Reviews

Plague Birds by Jason Sanford

ademageor's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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!

rcroteau's review

3.0

Full-on action and wildly inventive world building, perfect for someone who is in the mood for "a future so distant that AI are basically magic." While I think the characters are very fun, it doesn't seem too interested in diving into deeper themes as most of the other Nebula nominees this year. Certainly a fun time though and a universe I wouldn't mind returning to in a sequel. 

mina_blakeney's review

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like something I would love, and initially, I was very interested. And then it just went downhill, the pacing was off and it felt, well not plotted enough. I couldn't immerse myself in the story and enjoy it, I struggled to understand characters and their motivations, all while the action was keeping me distracted, rather than engaged. I feel that this maybe needed some more editing since some of the ideas and approach it took to topics I really enjoyed.

tashalostinbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

karebearrawr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

breq's review

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Very cool concept and interesting plot, but unfortunately the writing just didn't hold up.  The author rushed through everything too quickly, outlining "they did this and then they did this and then that happened" rather than actually sitting with the characters.  This meant that the characters felt underdeveloped and flat, and made a lot of decisions on what seemed like a random whim.  There were also some errors; at least one incorrectly used word, and an instance where

the main character drinks a truth serum and then the antidote, and the truth serum is referred to by the name of the antidote at one point.  This is before the antidote is even introduced, so I'm fairly certain it's an error.

  All in all, this needed serious edits to actually be a good book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Violence, and Blood

djwudi's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Entertaining far-future adventure with genetically engineered animal/human hybrids, AIs bonded to human hosts and used as weapons, and schemes spanning tens of thousands of years.

myxomycetes's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

the_bookworm_rabbit's review

4.0

This book had a very chaotic and confusing start, I felt like I had been thrown into the middle of the story, but things soon became clearer.

The world building was great. The concept of human-animal hybrids and AIs living within them was super interesting. I loved learning more about the world and its history.

Crista is an interesting main character, as is Red Day. Their development as individuals and as partners as certain truths are revealed to them was riveting. I would have loved some more development of some of the side characters.

Overall, this is a great sci-fi book with a decently paced plot.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

sayitagainjen's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Where the novel succeeds is in its ambitious world-building—a far future where humans have been so wildly spliced with animals that they're largely unrecognizable. Keeping all of them in check are plague birds, humans who've achieved a unique (and often unstable) symbiosis with artificial intelligences. In true Dredd fashion, these plague birds act as judge, jury, and executioner.

So far, so good.

However, the writing itself is chaotic and often amateurish, a classic example of doing a lot of telling without any showing. As a result, the characters were flat and failed to leave any sort of emotional impact.

I can't help feeling like this needed more time in the incubator.