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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I liked the blending of sci fi and fantasy, though at times the book seemed to drag a little.
Oh my goodness. This book was amazing, unique, and clever. I never thought I would enjoy a sci-fi dystopian novel, but this book was wonderful. Loveable characters, great writing, and a plot so full...it kept me up way past my bedtime. Absolutely heartbreaking and terrifying.
Mostly 4 stars - the end was a bit strange and unraveled, but overall a really unique and interesting book.
Just a lovely blend of fantasy and sci-fi with a love story thrown in amidst the apocalypse.
The book started off so strong. I loved the characters, their interactions and the looming threat over them. I enjoyed seeing how their lives evolved and wondering whether they were as doomed as predicted, or how they might pull through.
All was well until the last third or quarter of the book, and then it all felt as though it were falling apart. The world decayed around them and the characters' problems seemed so simply and improbably solved.
I still enjoyed the book, but I have difficulty recommending it without reservation.
All was well until the last third or quarter of the book, and then it all felt as though it were falling apart. The world decayed around them and the characters' problems seemed so simply and improbably solved.
I still enjoyed the book, but I have difficulty recommending it without reservation.
Did not finish and did not like. The writing in this book is absolutely atrocious. It is choppy and weak and child-like. I can’t tell you anything about the story because I couldn’t get past the poor writing.
A fever-dream autobiography of growing up unaccepted, of coming to accept yourself as you are, and the power of good friends, and the war between mankind, nature, and technology. It was hard to read, and hard to characterize. It felt a bit like Matilda or A Wrinkle In Time but rated R.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things to love:
-The emotion. This book does not shy away from strong emotion. Do you remember how awful you felt in middle school? How everything felt life or death, ecstatic highs and deadly low? Anders does, too, and she wrote about it. Remember what it felt like to fall in love, to lose and reconnect with friends, to accept that who you are might be good enough? This story is told through all of those moments, well-captured and chosen for their poignancy. I think a lot of people will be able (or have been able) to see themselves in the characters.
-The world. I loved the play between magic and tech, institutions and nature.
-The writing. Like I mentioned, it felt like the hardbitten version of a L'Engle book. It's lively and playful, soulful and twee, scathing and introspective at different times, but consistently confident and honest.
-Peregrine. A great addition and a fun added element to the story. I especially liked how it un-deus-ex-machina'ed things with a machine.
Things that weren't my favorite:
-Injustice lasted a little long. The trauma both main characters endure is extreme and a bit prolonged. The animal parts in particular were over the top for me. I think this could have been condensed and we would have gotten the point.
-The assassin plot. I'm not sure what this added, besides trauma? I expected the Nameless Order to show up towards the end but it was the only plot line that sort of trailed off.
-The Big Question. This felt a little off to me. It worked but I wanted a little more from the birds.
I really liked it. I think Anders is a talented author with a very unusual imagination. Be aware of lots of traumatic content. I can heartily recommend the audiobook as well.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Spoiler
serial killer, parental abuse, animal torture, suicide, hazing, loss of parents.Things to love:
-The emotion. This book does not shy away from strong emotion. Do you remember how awful you felt in middle school? How everything felt life or death, ecstatic highs and deadly low? Anders does, too, and she wrote about it. Remember what it felt like to fall in love, to lose and reconnect with friends, to accept that who you are might be good enough? This story is told through all of those moments, well-captured and chosen for their poignancy. I think a lot of people will be able (or have been able) to see themselves in the characters.
-The world. I loved the play between magic and tech, institutions and nature.
-The writing. Like I mentioned, it felt like the hardbitten version of a L'Engle book. It's lively and playful, soulful and twee, scathing and introspective at different times, but consistently confident and honest.
-Peregrine. A great addition and a fun added element to the story. I especially liked how it un-deus-ex-machina'ed things with a machine.
Things that weren't my favorite:
-Injustice lasted a little long. The trauma both main characters endure is extreme and a bit prolonged. The animal parts in particular were over the top for me. I think this could have been condensed and we would have gotten the point.
-The assassin plot. I'm not sure what this added, besides trauma? I expected the Nameless Order to show up towards the end but it was the only plot line that sort of trailed off.
-The Big Question. This felt a little off to me. It worked but I wanted a little more from the birds.
I really liked it. I think Anders is a talented author with a very unusual imagination. Be aware of lots of traumatic content. I can heartily recommend the audiobook as well.
Another ToB 2017 pick.
"All the Birds in the Sky" is an odd mashup of genres that doesn't really work as a standalone in any of them. For most of the book we ping back and forth between a witch, and a scientist who inhabit the same world, but seem to function with entirely different rules and are written about in pretty drastically different tones.
In the first chapter we meet Patricia, a lonely witch. She can communicate with birds and cats! This felt straight up my alley--a Hermione Granger/Kiki's Delivery Service hybrid. I love fantasy writing that is entrancing and pulls you fully in through world-building. Anders bogged down the fantasy sections with lazy yuppie parent stereotypes and a hapless protagonist who doesn't think strategically about her talents or abilities.
In the second, we meet Laurence, a lonely science whiz. who tinkers with cutesy innovations like a two-second time machine watch that propels its wearer two seconds into the future. I like science fiction when it explores moral and ethical dilemmas related to technology, the environment, and the future. The sci fi parts just felt like less clever riff on some of Douglas Adams' inventions.
