Children of Time: Tchaikovsky’s Evolutionary Sci-Fi Masterpiece

Few works of fiction achieve the mastery of world-building and narrative complexity that Adrian Tchaikovsky does in Children of Time. This book, deserving of every bit of its accolades, is a testament to Tchaikovsky’s unparalleled skill in crafting a universe that is as intricate as it is captivating.

Children of Time unfolds in a distant star system, introducing us to a terraformed planet where a scientist’s ambitious experiment has gone awry (due to the incendiary events of the phenomenal opening chapter). Instead of uplifting the desired monkeys to sentience, an engineered nanovirus has incidentally bestowed this gift upon spiders. These spiders, initially mere hunter-gatherers ingeniously domesticating aphids, evolve through a series of remarkable stages—from conquering ants to mastering virology, and eventually evolving into sophisticated spacefarers. Parallel to this, we follow the remnants of humanity, struggling to survive in a dilapidated spaceship, desperately seeking a new home.

The character of Holsten—a historian of the Old Empire known as a “classicist”—is a particularly resonant figure. His enduring relationship with Lain—a complex and somewhat bristly engineer—offers a poignant reflection on the human condition amidst the cruel and unforgiving frontier of space. Their interactions are not only engaging but serve as a crucial emotional anchor to the human side of these dual narratives.

What perhaps stands out the most is Tchaikovsky’s world-building, which is an absolute clinic in the art. Every element of this story fits together with a precision that is awe-inspiring. The evolution of the spiders is nothing short of brilliant, capturing the reader’s imagination as they progress from primitive beings to entities that challenge our understanding of the concepts of intelligence and civilization. This evolutionary journey is central to the novel’s thematic core, exploring notions of development, coexistence, and the nature of intelligence.

If there is a point of criticism, it would be that the middle of the novel sags just a bit, momentarily losing the narrative momentum. This slight dip in pacing (a sort of let’s-get-on-with-it phase), however, is more than compensated by the strength of the opening and the extraordinary climax. The first and third acts are indeed among the best in science fiction, balancing the grandeur of space opera with elaborate character-driven storytelling.

In Children of Time, Tchaikovsky has written a hyper-compelling science fiction novel and set a new benchmark for the genre. While it certainly stands on the shoulders of, say, David Brin’s Uplift Saga, it’s nonetheless an original work that combines the wonder of space exploration with the profound exploration of evolution—both biological and societal. This novel is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the best of what science fiction can offer, an incredible journey that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally resonant.