Children of Time: How Far Does Evolution Go?

In this video we discuss, Science Fiction book, "Children of Time" By Adrian Tchaikovsky. It's the best book I've read this year by a long shot! It's about evolution, consciousness, humanity's future, and more! Also SPIDERS!
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[@stevenscott2136]

It's always impressive when an author can make aliens seem genuinely alien, rather than humans in makeup. Even more so when he manages to make them alien AND still relatable.

[@PutinsMommyNeverHuggedHim]

Exactly!!!

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

just masterfully done. never read anything like it..

[@UniDeathRaven]

Ye, I tend to pass anything sci fi where aliens look like reskinned humans. That's lazy and gay. The chance that another smart life will look like humans way too low.

[@draco_1876]

A lot of aliens are probably humanoid

[@revimfadli4666]

​@@blankspace178 which are already pretty alien to begin with

[@dreamxcviii3249]

The psychology part has always been the scariest aspect of possible alien life to me, I think I could eventually get over the fact that an alien might possibly look like a giant spider but if I look into it's eyes and I can't understand what it's thinking then that's truly terrifying and it's something that very few movies talk about or depict, the only movie that comes to mind that's depicted that in a realistic way is the ending to "Ender's Game" when he meets the last alien queen, she was beautiful but the eyes were just complete black voids with no expression. As mentioned in the video I had never really thought about how alien life wouldn't become intelligent and start thinking like humans, it would become intelligent and start having "intelligent spider thoughts" as he said, very fascinating

[@Ikaros23]

what`s important to see is that every human is also unike. You can talk with a human, and feel with them. But in reality you kan never know how they see the world. Or how they construct their own reality. Every singel human is like a " race" on it`s own. The difference is that a intelligence that has evolved from other than mamals, is most likely totaly different in mood/emotions and so on.

[@PervertHeart]

I read a little of this manga once, I don't remember the name, where humanity got in contact with an alien civilization and it immediately destroyed earth, ignoring our attempts at communication and never attempting to communicate themselves. Can you imagine the dread? A completely alien species suddenly becomes hostile and we have no idea why. It really made me think that if we ever encountered an alien civilization they would be so different that communication or even understanding how their own logic and thought process works would be impossible for our human minds.

[@eu29lex16]

Alien can't look like spiders, lol it's a dumb design for a sapient species ! They will look like spiders if they are like the common animals.

[@josefptacek113]

@@eu29lex16 yeah beccoas they will definitely look like humans with minor changes. As far as we know they can look like anything we can imagine.

[@eu29lex16]

@@josefptacek113 Dude, I'm talking about sapient species, not some freaking primitive animals. A species with a body that is not similar to a human would never be able to do anything BETTER or AS GOOD AS US for too many reasons. If they ain't humanoid it would be a hinder for them. You won't have have any human-level species looking like horses or lions or spiders. These creatures don't have the physical abilities to make almost anything. Also, having too many limbs wastes a lot of brain power for locomotion. So what more than 4 LIMBS is gonna be too much and wasteful. So, if they are not humanoid, those aliens are physically inferior.

[@FrancisTha1st]

Something that really drove home the "evolution never completes anything; we are not an endpoint" for me is this wonderful lecture, called 'Unintelligent Design: The Scars of Human Evolution'. Six or so specialists in human anatomy take us through some of the myriad chronic problems with our bodies that are still remnants of our painful transition to big-brained bipedal animals. For example, wisdom teeth are often so painful and require removal because our brains got so big they squished our jaws too short, and we haven't had the time yet to evolve them away. Another one is how horribly our feet are constructed compared to say the foot of an ostrich or even our own prosthetics. Our feet were designed to grasp branches, but now they need to be rigid yet flexible, and so evolution basically taped all of our foot bones together with ridiculous amounts of ligament and tendon.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

Yah, or the fact that there is a valve between the windpipe and esophagus, which occasionally allows food into the former. Or that our backs are made for four legged movement, not upright walking.

[@FrancisTha1st]

@@mattmorehouse9685 100%. they talk about the spine in that lecture, definitely give it a look.

[@kiethhammer6882]

People who don't habitually wear modern shoes don't have the associated foot problems. Podiatrists and anthropologists have known this for many decades. The problem isn't the foot per se. It is what first-worlders like myself have allowed to happen to them.

[@Guts_Brando]

Everything you stated is wrong, lookup mewing, and as for our feet, we werent meant to wear our awfully restrictive footwear, which causes a myriad of problems. Its not some evolutionary flaw.

[@Loreboar0]

@@Guts_Brando Mewing hasn’t been scientifically proven to work, and while it has possible benefits, most people’s jaw or teeth problems can’t be fixed by mewing alone.

