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thatmeddlingkid's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
An amazing dystopian world unlike any other you’ve read. Cannot recommend this book enough.
dkyrisch's review
4.0
This was a amazing book that is so imaginative and different from anything out there. On first look I thought it was going to be a rip off of "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman but that is not the case at all. There are plague birds who roam the land giving justice to those who they decide deserve it. They are guided by AI in their blood called "Red Day" and Crista, the main character is in contact communication with her Red Day. She is given the choice to become a plague bird in exchange for information about her mother who was killed by one.
The prose is very poetic, almost beautiful and I enjoyed reading it. I would rate it next to perfect but I did start trying to move my way to the ending because of the pacing. Otherwise a solid, highly recommended book!
The prose is very poetic, almost beautiful and I enjoyed reading it. I would rate it next to perfect but I did start trying to move my way to the ending because of the pacing. Otherwise a solid, highly recommended book!
meetyouineveryplace's review
Wasn’t connecting. Exposition was either not there or in big dumps. The postapocalyptic setting didn’t hook me either
adamgeorgandis's review
4.0
Recently, I decided to read all the books nominated for this year's Nebula and Hugo Awards; Plague Birds was the first book I chose. I found it quite compelling: an engrossing read that kept me guessing from start to finish. It is true that some readers might find the book a little "busy." In his effort to build an immersive world of fiction, author Jason Sanford seems to have used the "kitchen sink" approach, including many different elements, any two of which might have sustained a less ambitious novel. In spite of this "busy-ness," I found that the novel's different elements fit together nicely - and they all play meaningful parts in the book's final chapters. A very satisfying read. Sanford is an author I will look for in years to come!
straylight's review
3.0
I greatly appreciated the unique setting of this book. It's not quite like anything else I can remember reading. Some of the storyline seems rather convoluted, however -- I'll be curious if the author decides to try and change this into a series and wrap up the loose threads that seem to be floating around the end of this story.
obsidiaen_'s review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
aleffert's review against another edition
4.0
This starts with a character ripping out her own heart to unleash the powerful nanotech AI that lives in her blood. If that sounds bomb to you, you should probably read this. It leads into a fairly standard fantasy leave the village, discover you're the chosen one, make special choices plot, but the world building was creative, the secondary characters quite charming, and I gobbled it up. It does continue to be more concerned with carnage and viscera than I really needed and there's one background bit that's just brutal to the point of absurdity that I think should have been toned down, not of distaste for gore, but just it was so over the top it was distracting.
lyall_reads's review
3.0
It seems that a number of other folks really liked Plague Birds and I can understand why, but, unfortunately, this book wasn’t really for me.
It is absolutely stuffed with creative ideas in the world building department, but loses me in its character development and the way the world building is conveyed.
The ideas are really the star of this book. The creativity and willingness to push the envelope shine in the various strange locations Crista visits and the glimpses we get of the wider world. Unfortunately, often the ideas don’t feel earned. Things happen that have the potential to destroy the world but as I haven’t really gotten to know the people within the world, it’s hard to feel invested. It feels a bit like the author is leading me from one cool idea to another and the ideas are really cool, but the story structure doesn’t keep me invested. It’s almost too expansive and, without boundaries, stakes don’t feel high.
Another thing which hurts stakes is that we don’t get to know Crista super well pre-Plague Bird status, so it’s harder to mourn alongside her at the loss of her previous life. Even though we spend the entire story beside her, I still don’t feel like I know her. Add in the level of mind manipulation going on in the story and, again, the stakes just don’t feel real. Reading along, I felt like the author could (and might) at any point just pop in and say “that whole thing you read? Mind manipulation!” and instead of feeling stunned by the twist, I’d just feel annoyed.
TLDR- SF set in an interesting world filled with creative locations and cultural ideas held back by a lack of grounding in character or story development.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt- I love character driven works and have a much easier time forgiving a less creative world with finely crafted characters than vice versa. Certainly not a bad book, just not for me.
