All the Birds in the Sky

316 pages

English language

Published July 30, 2016 by Tor Books.

ISBN:
978-0-7653-7995-5
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
947145901

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4 stars (37 reviews)

An ancient society of witches and a hipster technological startup go war as the world from tearing itself. To further complicate things, each of the groups’ most promising followers (Patricia, a brilliant witch and Laurence, an engineering “wunderkind”) may just be in love with each other.

As the battle between magic and science wages in San Francisco against the backdrop of international chaos, Laurence and Patricia are forced to choose sides. But their choices will determine the fate of the planet and all mankind.

In a fashion unique to Charlie Jane Anders, All the Birds in the Sky offers a humorous and, at times, heart-breaking exploration of growing up extraordinary in world filled with cruelty, scientific ingenuity, and magic.

4 editions

I think this is my favorite book.

5 stars

Every word on every page builds this charming world that is frighteningly like our own. I have never read a couple so star-crossed as the mad scientist boy and the witch girl protagonists.

Is our world worth saving? Are we? Can there still be love as the planet falls apart?

This is the most heartwarming story about the apocalypse you'll ever read.

Thank you @charliejane@wandering.shop

Exactly what I needed

5 stars

I picked this book up in my local book store while on a quest to find something to restart my love of reading. A year plus of near complete isolation during the onset of the pandemic led me to rely increasingly more on my phone for bursts of serotonin and I wound up wrecking my focus. Standing in the book store, I figured anything in the sci-fi section would do the trick - it’s worked in the past. I wound up purchasing AtBinS solely on the cover art not knowing anything about the story or the author. The book sat among my looming “to-read” pile for months until I was several days deep into a week long vacation. I figured it couldn’t to take an hour away from my phone, and by the time I looked up from the book over an hour had passed. I finished the book the …

Nice blend of fantasy and science fiction

4 stars

All the Birds in the Sky is, broadly, a novel about the conflict between science and magic. Less broadly, it's a novel about growing up, love, empathy, hubris, mistakes, and the desire to do good.

The story is told mostly from the perspectives of the novel's two main characters, Patricia and Laurence. The overarching plot of the novel may have some awkward twists, and its resolution may arrive a bit abruptly, but it generally works well anyway, considering the novel's focus on the character's individual experiences, and how their relationship plays into the larger events.

Genre-wise, the novel is a blend of science fiction and fantasy, and tone-wise it is a blend of serious and whimsical. While the plot does go to some dark places, the book's writing tends more towards wistful than grimly dark. The style may seem a bit weird, but it works with a story that is …

Review of 'All the Birds in the Sky' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

An entertaining YA-ish novel. Its central concern (like much of science fiction) is the relationship between a pair of teenage nerds, one a magician and the other a technological genius. Once again even those most gifted may not be able to find true love (until the end). There are talking animals and a magic school. The novel is saddening to the extent that it uses a fictional conflict between magic and technology (one of which, I'll remind you, does not exist in the real world) to highlight the destruction of our planet, which continues apace.

Review of 'All the Birds in the Sky' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved this tale of when magic and science collide, full of humour, love and commentary on our modern life. It’s the second book to have a non-humanoid AI that made me cry too.

The story starts with two teenagers, both on the outskirts of school society who become tentative friends. Laurence loves nothing more than spending his life in front of a screen. He built a time machine that can send him two seconds into the future and is now building a supercomputer in his wardrobe but his parents keep sending him to outdoorsy things. So he pays Patricia to lie to his parents that he’s been outdoors.

Patricia loves nature but her parents would rather lock her away in her room. Her sister is possibly evil. One night, after her sister douses her dinner with an excessive amount of spices, Patricia leaves her body and talks to a …

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