Children of Ruin is the second book in the Children of Time series, science fiction stories set far into the future.   Earth is part of the history of these tales, but the events are on interstellar craft and distant planets.    In the first book scientists attempt to terraform a planet to make it habitable for humans.   In addition, they provide a virus that accelerates evolution of species, but the efforts take an unplanned turn.    The planet is terraformed over time, but the species elevated to sentience accidentally are spiders.    Much of the first book follows the struggle between spiders and humans and their inability to communicate.

The second book follows another exploration – terraforming expedition which settles on two planets in another solar system.    They bring evolved octopuses to settle the ocean world, while simultaneously doing research on the less livable planet.  They find life there and disaster follows (no spoilers in this review).    Some time later, a research vessel with spiders and humans arrives and gets caught in the disaster and conflict, now between octopi, spiders, humans, and an alien species.   Interwoven within the narrative is the challenge of communicating between the species, three of which do not use verbal language.    Significant characters are also AI beings who work to bridge the gap, and assist with the systems needed for survival.

This is a complex story, saturated with scientific ideas, but also imaginative exploration of biology, exobiology, evolution, communication, and artificial intelligence.   It is a longer book and very dense.    It has wonderful non-human characters and lots of big-picture ideas to consider.

This book will not be for everyone.    It is as good as the first book in the series, but it demands some serious efforts of the reader’s attention and understanding of new ideas.    If you choose to read it, you will need a break afterwards by reading something much easier.

Recommended for science fiction readers and anyone wanting to stimulate their cerebral cortex.

An audiobook sample is also provided: