Scan barcode
A review by lila_still_reads
Plague Birds by Jason Sanford
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