Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Maybe humans aren’t the most deserving of a new planet

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I read this book to get my brother to stop talking about alien *insert creepy animal here (I don’t want to spoil it)*. Every time I’d see him, he would ask if I read Children of Time and then proceed to explain the premise as if he hadn’t explained it to me the last time I saw him. After maybe the fourth or fifth time I decided to read the book to shut him up. Look, I’m not a big sci-fi reader, but this one […]

“We seek for every possibility of life and sentience, because the universe is vast and cold and mostly empty, and variance from that void is to be treasured.”

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

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I was thoroughly discombobulated for the majority of my reading experience with this book. That was the way it was supposed to be, of course, so minor spoilers for that I guess? I don’t think that’s actually spoilers, but some people would probably think it is. Anyway, I didn’t anticipate that level of purposeful fuckery on behalf of Adrian Tchaikovsky, and the slow creep of the feeling that something was not right was simultaneously unpleasant and intriguing. This is the third (and final??) book in […]

back in the spider saddle again~

Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I am really digging these books and how they expand the universe Tchaikovsky has created one step at a time, but realistically. Look not at how long it took me to read this (that’s a function of work, not desire). Perhaps do read this one soon after reading the prior book–I can see how you’d benefit from remembering some of the details from the prior, or how not remembering the prior book would make this one less rich. There’s the same sort of beats–similar to […]

detailed ‘heavy’ sci-fi at its finest

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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This is definitely another off the long White Whale list, as I think I’ve checked it out from the library a number of times before finally cracking it open this time around. Best “you’d like this if you liked” that I can give is likely Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. What an excellent, well thought out sci-fi novel—entirely standalone, if you want to, but with additional installments afterwards that expand on the themes here. The concept at the heart is directed evolution, and how it […]

A decent read somewhat spoiled by sky-high expectations

Making Friends by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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This is by the author of Children of Time, which catapulted onto my top 10 list last year. This one’s a novella, so not quite as juicy as that one, but it was still a fun read. Coppelia is a puppeteer and a small-time thief in a city that hoards magic. When she is approached by actual living homonculi, she is astonished and delighted. They form a team, with her making new bodies for them to bring to life, and the tiny doll-people stealing trinkets […]

Books like this are why I love science fiction. #CBRBingo – Fresh Start

Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Man, this hit me at just the right time, in just the right way. It was the perfect blend of escapism (events take place farrrr away and a verrry long time from now) and dealing with reality (humans gonna human even in the future and light years away). I almost don’t want to tell you anything about this book because if you go in unspoiled you are in for some surprises, but part of why I wanted to pick the book up is that I […]



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