Just finished Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time. One of my top reads, let alone sci-fi reads, for the past couple of years for sure. Super well-thought out concepts, good character development, and an irresistible hook that will take you out of your comfort zone when you find out that you really don't know who you are siding with!
Has anyone read this or any of Tchaikovsky's other works??
I would say that the sequel, Children of Ruin, is actually even better. The series falls off in the third book however.
That third book had some interesting ideas, but really failed to create a compelling narrative. I’d much rather he compressed the entire book into a first act and then explored the implications elsewhere.
The third book is definitely slow in the middle, but overall I think it’s another strong addition to the series. At first I was quite lost with the characters and setting constantly changing, but once I started seeing what was really going on I was hooked.
The partners are brilliant too. Very relevant to current questions about sentience with all the AI discussions going on at the moment.
Oh shoot i didn’t even know there was more. I literally just put the book down tonight digesting it all. Thank you - definitely don’t want to forget the storyline if I wait too long.
You’re in for a treat! The whole series is a fascinating exploration of what it means to be a person. Sci Fi at it’s best. Enjoy!
Yeah children of time was my first intro to his works and I’ve read 2 of his series so far now. In both cases my enjoyment of them peaked really high in the first book, then dropped off as I got into the third