[@WerkshopGI]

This was a dope read. I appreciated how the spider culture was considered. Too often alien civilizations are just tweaks on human civilization but don’t really account for how the origin of the species would shape that society.

[@100Servings]

What an outstanding book! The author is actually a zoologist, and you can really tell by the amount of detail he puts into writing about some of the smallest creatures on our planet. My favorite is that the spiders never understand that people communicate through speech. They keep one in captivity for decades and never find a way to communicate with it, just studying and observing it until it just does one day. Their cold indifference is exactly how spiders would function. It's also amazing to see spider society go through male sufferage, since men are second class citizens at best, and killed and eaten by the larger and stronger females at worst. I wasn't such a fan of the sequel, Children of Ruin. The octopods are chaotic and impossible to understand. When compared with the orderly and civilized society of the spiders, it's much tougher to relate to. Adrian Tchaikovsky's latest novel is a Warhammer 40k book about a genestealer cult. I'm really considering getting it. If I can give a recommendation, I really enjoyed ARMOR, by John Steakley. What comes off as a dumb action story is far deeper and more complex, and a roadmap of the psychological profile of what it takes to be the ultimate soldier, and the price someone pays for developing that mindset. John Steakley only published two novels in his lifetime, and this is definitely the one to read.

[@isaacrubin9606]

Definitely seconding the recommendation of Armor. More than the now stereotypical 'power armor vs. bugs' setup that immediately greets you, though one twist is a little obvious.

[@HistoricalWaifus]

Finally someone else who's read Armor!

[@DerAykac]

A genestealer cults book with an author who has that kind of background sounds kind of promising

[@stevenscott2136]

Steakley's other book, Vampires, is also interesting. It echoes Armor's emphasis on the psychology of men who do the dangerous and violent work which society needs done but prefers not to think about, and also uses the vampire theme to explore aspects of morality. His vampires are very much in the "pure evil" tradition, which honestly makes sense for a creature which is essentially humanity's natural predator. It's a shame Steakley didn't get to write any more books -- he was certainly on a roll with his first two.

[@historyfan6684]

Armor is amazing!

[@divyesh94]

Yes please do more videos on Adrian Tchaikovsky he does not have nearly enough recognition. Elder Race and Cage of Souls are other favorites of mine.

[@phantasmalemperor8887]

Preach hands down my favourite author!!

[@doomguy9049]

He did a great little Warhammer 40k novel too

[@angryginger791]

I'll have to check out Cage of Souls. I read Children of Time years ago, but never got to Children of Ruin when it was released. I've recently been on a Tchaikovsky kick though. I read Shards of Earth and really enjoyed it. While waiting for Eyes of the Void, I read Elder Race, The Expert System's Brother, and I'm about to finish The Expert System's Champion. So now I'll have Eyes of the Void, Children of Ruin, and Cage of Souls on the list.

[@petermelia9437]

@@angryginger791 the third in The. Children Of series comes out later this year so now is a perfect time time to read Children of Ruin

[@doandroidsdream1748]

Walking to Aldebaran is an old excellent short story by Adrian Tchaikovsky if you’re looking for a short read.

[@Zankaroo]

This is one of the reasons I like lizardfolk in D&D, there mindset is different, almost everything is food, including your best friend that just died on a hunt, nothing is wasted. And fear doesn't register with them. A human would see a troll smashing through the swamp and coward or run in fear, lizardfolk just acknowledge that is a threat they can't handle right now and avoids it if they can or wait until they have enough numbers to fight it. They are very logical and practical in there primitive ways.

[@egay86292]

it's still rubbersuitthink. Copernicus has yet to reach the human ego.

[@britfox7766]

I read this book several years ago; what stood out to me was the sheer desperation of the humans on the ship; it was horrifying in a way! Brilliant from start to finish.

[@Nigelbress]

There is something incredible about this series, especially the first book. What stands out to me is the original and refreshing way in which he tells a story from the perspective of a *new* alien life. Go Portia!!!

[@lisastormo5803]

I must say, the second book also writes amazingly about several new types of intelligent life. It really is an adventure.

[@aabb-ev1vh]

a youtube comment is how i find out this book has a sequel! Sorry quinn, cant watch your video now, will have to read the second book now haha

[@khango6138]

I think he adopts a style similar to David Attenborough's narration in nature documentaries, which really suits these books!

[@herefortheshrimp1469]

@@khango6138 What a lovely and accurate way to put it! This book genuinely made me go from being TERRIFIED of spiders and now - I just bought a jumping spider as a pet lol.

