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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
huh. that was fine. perfectly acceptable book. i was hooked all the way through and couldn't quite put it down but like despite the high concepts and sweeping vistas it will not be living in my head rent free.
"i ship you two in my headcanon" was pretty damn cringe tho
"i ship you two in my headcanon" was pretty damn cringe tho
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Im sorry but i just dont rlly care and i feel like things are not progressing at a pace I want it to…
Fascinating concepts. Stick with it - it's worth it!
This one did not grab me like the ‘Children of’ series. I got tired of the cliffhanger/chase/shoot em up passages. Once the Scooby-gang was, (more or less) United in its enormous scientific challenge, I enjoyed it more but none of the characters won my heart and I was not, at any point, moved. I think I should have been, (I am pretty easily moved!). Nevertheless, this is intelligent sci-fi and strong story-telling. That it still rates four stars despite my whinging is testament to that. The alternating chapters brought Last and First Men by Olaf Stapleton to mind
This was so interestingly written, we have so much world building with a multiverse of different versions of Earth, and you can tell research has been done by the author to write this. There were a lot of different character point of views, and in some books this can get confusing, but the way Tchaikovsky has made each character so different, it’s very easy to follow and differentiate between them all. They have relatable, real life issues which make it easy to connect with them while also having to cope with this new knowledge they’ve discovered of other worlds and having aliens and other beings thrust into their daily lives.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but with the detail included in this book to help build the world and the story, it definitely will not be the last.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but with the detail included in this book to help build the world and the story, it definitely will not be the last.
adventurous
hopeful
3.5 stars
I'm actually not quite done with this book yet, but will be in th enext day or two. If my opinion changes by the end, I'll come back to make some edits.
I LOVED the original "Children of Time" book. Probably one of my top 3 favorite books of all time. It was so well thought-out and cleverly crafted that I could not put it down. I have read 3 or 4 of Tchaikovsky's other sci-fi books since then and liked them fairly well. I also have four more on my shelf to read. So it's safe to say that I'm a fan and expect quite a bit out of his books.
This one was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't bad, really, just not well executed. The beginning of the book introduces us to new characters and settings in each chapter. The chapters are quite long and the characters are not that distinct in personalities, so Ihad a difficult time keeping track of the plot and whom I was following. It took about 300 pages to get around to the base delimma that binds everyone together. 300 pages! By then, Ihad a plot made up in my head where the trilobites had become so advanced that they left Earth millions of years ago, had peeked back to see what had happened, and were appalled by the new species (humans) treatment of the planet. However, the actual plot was parallel universes that all revolved around Earth. Meh. I've read about half a dozen parallel universe stories in the past few years, so that trope is wearing a bit thin. But even then, why do they all have to revolve around Earth? Ok, I'm in this far, let's see where it goes.
It goes nowhere for another 200 pages. We just meet more civilizations and characters (also not that well developed) and the mystery goes deeper. It's basically a series of kidnappings and dealings for one Earth scientist that can't possibly be the answer to the great probelm. There are much more informed and evolved species out there can figure this out without her help. I was just about ti give up but figured I'd skip a few chapters first to see if anything happens. those 60 lost pages helped. I landed right on the next revelation.
From here, Ithink Iknow how it's going to end and it is fairly satisfying. I just wish two things would have happened in this book: 1. Follow just 2-3 human characters and 2 alternative realities (leave the rest as brief convergences and in the excellent interludes), 2. shorten the book by about 200 pages. It was way too long and layered for me to get a grasp on what my heroes were doing.
4 stars for teh ideas and 3 stars for the execution.
I'm actually not quite done with this book yet, but will be in th enext day or two. If my opinion changes by the end, I'll come back to make some edits.
I LOVED the original "Children of Time" book. Probably one of my top 3 favorite books of all time. It was so well thought-out and cleverly crafted that I could not put it down. I have read 3 or 4 of Tchaikovsky's other sci-fi books since then and liked them fairly well. I also have four more on my shelf to read. So it's safe to say that I'm a fan and expect quite a bit out of his books.
This one was a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't bad, really, just not well executed. The beginning of the book introduces us to new characters and settings in each chapter. The chapters are quite long and the characters are not that distinct in personalities, so Ihad a difficult time keeping track of the plot and whom I was following. It took about 300 pages to get around to the base delimma that binds everyone together. 300 pages! By then, Ihad a plot made up in my head where the trilobites had become so advanced that they left Earth millions of years ago, had peeked back to see what had happened, and were appalled by the new species (humans) treatment of the planet. However, the actual plot was parallel universes that all revolved around Earth. Meh. I've read about half a dozen parallel universe stories in the past few years, so that trope is wearing a bit thin. But even then, why do they all have to revolve around Earth? Ok, I'm in this far, let's see where it goes.
It goes nowhere for another 200 pages. We just meet more civilizations and characters (also not that well developed) and the mystery goes deeper. It's basically a series of kidnappings and dealings for one Earth scientist that can't possibly be the answer to the great probelm. There are much more informed and evolved species out there can figure this out without her help. I was just about ti give up but figured I'd skip a few chapters first to see if anything happens. those 60 lost pages helped. I landed right on the next revelation.
From here, Ithink Iknow how it's going to end and it is fairly satisfying. I just wish two things would have happened in this book: 1. Follow just 2-3 human characters and 2 alternative realities (leave the rest as brief convergences and in the excellent interludes), 2. shorten the book by about 200 pages. It was way too long and layered for me to get a grasp on what my heroes were doing.
4 stars for teh ideas and 3 stars for the execution.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I enjoy many books by Adrian Tchaikovsky this one was particularly disappointing. I finished it because I enjoyed the premise. However the clear polical agenda of this book ruined it. All of the characters felt forced into their minority roles and the main bad guy being a bigoted Nazi type was very shallow and cringe inducing.
Plot was very quick and almost makes you feel like you're being dragged along barely keeping up. Main characters have almost no development and remained unchanged throughout the whole book.
Plot was very quick and almost makes you feel like you're being dragged along barely keeping up. Main characters have almost no development and remained unchanged throughout the whole book.