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Children of Time

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Children of Time

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Mel Hudson
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About this listen

Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

Who will inherit this new Earth?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

©2016 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2017 Audible Ltd
Fantasy Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Space Exploration Space Opera Space Interstellar Solar System

Critic Reviews

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

What listeners say about Children of Time

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, thought provoking.

I loved the concept, the 2 different storylines happening side by side of humans and spiders and the struggles they both went through driven by the most basic of instincts of all living things, trying to survive.

The ending caught me by surprise and what a way to wrap up the story. Excellent book

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This really makes you think

It took me a little while to get the story. But before long I was hooked. It is a believable story in a weird way. I was getting concerned on how it would end as the author has you sympathetic to both sides plight. But the ending was great. I really enjoyed it.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

What a fascinating story!

The 2 stories over such a long time period were awesome, especially the story of the other species - so alien, but making sense. I totally believed their culture. Excellent narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fresh new take on extraterrestrial life

Loved setting and concept but struggled to finish as the build-up was long a the climax was delayed. However, it did leave me eager to listen to the next book 😊

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It gets better at the end.

I struggled with it in the beginning. but the story gets better as it progresses and the ending is a suprise.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A detailed sci-fi spanning many lifetimes

amazing concept, but very detailed and need to be paying attention to the timeline!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent post-apocalyptic sci fi

Some really great ideas and wonderful story telling. Quite different from anything I've read before, but very good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The perfect audiobook material.

The linear storyline makes it really easy to follow while the elaborate ideas and somewhat realistic circumstances result in pleasurable experience.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Mostly good, a little bad.

Loved the idea and overall loved the book. The author really captured the destructive tendencies of humanity and the impact that has all over a galaxy. My only real complaint is that at the times the book was slow; not boring - but slow. In parts it seemed like nothing was actually happening to forward the plot, a lot of background and secondary information. A lot to dredge through - maybe a lot of it will pay off in the next book. A detailed and lengthy story, which at times felt excessive but overall a bloody good read if you're into the genre. Will definetely be reading/listening to the next one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great immersive story and a satisfying ending

Was surprised to recognise the narrator as Mel Hudson from 'Hudson & Pepperdine' fame. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but she did a good job, although some of the character voices were a little indistinguishable. The story has suspense, a good cast of characters and an interesting theme without too much exposition. At some points I found myself thinking that the author's universe had a few logical inconsistencies only for the author to address them quite elegantly. Excellent Sci-fi

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