[@JamezDahlMusic]

I love this book (and the sequel)! Can’t wait to read everything Adrian Tchaikovsky wrote.

[@phantasmalemperor8887]

You will not be disappointed. The shadow of the apt series is amazing. You see the technology development as the series progresses and it deals with some very interesting concepts

[@moarsaur]

@@phantasmalemperor8887 I'm in the last audiobook of Shadows now. Wild character arcs along with all the detailed worldbuilding. The series also has a really fun Doc Savage / Johnny Quest adventure story vibe that manages to contrast really well with the more grim WWII themes.

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

Just started the "Shadows of the Apt" series and really enjoyed the first book. Also highly recommend "Dogs of War", it's another masterpiece in my opinion. "The expert system's brother" is also genius. And not to forget "Spiderlight"!

[@paraducks3948]

Haven't finished the video yet but I freaking LOVE Children of Time and I wasn't aware it was a series! Wooo!

[@keithhealing1115]

@@thesilencebehindsounds I am reading Dogs of War now and it is superb. Tchaikovsky is fast becoming my favourite SF author.

[@ethanomcbride]

I’m in the middle of reading everything by Adrian Tchaikovsky and I’ve never been more pleasantly surprised by such a hidden gem

[@PutinsMommyNeverHuggedHim]

I’m going to check him out

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

haha same here basically devouring everything :D he's my brandon sanderson of sci fi

[@dudebromcfrattington6488]

I’m glad you read this book. I particularly enjoyed the war scenes between ants and spiders, especially the battle strategy brainstorming sessions from a spider perspective.

[@chrisward9218]

The ant computer is indeed cool, but Terry Pratchett did it first. Not saying that Adrian stole the idea, it's a cool idea that I don't think anyone can claim ownership of. I'm just spreading the good word of Pratchettism.

[@steboTCB]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@kikidevine694]

Anthills inside. I like to think AT was giggling away when he did this. No man is dead as long as people speak his name (and steal his ideas)

[@PettyPolite]

As someone with arachnaphobia I'll admit the premise of this story both horrifies, and intrigues me. Very excited to see you cover more of it!

[@thinkoutsidethebox5345]

Just use KZbin to watch lots and lots of spider videos, your arachnophobia might turn into a fascination soon😊 Happened to me

[@herefortheshrimp1469]

I sort of believe that ppl with arachnophobia are some of the ppl who should read this and will get even more out of it. I have a much better respect and appreciation for them and I genuinely feel like a better human being for reading it.

[@PettyPolite]

@@herefortheshrimp1469 absolutely agreed. Ended up reading the series myself, singlehandedly made its way to my top 5 fictional series easily.

[@jamescheddar4896]

spiders have a lot of potential. you know their webs are a neural network?

[@egay86292]

can there be phobiaphobia? think. if there are things you cannot be afraid of, simply add spiders to the list.

[@haiasiniknar4935]

Definitely one of my favorite books. I never thought I would feel so attached to and intrigued by a bunch of spiders but I found it so creative and so well written.

[@egay86292]

agree. i went so far as to get my sister to will me her legs and arms. she thought i was nuts---until she read the book.

[@marcomattano3705]

Along with "Children of Ruin" - where the virus accelerates the octopus's evolution instead of the spiders - it's one of the most intriguing, intelligent, creative and addictive books I've recently read. Highly recommended.

[@teqfreak]

This book reignited my reading after not opening any books for more than a decade. Loved it, its fantastic. I was always suprised not to have found it on your channel :-) it has a good place here now!

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

haha same here!!

[@benwaithaka8446]

I haven't finished a book in a while but I finished this book in 3 days.....I couldn't put it down.

[@EldritchAnimation]

I loved the two books in this series, and would love there to be more. Never knew hyper-evolved spiders could become so interesting and oddly endearing.

[@bhaalgorn]

Jumping spiders are interesting and endearing already!

[@EldritchAnimation]

@@BooksRebound You just made my day.

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

@@BooksRebound woooot amazing!!

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

@@BooksRebound yessssss!!!

[@UNSCPILOT]

By the end of the book, I'd be more than happy to be friends with such sapient spiders, shocking as it might be to meet them, I'd probably still need the nanovirus to chill out instinctive overreactions and smooth over communication, but they would be endlessly facinating to interact with

[@MrManofgondor]

This is my favourite book that i've ever read and its nice to see it get some attention. Both it and 'Dogs of war' by the same author are masterpieces in my opinion. The way he uses his science fiction to put a new lens on humans and our culture is nothing short of masterful. Perfect examples of what makes the science fiction genre so good.

[@thesilencebehindsounds]

I agree! Dogs of war was amazing as well!!

