Children of time and children of ruin are two of my favorite sci-fi books. I’ve been looking forward to this 3rd installment for so long, but it is very confusing, and nowhere near as engaging as the first two books. Im about a third of the way through, hopefully it will vastly improve. Update: About 2/3 of the way through and I have absolutely no idea what is happening. At this point I’m finishing just to get it over with and move on.

I’m still thinking about Children of Memory, a few days afterwards. In its final chapters, the story goes wide on ideas he’d been planting through the whole series, about appreciating sentience, and seeing beyond one’s own species. In each of the earlier books, we watched characters ultimately overcome their assumptions and prejudices, to accept and connect with other cultures quite different from their own. In the last pages of this book, in the guise of story, I was suddenly presented with an opportunity to make a similar leap myself — to reconsider what thinking is, and expand my own definition of culture. Also, great Corvid dialogues.

Well written, superb descriptions, artificial intelligence, messiahs, gods. Excellent.

Did not enjoy the jumping around time, a little jerky, put together nicely in the end.