Children of Memory

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Audiobook

Published Nov. 24, 2022

(81 reviews)

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.

7 editions

Frank Burns reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I am afraid I am going to have to be a little hard here and say this barely scraped 4 stars for me. The middle really dragged. I can't really explain why without going into spoilers (which I am not a fan of doing in reviews). I will say that there wasn't the same sense of progress that you got from the first two books. A sense of something new developing. The middle third is very focused on a (to all appearances) regressive setting, thus the sense of the new wasn't there for me for a good chunk of this read.
The ideas are still top tier. The book started well and the ending was satisfying. Maybe it needed a tighter edit, maybe I was just not in the right place for this.
Still, it is Tchaikovsky and my reservations could just be a me thing. It's still at least …

econadders reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

SPOILERS returnreturnThis is a good book, original and engaging, as his others have been, but unlike the others, bloody hell is it grim. I would recommend it, but not if you're in any kind of dark place. It left me emotionally drained and grieving, for the twist.

Kibrika reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I had seen a review saying this book differed from the first two, and from that perspective, the book seemed to be incredibly in line with the first two. I guess, it's also the overall feeling about it. Pretty cool that once again a similar-ish idea is made to feel fresh and interesting. Once again, cool to flirt with the idea of an intelligence sufficiently different from ours to be challenging to recognize yet familiar enough to be recognizable. Though the first book in the series is still the one with the most impact, the whole trilogy is wonderful and pretty much best books I've read.

n-gons reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The whole series is wonderful. Again a new super smart species of animal. Quite different from the other 2 books, and more philosophy than expected (in a good way). Nice!

Iam reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

LOVED IT. Now, waiting for the next one. Love the characters and the voice of the narration.

This one had a 'Star Trek' vibe to it. Need the next instalment.

Kevin Guertin reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Wow. Outstanding! This book is vastly different than the other two. I was frustrated with most of it and was sure I would be rating it 2 stars, maybe 3, even though the writing style was amazing, but the last hundred pages blew my mind.

Take all these 5 stars, Adrian, and go buy something nice with 'em.

Kibrika reviewed Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, #3)

Review of 'Children of Memory' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I love stories of intelligences supposedly very different from mine so this was a very enjoyable story for me. I loved too that it took place over such a long period of time.

I'd heard booktubers use the term "redemption arc" and couldn't come up with examples in my own reading. Well, I kind of have one now. I mean the book starts with Kern establishing not being a very likeable person. It is kind of sudden when she decides, "ok, now I'll listen". But from there she seems to grow a bit more bearable.

And I must admit that I love the fantastic imagery that came to mind when reading this book. Give me cities and satellites and planet spanning rings built out of shimmering silk threads any day. Especially with a lush green planet as a basis.