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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
There are no aliens that her people ever met or heard from. Or, if there were, their signals were overlooked, passed by: alien in a way that meant no human could see them and recognize them as evidence of life from elsewhere.
So observes Avrana Kern about the life-spreading experiment that forms one of the two main threads of most unusual [b:Children of Time|25499718|Children of Time (Children of Time #1)|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431014197l/25499718._SY75_.jpg|45276208]
You might say, this may have been the author's dilemma as well. We have so many stories about humanity's encounter with aliens and, after many decades, still just speculation. Tchaikovsky apparently wanted to write about humans meet alien life without all the baggage of past stories.
Perhaps it borrows a bit from 2001 (you'll see when you read it, and yet it's own through and through.
[a:Adrian Tchaikovsky|1445909|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1282303363p2/1445909.jpg] treats with love and care the evolutionary rise of an alien civilization, one creepily recognizable yet, so far apart. By dropping in sub-themes around gender relations, god and religion, a metaphor for race, and more, the author both injects touches of humor and irony while portraying the "aliens" with tremendous depth and character.
Meanwhile we also have the contrasting experience post-apocalypse space ark carrying remnants of human civilization to find some new home. With the exception of one or two of the human crew, the people in the book come off as ore stereotypical. I suspect this is also part of the humor of the book.
If can't appreciate both aspects of the author's humor, you may lose heart and give up on this book. Judging by all the positive reviews, in the end, most readers thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I finished it, and will let it seep in before starting something else. Even though it does have a mad dash thriller ending, the book and all its ideas deserve a chance to marinate on their own.
So observes Avrana Kern about the life-spreading experiment that forms one of the two main threads of most unusual [b:Children of Time|25499718|Children of Time (Children of Time #1)|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431014197l/25499718._SY75_.jpg|45276208]
You might say, this may have been the author's dilemma as well. We have so many stories about humanity's encounter with aliens and, after many decades, still just speculation. Tchaikovsky apparently wanted to write about humans meet alien life without all the baggage of past stories.
Perhaps it borrows a bit from 2001 (you'll see when you read it, and yet it's own through and through.
[a:Adrian Tchaikovsky|1445909|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1282303363p2/1445909.jpg] treats with love and care the evolutionary rise of an alien civilization, one creepily recognizable yet, so far apart. By dropping in sub-themes around gender relations, god and religion, a metaphor for race, and more, the author both injects touches of humor and irony while portraying the "aliens" with tremendous depth and character.
Meanwhile we also have the contrasting experience post-apocalypse space ark carrying remnants of human civilization to find some new home. With the exception of one or two of the human crew, the people in the book come off as ore stereotypical. I suspect this is also part of the humor of the book.
If can't appreciate both aspects of the author's humor, you may lose heart and give up on this book. Judging by all the positive reviews, in the end, most readers thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I finished it, and will let it seep in before starting something else. Even though it does have a mad dash thriller ending, the book and all its ideas deserve a chance to marinate on their own.
SIX STARS. Incredibly cool to see biological / evolutionary science harnessed in such a creative way.
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A simple concept but a fascinating read
This is going to be one of my favourite sci-fi books now. Adrian has taken a simple concept and blew it into an epic with extraordinary details. Makes for a fascinating read.
This is going to be one of my favourite sci-fi books now. Adrian has taken a simple concept and blew it into an epic with extraordinary details. Makes for a fascinating read.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Admittedly, Children of Time took me longer to read than I would have liked. That is both, due to me and due to the nature of certain portions of the book.
I loved this book. It is very well written, has a compelling story, explores idea inherent to life and humanity and makes you relate to a species of sentient arachnids (which is something I never thought I’d say). There were certain parts where the pace slowed a bit (due to the nature of the worldbuilding on such a large and intricate scale) but if you like the ‘science’ part of sci-fi, you’ll love this book.
There’s a reason it’s won awards.
I loved this book. It is very well written, has a compelling story, explores idea inherent to life and humanity and makes you relate to a species of sentient arachnids (which is something I never thought I’d say). There were certain parts where the pace slowed a bit (due to the nature of the worldbuilding on such a large and intricate scale) but if you like the ‘science’ part of sci-fi, you’ll love this book.
There’s a reason it’s won awards.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spiders in space and the lessons they can teach humans!
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
terrible.
do not read unless you have terrible taste.
I could rant and rave about how bad it is, but why?
The one redeeming quality is that I could skip sooo many pages, just skim and skim and skip and skip and still get the gist of the story.
I didn't bother to read the last page.
do not read unless you have terrible taste.
I could rant and rave about how bad it is, but why?
The one redeeming quality is that I could skip sooo many pages, just skim and skim and skip and skip and still get the gist of the story.
I didn't bother to read the last page.