All the Birds in the Sky in The Sword and Laser

Sep 13, 2015 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, sword-and-laser, read2016, sci-fi-fantasy

I pre-ordered this book because I was excited for it - I have enjoyed Anders' short stories and this one sounded interesting. It defies genre boxing for the most part - there is fantasy, magic, science fiction, apocalypse, and the strange healing power of madrigals. But I like how all the parts fit together, and didn't find it messy or like the author was trying to cram too much in there.

I think part of why these elements work is that they aren't the point of the novel. The focus is the friends ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Tom Merritt rated it it was amazing

Delightful.

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Jul 06, 2016 John Wiswell rated it really liked it

If I was going to get stuck in an auto repair shop on Tuesday, then I'm glad I had this copy of All the Birds in the Sky. It soothed a painful wait with its charming world and its premise: two childhood friends grow apart as they follow their dreams, one wanting to become a witch, the other to become a super-scientist. They were each other's only friend, and though their lives will weave back together, they're haunted by a prophecy. Some day, there will be a cataclysmic war between magic and sci If I was going to get stuck in an auto repair shop on Tuesday, then I'm glad I had this copy of All the Birds in the Sky. It soothed a painful wait with its charming world and its premise: two childhood friends grow apart as they follow their dreams, one wanting to become a witch, the other to become a super-scientist. They were each other's only friend, and though their lives will weave back together, they're haunted by a prophecy. Some day, there will be a cataclysmic war between magic and science.

The book opens with a totally charming encounter, as Patricia rescues a talking bird from a cat. She briefly turns into a bird herself, meets bird society, and is darn-well hooked on this magic stuff. She's just got to find a way to become a witch and change the world.

Over on the flipside is the YAest boy ever, Laurence Armstead, whose parents don't appreciate him, is constantly bullied at school, and just wants to study sweet rockets. This kid is brilliant, if socially stunted, and winds up being Patricia's only friend. You see, these two weirdos (who don't seem that off to me, but I love weirdos) can chat about videogames, world domination, or the upsides of Satanism, with equal enthusiasm. Now, I'm a true weirdo, but less-weirdos are probably going to feel a pang when these two have to part ways to follow their passions and grow up. There's a wonderful moment when Patricia finally gets the Hogwartsian invitation, and considers turning it down because Laurence is in trouble. No spoilers on what she does next, but it sure kept me turning the pages.

My favorite parts are the stray details about the world around Patricia and Laurence. You feel clever when you recognize that the disturbance the witches feel are the black hole generator Laurence's team is working on, or when Laurence is confident he's getting the better part of a deal-with-the-devil that magicians would think twice about. And then there are moments when you see Patricia having to dress is sexualized clothing to do witch's work, which she doesn't comment on, but which silently comments on the culture war she didn't realize she'd bang against to live the dream. Eventually there are cell phones that ride the line between mathematical algorithms and kismet; just having one on you seems to increase the chances of running into friends, or of good things happening.

Full disclosure: I currently have a short story pending publication with a lot of magical cell phones; I like this book's ideas quite a bit.

The scenes move quickly, there's a great deal of awkwardness and cuteness, and altogether it feels like a fun YA novel - except it's not YA. Patricia and Laurence grow up, get jobs, have sex with people, crossing all the content lines that make something an Adult book rather than a Young Adult, and yet it always feels like YA. Laurence having an erection doesn't add any nuance to the book. It always feel simple, the challenges of development the characters face feeling distinctly unchallenging to the reader. You're never given a good reason to doubt that these characters won't get together eventually, and you're even more certain that together they'll thwart the evil prophecy.

It sounds like the sort of book my friends have demanded for a while now. It's got all the comfortability of YA without necessarily being about young adults. The characterization and consequences of choices never feel robust like Naomi Novik's Uprooted - in contrast, where Uprooted wants fights to feel uncomfortable, a tragic flood in All the Birds in the Sky is glossed over with only a mandatory amount of named character tragedies flicking by, no one we ever got that attached to, and even if they should be important, the text won't dwell on for too long. Instead it's back into the excitement of floods and averting the end of the world.

None of this is a strike against All the Birds in the Sky. I imagine readers who want a novel that subverts a bunch of Harry Potter stuff will enjoy it being so accessible and full of adolescent yearning. It's just a funny feeling the book gives.

What actually is a strike is the characters' frequent references to undesirable traits as "crazy," and people misbehaving as "psycho." The language of ableism against mental illness run throughout the book, which feels odd because it's so thoughtful to avoid sexist and homophobic language. It's clearly generally well-meaning enough that you wish it would do better by the disability community. Especially with the looming actually-evil character, you can wind up on edge, fearing the novel is going to pull a full Super Evil Crazy Dude on you. Thankfully it never gets that bad, but there are enough things to form a cognitive bruise that the book keeps jabbing. ...more

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Jan 06, 2016 Brittany rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sciencefiction, fantasy

What a beautiful, wonderful book. Neither strictly fantasy nor purely science fiction, this book marries both genres and, in the end, transcends both worldviews. There characters were remarkable and enjoyable. This was a perfectly balanced, incredibly joyful, optimistic, lovely book. It was exactly what I needed right now.

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Oct 24, 2017 Caitlin rated it it was amazing

Gorgeous turns of phrase -- I wish I could remember all of them -- and well-developed characters. One of the few books I'd make the time to re-read. ...more

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Feb 22, 2016 Elizabeth rated it liked it

Charming, scattered.

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Nov 13, 2016 Kalyan rated it it was ok

This book was undermined by weak dialogue and little in the way of character growth, which you might expect since we follow the two protagonists from childhood to their late 20s. The ideas discussed in the novel are worth exploring, but the author wasn't able to bring me along with her due to ham-fisted characterizations and some clunky dialogue. ...more

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