Children of Ruin
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovskyby Adrian Tchaikovsky
Shares rank 63 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Praised for laying out how different creatures think and learn; some find it darker and weaker than Children of Time.
Praised for laying out how different creatures think and learn; some find it darker and weaker than Children of Time.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Interesting take on nonhuman thinking
“The author did a marvellous job of laying out the different ways the creatures think and learn.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Do octopus brains work like humans' – or is there another way to be smart?” “not as good as Children of Time, but interesting”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Octopus intelligence may be related to never-before-seen mutation” Each series entry enjoyable on its own
“Every book of the series is amazing in its own way.”
Comment from 6 Oct 2026 in “What's Earth's dominant species by mass?” “I enjoyed the second one as well”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Darker, horror-leaning, unsettling tone
“Children of Ruin had more of a horror focus to it and left me with much more icky feelings”
Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” Not as strong as Children of Time
“not as good as Children of Time, but interesting”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “Octopus intelligence may be related to never-before-seen mutation”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Children of Ruinby Adrian TchaikovskyThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Every book of the series is amazing in its own way.”
“not as good as Children of Time, but interesting”
“The author did a marvellous job of laying out the different ways the creatures think and learn.”
“like Children of Time and Children of Ruin and also some of the worst books”
“Children of Ruin had more of a horror focus to it and left me with much more icky feelings”
“I enjoyed the second one as well”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.