Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


We’re the aliens, man

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I was raised on the optimistic technology sci fi of Arthur C. Clarke who believed our future was in the stars and that technology was our only way there. But he often threaded his optimism with warning of our hubris and innate inability to understand a mind truly alien to ours. I’ve waited to read a successor that expanded on these twin stars of hope and wariness. Children of Time succeeds and then carries it into realms I couldn’t conceive, ones I can’t even fully understand […]

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 […]

These Spiders Are Not Deserving of Your Mortein – but Your Love

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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  Do you like spiders? I like spiders. I don’t believe spiders deserve the bad rap they get. Some spiders are easier to share space with than others – like the seven-legged, fly-scoffing huntsman that seem to reside in every Australian household. They are good spiders. These seven-legged huntsmen are often called Fred. Another generation, another Fred. Do you know who else likes spiders? Adrian Tchaikovsky likes spiders. He loves them so much that he made them the protagonists of his very original evolution-based novel, […]

The continuing adventures of critters you wouldn’t expect to care about

Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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I was wowed by the scope of Children of Time, and it just keeps getting bigger in Children of Ruin. I was expecting a straightforward sequel, but as with the first book, all of my predictions were (delightfully!) wrong. It also covers a huge span of time, but it starts out concurrent with the first book, following a different terraforming crew. They find a couple of neighboring planets that have terraforming potential and get to work. Things go off the rails astoundingly rapidly. This is […]

Humanity Sucks But the Spiders Make the Story

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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As the novel begins, human technology is at its apex, and with it, human hubris is also at an all time high.  With biotech and other advances, humanity is ready to spread out across the universe, creating life as they see fit and even guiding evolution.  At least, that’s the plan.  While some are obsessed with what humanity can do and taken it to all its conclusions, a resistance group is more than ready to end it all because humanity has made themselves god. Just […]



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