I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of Children of Strife from NetGalley. I'm a pretty big fan of the Children of Time series, and I was not disappointed by the latest entry.

The characters of this instalment were phenomenal. I'm always impressed by how Tchaikovsky is able to create an authentic character befitting the body of the creature the character is. In this book, Cato was very interesting to me, his manner of speaking, the kinetic way he communicates, and the hierarchies and such were just so interesting. It's always been something Tchaikovsky has excelled at; it was a memorable feature of [b:Dogs of War|35827220|Dogs of War (Dogs of War, #1)|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501011224l/35827220._SY75_.jpg|57331336] too.
I do feel that Tchaikovsky does recycle the same villain in different skins throughout his work. The antagonist of this book is very similar to the antagonists of [b:Bear Head|55037555|Bear Head (Dogs of War, #2)|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597927380l/55037555._SY75_.jpg|85826347] or [b:Cage of Souls|40803025|Cage of Souls|Adrian Tchaikovsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547654406l/40803025._SY75_.jpg|63537997], but that is not a criticism. Tchaikovsky is describing a real problem we face in the world today, of a minority of people in power putting their pleasure above everyone else's survival. It is understandable that this villain of a thousand faces recurs again and again. It's a problem we chew on with fiction.

Every Children of Time book is taking on the question of what consciousness is. I feel like each entry in the series is essential supplementary reading to a [a:Peter Godfrey-Smith|17976|Peter Godfrey-Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1390797398p2/17976.jpg] work to help you internalise the information. I often feel like these books are directly tackling themes from Metazoa and Other Minds on a sci-fi stage. Children of Strife pairs very well with [b:Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World|205363954|Living on Earth Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World|Peter Godfrey-Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1718627696l/205363954._SY75_.jpg|211382680], but I shant say more to avoid spoilers. Needless to say, I think it was handled very well and the concepts at play were really interesting, but the characters steal the show over the concepts this time around.

This entry felt especially dense. It was the first time in a very long time that I had to look up multiple words, and it did trip me up in places. It was mostly hyper-specific words relating to the viscosity of plant and fungal life, and a few about worship. Still, I found it quite the page turner, though admittedly experience with his prior work makes me an eager reader. I do feel we have gotten to a point in technological advancement in the series that we may break free of science fiction if it goes further and becomes indistinguishable from magic.

My specific ARC reader copy had some formatting issues that broke up the reading awkwardly, lots of mid-sentence paragraph jumps that Cormac McCarthy'd my reading experience more than I would have liked. I wouldn't say it is a particularly emotionally stirring book compared to the previous entries, but it does have a satisfying karmic element to it that crunches deliciously.

For returning readers of the series, this is another thought-provoking and rewarding entry that continues to stretch what science fiction can explore.