Book · 2015 · Fiction
Children of Time
- mentions
- 12
- people
- 7
- podcasts
- 5
- episodes
- 7
- critical mentions
- 0
On a lighter side uh children of time by Adrien chovsky is a really enjoyable AI science fiction about intelligent genetically modified spiders and this one my favorite books yeah so good so you kind of see the kind of society and technology that a super intelligent spider um society would build which I love.
What they say about it
- Author and award background“won the Arthur C. Clarke Award”2
The best things said about it
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is really great and I think actually feels relevant to the story of like building new communities how they develop.
Jerusalem Demsas The Ezra Klein Show · Jul 2023 So a while back I did an episode on octopuses and I immediately got all these emails from you saying have you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of ruin children of her and when I looked it up turns out to be a Sci-Fi book about an advanced civilization built by octopuses which sold completely sold immediately on that.
I needed my spiders to be as scientifically plausible as possible.
Adrian Tchaikovsky How I Write · Dec 2025 Yeah also uh that the name of the series is children of time or that's the first in the trilogy by AdrienChaikovski. I'm going to reread that. I'm a fan of it. You will love the insect stuff there, too, man. No spoilers.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
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How it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
7 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is an acclaimed science fiction novel that chronicles the evolution of an advanced civilization built by intelligent genetically modified spiders. On The Ezra Klein Show, Holly Herndon enthusiastically recommended the novel as one of her favorite AI science fiction books, praising its depiction of a super-intelligent spider society and technology. Jerusalem Demsas also recommended the book on the podcast, emphasizing its relevance to the study of community building and how new societies develop. Host Ezra Klein mentioned receiving numerous listener recommendations for Tchaikovsky's work following an episode about octopuses, noting that readers directed him toward the author's related spider and octopus civilization stories. Mia Garrison mentioned reading the sci-fi novel on Behind the Bastards, while David Perell and author Adrian Tchaikovsky discussed the book on How I Write. During that interview, Tchaikovsky detailed the extensive research he conducted at the Natural History Museum in London to ensure his fictional spider species remained as scientifically plausible as possible, a major challenge that ultimately earned the book the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award.
Every mention
Holly Herndon on a lighter side uh children of time by Adrien chovsky is a really enjoyable AI science fiction about inte… 1
Recommended
“on a lighter side uh children of time by Adrien chovsky is a really enjoyable AI science fiction about intelligent genetically modified spiders and this one my favorite books yeah so good so you kind of see the kind of society and technology that a super intelligent spider um society would build which I love”
Jerusalem Demsas I feel like people don't read enough fiction especially science fiction I think he was actually on the show… 1
Recommended
“I feel like people don't read enough fiction especially science fiction I think he was actually on the show Adrian Tchaikovsky but children of time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is really great and I think actually feels relevant to the story of like building new communities how they develop”
Nicholas Christakis have you ever read children of time by Adrienne Tchaikovsky 1
Recommended
“have you ever read children of time by Adrienne Tchaikovsky”
Adrian Tchaikovsky So for example, with the spiders in Children of Time, I turned out to have a very a really fluky connection… 4
Discussed
“So for example, with the spiders in Children of Time, I turned out to have a very a really fluky connection at the Natural History Museum that meant I could go over there here in London.”
Discussed
“And so that was the big challenge with Children of Time. But yes, I also I needed my spiders to be as scientifically plausible as possible.”
Discussed
“In Children of Time, there is a big lie, but it is not the spiders. This the big lie is literally there is this nanovirus which is assisting the uplift of the spiders...”
Discussed
“I'm sure I do so on occasion. But, on the other hand, my most successful book is Children of Time, and that is basically 60% exposition by volume.”
David Perell He won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for a book called Children of Time, and the guy is just prolific. 1
Discussed
“He won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for a book called Children of Time, and the guy is just prolific.”
Ezra Klein and then I realized he had to first read the other book in the series children of time which is an advanced… 1
Discussed
“and then I realized he had to first read the other book in the series children of time which is an advanced civilization built by spiders and that's of course the second best description of any book I've ever read after the octopus won”
Mia Garrison I haven't read any good fiction book lately. I've been reading a sci-fi book called Children of Time. Oh,… 1
Discussed
“I haven't read any good fiction book lately. I've been reading a sci-fi book called Children of Time. Oh, good. Oh, Adrian Takoski. Great guy.”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker2
Discussed
“yeah also uh that the name of the series is children of time or that's the first in the trilogy by AdrienChaikovski. I'm going to reread that. I'm a fan of it. You will love the insect stuff there, too, man. No spoilers.”
Recommended
“so a while back I did an episode on octopuses and I immediately got all these emails from you saying have you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of ruin children of her and when I looked it up turns out to be a Sci-Fi book about an advanced civilization built by octopuses which sold completely sold immediately on that”
