Children of Time (Children of Time #1)
Comments and mentions from HN threads:
Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?
kmarc: I absolutely loved "Children of time" - you can tell the writer is a scientist, or at least very seasoned in natural sciences, mainly biology. The story is not the best but how Tchaikovsky reasons shows how much he is able to think outside the box.