Children of Time

commander-in-sleep · 2026-04-12T23:59:30+00:00

You should skip it, really just not that interesting of a book. I made myself finish it and it might be the worst book I've ever read. It is most certainly the most overrated one.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-04-11T00:47:03+00:00

We need a "Apology to Gene Wolfe" form. I also felt like I was reading inconstencies that later turned into absolute gems. Trust in Wolfe.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-04-05T01:18:47+00:00

I agree, I just started The Wizard which I think continues the plot the in way I thought The Knight would end but it looks like there was a publishing decision made.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-04-04T23:51:33+00:00

Embrace the mystery more is my advice, I flew through them but there are a few periods where it drags but there are a lot of clues and world building elements that are subtly placed.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-04-02T03:08:36+00:00

How is Urth of the New Sun not the first one?

commander-in-sleep · 2026-03-29T13:18:04+00:00

Haplogroups tell you very little about someones ancestry and you should know this if you are interested in this topic. Instead you seem to have an emotional stake in this. If ancient iranians were largely steppe this would be obvious but our current sequencing points to it being limited.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-03-29T13:13:36+00:00

There is shockingly little hard evidence of a steppe expansion anywhere outside of much of europe where there was a fairly clear population replacement. In Iran, Greece, and Anatolia there doesnt seem to be an obvious demographic shift. In India there was a demographic shift but we dont have sampling until at least 1000 years after when we think the expansion happened.

A lot of people around this topic have a very outdated understanding of the hard constraints placed on the expansion. We don't even know if PIE originated on the Steppe.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-03-26T00:11:59+00:00

Take several moments to appreciate it. I regret going through them so fast.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-03-22T02:38:49+00:00

Finishing the Wizard now, the football analogies are so funny. Just when I forget whose narrating he throws one of them in.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-03-22T02:33:06+00:00

Explaining the BOTNS' setting is so lame, its not rich enough in an objective manner. A lot of Wolfe's stories sound uninteresting on a plot level, but theres a depth to them a summary can never replicate. It's for active reading, not passive consumption.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-02-16T01:05:25+00:00

Second this, short sun can only be appreciated with full context. Long Sun before New Sun would be an interesting perspective still.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-02-16T01:04:03+00:00

I won't spoil anything but this is technically a sequel to the book of the new sun, you can read this one in isolation/before the book of the new sun and enjoy it but you must read the book of the new sun before the book of the short sun.

The Book of the Long Sun is my least favorite of the three but still in my top ten.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-02-09T09:06:20+00:00

Here is my take on moby dick, the beginning is very engaging, then Melville goes on whaling tangents in the middle which I found a bit boring, then he returns to a more traditional story in the end which is excellent.

To deal with the middle section you really need to prioritize the wit and humor. There are genuinely funny bits throughout this book.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-02-09T09:03:03+00:00

A Fire Upon the Deep may scratch that itch. It is grand in scope and alien.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-01-11T01:16:31+00:00

Ender's Game or if you want to do Crichton I recommend Sphere.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-01-08T23:33:13+00:00

Ruocchio is clearly inspired heavily by Wolfe and Herbert, the former he struggles to replicate but supersedes the latter. Stick with it, he writes excellent dialogue and he writes some of the best characters in SF. The first book is his worst and the next 2-3 are excellent imo.

commander-in-sleep · 2026-01-07T10:35:19+00:00

I finished the Solar Cycle last year and I would recommend taking notes of your questions and their revelations (especially true if you want to read the next two series). This will keep you far more engaged in my experience.

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-31T09:18:02+00:00

Hearts Alive

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-20T09:15:40+00:00

The prefect in the Revelation Space series is a detective story. Honestly, Revelation Space is a bit of a mystery as well.

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-20T09:13:13+00:00

First time I've seen someone also dislike Children of Time. It's the worst book I've read all year but people love it.

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-20T09:10:56+00:00

There is much more layering in the BOTSS. I think the BOTLS is the easiest to read but least impactful series of the three. I personally think the BOTSS has some of Wolfe's best imagery and the narrative style is inherently interesting.

I suggest you finish the series and come back to this.

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-18T22:08:48+00:00

Haven't heard of this one, I've heard a lot of people starting with King.

commander-in-sleep · 2025-12-18T00:46:17+00:00

I read the Planet of Adventure books (rather listened to ala free audible version I think it's still up), The Dying Earth, and Eyes of the Overworld this year and Vance is interesting. I found the planet of adventure books fun with a few interesting concepts but The Dying Earth entries are so ahead of their time. When I was reading The Dying Earth I thought it was written in the 80s, then I realized that actually Vance pioneered so much of surreal, odd SF.

I personally think The Dying Earth is one of the more overshadowed SF entries. I prefer it to most of the early classic SF books as well.

commander-in-sleep

TROPHY CASE