A review by norspider
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The mystery at the heart of this book kept me reading. I was so curious to learn what was happening with Mariana, Liff, and the rest of Landfall. Hundreds of years after the terraforming of Imir, how have they only built a single town? Why do events seem to repeat themselves? Why is our narrator so unreliable, telling us directly contradicting stories? 

Children of Memory continues the ever-expanding universe of this trilogy. Portiids, Humans, octopi, and the being(s) of Nod are joined by more creatures in their exploration of the cosmos. What they find will be a grand discovery for all, but a living nightmare for some. 

Parts of this book feel redundant, with ideas and discoveries being repeated multiple times. Given the grand idea of the story, I can't be sure if this was poor editing or a specific choice. But either way it made reading it take longer than needed. 

I understand why some may dislike Children of Memory, but I loved it. So many questions, so much to ponder. Always circling back to a welcome theme for Tchaikovsky: what does it mean to be alive? 

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