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A review by jaredt
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-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? Yes
5.0
An unexpected and well explored journey over the years.
This is quite a creative take, dealing with the nature of space travel and the years that could be lost to it. Lots of buildup, backstory, and lore woven together to make all the pieces fit. After the first chapter I knew it was going to be a special, different kind of story than what I'm used to in the genre.
We meet lots of folks, and no matter how long they're in the pages, their roles carry weight, they feel like they have their own stories, and it's just what bits we get to see.
I will say this story, because of the way it is structured, probably won't be for folks that want a more typical 'we are going to follow this group of folks and ONLY this group and see how their stories end'. Everything is intertwined, and there are main characters that carry most of the way, but not everyone stays together, and its just by nature of the universe this story lives in, and the amount of years we follow through. The ending packs a weighted punch, but isn't needlessly punishing.
Overall, this is a story I really enjoyed, and think it is one that I will grow to love even moreso over time.
This is quite a creative take, dealing with the nature of space travel and the years that could be lost to it. Lots of buildup, backstory, and lore woven together to make all the pieces fit. After the first chapter I knew it was going to be a special, different kind of story than what I'm used to in the genre.
We meet lots of folks, and no matter how long they're in the pages, their roles carry weight, they feel like they have their own stories, and it's just what bits we get to see.
I will say this story, because of the way it is structured, probably won't be for folks that want a more typical 'we are going to follow this group of folks and ONLY this group and see how their stories end'. Everything is intertwined, and there are main characters that carry most of the way, but not everyone stays together, and its just by nature of the universe this story lives in, and the amount of years we follow through. The ending packs a weighted punch, but isn't needlessly punishing.
Overall, this is a story I really enjoyed, and think it is one that I will grow to love even moreso over time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Genocide, and Sexual content
In relation to body horror, I would consider it 'minor' in terms of how frequent in the story its in, but also the description of of it is pretty intense and very startling when coming across it. It's not out of place at all, but something to note for folks to prepare themselves accordingly.