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angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Clarketech: antigravity on a macro scale, possible travel to other dimensions.
TLDR: A well written fantasy on the theme of technology vs nature saving the world.
A friend gave me this years ago. I admit that the first book of the story took me a few tries to read due to the almost unremitting bullying the two main characters (mc) experience. Books 2-4 still have the bullying, but to a lesser degree. Despite the novel’s fantastical plot iit s very realistic when it comes bullying and the aftereffects of bullying.
Ms Anders’ characters are well fleshed out and diverse in personality and ethnicity. I was disappointed that there were no lgbtqaa+ relationships. Her two mc are understandable and consistent continuing to grow as the story moves forward. They also, despite their differences, are very loveable, I was rooting for them both despite their divergent goals.Ms Ander’s world building is detailed taking time to describe the plants, birds, and machines so a reader can see them The plot keeps you turning pages as the fate of everything we know lies in the balance.
My only criticisms are first; Berkley is abandoned. This is remedied in the short story Clover which makes more sense if you read it after All the Birds in the Sky. I downloaded my free copy from Tordotcom. The second is there never is an explanation for why the mc’s parents act the way they do. Their actions are so unredeemable I feel there must be some explanation. We don’t get their backstories though.
These are small things and the ending was everything I needed.. I will be reading more from this author.
Thank you Zoey’s mum for this wonderful book. I’m sorry it took my brain so long to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
The one chapter containing graphic sexual content (sc) can be skimmed, you do have to read the last paragraph or so which is after the sc. All other sc is brief and not detailed. The bullying can cause serious flashbacks to garbage swirlies in some people.saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
"Weirdness is value neutral."
All the Birbs in the Sky is an ambitious book with a unique premise that attempts to blend sci-fi and fantasy, but it fails to make it past the idea phase. I found the first third to be interesting as a super genius and witch befriended each other, I enjoyed their dynamic and how they learned about their abilities. The rest of the book felt like a completely different story with the apocalyptic focus that comes to sudden, giving whiplash. The characters are unmemorable, peaking in interest at the beginning of their arcs but devolving into blandness after the time jump. The prose is also bland but tries (and fails) to be poetic and profound.
And on the genre blend, sci-fi and fantasy have blurred lines between them, but to make the contradiction work you have to define what makes them so different. If your sci-fi has no basis in some sort of real theoretical science or a scientific thought experiment, then what makes it different from fantasy? It's the difference between Star Wars and Interstellar and Jurassic Park; the fantasy elements of Star Wars blend with the sci-fi because they are equally as plausible, but fantasy elements would have felt out of place in Interstellar since it has a basis in actual science and they'd be out of place in Jurassic Park because that's based in a scientific thought experiment.
This book would have been more interesting as a concept if it was more grounded sci-fi along with magic, but I don't see what actually makes Laurence's super-genius different from Patricia's witchcraft on a genre level. What makes this genre blend different from most superhero media where magic and this flavor of sci-fi coexist? Patricia's magic was a little more interesting. It was nature itself and I like the idea that you don't control magic/nature you coexist with it.
All the Birbs in the Sky is an ambitious book with a unique premise that attempts to blend sci-fi and fantasy, but it fails to make it past the idea phase. I found the first third to be interesting as a super genius and witch befriended each other, I enjoyed their dynamic and how they learned about their abilities. The rest of the book felt like a completely different story with the apocalyptic focus that comes to sudden, giving whiplash. The characters are unmemorable, peaking in interest at the beginning of their arcs but devolving into blandness after the time jump. The prose is also bland but tries (and fails) to be poetic and profound.
And on the genre blend, sci-fi and fantasy have blurred lines between them, but to make the contradiction work you have to define what makes them so different. If your sci-fi has no basis in some sort of real theoretical science or a scientific thought experiment, then what makes it different from fantasy? It's the difference between Star Wars and Interstellar and Jurassic Park; the fantasy elements of Star Wars blend with the sci-fi because they are equally as plausible, but fantasy elements would have felt out of place in Interstellar since it has a basis in actual science and they'd be out of place in Jurassic Park because that's based in a scientific thought experiment.