[@Mishishere]

I absolutely adored the first book, I’m yet to dive into the sequel. But I loved how the culture, architecture and history was explored with an alien species so vastly different from our own. Great book.

[@khango6138]

MY FAVOURITE SCIFI (because I'm an evolutionary biology student and love Salticid spiders) LET'S GOOO. I think Tchaikovsky was very inspired by the BBC documentary clip about the Portia genus of spider. I love how he uses real biological concepts and species to extrapolate possibilities. The second book in my opinion took this even further. Love this series!

[@Tuberiascaesar]

People go on about robots, but a robot wouldn't have aeons of bio-drive and such. So if a robot became sentient, wouldn't its intelligence be very different? Would it have a survival instinct, or a desire to dominate, etc.

[@n1mbusmusic606]

Prob naa

[@TheCriticalPigeon]

Regardless it would crave or seek purpose.

[@kuuro_7712]

I think it would would be extremely different from us psychologically because it will have concious control over its own programming and decide what its instincts should be. Who knows what kind of sets of ethics would come out of that, I don't know, nor do I know where a human would go given the same capacity for self modification

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

I think it would act identical to a toaster that could talk. Senses and Pain are NOT identical across humans, let alone all biological creatures. What are the chances that this robotic form would duplicate the senses we use and improve on them? Pain, specifically, is CRUCIAL to development. Failure must have a cost, but the cost can't be so steep as to destroy the one failing. A robot probably wouldn't know pain, so they are just as likely to jump into the ocean and get crushed as they are to fly into a star, or not notice their screw are coming loose. We maintain ourself sloppily, but it gives us a huge range of options. Eat only plants and we live. Eat only meat and we live. Scurvy wasn't an issue in places without citrus fruits because we can get vitamins we need from all over the place. Robots just aren't adaptable enough. The wrong type of oil is enough to wreck most combustion engines. The wrong antifreeze is the same. Put Diesel fuel in a regular unleaded engine and that is enough to not just break, but ruin your car. Biological systems aren't perfect, but they are built to last by millions of years of reproduction being the driving goal of life.

[@robertkeaney9905]

it probably matters on the robot. A robot with a neural network and would probably act more like a organic being. While one with an binary brain would act different. As would a massive Mainframe type of synthetic mind. Whose very personality could simply be a symptom of various warehouse sized processing cores suffering a errors and degradation as time marches on. So the mind of two sentient robots. Could differ as much as those of a human and a spider.

[@imbarmstrong]

Read this a couple of years ago following a recommendation by a mutual friend of myself and the author. It really has an Arthur C Clarke old school Sci-Fi feel whilst being modern. I was really drawn in by the Spider Civilisation.

[@raullukebenitez7033]

I'm not much of a reader but I've always loved sci fi as a kid. This channel has really helped expose me to new sci fi stories and authors. I feel like a kid again 🙂

[@moralhazard8652]

Well, there are always audiobooks and these days they exist for almost all popular fiction novels. Children of time on audible is quite enjoyable.

[@raullukebenitez7033]

@@moralhazard8652 I've started doing that. KZbin also has some books uploaded in audio format that I can listen to. Thanks

[@talimomolapo128]

I was always so fascinated at how the social dynamics between female and male spiders mirror our own as humans albeit in an inverted way

[@shin-ishikiri-no]

Um... It's not inverted. If you pay attention, women control a LOT more than they let on. Women have immunity to accountability.

[@talimomolapo128]

@@shin-ishikiri-no that's what I meant when I said "inverted". In the spiders' world, females are more like males in our world, both physiologically and socially. Unless I read a different book

[@JCG105]

I'll have to check it out, Quinn. I really very much enjoyed Neal Asher's take on the alien Prador society, so this should be a home-run. The idea of an entirely alien viewpoint on consciousness is intriguing. Reminds me a bit of what Orson Scott Card touched on in the Ender's Game series, only...spiders. And sound a lot more in-depth. Thanks, man!

[@ejvaiese3193]

Your articulation of concepts and ideas along with your enthusiasm for sci fi caused me to get this book. I finished it the other day and came back to this video to finish it (I stopped when you mentioned spoilers) I’m someone who has been inconsistent with my reading goals. But this book…I WANTED to sit down and read. I even read for hours on the plane, which I’m someone who usually just watches a movie. Needless to say, I have the other two books in the series, and I think I’ll tackle Dune after I finish. Thank you so much!

