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quinnjuliac's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was incredible. Sweeping story of finding nonbiological family and the ties that bind us, in a dysphoric future where the earth has been obliterated by climate change and misuse, and other worlds are created and then colonized by capitalism. Really beautiful, highly recommend. The first half seems to be more about the dysphoric world created by the author and traveling through it, and the second half is really about relationships and the love we find and lose, and how worth it these losses are.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation
vsnuffles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"It felt like a funeral." - William Shatner describing his voyage to space in the Guardian. I read the article today and couldn't help being reminded of this book.
This was an excellent and incredibly depressing read. I recommend reading it with caution due to just how very sad it is - it's definitely worth it but you'll want to be ready for some self-care afterwards. Do not expect a happy ending unless you like being very sad.
More in-depth:
The world-building is excellent: it's such a well thought-out future setting and the details of it are so elegantly incorporated it never feels like too much or too little. The writing was so good it was almost poetic at times, it was quite beautiful and poignant. The characters are grey and interesting. You get to see how they impact each other and the book has an excellent way of zooming out through the first few chapters, expanding the world before it settles on a more continuous story. It is a very bleak story and world, quite dystopian in a way that would feel cyberpunk if it were more focused on the digital world. Some mild spoilers for the tone of the ending/story overall:I felt as though what hope there was for the characters was relentlessly crushed after being built up. To be fair, I think that this tone is set up well in the first chapter. But it is common for stories to pick up after tragedy and I would argue this one does not really pick up by the end in tone and the dystopian society is only more dystopian by the end.
If I had to say the story has a theme woven throughout I would have to say it is about cruelty and exploitation of humans through colonialization and capitalism. There is plenty more going on in the very well written characters, how they are shaped by their traumas in good and bad ways and being able to see how they grow based on how they react to their circumstances.
This was an excellent and incredibly depressing read. I recommend reading it with caution due to just how very sad it is - it's definitely worth it but you'll want to be ready for some self-care afterwards. Do not expect a happy ending unless you like being very sad.
More in-depth:
The world-building is excellent: it's such a well thought-out future setting and the details of it are so elegantly incorporated it never feels like too much or too little. The writing was so good it was almost poetic at times, it was quite beautiful and poignant. The characters are grey and interesting. You get to see how they impact each other and the book has an excellent way of zooming out through the first few chapters, expanding the world before it settles on a more continuous story. It is a very bleak story and world, quite dystopian in a way that would feel cyberpunk if it were more focused on the digital world. Some mild spoilers for the tone of the ending/story overall:
If I had to say the story has a theme woven throughout I would have to say it is about cruelty and exploitation of humans through colonialization and capitalism. There is plenty more going on in the very well written characters, how they are shaped by their traumas in good and bad ways and being able to see how they grow based on how they react to their circumstances.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
planetesastraea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
It has taken me a little while to wrap my head around this book and write a proper review of it.
From the very first pages, The Vanished Birds has been haunting.
The book kicks off painting a world in which time goes more slowly for a group of mysterious technologically-advanced off-worlders. This perspective gives the tone for the whole novel: how small human lives can be, how fragile and fickle, a blink in the span of human history, and a speck of dust in the universe.
As I read this book, anxiety followed me with each chapter.
Even during the most light-hearted parts of the crew's every day life, the weight of the deranging unknown that has carved its shape into their lives can't be shaken off. Something inescapable looms in the dark- something that they know to be wonderful but bound to be the key to their demise.
And this incredible build-up only works because of its even somber unfolding.
Jimenez's writing speaks to his knowledge of what it is to be human, for better and for worst.
The length of humanity's cruelty only finds an equal in the endless hope and love that comes with finding a family, and fighting to keep it.
If I usually turn to more light-hearted reading I can't say I regret having read The Vanished Birds. It's a powerful read that has stayed with me ever since.
From the very first pages, The Vanished Birds has been haunting.
The book kicks off painting a world in which time goes more slowly for a group of mysterious technologically-advanced off-worlders. This perspective gives the tone for the whole novel: how small human lives can be, how fragile and fickle, a blink in the span of human history, and a speck of dust in the universe.
As I read this book, anxiety followed me with each chapter.
Even during the most light-hearted parts of the crew's every day life, the weight of the deranging unknown that has carved its shape into their lives can't be shaken off. Something inescapable looms in the dark- something that they know to be wonderful but bound to be the key to their demise.
And this incredible build-up only works because of its even somber unfolding.
Jimenez's writing speaks to his knowledge of what it is to be human, for better and for worst.
The length of humanity's cruelty only finds an equal in the endless hope and love that comes with finding a family, and fighting to keep it.
If I usually turn to more light-hearted reading I can't say I regret having read The Vanished Birds. It's a powerful read that has stayed with me ever since.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Large pacing and tone shifts, which made it difficult to connect with the characters. The story starts out fairly hopeful, but gets really dark. I enjoyed the subtle world building and that the homosexual and asexual representations was seamlessly integrated into the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content