Reviews - Children of Time

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7.37k reviews for:

Children of Time

Adrian Tchaikovsky

4.29 AVERAGE

bchevrier's review against another edition

3.75

challenging tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Great concept, well-written characters, and a wonderful finish. But I read it for book club, not of my own choice. I thought it moved too slowly and would benefit from some heavy trimming. Also, I'm naturally averse to apocalyptic stories and war stories, so I found it ultimately depressing.

allegedarchivist's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-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: Yes

Absolute perfection, a finely engineered yet eminently living creation. I’ve never seen anything like it. While I think this would work perfectly as a standalone, I’m excited to see where it goes.

alfredreads's review against another edition

4.0

I honestly dont know how to rate this one. I was annoyed for most of the book that the story couldn't seem to find its voice between "hard" scifi and lighter fare. The concept and creativity of the universe building and evolutionary concepts was frankly astounding. I'm going to give it 3 stars for being a bit over-long and plodding, but 5 for just plain creativity and I'm still a bit gobsmacked by the whole endeavor. I'm torn between immediately wanting to order the next book in ther series becasue I HAVE to know what happens next, but I almost dont want to have to endure another book to find out.

icesloth's review against another edition

4.0

Spiders, why did it have to be spiders.

l0rddrag0n's review against another edition

5.0

If you are not sure about reading this book, just do it. I cant write any more with out giving spoilers which I do not want to do.

I would love to read more from this Universe tho, be it right from the ending or even many generations down the line!

rivenscythe's review against another edition

4.0

dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

tapankamath's review against another edition

4.0

Children of Time is set a couple of thousand years in the future, where humanity has terraformed multiple planets in an attempt to turn them into cradles of new life. Humans play god, nurturing evolution on these worlds. But things go wrong: the primates that were meant to rule don't make it to the planet. Instead, a nanovirus designed to supercharge primate evolution takes hold of an entirely different species. Add to that a massive war on Earth that leaves it uninhabitable, with only a few ark ships remaining to find a new home, one of which is on its way to this nanovirus-controlled, terraformed planet a few thousand years later. This is basically the premise: a planet-sized laboratory becomes the hopeful destination for a new home, but humanity discovers it’s already inhabited by beings that are far from human.

This book was full of highs and lows. There were moments when I just didn't want to pick up this 600-page novel, and moments when I couldn't put it down! The ending is sure to challenge expectations and reminded me of Blake Crouch's Upgrade. It's a wonderful conclusion that stands out from the common binary perspectives seen elsewhere.

Apart from the pacing issues, the author uses some advanced vocabulary, which requires frequent dictionary lookups. Nonetheless, Adrian Tchaikovsky's writing is descriptive and immersive, drawing you into the intricate world-building.

Children of Time is a good but lengthy read. It features wonderful environment-building, which can become dull at times but is ultimately rewarding. The book explores concepts of biotech taken to extremes, presenting a brilliant and fresh perspective on technology.

Slight spoiler: avoid if you have arachnophobia.