Children of Ruin

Another case of interstellar evolutionary uplift, but this time with octopuses. Given their unusual neurology (where each tentacle is somewhat independent of the central nervous system), this makes for a lot of fun chaotic genius. And there's actual alien life which is a bit too hungry for assimilation. The spiders and humans get a look in as well as they attempt to come to peaceable terms. Excellent nerdy scifi.

Tchaikovsky's Children Of Series focuses on the lifeforms left behind by mankind's self-destruction. The sentient spiders from Children of Time are back, and are exploring a solar system caught in a civil war. One of science fiction's strengths is being able to imagine other beings, and Tchaikovsky's depictions of their life and thoughts are excellent here as well.