kiracanread
Written on Feb 11, 2020
WINNER OF BEST NOVEL IN 2016 NEBULA AWARDSFINALIST FOR BEST NOVEL IN THE 2017 HUGO AWARDSPatricia is a witch who can communicate with animals. Laurence is a mad scientist and inventor of the two-second time machine. As teenagers they gravitate towards one another, sharing in the horrors of growing up weird, but their lives take different paths...When they meet again as adults, Laurence is an engineering genius trying to save the world-and live up to his reputation-in near-future San Francisco. Meanwhile, Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the magically gifted, working hard to prove herself to her fellow magicians and secretly repair the earth's ever growing ailments.As they attempt to save our future, Laurence and Patricia's shared past pulls them back together. And though they come from different worlds, when they collide, the witch and the scientist will discover that maybe they understand each other better than anyone.
- ISBN10 1466871121
- ISBN13 9781466871120
- Publish Date 26 January 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Tor Books
- Format eBook
- Language English
Reviews
Quirky Cat
Written on Dec 7, 2019
Patricia Delfine is a witch, plain and simple. She always wanted to be a witch, and while her magic didn’t always work…or happen when she wanted it to, she still felt this was her identity. She grew up believing that she could talk to animals –because once upon a time, she had. She’s a wild child who loves spending time in the great outdoors, and she’s determined to protect the world from the growing threat.
Laurence Armstead is the complete opposite of Patricia. He’s more the mad scientist type, preferring math and his computers to anything outdoors. His strict parents made life exceedingly tough for him, and he let their fear control him.
These two once were friends, but forces strove to tear them apart. Now they must each either save the world. Or you know, do the complete opposite. Nobody is really certain about what’s going to happen. Least of all them.
“San Francisco never stopped astonishing Lawrence – wild raccoons and possums wondered the streets, especially at night, and their shiny fur and long tails looked just like stray cats, unless you look twice.”
Warnings: There are several instances of animal death, bullying, and other intense subjects to be found within All the Birds in the Sky.
All the Birds in the Sky was a brilliant and fascinating read. This was a tale that forced two polar opposites to interact with one another, first as friends, then as something entirely different. It made for a thrilling read, as well as an interesting study about human nature.
There were plenty of times when this novel dove into heavier subjects, such as bullying, prejudices and false beliefs about a person, and even some animal deaths (those were the toughest on me, personally). It all blended together to create a powerful and moving tale. But it is anything but a light and casual read.
Because of the heavier tone to this novel, I found myself reading it in spurts. I’d read a chapter here and a chapter there. It worked for me, but that also isn’t how I normally read novels. So it was a bit odd, and in a way that made this novel stick out more in my head.
On the whole, I really did enjoy All the Birds in the Sky. I’m late to read this book (once again) and thus it isn’t even remotely my first novel I’ve read by Charlie Jane Anders. But it was still a fascinating read.
For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Bianca
Written on Dec 24, 2018
... how do you ever know your own emotions are spontaneous and genuine, and not just a programmed set of responses?
— A brilliant, fascinating, and wildly imaginative tale about the clash of magic and science set in a futuristic/apocalyptic world. This was such a weird book, but I loved it. Not for everyone though :)
lovelybookshelf
Written on Apr 12, 2018
inlibrisveritas
Written on Dec 20, 2016
.....
Dec 2016
Hello DNF book #3...
I don't know if I'll do a full review of this because I ended up quitting after 200 pages in and then I just started skimming over the last third of the book so I would know what happened.
Occasionally you find books that you just loathed and everyone else seems to enjoy...and sometimes you find books that are the same way but make you question the validity of the opinions of those who recommended it to you. I'll be thinking long and hard about the comparability of these people and if our friendship can survive this grievous error on their part.
2016 is bad enough already without forcing myself to continue to choke down whatever the book was bumbling about trying to feed me.
empressbrooke
Written on Mar 7, 2016
Rinn
Written on Feb 1, 2016
A tale of magic versus science, All the Birds in the Sky had me gripped from the very first page. It was a truly enchanting story, all the more wonderful for going in pretty much unaware of the plot, or anything about the book (apart from the pretty cover).
There was something really wonderful about Charlie Jane Anders’ writing. She added in all these unnecessary details, so small and yet they made the story all the more intriguing, the world all the more vivid. I have previously spoken about how I like magic systems that require some sort of sacrifice, rather than just saying some words or waving a wand and casting a spell, but here this system seemed to work quite well. Patricia’s magic required no sacrifice, but that felt natural. I felt that the book would not have benefited from an explanation of how the magic worked – it would have just distracted away from the story.
Although All the Birds in the Sky did lose its wind a bit in the last quarter or so, I was gripped throughout almost the entire story. It was a truly lovely story of two ‘weirdos’ who come together, united by their social awkwardness and alternative interests. As you can see by how short this review is, I just don’t feel I can truly tell you how wonderful this was – so go out and read it yourself!