Well readers, Just a quick recap. Previously I read the first book in the series “Children of Time”. I gave it five stars out of five and thought it was just swell. This is the sequel of a three book series. First off, while “Children of Time” is a great stand alone, this one is not. You would definitely be left wondering what is going on! Also, leave plenty of time in your calendar. It’s a long one.

This novel follows a similar timeline as its predecessor and you already have somewhat of an idea of what to expect. That is, what happens in the opening chapters will play out over a long period of time to be very consequential. This time, rather than seeing the evolution of spiders play out, it is the turn of the octopuses. The writers great creativity and imagination is to be admired. But this time, there is another truly alien species whose evolution also plays out in the same system. It is parasitic in nature and destroys whatever it comes into contact with.

Long ago, Earth’s terraforming program sent ships out to build new homes for humanity among the stars and made an unexpected discovery: a planet with life on a planet they called. But the scientists were unaware that the alien ecosystem was more developed than the primitive life forms originally discovered. Then, the Old Empire collapsed, with ramifications spreading out throughout the galaxy.

Still the humans of the time continued on their mission and terraformed a different planet. It was supposed to be for Humans but it was colonized by octopuses with the same virus that accelerates evolution.

Present day, a ship of Humans and Portiids (spiders) visit the system and find themselves in a system of ruin. This is a story of misunderstandings but also of hope when all appears lost.

I did really enjoy this novel, but it didn’t have that special feel of the original. Therefore, I’m going to give this three stars out of five. Still, I know what I’m going to read next.