I assume this is the sequel to 'Children of Time'? I enjoyed it, so I guess I should check out the sequel sooner rather than later.

It is - I thought it remained excellent, but unlike Children of Time, missed the mark a bit on its potential.

Just finished, would definitely recommend. The book has many interesting ideas, not just the octopodes :)

Yeah, it legit turned into horror at one point - it's been a while since a book gave an adrenaline rush. Loved it.

> it legit turned into horror at one point

As did the first book, in a different way.

Just the thought of something like this[0] whose body is ~4 feet long (let alone the legs, too) is enough to descend into horror territory for me.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtlvZGmHYk

oh this sounds fun. Will add it to the front of the book queue for this weekend.

Make sure to read Children of Time first, otherwise some of the context will be lost.

Already have! I enjoyed it a lot.

I actually enjoyed it a bit more than Children of Time. Both are great books.

The intelligence of related cephalopod 'cuttlefish' was also highlighted in Baxter's "Time" novel:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(Baxter_novel)

I'm not sure if that counts as well but Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee Rama series includes "octospider" species but that would be more for "alien" part in the article title.

Yeah, it was a fantastic deep dive into how a creature like that perceives and operates within reality. Not as enjoyable as Children of Time IMHO as I preferred the evolutionary journey of the Portiids more, but still excellent. Ending was lacking though. Hope he does a third book.

Also: genetically modified squid in Stephen Baxter's book 'Time'.