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I’m on the third book of The Final Architecture Series and it’s great space opera with good story-telling. The world of the series feels real and yet mysterious

I’m on the third book of The Final Architecture Series and it’s great space opera with good story-telling. The world of the series feels real and yet mysterious and fantastical. I looked into his other series when I discovered him and was hesitant to get invested in Children of Time because the reviews I read were mixed and many said it was (paraphrasing here) good but something of a slog. What do you love about it, and—if you’ve read them—how does it compare to TFA series?

blamestross 3y ago
Spider Civilization. I like TFA a lot, but it is very character driven. CoT is a collectivist story, the non-human-centric story reads like David Attenborough is narrating it. I like that part a lot. The human/character driven parts of the story feel a bit tacked-on and not actually critical to the themes and messages of the story. I think it is worth a read, and the sequels are more character driven than CoT.
- cmrx64 3y ago
  Maybe I was hallucinatung more detail than was there, but I found parts of the book had stunning parallels between the themes of each storyline, where the symbolic struggles by each cast of characters informed or reflected somehow the struggles of the other.
- cgriswald 3y ago
  Hey, thanks for the response. This helps.
geden 3y ago
Children of Time series a slog? Wow. It’s a page turning spine tingling, rip roarer. Stuffed full of high concepts, great characters and wry humour. As is the second book. Which kind of adds a horror slant. The third book is more ambitious and conceptual and in parts, slightly harder going. Still highly rewarding. Best hardish SF series I’ve read in recent years.
- nullc 3y ago
  I read it after reading a comment like yours. I read a lot of sci-fi. I wish I had my time back. I'd advise other people-- if you don't like the first book, don't bother with the rest. It isn't one of those series that is a slog for the first but gets great. You'll like it or you won't.

blamestross 3y ago

Spider Civilization. I like TFA a lot, but it is very character driven. CoT is a collectivist story, the non-human-centric story reads like David Attenborough is narrating it. I like that part a lot. The human/character driven parts of the story feel a bit tacked-on and not actually critical to the themes and messages of the story. I think it is worth a read, and the sequels are more character driven than CoT.

cmrx64 3y ago
Maybe I was hallucinatung more detail than was there, but I found parts of the book had stunning parallels between the themes of each storyline, where the symbolic struggles by each cast of characters informed or reflected somehow the struggles of the other.
cgriswald 3y ago
Hey, thanks for the response. This helps.

geden 3y ago

Children of Time series a slog? Wow. It’s a page turning spine tingling, rip roarer. Stuffed full of high concepts, great characters and wry humour. As is the second book. Which kind of adds a horror slant. The third book is more ambitious and conceptual and in parts, slightly harder going. Still highly rewarding. Best hardish SF series I’ve read in recent years.

nullc 3y ago
I read it after reading a comment like yours. I read a lot of sci-fi. I wish I had my time back. I'd advise other people-- if you don't like the first book, don't bother with the rest. It isn't one of those series that is a slog for the first but gets great. You'll like it or you won't.