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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
okay this was amazing and so different from everything I've read recently. made me stressed, made me almost cry, made me laugh. just wonderful.
(although the author does my white author pet peeve of only mentioning the race of those who aren't white, it wasn't enough to knock it down a star.)
(although the author does my white author pet peeve of only mentioning the race of those who aren't white, it wasn't enough to knock it down a star.)
Me lo he finalizado en un trayecto de metro. Los puntos buenos de esta novela son: Me gusta mucho la mezcla de magia con tecnología futurista. La bruja no es alguien mala ni loca por lo que me parece que el personaje de Patricia está muy bien llevado. La ambientación está muy bien llevada. Uno de los puntos punto malo que le veo a la novela es que las 3 partes en las que se divide me parecen inconsistentes entre sí. La trama de cuando son adultos no tiene sentido. Me ha parecido que el final es muy apresurado
Finished just in time for Trans Day of Visibility! I'd give most of this book 3 1/2 stars but overall 3 because it didn't end when I expected it to. Or how? I don't know.
I did really enjoy reading the book, though. My friend Chandra was a big fan of Charlie Jane Anders and I got to sit thru some panels featuring Anders at Rose City Comic Con last year so I fully intended to read one of her books eventually, and decided to read this one in honor of trans visibility day.
It was not at all what I expected and it always kept me thinking. I enjoyed Anders wild use of language and philosophical moments. I like stories about science VS magic/religion, and they seem a lot more relevant nowadays. Anders bleak vision of the near future was completely realistic and unsettling.
There were small issues I had, particularly with the witches. I'm very much over 'witch schools' so I'm glad the book didn't overly dwell on Patricia's time there and did subvert the trope a little. But I wasn't sure why someone would want to be controlled by these witches just to be able to learn their magic more, especially to the level Patricia was controlled. And what happens if you don't go or you don't graduate? Are you forbidden to be magical?
Laurence was largely an asshole and had few appealing qualities beyond his 'puffy, suckable nipples'. He made bad choices, he was largely self-serving, and he helped create a doomsday device. I understood though that both sides represented by these two characters were just perpetuating violence and the end of the world in some form or another.
I think it's unusual that Roberta, who spent a lot of her youth torturing animals and her sister, would turn out to be anything other than a sociopath with no other purpose in the story. And yet she gets a small redemption arc that I don't think she overall deserves.
The pacing was fast, there were a lot of characters and a lot of dialogue, and description was minimal. The book always kept me thinking and entertained, though, pondering ethical dilemmas or thinking about things in a new way. I appreciated the Tales of the City references and enjoyed reading about San Francisco.
I will definitely be reading more from this author.
I did really enjoy reading the book, though. My friend Chandra was a big fan of Charlie Jane Anders and I got to sit thru some panels featuring Anders at Rose City Comic Con last year so I fully intended to read one of her books eventually, and decided to read this one in honor of trans visibility day.
It was not at all what I expected and it always kept me thinking. I enjoyed Anders wild use of language and philosophical moments. I like stories about science VS magic/religion, and they seem a lot more relevant nowadays. Anders bleak vision of the near future was completely realistic and unsettling.
There were small issues I had, particularly with the witches. I'm very much over 'witch schools' so I'm glad the book didn't overly dwell on Patricia's time there and did subvert the trope a little. But I wasn't sure why someone would want to be controlled by these witches just to be able to learn their magic more, especially to the level Patricia was controlled. And what happens if you don't go or you don't graduate? Are you forbidden to be magical?
Laurence was largely an asshole and had few appealing qualities beyond his 'puffy, suckable nipples'. He made bad choices, he was largely self-serving, and he helped create a doomsday device. I understood though that both sides represented by these two characters were just perpetuating violence and the end of the world in some form or another.
I think it's unusual that Roberta, who spent a lot of her youth torturing animals and her sister, would turn out to be anything other than a sociopath with no other purpose in the story. And yet she gets a small redemption arc that I don't think she overall deserves.
The pacing was fast, there were a lot of characters and a lot of dialogue, and description was minimal. The book always kept me thinking and entertained, though, pondering ethical dilemmas or thinking about things in a new way. I appreciated the Tales of the City references and enjoyed reading about San Francisco.
I will definitely be reading more from this author.
Absolutely horrid writing. A few times it left me in utter disbelief and grotesque shock that not only was this nominated for the Hugo, Locus, -and- Nebula...but it won the Nebula. This book is a sham, a disgusting sham of fanfiction parading as legitimate fiction. It is labeled as many genres as possible and not one of them is Young Adult. Yet is it a book for middle school children or anyone emotionally stunted who peaked in college. The characters were laughably unrealistic, and the "tense" moments made me chuckle.
If you ever wonder if the book you've written is not good enough to send to agents or publishers, just read this. It should bring you comfort that something spawned out of "rich hipster but tone deaf" echo chamber forums could win a best novel of the year award.
The best way I can put it is this, it's like watching Taylor Lautner in a serious acting role. He just told another person his parents died in a gruesome and tragic way, but the audience erupts in raucous laughter.
If you ever wonder if the book you've written is not good enough to send to agents or publishers, just read this. It should bring you comfort that something spawned out of "rich hipster but tone deaf" echo chamber forums could win a best novel of the year award.
The best way I can put it is this, it's like watching Taylor Lautner in a serious acting role. He just told another person his parents died in a gruesome and tragic way, but the audience erupts in raucous laughter.
This mix of magic and science, and the effects they both have on the Earth, starts out and ends well in a manner that is just heartfelt enough to make you smile. However, it does stagnant a bit in the middle and the structure can be confusing at times.
While this novel reads like literary fiction, the writing contains technical jargon and fantastical, largely-unexplained magic that readers who do not regularly enjoy science fiction or fantasy may find difficult to appreciate. If you can enjoy a story in which you don't fully understand the fine points, All the Birds in the Sky is a creative and thought-provoking blend of science and magic. Patricia and Laurence are unusual children. She may be a witch who can sometimes speak to animals and he is building a semi-sentient supercomputer in his closet. Rejected by their peers in school, Patricia and Laurence form an awkward but mutually beneficial friendship. They grow apart as they age, each developing his and her unique skills amidst like-minded people. Unfortunately, groups of like-minded people can easily become extremists, so blinded by certainty that they cannot see another point of view. With the planet on a path to self-destruction, the magical community and scientific community believe in conflicting game plans with Patricia and Laurence playing on opposing teams, but forever connected by a force neither understands. With shades of bleakness and joy, hopelessness and hope, this is a big story that revolves around two likable but flawed characters and the elements of science and magic they represent.
Readalike: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Readalike: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
I really feel like this is what the Magicians tried to do, and failed. A great, post-modern answer to all the Chosen One stories we read growing up.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An odd and light little science fiction book where humans are completely destroying the world. And a scientist and a witch fall in love and somehow (even though their ideologies contradict) they might have a chance to save the world.