 19, 2026
I get the sense that this is going to be the last book in this series for now, but we do get a possible thread for Tchaikovsky to pick up on should he so choose. Our species of choice this time is mantis shrimps (aka stomatopods) for intelligence, and the overarching bad guy is the ghost of cultish technocrats and those who end up swayed to their side. Add in our intrepid adventurers getting caught up in another skirmish with the remnants of humanity, identity crises for creatures that assimilate multiple individuals into a hive mind, and our crew all having troubles of their own, and you get a hell of an epic. I started this the liminal week between Christmas and New Year's, and have finally finished it three weeks into the new year. Dense in the best kind of way, like a mantis shrimp punching you in the face. Comes out in March, and highly recommended when it does.
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