StardustReader’s Reviews > Children of Time > Status Update

“Instead they send impulses through the ship’s nerves, and these are translated to chemical instructions at the other termini. The neural network – unliving and living all at once – is a part of the colony, as if it was some bizarrely over-specialized caste. The ants are even capable of altering its complex structure, severing links and encouraging the growth of others.”
Woahhh,that is just insanely ingenious!!!

“She has watched as the votive priestess touches the crystal with her metal probe, feeling the pulsing of the message from the heavens, dancing out that celestial arithmetic for the benefit of the congregation.”
No, not even spiders that have evolved from unnatural means are immune to religion and supernatural beliefs, inspite of all the scientific progression in Portian society.

“It must be difficult for males, who presumably undergo the ordeal alone, but then males are smaller and less sensitive, and Portia is honestly not sure how capable they are of finer levels of thought and feeling.”
This is such a refreshing take on gender in Portian (intelligent and cultured spiders) society. The concept of gender has just been turned on its head — be it stereotypes or gender norms.