What an excellent surprise! Time’s Children was an excellent read, intelligent, original and thorough. The book is rather long, but doesn’t show, the reading is always easy and satisfying, quite enjoyable.

I really like reading fantasy stories but can be easily disappointed. I love personality and good writing, but can’t stand thoroughly longish sadistic descriptions, so frequently used to create some kind of dramatic? serious? adult? atmosphere. Young adult fantasy can be great but is often (and more and more so I’m afraid) monotonous and stereotypical, cliched even. For these reasons I’m always really happy to read some good fantasy, which qualifies as « adult », but could be read by a teenager or a sensitive adult (who don’t care having over stressful readings, as l). For instance Brandon Sanderson’s or Patricia Briggs’ works do the trick for me! Some parts of their stories may be terrible, but their author never dwells unhealthily over them.

Time’s children was perfect in this way. Tobias’ life isn’t easy and gets on being harder and harder! Still, I could read and appreciate the story comfortably (actually I skimmed through a very small passage, just one).

Before starting this book you should know that it isn’t a stand alone. Not quite a surprise with this genre, for surem but never said explicitly (it seems the new fashion, I don’t appreciate this method much, to be honest). Probably a trilogy, who knows?

Anyway, I was quite happy to read the book which was a lovely surprise!

The main character, Tobias is very likeable; his choices speak for him. The narration was always logical, credible, Tobias’ decisions were always coherent regarding his background and personality. The magic was great: interesting and developed with a creditable rigour, which I applaud. Tobias’ magic makes possible for him to come back in the past (in a way rather similar as Hermiome’s Time Turner). But nothing is easy or comfortable, and the worst point is probably that each travel makes you older. If you come back a month ago, then come back to your own time, you’ll be two months older: this particular magic has a cost.

I’m always reticent about time travel: thinking about it is always difficult, impossible even. Most stories over simplify or at the contrary over complicates the thematics. In Time’s Children, the idea was used with care, elaborating an uchronia along. Clever, entertaining and clear! An accomplishment.

All in all the story is very enjoyable, with good characters, credible interactions and some very good ideas, as time demons and time magic. The end isn’t frustrating, the story has met a sensitive point, and can be suspended for a while. I’ll be really happy to read the sequel, which isn’t so frequent for me nowadays: even if I’ve liked a story, I rarely continue the series. A book must have personality, originality, and good writing, with endearing characters, to make me reading the sequel.

To conclude « Time’s Children » is a solid, intelligent and over the top fantasy,  which will, I hope, meet its readers!

(I thank Netgalley and Angry Robot for sending me the ARC in exchange for my honest review)