The dual protagonists also drove me nuts because of how much they embodied a sexist passive-active dichotomy. Patricia's talents are innate; Laurence works hard. Patricia had power bestowed on her that she does not fully understand; Laurence cultivates his impossible brilliance.
And none of this addresses the tonally confusing villain that felt lifted from a straight-to-video kids' movie. He is first introduced as sobbing in a Cheesecake Factory over his inability to murder children, and it was impossible to tell if this was supposed to be funny? ironic to plot such a dark act in such a ridiculous setting? The contrasting silliness and darkness throughout the book just did not work for me in any of the genres it explored.
"All the Birds in the Sky" is an odd mashup of genres that doesn't really work as a standalone in any of them. For most of the book we ping back and forth between a witch, and a scientist who inhabit the same world, but seem to function with entirely different rules and are written about in pretty drastically different tones.
In the first chapter we meet Patricia, a lonely witch. She can communicate with birds and cats! This felt straight up my alley--a Hermione Granger/Kiki's Delivery Service hybrid. I love fantasy writing that is entrancing and pulls you fully in through world-building. Anders bogged down the fantasy sections with lazy yuppie parent stereotypes and a hapless protagonist who doesn't think strategically about her talents or abilities.
In the second, we meet Laurence, a lonely science whiz. who tinkers with cutesy innovations like a two-second time machine watch that propels its wearer two seconds into the future. I like science fiction when it explores moral and ethical dilemmas related to technology, the environment, and the future. The sci fi parts just felt like less clever riff on some of Douglas Adams' inventions.
The dual protagonists also drove me nuts because of how much they embodied a sexist passive-active dichotomy. Patricia's talents are innate; Laurence works hard. Patricia had power bestowed on her that she does not fully understand; Laurence cultivates his impossible brilliance.
And none of this addresses the tonally confusing villain that felt lifted from a straight-to-video kids' movie. He is first introduced as sobbing in a Cheesecake Factory over his inability to murder children, and it was impossible to tell if this was supposed to be funny? ironic to plot such a dark act in such a ridiculous setting? The contrasting silliness and darkness throughout the book just did not work for me in any of the genres it explored.
"All the Birds in the Sky" reminded me a bit of Seanan McGuire's "Middlegame", but I'll come back to that later. The story follows a magically gifted girl, a witch, called Patricia who can talk to birds, and a young genius / math / techno-geek named Laurence, whose fates are mysteriously intertwined as the world seems to be doomed to end (superstorms, earthquakes etc. -- it is set in the near future, I'd say). This Unraveling could be stopped and both sides (magic and science) have different ideas on how to do that. After being separated as kids, Patricia and Laurence reconnect later in life: she's been to a sort of Hogwarts becoming a Witch and he has grown into the scientist he had always wanted to become. Evil forces are still afoot trying to separate the two, but it's all a bit dubious.
I sorta enjoyed this super wild mixture of magic / fantasy and science / science-fiction, but many parts of the story lacked depth, they were just descriptions, pseudo-philosophical stuff. I wanted to be shown the magic, not told about it. In addition to that, it was all "uber"-special. Patricia's powers are so strong, Laurence is so smart, the evil guy is so evil, it was almost meta in some parts -- or funny (and I'm not sure it was supposed to be funny). Patricia and Laurence both remained flat and their decisions were a bit weird. Their respective families were super destructive too and overall it felt a bit off. I also didn't really enjoy that everybody was SO goodlooking and that every sex is earthshattering and ugh. I don't know. Now that I'm writing this review, I come to see that many things annoyed me.
It had cool moments and it was quite innovative, but the story was a bit predictable. That's the exact same issue I had with "Middlegame", where two super smart siblings who've grown up apart from each other might ascend Godhood but also may bring about the end of the world. This was also too grand and too extreme to be to my liking. I like nuances quite a lot in SFF...
Anyhow, 3,5 - 4 Stars to this one
I sorta enjoyed this super wild mixture of magic / fantasy and science / science-fiction, but many parts of the story lacked depth, they were just descriptions, pseudo-philosophical stuff. I wanted to be shown the magic, not told about it. In addition to that, it was all "uber"-special. Patricia's powers are so strong, Laurence is so smart, the evil guy is so evil, it was almost meta in some parts -- or funny (and I'm not sure it was supposed to be funny). Patricia and Laurence both remained flat and their decisions were a bit weird. Their respective families were super destructive too and overall it felt a bit off. I also didn't really enjoy that everybody was SO goodlooking and that every sex is earthshattering and ugh. I don't know. Now that I'm writing this review, I come to see that many things annoyed me.
It had cool moments and it was quite innovative, but the story was a bit predictable. That's the exact same issue I had with "Middlegame", where two super smart siblings who've grown up apart from each other might ascend Godhood but also may bring about the end of the world. This was also too grand and too extreme to be to my liking. I like nuances quite a lot in SFF...
Anyhow, 3,5 - 4 Stars to this one
I feel like there was way too much in this novel. It would have made a fantastic three-book series. I couldn't keep track of the secondary characters and certain things required more time than was given. The last 100 pages I was mostly super annoyed and then incredibly touched by the ending, which just made me frustrated that I couldn't feel that way throughout. Some really good things here, but not given the requisite room to breathe.