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Children of Memory

Children of Time, Book 3

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Children of Memory

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Mel Hudson
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About this listen

 They dreamed of a new home. They woke to a nightmare.


A far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.

On Imir, Captain Holt founded a hopeful new colony on an empty world. But generations later, his descendants are struggling to survive. As harvests worsen and equipment fails, strangers appear in a town where everyone knows their neighbour. Now the community fears that it's being observed – that they’re not alone. And they'd be right.

Explorers from the stars have come in secret, to help. Confident of their superior technology, they begin to study their long-lost cousins from Earth. Yet the visitors aren't the only watchers. When the starfarers discover the scale of their mistake, it will be far too late to escape.

Children of Memory is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed Children of Time and Children of Ruin. Continue the journey with Children of Strife.

* * *

Praise for the series:

‘Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building’
– James McAvoy

‘Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human’
– Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls

‘A fabulous sense of scale that only someone as talented as Adrian Tchaikovsky can pull off’
– Peter F. Hamilton, author of Exodus: The Archimedes Engine

 Adventure Fiction First Contact Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Exploration Space Opera Technology Thriller

Critic reviews

One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction (Christopher Paolini, author of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars)
Brilliant science fiction and far-out world-building (James McAvoy on Children of Time)
Breathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers (Gareth L. Powell, author of Embers of War, on Children of Ruin)
All underpinned by great ideas. And it is crisply modern - but with the sensibility of classic science fiction. Asimov or Clarke might have written this (Stephen Baxter, author of Time and Proxima, on Children of Ruin)
Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human. (Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls and the Chaos Walking series, on Children of Time)
All stars
Most relevant
Children of time is perhaps one of my all time favourite books, i also really enioyed children of ruin. However this book was different, i found it 'ok' at best.

The book gets very confusing and feels like it builds up just to tell you it has alsmost wasted your time. The ending is good, but i feel it should have been read in the opposite direction almost. It also doesn't really go into any of the other creatures, the book is 75% human centred

loved the 2 non human new additions to this book though, by far my favourite part and the narrations of these 2 was very good.

Confusing and not as unique as the previous 2

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I like the other 2 books in the series but nothing grabbed me in this one. Great narrator kept me just about interested but yeah this one wasn't for me.

I was bored

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not quite as engaging as the first 2. less world building and more a "and then he woke up from a dream" your of story. I'm a massive fan of Adrian and this series in particular.

Difficult third book

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With just the slightest tumble, Tchaikovsky sticks the landing in the conclusion to the Children series. Less an exploration and more a reflection than the previous two installments the book manages to be a successful capstone that brings most of the themes together. While not without its drawbacks, it’s a worthy finale that rewards sticking around to the end.

Oddly enough, time is Tchaikovsky’s enemy in this book. When the main species of Humans (big H), portiids, octopi, protozoan cellular organism and corvids have all advanced to a point where time is irrelevant we, those whose thoughts are still rooted in the realm of time and space become easily disoriented. Our characters experience millennia, days, decades and centuries as afterthoughts. Tchaikovsky uses that to tell a story at multiple places in time interchangeably. To them, it’s nothing but I can confuse the reader without a clear signpost. Tchaikovsky withholds that signpost for too long into the story making the first half of the novel difficult to follow in order to service his mystery. If there are clues to be found, on 2nd reading they are sparse.

Time and Ruin both served as superb examinations into creatures whose sentience cannot be questioned but whose perspective was wholly alien, and yet relatable. After two long books servicing that model, it makes sense that the third book would serve as a departure. Yes, the new species of Corvid provides that thematic link of elevating an intelligent earth animal to higher consciousness and they are standout in that regard. Possibly even stronger than the Octopi of book 2. However, they serve as the mirror to which Tchaikovsky ties his themes together rather than the main subject of the book.

As such, the book suffers for it. Much of the book is spent reminding the reader of what we already know. How many times do we need to hear that the cellular organism of Nod can share vast amounts of knowledge or split itself off and copy the form of others? How many times do we need a reference to Avrana Kern’s origins as a human turned AI turned instance of an AI. The redundancy of information is used to remind the readers of the themes and connective threads of the overarching story, however if you’ve read this far you’re likely already invested and are already aware. The Humans (big H), Portiids, and Octopi get short changed as a result and get less screen time compared to the new humans (small H), Corvids and Nodean life form.

For some, this stumble might mean the story has less “plot” than others. This is a fair but YMMV criticism. While I did find the story meandering and lacking for much of the first half, my fascination and investment in the themes and the world Tchaikovsky was rewarded by the end. Not necessarily with a stellar tale, but with a new way to question and analyze that fascination and investment. Time and Ruin are better stories, yes. Children of Memory gives us the codex that unlocks a deeper appreciation of them.

Mel Hudson once against elevates her recording. I dare you to look at a crow and not hear her voice forever after. A true gem who gives life to this world with consideration and consistency across three books. What a magnificent feat. Bravo!

While not quite as captivating as the two novels preceding it, Children of Memory is a worthy conclusion and fitting reflection of what made those books so incredibly powerful.

A fitting conclusion if a slight step down

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Great 3rd follow up and new story to immerse into, almost literally. I’d hope more to follow

Another brilliant one

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