Children of Strife: The unmissable next instalment of the highly acclaimed Children of Time series, from award-winning master of science fiction Adrian Tchaikovsky

From the award-winning master of sci-fi Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Strife is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed Children of Time, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory.

In this epic adventure, we visit a far-future after earth fell, where ark ships had hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in earth’s forgotten past. We follow a ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain as they rediscover one such world, and an ark.

Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the ship’s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark . . . and the world below?

Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.

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Praise for Children of Time

‘An exemplar of classic widescreen science fiction' - New Scientist

‘Children of Time has a fabulous sense of scale that only someone as talented as Adrian Tchaikovsky can pull off . . . Very much recommended’ - Peter F Hamilton

‘A joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human’ - Patrick Ness

‘Brilliant science fiction and far out world building’ - James McAvoy

Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016

© 2026 Tor (Audiobook): 9781035057825

Release date

Audiobook: 12 March 2026