512 pages
English language
Published Nov. 7, 2023 by Orbit.
The modern classic of space opera that began with Children of Time continues in this extraordinary novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.
Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.
Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology – and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.
Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.
Although not bad sci-fi its connection to the previous 2 books is rather loose. The third book takes an entirely different direction, some parts resembling westerns depicting the early pioneers of the time. The weakest of the three books, 3/5 for me.
Really enjoyed this. Wish Bookwyrm allowed for half stars - would be 4.5 here. So many interesting ideas, explored well. Always kept me guessing what was happening, and the story unwound at a (mostly) pleasing pace. A slow pace, mind - not one for action-science fiction fans; this is very thinky, philosophical stuff.
A couple of the chapters didn't quite work for me - more narrative background than story, they contributed to the overall understanding but I found them harder to get through than the rest - but Tchaikovsky really does explore some fascinating concepts here and I recommend this one for anyone into this slower style of science fiction.
I have been a huge fan of this series ever since I read Children of Time. This one is on a par with it. The premise is the same: an Earth Ark ship on its way to a new planet, supposed to have been terraformed in anticipation of human colonists, escaping a dying Earth. In line with the Gilgamesh of Children of Time, this one is called the Enkidu, on its way to a planet called Imir. but they are not the only one. There is also an expedition from the Humans and their non-human allies (portiids, octopi, and the new addition: corvids). There is, I think, a greater sense of tragedy to this one, with a mystery at its center. The ending is ambiguous so I'm not sure whether there will be another "Children of..." entry or not. Either way, this one was a page-turner.
Similar to a lot of the other reviews I'm reading this one just didn't grip me quite as much as the first two books. I liked the folk tale atmosphere and the fact that it uses the first two books being similar to trick you into thinking that this one would follow a similar path, but I didn't feel that the alien life forms were as well explored in this book. We got very little on the actual paired-mind of the corvids, with most of the focus being on the two individual parts of the mind, and the other mind that possibly exists in the book is only hinted at vaguely. I enjoyed the ending, but not as much as the first two since the big reveal at the end felt a bit obvious (albeit the details were all different from my own guesses).
Overall this felt like the middle …
Similar to a lot of the other reviews I'm reading this one just didn't grip me quite as much as the first two books. I liked the folk tale atmosphere and the fact that it uses the first two books being similar to trick you into thinking that this one would follow a similar path, but I didn't feel that the alien life forms were as well explored in this book. We got very little on the actual paired-mind of the corvids, with most of the focus being on the two individual parts of the mind, and the other mind that possibly exists in the book is only hinted at vaguely. I enjoyed the ending, but not as much as the first two since the big reveal at the end felt a bit obvious (albeit the details were all different from my own guesses).
Overall this felt like the middle could have been condensed and that this book was mostly just setting up a plot for a future book without having much of a satisfying story of its own. That being said, I still enjoyed it enough to give it 4 stars and would recommend it if you liked the first two books.
Content warning plot arc metaspoilers maybe? also for Nona the Ninth
This one took me on a very Nona the Ninth-like journey, from "I am following the plot and know what is going on" to "I am no longer following the plot, what the hell is going on" to "Wow, I did not see that coming"
There's no real way to state why I didn't like this book as much as its predecessors without spoiling nearly the entire thing. Suffice to say, the tone of this book is inconsistent with the rest of the series.
Wow. Outstanding! This book is vastly different than the other two. I was frustrated with most of it and was sure I would be rating it 2 stars, maybe 3, even though the writing style was amazing, but the last hundred pages blew my mind.
Take all these 5 stars, Adrian, and go buy something nice with 'em.