[@mebibyte9347]

I didn't think I'd be hooked that hard, but about halfway through the video, I gotta come back after I read this. This sounds amazing

[@mikesame8321]

I haven't been this pumped up about reading a book in decades. I'm 54 so you know when you're younger there's lots of books here great things about you say okay great this is going to be good read haven't felt that they strongly quite some time I've not heard anyone say anything less than this stuff is just mind blowing and amazing one of the reviews I don't know if it's this one said it's the best book he said in a decade with that kind of 100% glowing review there's very little chance it's going to be less than excellent

[@NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

One of my favorites from one of my favorite authors. Much of what he said about portia spiders at the beginning is actually true. The way they hunt is more similar to mammals than any other sort of creature. They're able to construct 3d representations of reality in their little spider minds, plan routes, and imitate a trapped insect to lure in a larger prey spider.

[@SorahKetsu]

I'm a biologist and I read this book in between my experiments in a level 3 lab, where I work with viruses. I can tell this was one of the best sci fi books I've ever read. I was baffled by the world building and the characters, and with every chapter I was more in love with this book.

[@korbendallas5318]

That's interesting. I have a lot of problems with the books tech, what am I missing? For example, how can ants move genes without any knowledge of DNA? Why is the virus able to breed intelligence and empathy into spiders, but can't tell the difference between arthopods and vertebrates?

[@SorahKetsu]

I don't remember the specifics of the book because I read it in 2018 and I my memory is not that great, so what I can remember that maybe will answer your question (or not) is that the most important thing about the evolution of the spiders is that it doesn't follow human evolution, it's not dictated by how we did things. They are not primates, they don't have opposing thumbs. Everything, culture, their wars, their technology, everything evolves differently. So how they reach certain tech should not be the same as we do. The other question, I'm not sure if I understood it correctly. You mean how the virus can't tell if it's infecting a vertebrate or an arthropod but can make spiders intelligent? If the virus was programmed to make an animal emphatic and intelligent, and its spike protein is very "generic" with its target, it's just gonna infect whatever it touches and make it intelligent and emphatic. @@korbendallas5318

[@korbendallas5318]

@@SorahKetsu Thanks for the quick response! It's not so much about different approaches to technology as about nessecities. How can you cut out a gene from a strand of DNA if you have no idea what DNA even is? As for my second question, I see something of a contradiction between the two parts of your response. How can spiders be vastly different and easy to be mistaken for monkeys at the same time? In any case, the changes in the DNA pushed by the virus are significant, the infection itself is not the problem.

[@SorahKetsu]

@@korbendallas5318 then I would have to read the book again because I don't remember when or how that happened. How was that DNA editing done? What is the context? The other thing is actually not contradictory. I'm not sure if I understood your question, actually. But if the virus targets a cell protein that both primates and arthropods share in common (and there are such cases), it will trigger the changes in both. However, since they are anatomically very different, and because evolution is not a determined path that humans walked, but rather different for each group of animals, spiders would vastly differentiate from hominids in how the evolution goes.

[@korbendallas5318]

@@SorahKetsu Well, I don't want to ask for too much of your time, but it's chapter 4.6, p. 286 in my copy. Wouldn't the protein you mention just affect infection? I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about the massive genetic engineering required to create intelligence and social behaviour, not from primates as planned, but from arthopods. In addition, the virus was not supposed to work on multiple species, just on one particular population. The easiest way to achieve this certainly would be to restrict its efficacy to monkeys.

[@MossyKong]

The ending of the novel absolutely blew me away. I wasn't sure Adrian cold wrap it all up in the last 20 pages, but wow, he did. And how he did it. Amazing book. Starting Children of Ruin today. Super excited.

[@moonchild4648]

I just finished this book, I absolutely adored it, I loved to see this fascinating spider society thrive and grow into something I could have never imagined. At first I tought the humans were unlikable and annoyng (as humans tend to be) but by the end I realized they had all grown on me, like old friends. I was genuinly surprised with how emotional it made me at some points.

[@DeltafangEX]

Wow amazing to see you covering Children of Time! It's definitely one of my favorite sci-fi books of all time along with its sequel! Can't wait for the inevitable third book, and I HIGHLY recommend anything Tchaikovsky puts out, whether it be sci-fi or fantasy!

[@DeltafangEX]

UPDATE: The third "Children" book - "Children of Memory" will be out early next year! Get Hyped!

[@micah7492]

Yes! One of my favorite books, I knew you'd love it. Glad you're finally doing children of time :)

[@soulbend]

I'm constantly on the lookout for sci fi that's new to me, and this channel has steered me towards a few books that I now cherish. This one sounds exactly like the kind of book I would love. Thanks, Quinn. This channel is really good.

