By Adrian Tchaikovsky
Tor (©2015); Pan Books (©2016); Orbit (©2018)
ISBN-13: 978-0316452502
ASIN: B07DN8BQMD
Kindle Version, file size 2632 KB; Paperback 640 pages
Let me just get right to the point. I loved this book. I cannot say enough good things about it. From the explosive opening chapter to the totally unforeseen twist near the end, Tchaikovsky leads the reader through two separate but converging threads; one the desperate leap of humanity’s last shreds through centuries aboard the Gilgamesh, their ark ship; the other a relatively fast evolutionary development of the Green Planet’s new masters. Though the inhabitants of the Green Planet are a race of Other (no spoilers here!), Tchaikovsky’s storytelling makes them relatable in ways I would never have thought possible.
The story’s development builds by incremental steps to the surprising twist near the end. Thus, it’s difficult to describe much without giving spoilers. The entire story is intricately constructed, step by step, in chapters that each leap generations ahead so that the entire span of the book covers thousands of years. Yet the author brings us along with apparent ease, catching us up each time in a seamless way. The characters grow and change throughout the story—the humans through challenges and skirmishes (because humans are gonna do what they do) aboard the ship, and the Others through generations of accelerated evolution. It was fascinating to me to see the Others adapt and develop, moving from basic to advanced not just physically but mentally, scientifically, and technologically, in ways that would never occur to humans but which make perfect sense for this civilization and their environment. Yet even though they are far from human, their development mirrors some of the stages a new human world might follow. More than once I found myself reading and re-reading a passage because I found it deeply meaningful, even though the characters were Other.
On the human side, I could absolutely believe every stage of their plight. Human nature is predictable enough that given enough stress and trauma, even the best of us might take undesirable actions to save ourselves or others. Imagine: an ark ship, filled with thousands of humans who are the last of their kind. All are trying desperately to save their race, but not all of them have the same idea on how that might be best accomplished. They are working with limited resources, on a ship that is built to survive the ages. But any mechanical device, given enough stress and time, will wear down. And without resources to repair or replace the worn parts, the aging ship adds to humankind’s desperation, making them take bolder and less considered actions until there is only one option left.
Note that this is not an easy read. It’s heavy, hard sci-fi that is thick with details necessary to the story, but which did slow down the pacing. It took a lot of brain power to read, thus I would read for a while, then put it down to do other things before coming back to the story. I wanted to know how it ended, but it was slow going until I was about 65-70% of the way through. At that point, it picked up so fast I couldn’t put the book down. And that ending… I was stunned. Fascinated. In love.
There are two books that follow Children of Time. The second is Children of Ruin, and the third is Children of Memory, both of which follow the same storytelling pattern (though with entirely unexpected twists of their own) as the first. I was excited to read them both but must admit I didn’t enjoy them as much as this first book. Tchaikovsky’s skill at making non-human characters totally relatable is amazing. However, because some of the characters in books 2 and 3 were so alien to a human way of thinking, their portions of the story were told in narrative style, rather than told more directly through the character’s thoughts and feelings. This created, for me, a distance between myself and these essential characters, so that I couldn’t feel as strongly for them as I wanted to. In addition, the pacing and density of the story was such that I couldn’t maintain an interest enough to really enjoy them as I did this one. I completed both and will still sing praises to Tchaikovsky’s genius, but I was glad to reach the last page.
While I loved Children of Time, its sequels were not my cup of tea. However, if you love dense storytelling with unique character POVs and settings, this entire series will be just right for you.