Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)
Adrian Tchaikovsky
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.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
4.5 stars *Spoilers below*
I’ve loved reading the Children Of series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Each book in the series is unique, thought provoking and just a joy to read. Each book feels distinct from each other in impressive ways whilst retaining a formula of sorts. And ideas such as personhood, community and sentience are considered in meaningful ways.
In many respects I think Children of Memory embodies the best and worst of the series. On the one hand, it’s a very effective story, which had me hooked and guessing what was happening all the time. I felt this book, against the others, had much more to say in terms of its main themes (memory, community, sentence, existence) whilst also being the most humorous. I also loved the Corvids - such a cool approach to an alien species.
Yet, the story of this book was more confusing than the others (this is notable in that this is the only book in the series to actually explain things in text chronologically, and add a cast of characters section). This is partly deliberate, and I do like how the narrative played out, with the strangeness of repeating scenes becoming more exaggerated. I think it was a smart choice, and one that is pulled off well. But does create a bizarre reading experience, where the reader is encouraged to focus on the details of each instance of Imir, whilst also being later told it was all a simulation. Having the rug constantly pulled on you creates a strange sense of momentum.
As well, I wish things such as the ancient signal devices and the other entity in the simulations had more explanation. I just feel like they don’t gel with what worked the best in this book (bar this other entity as reflection of the distrusting town and the antithesis of the Human-Portid-Octopus-Nodian community) and given it’s the end of the trilogy, feels unsatisfying to end on.
Nevertheless , this is still a brilliant piece of science-fiction, and something that will stay with me for a while. The struggles of the Liff and the people of Imir, real or not, will stay with me for a while.
0