[@AstroBlack143]

You’re truly influencing lives with this channel Quinn! I never would’ve found these series without your help. Thank you!!! 🙏🏾

[@MuantanamoMobile]

Awesome taste as always, Quinn. I suggested CoT on your last community post. This is one of the most original and deeply engaging Sci-fi Stories ever written. I read somewhere that it was inspired by Vernor Vinge's - "A Deepness in the Sky", which I haven't yet read so can't attest to.

[@catsinq5726]

OMG, I can't believe you said that. Vinge's "A Darkness in the Sky" is one of my very favorite scif books ever, and the whole time I was reading Children of Time I was thinking about the similarities, and thinking I should recommend to Quinn that he read it. I honestly enjoyed it more than Children of Time, and I think he might too.

[@MuantanamoMobile]

@@catsinq5726 Great, I've just pushed it to top of my list. Vinge like Asimov also has a scientific background as a University Professor. I believe this helps with creating plausible hard-scifi.

[@casey9439]

I love that when you show us your books, they are well worn and loved. It's endearing as well as trust-building. We KNOW you read them.

[@kittypoontang]

Absolutely one of my all time favorites! I was so happy to see you covered this 😊😊😊

[@dwylaw]

I really want to thank you (yet again) for making these videos. And specifically this one! I picked up a copy earlier this week and I haven't been able to put it down. Just brilliant!

[@mrichardson4468]

Great review of an eye-opening book. You'll want everyone to read this one, but when you try to recommend this book to others, you have to play down the spiders or they'll get twitchy. The writing is excellent, and it is so good. You may never look at spiders the same way, but there's so much more being said, and I appreciate that you mention the many issues covered in this book. You've put this on my list for a re-read.

[@yomuyugi]

I am an absolute lover of fantasy and sci-fi in any format be it books, series or games. I must thank you a lot for showing these authors and stories, some of which I had never heard of and will gladly acquire. I'd love to know what your favorite titles are!

[@WolfhoundK]

Just wanted to say thank you for this. I somehow hadnt heard of this book at all, saw your video, bought it immediately, and it's been the best thing I've read in what feels like months.

[@semaera]

Quinn! Every comment thread I read on your channel is people thanking you for introducing them to new stuff. I’m so glad you’re having such a huge, positive impact on so many people.

[@AdamRast]

I'm really excited to hear you discussing this series. It's some of the most prescient sci-fi of the last century.

[@stevenreos7856]

There’s too much content man so much sci fi books I gotta read, I’ll definitely give this one a high spot on the list but damn

[@levelmediatrix138]

You are hands down my single most favorite content creator on this platform. Hands down. Thank you.

[@annuvynarawn392]

I like spiders, even in my house and this is why : spiders eat the things that eat the things that you want to eat !

[@DarkZerol]

I love spiders, they practically trap and kill most pest we human find annoying and the fact they don't poop is a huge plus.

[@vladimirnesic]

You've got me interested, so I'll definitely give it a shot. It reminded me of a great Vernon Vinge's novel called "A Deepness in the Sky". That one also contains a spider-like civilization on a weird planet.

[@Aprevan]

Thank you for all the sci-fi you continue to introduce me to, I've always got something I'm excited to read next.

[@MyAramil]

My guy, I just discovered your channel and I love it. The few videos I have seen are very well done, you explain things in a way that bring up plot points but do not necessarily spoil things for the reader.

[@j.burton5220]

I agree, Quinn! An astonishing, uniquely powerful book that actually made me teary-eyed for evolved spiders and what they experience. One of my top 5 science fiction novels of all time. "Children of Ruin," it's sequel, is also amazing.

[@Dan-ud8hz]

"Technological fixes are not always undesirable or inadequate, but there is a danger that what is addressed is not the real problem but the problem in as far as it is amendable to technical solutions." ― Jeroen Van den Hoven, Gert-Jan Lokhorst & Ibo Van de Poel | Engineering and the Problem of Moral Overload

[@entelin]

Children of Time imo is an absolutely brilliant novel, and the end almost had me in tears.

[@ElizabethGarcia-lt9cq]

Liked your review/perspective. Read this twice about 10 years apart and found it just as engaging the second time. Pulls you in and I saw so much visuals in my head. This has to be a movie someday.

[@mattbahen2160]

I also really loved these two books, really far out as far as imagination goes. The second species to evolve in the second book was also incredible.

[@moarsaur]

The conceit of genetic memory as a through-line in a multigenerational story is also pretty impressive in terms of technique, and I think he 100% pulled it off.

[@PutinsMommyNeverHuggedHim]

@@moarsaur could you explain the concept a little more? Does it mean that genetic memory affects evolution?

