Quick Take On Children of Time Series

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time series (or trilogy? Not sure if there is any indication that it’s meant to be a trilogy considering the open-ended conclusion in the third book so I am just going to call it a series. The following are thoughts based on the first three published books) is no lean meat but a massive dystopia science fiction that sees humans leaving a devastated Earth in search of life elsewhere through terraforming. Completing all three books will take a significant amount of time but I am proud to say I have done it!

The first book can be read as a standalone, whilst the second and third have references to the previous books.

The first, Children of Time, where the series got its namesake, is a refreshing take on terraforming where humans share the same limelight and play protagonists together with arachnids.

The second book, Children of Ruin, pretty much reminds us of the first but this time with octopuses. Things do spice up and there is a touch of horror in the second half when another entity appears…

Children of Memory, wrapping up the series for now, however, starts off just fine but the storytelling style that moves forward (now) and backwards (recently) in the timeline makes it (although intentional) confusing. While the first two books feel epic, the third instalment reminds me of an episode of Star Trek. It did not feel quite like a saga. I would refer to it as more of a novella or a 2.5 of the second book instead of being a third book except that it is a super duper novel by itself.

The Children of Time series makes a good read especially the first two books. Keeping up the momentum is no mean feat. Although the third book does not measure up to its siblings, it still makes for a good read, especially if you want to complete the series.