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GlobularClusters t1_jace552 wrote

This is a good and fair review. I'd be tempted to score children of ruin slightly lower, but I still think it is a good book. Having read them a while ago, Time has really stuck in my mind and Ive recommended it to several people. Ruin, on the other hand, has not (which your review has helpfully recapped for me!).

That being said, I'd add another reason to still read children of ruin. Children of Memory (the third book) is excellent and more on par with the first book. Ruin gives some insight into it, but is not strictly speaking necessary to understand Memory. But I'd certainly stick with them to read the whole trilogy. Memory also departs a bit from the structure of the first two books, which are both quite similar. It provides a nice refreshing take on the overall theme of the series.

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kmmontandon t1_jacik3g wrote

> Memory also departs a bit from the structure of the first two books

No kidding. I was coming down with the flu and taking some meds when I read it, and I seriously thought I was hallucinating because of that structure. I kept wondering "Is it me or the book? WTF?"

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GlobularClusters t1_jaclb3f wrote

Haha, I also read it while ill and got very confused! It definitely contributed to some fever dreams too.

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Tacos_Rock t1_jaesqrr wrote

I read COM while super sick with COVID and couldn’t figure out what was going on at all until the end. I had to reread it after I recovered, and realized it was supposed to be that way! I think maybe it started as a separate standalone book from the COT series, and the author felt it would fit in well with that series during writing. I loved all three, but Ruin was the weakest in my opinion.

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SoothingDisarray t1_jad7l2x wrote

Good to hear and thank you. I haven't read CoM one yet. (I needed a break after CoT and CoR back-to-back.) But your comment makes me more interested in putting it back into my reading list!

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