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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great world building, super well written, well thought out themes, crazy imaginative story. Makes you think about evolution in a different perspective
By far the best scifi I've read. Great story and concepts. Super interesting and well written. FUCK YOU GUYEN!
Very well written, easy to read and a good plot, would definitely look out for any sequels – no spoilers but plenty of imaginative plot and scene setting
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Spectacular. My favorite book of the year, no qualifiers. I wish I could read it again for the first time.
Liked:
- Crisp plot. We've seen the humanity's-last-hope set up before, but the juxtaposition with our interstellar neighbors was refreshing. The twist at the end I predicted a few elements of, and I think many other readers will, but there were still surprises.
- Excellent character development. The human characters were complex enough to have depth, and without giving too much away, the alien chapters were endlessly enthralling. They brought a perspective that really felt alien, yet I could identify with. Absolutely beautiful, like nothing I've read before.
- Lovely prose and description. This is how you show-not-tell in fiction. I could see the environment in my mind's eye, whether on the ship or planetside.
- Well written action sequences. I read Mistborn - Final Empire right before this, and the comparison is stark. Children of Time had action and drama well dispersed throughout the book (unlike the bore of 80% of Mistborn). This is how it's done.
Didn't like:
- My only quibble is some passages late in the book could have been edited more. We spent a few too many sentences on what-should-I-do or what-is-really-happening-here internal dialogue.
Liked:
- Crisp plot. We've seen the humanity's-last-hope set up before, but the juxtaposition with our interstellar neighbors was refreshing. The twist at the end I predicted a few elements of, and I think many other readers will, but there were still surprises.
- Excellent character development. The human characters were complex enough to have depth, and without giving too much away, the alien chapters were endlessly enthralling. They brought a perspective that really felt alien, yet I could identify with. Absolutely beautiful, like nothing I've read before.
- Lovely prose and description. This is how you show-not-tell in fiction. I could see the environment in my mind's eye, whether on the ship or planetside.
- Well written action sequences. I read Mistborn - Final Empire right before this, and the comparison is stark. Children of Time had action and drama well dispersed throughout the book (unlike the bore of 80% of Mistborn). This is how it's done.
Didn't like:
- My only quibble is some passages late in the book could have been edited more. We spent a few too many sentences on what-should-I-do or what-is-really-happening-here internal dialogue.
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you're into the later Enders Saga books not just Enders game you'll like this.
Humanity is ascendant. Spread throughout the galaxy, and apart from a few mumblings of religious conservatives, peace has been achieved. Dr. Kern stands at the pinnacle of scientific might - successfully terraforming a planet, she is set to release a clutch of monkeys and a nanovirus designed to Uplift their intelligence in hundreds of years, rather than a millennia. However, those religious mumblings were overlooked. Luddites seize control of Kern's satellite, and she barely manages to escape intact. The capsule containing the primates and virus hits atmosphere, hard. It burns up.
Or does it? Tchaikovsky paints a beautiful picture of accelerated evolution. Kern's virus finds new hosts in the insect life of the planet below, in particular a type of spider, and we follow a series of Portias and Biancas in each generation, who begin their own evolutionary path. Meanwhile, the last dying gasp of humanity is traveling to Kern's world, unaware of the work that's begun on the planet's surface. Honestly just a beautiful piece of science fiction that asks questions about sentience, sapience, and humanity's place in our galaxy.
Or does it? Tchaikovsky paints a beautiful picture of accelerated evolution. Kern's virus finds new hosts in the insect life of the planet below, in particular a type of spider, and we follow a series of Portias and Biancas in each generation, who begin their own evolutionary path. Meanwhile, the last dying gasp of humanity is traveling to Kern's world, unaware of the work that's begun on the planet's surface. Honestly just a beautiful piece of science fiction that asks questions about sentience, sapience, and humanity's place in our galaxy.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I was not a fan of Tchaikovsky's first series I read (Shadows of the Apt), but this one was much more engaging and thought provoking. After reading both, I can say that Tchaikovsky certainly has an obsession with insects. I also found both human and spider POVs interesting, unlike what some reviewers were saying. Don't know if I'll read the sequels or not, but this book can sufficiently stand on its own. Solid 4/5.