This is the latest novel from the Children of Time series. As with the other two, we listened to this one as an audiobook. I think I enjoyed this one more than the second, but not as much as the first. Tchaikovsky has been building a pallete with each novel, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the base colors enriched with additions from subsequent works. The story opens with another unfortunate colony ship, the Enkidu, barely surviving arrival at its exoplanet destination. Worse, it appears that planet’s terraforming is incomplete. Its atmosphere is breathable, but conditions are harsh. This poses an immediete dilemma for the Enkidu’s captain, who must decide the fates of the ship’s thousands of cryosleeping colonists, knowing the planet below can only support a fraction of them.
The story jumps forward, landing on the perspective of Liff (age 12, in earth years), granddaughter of the Enkidu’s captain. The planet’s settlement, Landfall, is in the midst of decline due to repeated crop failures. Townspeople blame “Watchers” and “Seccers” lurking unseen in the surrounding forest for lost tools, suspected sabotage, and stolen food. A hungry, roaming wolf haunts Liff’s dreams. After seeing her grandfather (who’d gone missing years prior) at night in the hills outside her home, Liff becomes convinced that the “witch” rumored to live in the forest is holding him captive. The only person that takes her seriously is Miranda, Liff’s kind schoolteacher, who’d recently moved with her relatives (Fabian, Portia, and Paul) from the outskirts to Landfall. Despite Miranda’s and her companions’ usefulness to the struggling community (in particular, Fabian’s knack for repairing degrading farm equipment), their newcomer status attracts suspicion from an increasingly desperate community. Tchaikovsky builds a sense of dread that holds throughout the story, and layers of unease are added until the story’s interesting conclusion.
Similar to what I wrote about Lovecraft Country, I think this story would make a wonderful graphic novel. I wish I had the talent and skill required to do it justice. The scenes of early and declining Landfall feel vivid, and the dreamlike sequences that Liff experiences would lend themselves to visual form. And, the cast of characters (spindly Fabian; robust Portia; aloof Paul and his 8 children; the equally curious and resigned duo of Gothi and Gethli) are vibrant and contrast each other beautifully. If you enjoyed the first two books of this series, definitely pick this one up.