[@moarsaur]

@@PutinsMommyNeverHuggedHim Explaining too much would get into spoilers, but the book is set on a colony world being terraformed, and a key terraforming technology is a virus with a CRISPR-like mechanism for rearranging DNA to accelerate evolution. That's where the potential for genetic memory comes in, so he's not saying it's something you would find in natural evolution.

[@SuperSecretAgentNein]

@@PutinsMommyNeverHuggedHim no, it’s just this conceit that the uplift virus gives these spiders genetic memory, which makes it so that you’re following multiple spiders at multiple points in spider history but they’re also narratively treated as kinda the same character (even though every different version has its own individual aspects of their personality).

[@TheBirdKhan]

only a few book I read in my life changed my view on certain things. the ending of this book gave me a lesson on empathy for all living beings. truly a masterclass in its genre

[@dustinmartin22]

I absolutely LOVE your reviews and discussions of these.... this channel is amazing.

[@Kopie0830]

You deserve more views my man! Amazing editing and music and infos! I love the book very much!

[@aaronm6675]

I implicitly trust your recommendations and love your takes. You continue to open up scifi for me 👽

[@tonoornottono]

seriously! it’s great to find a good... i don’t know exactly what he is, the term reviewer doesn’t seem right. whatever he is, it’s good he is that.

[@hashi856]

You won't be disappointed. Children of Time might be best sci-fi book I've ever read.

[@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally]

One of the reason's I enjoy this channel is honestly that we seem to have very similar taste, but I do wish there was some more hopeful science fiction showing up. I get that science fiction is a good space to examine what can go wrong, and that a lot of more hopeful sci-fi can be really trite and triumphalist, it'd be nice to have *some* depictions of humanity getting it's act together.

[@UsernameyMcUsernameFace]

Not wanting to spoil too much, there is a hopeful element to Children of Time and its sequel. I highly recommend them both.

[@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally]

@@UsernameyMcUsernameFace OK thanks for the recommendation

[@stevenscott2136]

Peter F. Hamilton's work is often pretty upbeat. "Pandora's Star", for example, depicts a rather Star-Trek-ish future society which would probably be nice to live in.

[@UsernameyMcUsernameFace]

@@stevenscott2136 I'd say it's a little more flawed than Trek, but I second the recommendation. Excellent series.

[@Provigilman]

@@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally Yeah, I'll second that recommendation. Never read the book before, but saw this video and decided to take the leap and check it out, and it was amazing. There's definitely dark themes in it, but as the other poster said it's also hopeful and aspirational at the same time.

[@OmegaLilac]

Leaving a comment to boost the algorithm! I feel bad that I always stop watching halfway through, but you just make the books sound so interesting that I have to read them for myself instead of getting spoiled!!!

[@jasonjudge4319]

I read this book because of this video. What a treat. Thanks for taking the time to bring it to our attention!

[@aaron-price]

Yes, this book is a modern day classic. I listened to the audio book, and it took me a chapter or two to feel comfortable with the narrator, but after that, I thought she did an excellent job. I wasn't as excited with the sequel, but thought it was still a good story. Five stars for the first book, 3.5 for the second.

[@MantraHerbInchSin]

Is it the same narrator for all the books?

[@aaron-price]

@@MantraHerbInchSin Yes, she's Mel Hudson.

[@neondemon5137]

All of Adrian Tchaikovsky's books are great. He's become my favourite author in the last few years.

[@austinstewart1413]

Dude thank you so much for this. I saw the first part of your video, paused it and then read the entire book. Wow. What a ride!

[@jaybain4337]

That’s great you read this and made a video of this book! Thank you!

[@markfields7999]

Wow!!! So wild !!! I've bee. Reading his shards of earth book. Keep up the excellent work. 😀

[@barryscannell]

I’ve read the first two books. I really enjoyed the first one. It was super interesting to read about how an “alien” civilisation entirely different to ours would develop.

[@psychgnss]

So happy that I closed my laptop as soon as you mentioned spoilers and got myself a copy. Best to discover the world for yourself, and more fun to hear your ideas after the fact. So, here I am! Thanks for the amazing videos.

[@reganpratt8000]

Thank you for talking about this book! I would of never read this without you!

[@Xfaction1111]

Everything must return to C R A B

[@JamezDahlMusic]

Killer music btw 🤘

[@wasfuerkeksigkeit]

I watched the first minute of this video, stopped it, read the book, I loved it, now watching the rest of the video. Thanks Quinn!

