Shade's Children is a young adult science fiction novel by Garth Nix. It was first published in Australia in 1997 by HarperCollins.
Cover of the hardback, first edition
The cover of this softcover edition is an artist's depiction of two Myrmidons and a Tracker in the Meat Factory.
Garth Richard Nix is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a writer of fantasy. However, it is my real name."
Nix at the 2014 Comic Con