''Asimov or Clarke might have written this'' – Stephen Baxter, co-author of The Long Earth

A scout ship discovers a human outpost lying derelict in space – and a planet better left unexplored. Set in the same universe as Children of Time, this is a thrilling narrative from the award-winning Adrian Tchaikovsky.

It has been waiting through the ages. Now it''s time . . .

Thousands of years ago, Earth’s terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life – but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity’s great empire fell, and the program’s decisions were lost to time.

Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth.

But those ancient terraformers awoke something on Nod. Something better left undisturbed.

And it has been waiting for them.

''Books like this are why we read science fiction'' - Ian McDonald, author of the Luna series

Children of Ruin follows Adrian Tchaikovsky''s extraordinary Children of Time, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award. It is set in the same universe, with new characters and an original narrative.