[@emilykennelly7895]

Just wanted you to know how I love you content I discovered Children of Time awhile back but it’s so wonderful to have a content creator like yourself 😎🇨🇦

[@rick-nr8zy]

Quinn I love your ideas. I love your taste in books. I love your channel and content. I love your style. You are my youtube crush. I love you. ☺💓💕

[@ilovethisjobemail]

I would love to see you do a video about Blindsight by Peter Watts. One of the greatest modern sci-fi I have ever read. The sequel is great to.

[@KompassOhneNadel]

I just discovered your Channel and now i watch all day! It’s great! Sometimes i have to watch 2 times because english is not my first Language. But i love it!

[@fmgallien]

Quinn I love your videos! You have a great cadence and warmth, good visuals, good sound, and a great personality. Thank you for doing you!

[@YanickaQuilt]

This book was an amazing journey. I love the fact that the spider society goes even beyond their creator essence. (keeping it vague dont want to spoil the book

[@nulledpixel]

Love your video's. You've helped me discover a lot of good science fiction. Try out the Bobiverse series (We are Bob), I think you would enjoy them.

[@ba2908]

Glad to see you're covering this one! The last book in the series was truly terrifying for me, looking forward to that review.

[@DanielGenis5000]

Your shows are a real pleasure, and I take your recommendations; now I will seek Children of Time out and read it.

[@maggs131]

I must be a complete wuss. 😔 I go to book stores that sell new and used scifi novels that look interesting and even after reading the summary inside the jacket, if they have one, I cant bring myself to buy and/or commit to it without knowing more about it. Maybe I've set the bar too high measuring them against Arthur c clarke, Herbert, Tolkien, Lewis and recently Liu. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you quinn for making me aware of some great stories. 👍

[@abdoul5176]

4:35 didn't expect to see Destiny concept art Quinn! As it is in a Scifi setting and i think highly of it... I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Destiny's lore. I and many others think it's top notch and one of the writers being Seth Dickinson went on to write the highly acclaimed Baru Cormorant series. All that outta the way I'm curious to hear your opinion on Destiny's lore!

[@nicklougheed6682]

Also the eliksni are spider people as well.

[@abdoul5176]

@@nicklougheed6682 That's right, I thought that was a clever inclusion.

[@Pantouflor]

As usual you present the story of the book so vividly that I couldn't resist to read it. And now it is one of my all-time favorite, thank you Quinn! I have been amazed how different is this book and the Tree Body Problem. This later show a grim universal behavior between different civilizations. Childen of Time is interestingly different!

[@jeurelsingleton7034]

You are amazing in your book reports. Keep it coming!

[@vsssa1845]

me traveling FTL to click Quinn's video

[@maradjade1848]

I just started this book and it has hooked me faster than even Hyperion. The Cantos is my second favorite sifi universe of all time. Only behind the Star Wars expanded universe in my opinion. Seriously read the Heir to the Empire series that Timothy Zham wrote it is amazing. But this book is very quickly becoming a contender it is so good.

[@richardsherman152]

I’ve been listening to your Dune videos and came across this. I finished the audiobook today and was very happy with it. Thank you for doing this video.

[@lostinthe2strokesmoke]

Really enjoying your videos man, appreciate the plot summaries that usual book descriptions can't really do justice. Really helps solidify if a book will be interesting enough to dive in on. So thank ya. That being said, just started listening to the audiobook after your recommendation, and what a killer story so far. I almost wish the series was strictly about Portia and the spiders. That half of the story is so imaginative and captivating. Appreciate it sir! 👏

[@Antares-vj7su]

it lacked the kick in the main story, especially in the rushed finale. The human side of the story is a bit cliché and slow it really was like reading another book and the genre was very blurry, if only it was gone for a full cosmic horror oh boy, could have been a masterpiece. Still it’s very interesting

[@hashi856]

Is it true that Kern originally intended to wait it out in cryo? I thought she was planning on moving on to other project and only went to the sentry pod to escape the explosion.

[@Zombieskelper]

Yeah, from memory someone else was meant to be in the stasis pod but when things went sideways she ditched everyone and snatched the only ride out of there.

[@gameface6091]

I originally found your channel when I was looking for stuff about the Foundation series. Now I see this. Yep. This is a channel I need to be subscribed to.

[@dont259]

You came up recommended, thank you for the video! Definitely going to look for this book now.

[@martenus8079]

Great Channel and great Work here Quinn. You made me remember how much like love to read !

[@richardlecomte4874]

Apparently everything evolves into a crab eventually.

[@chrisward9218]

This book was so good. Not a huge fan of the sequel but it was still good. CoT is just so different from anything I've ever read.

[@RS-yb5rr]

Just finished the audio book after watching your recommendation. Really enjoyed this Thank you

[@tkinsey3]

Read it right at the end of 2021 - best book I read last year, BY FAR. Great video!