Adrian Tchaikovsky

The modern classic of space opera that began with Children of Time continues in this extraordinary novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost. Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology – and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself. Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.

Children of Memory

What a ride of a book. Definitely didn’t end where I thought it would, and I spent so much of the book wondering how it could be wrapped up. It’s not my favorite in the series, I think I like CoT more, but still an incredible book. There’s a really interesting theme that pops up that feels like commentary on the current AI wave we’re in, but this was definitely written before ChatGPT. So hats off to the author for his foresight there. 

Max Moss

Adrian Tchaikovsky is able to blow your mind and expand your frame of reference and then keep one-upping himself in that regard with each book he writes.

Children of Time and Children of Ruin are two of my favorite books ever: the former establishes Tchaikovsky's inspired idea to write evolutionary science fiction and executes it satisfyingly, although the story in that book is relatively simple. Children of Ruin then expands on this principle while telling a much more compelling story.

Children of Memory shifts it focus slightly away from the principles of evolution, instead telling a story about early planet colonization and philosophizing about what constitutes a person, driven by the alien life introduced in Children of Ruin. 

Tchaikovsky scale is sweeping as always, telling a story spanning millennia and prompting you to question everything you know about life and its meaning. There is a section about two-thirds of the way through the novel where the book becomes a bit repetitive and which could have been edited down a bit, but apart from that, this is another banger from my favorite author currently writing.

Stijn de Boer 

Adrian Tchaikovsky is able to blow your mind and expand your frame of reference and then keep one-upping himself in that regard with each book he writes.

Children of Time and Children of Ruin are two of my favorite books ever: the former establishes Tchaikovsky's inspired idea to write evolutionary science fiction and executes it satisfyingly, although the story in that book is relatively simple. Children of Ruin then expands on this principle while telling a much more compelling story.

Children of Memory shifts it focus slightly away from the principles of evolution, instead telling a story about early planet colonization and philosophizing about what constitutes a person, driven by the alien life introduced in Children of Ruin. 

Tchaikovsky scale is sweeping as always, telling a story spanning millennia and prompting you to question everything you know about life and its meaning. There is a section about two-thirds of the way through the novel where the book becomes a bit repetitive and which could have been edited down a bit, but apart from that, this is another banger from my favorite author currently writing.

The best book in the series. Hands down. I finished it and restarted it immediately.

Children of Memory

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