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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Fantasy and science fiction are usually shelved together because they represent alternate realities, even though both genres have very different histories and characteristics. In All the Birds in the Sky, Anders asks: what if these two genres met? What if they had conflicting ideas about staving off the end of the world? And what if, in the midst of this conflict, a friendship grows between a scientist and a witch?
The story itself was sometimes confusing (do you think Anders would really come to my house and explain it using sock puppets?), in part because of the weird science and magic involved and in part because events were sometimes told out of sequence--referred to, then filled in later. The tone went back and forth between angst-ridden scenes that reminded me of Lev Grossman and darkly humorous passages that made me laugh out loud. I sometimes had trouble liking many of the characters, but I would usually come around eventually.
What I loved most were the larger themes of science and magic. Magic, in a way, became the more certain, reliable path, although it seemed like an esoteric religion--one that required ritual, discipline, and a certain amount of separation from the rest of humanity in order not to become too dangerous or powerful (although, paradoxically, it required establishing relationships--trickster or healing--in order to work at all). Science in this novel required faith--it involved a lot of speculation and guesswork--and was also dangerous in its calculations. The larger questions of how to solve big problems, what is in humanity's best interest, what is in nature's best interest, and how to deal with worst-case scenarios, were fascinating and worth thinking about even in our own ordinary lives.
The story itself was sometimes confusing (do you think Anders would really come to my house and explain it using sock puppets?), in part because of the weird science and magic involved and in part because events were sometimes told out of sequence--referred to, then filled in later. The tone went back and forth between angst-ridden scenes that reminded me of Lev Grossman and darkly humorous passages that made me laugh out loud. I sometimes had trouble liking many of the characters, but I would usually come around eventually.
What I loved most were the larger themes of science and magic. Magic, in a way, became the more certain, reliable path, although it seemed like an esoteric religion--one that required ritual, discipline, and a certain amount of separation from the rest of humanity in order not to become too dangerous or powerful (although, paradoxically, it required establishing relationships--trickster or healing--in order to work at all). Science in this novel required faith--it involved a lot of speculation and guesswork--and was also dangerous in its calculations. The larger questions of how to solve big problems, what is in humanity's best interest, what is in nature's best interest, and how to deal with worst-case scenarios, were fascinating and worth thinking about even in our own ordinary lives.
Maybe 3.5 stars, but not quite good enough to round up to four. It had a lot going for it, lots of ideas, but it took so long to get anywhere. Also, I know I'm a kind of "voice nazi," but I found the sudden switches in narrative voice bounced me out of the book. It would go from straightforward narrative, even quite serious, to "he, like, jumped ten feet in the air, omg." However, anything with a lot of gratuitous Dr. Who and Firefly references is fine with me. I notice a lot of other Goodreads readers commenting that this was a "weird book" - I concur. But I got it as a free download from Tor.com, so I'm not complaining.
What an imaginative tale! I found the book to be quirky, chaotic, and fun. Many of the metaphors took strong left turns, and the plot was actually surprising. There are probably so great life lessons hidden away in the novel as well, but then, who am I to judge? Read it for yourself and let me know what you think.
This book was really weird! But in the end, I really think I liked it :-)
A nice marriage of magic and sci-fi, somewhat like Alif the Unseen. Sort of YA, sort of not. A little herky jerky, but fun to finish.
Loosely in the same category as The Night Circus or The Magicians, but not derivative or predictable. I like that I had no idea where it was going until it got there (though I may not be the quickest to catch hints). I like that the magic is magic - quirky, ill-defined, and unreliable. I like that the story is about the people rather than world-building or social theories. I like that even though it sets up good guys and bad guys, I'm never sure that it isn't about to pull the rug out from under me. I like that Goodreads lists it as All the Birds in the Sky #1, hinting that more are on the way.
I love the focus on interpersonal relationships and feelings, even in a story with broad themes like technology vs magic and global catastrophe looming.
Enjoyed the beginning and it had a satisfying end, but I didn't enjoy the whole middle all that much lol.
All the Birds in the Sky is a unique, unusual book that changes style as it goes along. The writing seems to match the age of our protagonists. At the beginning it reads like middle grade fiction, turns into YA, and almost reads like adult fiction near the end. Now I'm not saying those are all completely separate categories, there's certainly a lot of overlap, but in this book the style develops as our characters do.
One of the main selling points of this story is how very surprising it can be. Honestly for the majority of the book I didn't know where exactly it was going. There are so many elements at play that whilst I always had a hunch certain things were going to turn out to be important, I never knew quite how. The characters were really interesting, and I loved the idea of both of their respective educations and careers. Unfortunately, for some reason this just didn't click for me. I think I found it a little too weird and quirky, and near the end of the story found it hard to get invested in it. Recommended for people who want an unusual book with an odd mix of science, magic and everything in between!
One of the main selling points of this story is how very surprising it can be. Honestly for the majority of the book I didn't know where exactly it was going. There are so many elements at play that whilst I always had a hunch certain things were going to turn out to be important, I never knew quite how. The characters were really interesting, and I loved the idea of both of their respective educations and careers. Unfortunately, for some reason this just didn't click for me. I think I found it a little too weird and quirky, and near the end of the story found it hard to get invested in it. Recommended for people who want an unusual book with an odd mix of science, magic and everything in between!
I liked the concept, to wit, a war between technological wizards and magical wizards, but the execution left much to be desired. For one thing, the opening chapter implied that I’d be spending a lot more time with the titular birds than I ended up doing. The backstory of the two main characters is over-the-top awful (almost Dickensian) and both of them have a strong odor of Mary Sue about them, especially our female lead, Patricia. The story spends far too much time focusing on the two of them farting around at parties in San Francisco, developing a relationship that felt very forced. The final showdown between the forces of nature and the forces of technology isn’t nearly as enthralling as the author seems to think it is and the resolution is heavily reliant on a particularly annoying deus ex machina. The end result was meh.