A review by mclean_watson
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

4.0

Yet again good reads had fucked me. I wrote a goddamn page long review on this banger of a book and the fucking servers crashed again.

Let’s get into the good stuff shall we. First off, I’ll say that it took me much longer than I’d expected to actually finish this book. Though I don’t think that’s a reflection of the quality, in fact I think taking a break in the middle is the best way to enjoy a complex read that this book series offers.

As for my rating being 1 star less than ‘Children Of Time’ review. That’s because I have a gripe with the new evolution focused animal that this book offers. I really feel like they weren’t explored. In the first novel I was pulled into the Spiders world and was forced to genuinely enjoy them and want they to live and continue their journey. But with the new species in this book, they were less interesting than the other two new factions of characters.

SPOILERS INCOMING!

Now for the two other “factions” of characters that were newly introduced in ‘Children Of Ruin’. We’ll start with the new human terraforming group. This batch of humans was infinitely more enjoyable to me than the previous in the first instalment. Senkovi was a funny bastard who had such a cool personality and relationship with the 8 tentacled creatures.

And the ‘We’ were probably my favourite part of this book. The concept that NOD is solely inhabited by an unbelievably expansive hive mind that can learn infinitely. And they brought a much needed air of psychological horror! ‘We Are Going On An Adventure’ is such a cool catchphrase. And the descriptions of NOD life is amazing at every juncture.

As seems to be common with these books, the last 40 pages are always the best part of the novel. I’m completely satisfied with the ending Adrian concocted. I can only hope the 3rd and most recent instalment can pack the same punch.

And I plan to read more of his works in my reading journey.