2.5/5, rounded up for the interesting ideas.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review
It is absolutely stuffed with creative ideas in the world building department, but loses me in its character development and the way the world building is conveyed.
The ideas are really the star of this book. The creativity and willingness to push the envelope shine in the various strange locations Crista visits and the glimpses we get of the wider world. Unfortunately, often the ideas don’t feel earned. Things happen that have the potential to destroy the world but as I haven’t really gotten to know the people within the world, it’s hard to feel invested. It feels a bit like the author is leading me from one cool idea to another and the ideas are really cool, but the story structure doesn’t keep me invested. It’s almost too expansive and, without boundaries, stakes don’t feel high.
Another thing which hurts stakes is that we don’t get to know Crista super well pre-Plague Bird status, so it’s harder to mourn alongside her at the loss of her previous life. Even though we spend the entire story beside her, I still don’t feel like I know her. Add in the level of mind manipulation going on in the story and, again, the stakes just don’t feel real. Reading along, I felt like the author could (and might) at any point just pop in and say “that whole thing you read? Mind manipulation!” and instead of feeling stunned by the twist, I’d just feel annoyed.
TLDR- SF set in an interesting world filled with creative locations and cultural ideas held back by a lack of grounding in character or story development.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt- I love character driven works and have a much easier time forgiving a less creative world with finely crafted characters than vice versa. Certainly not a bad book, just not for me.
2.5/5, rounded up for the interesting ideas.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review
topazreads's review
3.0
The ideas in the book were intriguing and the beginning drew me in. However, it was a slog to get through.
The book follows Christa, a human-wolf hybrid 10,000 plus years from now. She is selected to take on a blood AI and become a Plague Bird, a one-stop police officer/Judge/executioner. Something she has not only NO interest in, but has a SERIOUS aversion to as she watched her mother be killed by a Plague Bird. However, she has no real choice in the matter.
The story follows her as she journeys to Seed - the last populated city. Along the way she battles the Veil, a group working to overthrow the current system the world is operating under, meets a monk who becomes her love interest, fights through a forest that tries to kill her, befriends a child who turns out to be an all-powerful alien that could destroy the world, finds a dead Plague Bird, meets two more Plague Birds that want her dead, interacts a few times with her old boyfriend that tried to kill her, befriends an AI in the city of Seed, and then the city itself.
There is SO much going on with the world building, the history, the AIs that run everything. But somehow we really don’t (at least I don’t) feel like we know what Christa wants other that to get through the hell that is now her life.
All of the ideas in the book made me stop and think although they are not new ideas. As much as it took me to get through it after the initial intrigue, the ending felt rushed. There has to be a next installment…
Overall, I’m still thinking about the ideas and the story. Glad I picked it up.
The book follows Christa, a human-wolf hybrid 10,000 plus years from now. She is selected to take on a blood AI and become a Plague Bird, a one-stop police officer/Judge/executioner. Something she has not only NO interest in, but has a SERIOUS aversion to as she watched her mother be killed by a Plague Bird. However, she has no real choice in the matter.
The story follows her as she journeys to Seed - the last populated city. Along the way she battles the Veil, a group working to overthrow the current system the world is operating under, meets a monk who becomes her love interest, fights through a forest that tries to kill her, befriends a child who turns out to be an all-powerful alien that could destroy the world, finds a dead Plague Bird, meets two more Plague Birds that want her dead, interacts a few times with her old boyfriend that tried to kill her, befriends an AI in the city of Seed, and then the city itself.
There is SO much going on with the world building, the history, the AIs that run everything. But somehow we really don’t (at least I don’t) feel like we know what Christa wants other that to get through the hell that is now her life.
All of the ideas in the book made me stop and think although they are not new ideas. As much as it took me to get through it after the initial intrigue, the ending felt rushed. There has to be a next installment…
Overall, I’m still thinking about the ideas and the story. Glad I picked it up.