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Children of Strife
The Children of Time Novels (Related to this series)
- Author
- Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrator
- Mel Hudson
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 26 March 2026
- Run Time
- 20 hours 8 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
The acclaimed voice of the Children of Time Universe, Mel Hudson, returns for this highly-anticipated fourth instalment.
They thought they’d found refuge.
But this paradise became their prison.
Centuries ago, a maverick terraforming team played God with a distant planet. Out of their vanity and spite, something terrible and unexpected arose.
Generations later, tormented scientist Alis is among the crew of the research vessel that rediscovers this lost outpost. But Alis wakes from nightmares of her own making to an all-too-real catastrophe on board. The rest of the crew has vanished – leaving only Cato, the belligerent mantis-shrimp captain, and Kern, the ship’s AI.
Searching for their lost fellows, Alis and Cato must venture into the darkness of the planet below. What did those ancient terraformers unleash? And will their last surviving crewmate become a greater threat than the world itself?
Why listeners love Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of acclaimed audiobook hits Alien Clay and Service Model:
‘Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building’
- James McAvoy
‘One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction’
- Christopher Paolini
‘Magnificent’
- Ian McDonald
Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016
Critics Review
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Tchaikovsky is the break-out star of contemporary British SF
The Guardian
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English actress Mel Hudson brings her many performance skills to this...Hudson imbues the many human and alien characters with distinct personalities and paces her excellent performance to highlight Tchaikovsky’s imagination and humor
Kirkus Reviews
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Tchaikovsky is writing modern classics and you should start reading them as soon as possible
Tade Thompson, author of Rosewater
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The central concept unravels itself in a manner that is both deeply satisfying and not at all predictable. He truly is one of our finest writers of SF right now. The whole was an excellent story told with Adrian's trademark skill and flair
James Oswald, author of The Rest is Death
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[Adrian Tchaikovsky] writes incredibly enjoyable sci-fi, full of life and ideas
Patrick Ness, author of The Knife of Never Letting Go
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Adrian Tchaikovsky: king of the spiders, master world-builder and asker of intriguing questions. His books are packed with thought-provoking ideas (as well as lots of spiders; did I mention the spiders?). One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction
Christopher Paolini, author of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, on Shards of Earth
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A thoughtful, sweeping space adventure
SFX Magazine on Shards of Earth
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Alien Clay is convincing, compelling on human and cosmic levels, and unputdownable. With work like this, Adrian Tchaikovsky is fast becoming the voice of his generation in British SF
Stephen Baxter, author of the Xeelee Sequence, on Alien clay
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrator
- Mel Hudson
- Duration
- 20 hours 8 minutes
- Release Date
- 26 March 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035057825
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Hard science fiction, Science fiction: space opera, Science fiction: aliens / UFOs
Synopsis
The acclaimed voice of the Children of Time Universe, Mel Hudson, returns for this highly-anticipated fourth instalment.They thought they’d found refuge.But this paradise became their prison.Centuries ago, a maverick terraforming team played God with a distant planet. Out of their vanity and spite, something terrible and unexpected arose.Generations later, tormented scientist Alis is among the crew of the research vessel that rediscovers this lost outpost. But Alis wakes from nightmares of her own making to an all-too-real catastrophe on board. The rest of the crew has vanished – leaving only Cato, the belligerent mantis-shrimp captain, and Kern, the ship’s AI.Searching for their lost fellows, Alis and Cato must venture into the darkness of the planet below. What did those ancient terraformers unleash? And will their last surviving crewmate become a greater threat than the world itself?Why listeners love Adrian Tchaikovsky, bestselling author of acclaimed audiobook hits Alien Clay and Service Model:‘Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building’- James McAvoy‘One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction’- Christopher Paolini‘Magnificent’- Ian McDonaldChildren of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016
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