3.58 AVERAGE



Review "All the Birds in the Sky"
"If I could, I would give"-Stars: 3,75
Goodreads-Rating: 4 Stars
Kurze Zusammenfassung (ohne Spoiler):
Das Buch ist eine spannende Mischung aus Science Fiction, Fantasy und auch Contemporary, aber von allem genau die richtige Menge.
Die Protagonisten sind Laurence Armstead und Patricia Delfine, Freunde während der Schulzeit, die für beide nicht einfach war. Laurence ist ein begabter Wissenschaftler, der es schon als kleiner Junge schafft, aus einer Uhr eine Zwei-Sekunden-Zeitmaschine zu basteln. Patricia macht eines Tages im Wald eine Entdeckung, die sie nur als Magie bezeichnen kann. Beide verlieren sich nach der Schule aus den Augen und treffen sich nur durch Zufall in der Hipster-Metropole San Francisco wieder. Gemeinsam erkennen Sie, dass sie doch mehr verbindet, als sie über die Jahre vermutet haben - bis ihre Wege sich wieder trennen. Denn die Apokalypse naht und die Wissenschaft, aber auch die Magie haben ihre eigenen Ideen, was nun zu tun ist.
Meine Meinung in der Kurzfassung:
Ich mochte das Buch, denn das Erzähltempo war genau nach meinem Geschmack. Manchmal hätte ich mir ein wenig mehr Tiefe gewünscht, zum Beispiel, wenn es um den Gegenspieler der beiden zu ihrer Schulzeit geht. Die Sprache ist auch spannend, denn der Spagat zwischen Fantasy und Science Fiction ist nicht einfach, doch beides ist leicht verständlich.
Und jetzt ein bisschen genauer:
Laurence ist ein toller Charakter. Seine Wesenzüge passen zu seinem Verhalten und immer wieder habe ich mich gefreut, wenn er zur Sprache kam. Patricia kam mir aber immer ein bisschen suspekt vor, vor allem der Schritt, der zu einer radikalen Änderung ihres Verhaltens führt, ist mir nicht ganz klar - woher kam diese Eingebung? Trotzdem ist auch sie mir sympathisch. Cool finde ich aber ihre Schwester Roberta, die zwar nur ganz ganz am Rande vor kommt, aber trotzdem irgendwie etwas Pepp in die Geschichte bringt.
Unabhängig von den Charakteren (von der ja eine Geschichte lebt), finde ich, dass es einen nachvollziehbaren Roten Faden gibt, der die Geschichte durchzieht. Beginnend mit Patricias und Laurence' Schulzeit kommt man schön in die Geschichte und erlebt hautnah mit, wie sich alles entwickelt - ihre Freundschaft, aber auch ihre Probleme (auch miteinander). San Francisco hat als Setting für mich einen besonderen Reiz, da ich das Buch auch in San Francisco gekauft habe und genau nachvollziehen konnte, wo genau was stattfindet und wie sich das Leben dort "anfühlt".

Surprisingly good. I didn't know what to expect going into this but I loved the story and the overall message. Beautiful and exciting.

What a strange book...

This was an enjoyable read, good but it had the possibility to be great I'm not 100% sure what was wrong. I liked the start but the story jerked away when it felt like it might get really interesting as Patricia was
Spoiler whisked off to magic school and Laurence headed off to science HS, in a world where 2 second time machines existed.


After the time jump I just wasn't as invested in the characters as I was before.

This was like a combination of [b:Everything Matters!|6184241|Everything Matters!|Ron Currie Jr.|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347445018l/6184241._SY75_.jpg|6364388], [b:The Library at Mount Char|26892110|The Library at Mount Char|Scott Hawkins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453225113l/26892110._SY75_.jpg|42797715], and [b:Sourdough|33916024|Sourdough|Robin Sloan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490804609l/33916024._SX50_.jpg|51600167]. Weird, charming, slightly pessimistic and a little bit of nonsense; I loved it. It's not for everyone but if you liked any of the above 3 books, you might like it.

Beautiful.

Elon Musk meets Greta Thunberg meets Sandra Brown and the story is written by someone who has its mind stuck at 16. Interesting idea, maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I would have read it instead of listening, but read out loud the dialogue is horribly stupid and unbelievable. For the first 20%, I thought I was listening to a children book. As in all young adult novels the characters act in stupid ways and not as any normal person would (especially some of the smartest people on earth). If you enjoyed Divergent, Maze Runner or other young adult sf/fantasy books you will like this one.
adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I really liked this book a lot. A great blending of science and fantasy elements, with a tragic and beautiful story at its core. Really engaging and definitely original.

As I neared the end of ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY, I already knew it earned a five star rating. The question remained of how, in 140 characters, I would write a review praising Anders' characters and the turns of phrase she uses to describe headaches and erections in clever ways. Instead, as I closed the back cover and set the book on my nightstand, I reached over and wrapped my arms around my partner, sobbing a little, until I fell asleep.

This I think is the best review I can give, that this novel invoked such a powerful emotional reaction, that it laid me bare. My whole night orbited the thought of how much I love my partner and how much I’m going to hurt him, even though I love him. This realization is what makes ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY such a moving love story, that the characters do not hurt each other because they love each other (a glorified version of abuse) but rather that they hurt and oppose the other even though they love each other.

Prior to publishing the novel, Anders wrote a guide for Gizmodo on how to write memorable characters. To those unfamiliar with many character writing exercises, these guides often are strange chimeras of “Dungeons & Dragons” character sheets and medical records. Hidden between the questions about a character’s exact height, how dexterous they are, and their worst childhood memory, there are a few questions which transform text to character, and it was in pursuit of one of these questions I began the article.

Anders’ approach, rather, is to consider the character within the world. She asks who are they in relation to the status quo, and what about that makes them angry? What would they do outside their nature? Finally, Anders encourages characters to stop engaging in the plot and smell the flowers. No one spends all their energy saving the world. Sometimes they go to a bar. This focus on creating more human, more emotionally invested characters was 9/10ths the reason I began the book, to see the master in action. ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY does not disappoint. Patricia and Laurence are amazing protagonists, fully human and fully flawed where you alternate between praising them and loathing them. Patricia refuses to listen to authority while Laurence freezes up and does nothing. All the while they use dating apps and go to vegan cafés even though they don’t like the scene. Even if you’re out off by sci-fi/fantasy as a genre, these characters propel the story and are its emotional core. The genre is both backdrop and the conflict that forces Patricia and Laurence to oppose each other.

So in short, 11/10, would absolutely read again and will make my partner read it and will forgive him when he wakes me in the middle of the night, sobbing because he finished it.