This book would have been more interesting as a concept if it was more grounded sci-fi along with magic, but I don't see what actually makes Laurence's super-genius different from Patricia's witchcraft on a genre level. What makes this genre blend different from most superhero media where magic and this flavor of sci-fi coexist? Patricia's magic was a little more interesting. It was nature itself and I like the idea that you don't control magic/nature you coexist with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Violence, and War
mysterymeenah's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Death
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Violence and War
ehmannky's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A slightly absurdist book following two young people dealing with loneliness and the trials and tribulations of becoming an adult and learning about being connected and communication. And one just happens to be a witch and one is a big of a mad scientist who both accidentally find themselves working for groups with eco-fascist bents. I thought that the plot ended up being a bit thin at the end, but I thought the character build up and the relationship between Patricia and Laurence made this a really enjoyable and delightful read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
littlelizzieborden's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
walkie_check's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Death of parent
maddibw's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It was a fun and interesting read. And it certainly felt like a take on Sci-fi and fantasy that I haven’t read before which was cool. I will say that the summary in the flap of the book feels like it describes plot points that aren’t as significant to the book or don’t adequately summarize or encapsulate the book in the way I would have liked it to. Then again, I may not have read it and I enjoy it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lanid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
antimony's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i LOVED the beginning of this book. the first 2 parts were so fun. the writing style...the characters...the series of events..... like for example the school. which reminded me of the certain brand of middle grade books i used to love. i really enjoyed every time it was mentioned that all the school cared about was memorization bc it felt just like the humor in some kids' book set in an ambiguous time period where adventure runs rampant and school is soul-sucking. i adored page 45, where we first see the pov of theodolphous rose. the line (which im writing from memory, so bear with me when it isn't accurate) "in fact, patricia had been right about the man. his name was theodolphous rose, and he was a member of the nameless order of assassins." was just SO FUN.
things went downhill from there.
part 3. was not very good. it started strong, though not as strong as the first two parts. and it was ok. nice to see where the characters ended up. or something. but then they started to be a tad annoying, and then the timeskips began. these timeskips drove me mad. it was like we skipped the most convenient times to make things happen without having to be explained. like she wanted laurence and patricia to get together despite not really having chemistry? skip a few weeks and cut to them having sex (speaking of which.....i generally skip sex scenes, so im not really a good source for what's good or bad, but this one was pretty bad). the world is falling apart but you want to skip to the good part where it already has? cool! skip a few months and the collapse is no longer impending and you don't have to write anything actually falling apart. >:\
part 4 was a tad redeemable. things stopped making sense but i liked that laurence told isobel abt magic and lost his voice. this may seem strange of me but idk it was satisfyinf. i feel like some of the events were strung together nonsensically, and things happened to happen but they didn't fit together? if that makes any sense.
anyway. very strong start, which descended into something i did not like, which rose up to fizzle out and not quite be good or bad. points for the beginning & the writing bc i do like this style and i also like being nice.
things went downhill from there.
part 3. was not very good. it started strong, though not as strong as the first two parts. and it was ok. nice to see where the characters ended up. or something. but then they started to be a tad annoying, and then the timeskips began. these timeskips drove me mad. it was like we skipped the most convenient times to make things happen without having to be explained. like she wanted laurence and patricia to get together despite not really having chemistry? skip a few weeks and cut to them having sex (speaking of which.....i generally skip sex scenes, so im not really a good source for what's good or bad, but this one was pretty bad). the world is falling apart but you want to skip to the good part where it already has? cool! skip a few months and the collapse is no longer impending and you don't have to write anything actually falling apart. >:\
part 4 was a tad redeemable. things stopped making sense but i liked that
anyway. very strong start, which descended into something i did not like, which rose up to fizzle out and not quite be good or bad. points for the beginning & the writing bc i do like this style and i also like being nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: War