Sins of the Children
Sins of the Children by Adrian Tchaikovskyby Adrian Tchaikovsky
Shares rank 8 of 32 short stories by recommenders
Readers praise its alien concepts and engaging writing in this short story, though one found the long paragraphs boring and another called it more fantasy than science fiction.
Readers praise its alien concepts and engaging writing in this short story, though one found the long paragraphs boring and another called it more fantasy than science fiction.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Strong concepts and engaging writing
“But the concepts and writing are excellent... really engaging stuff.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” “This was a terrific short story.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” “this excellent short story”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “What Happened to the Locusts?” Vividly alien, fascinating creatures
“Good science fiction where the aliens are very alien are hard to come by.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” “The elephant's dad was such a fascinating creature”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Long paragraphs felt boring
“somehow this one with the waaay too long paragraphs seemed... Unnecessarily boring?”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” Missing a human element
“I also missed a human part of it.”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)”
Other short stories people recommend
The four most recommended other short stories, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Questionby Isaac Asimov | 50 | 2 | 96% | 6 | 52 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| There Will Come Soft Rainsby Ray Bradbury | 27 | 3 | 90% | 4 | — | Approved |
| They're Made Out of Meatby Terry Bisson | 17 | 4 | 81% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Lenaby qntm | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Sins of the Childrenby Adrian TchaikovskyThis page | 9 | 1 | 90% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“this excellent short story”
“It's more like fantasy than science fiction.”
“This was a terrific short story.”
“I had much the same experience, coming out of it with much less fear about jumping spiders in particular.”
“I also missed a human part of it.”
“somehow this one with the waaay too long paragraphs seemed... Unnecessarily boring?”
“But the concepts and writing are excellent... really engaging stuff.”
“The elephant's dad was such a fascinating creature”
“Good science fiction where the aliens are very alien are hard to come by.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.