All the Birds in the Sky
By Charlie Jane Anders (TOR, ISBN: 978-0765379948(
Much-lauded novel of magic and science
Review by Lawrence I. Charters, July 18, 2017
Considered one of the best novels of 2016, All the Birds in the Sky is elegant, strange, familiar, and jarring. The protagonists play central roles in a clash between science and rationality versus magic and emotion, without recognizing their central role. The first part of the novel is particularly beautiful, but the final section was a disappointment. While I can heartily recommend the novel, a bit more grace and subtlety in the conclusion would have made it better.
On the side of magic and emotion is Patricia, a 21st century witch living in San Francisco. For a variety of reasons, Patricia doubts she has any magical abilities, and instead attributes her successes to empathy, to people and to nature. On the opposite side is Laurence, a hardware and software prodigy who eventually finds himself working for a massive microcomputer firm, and attributes his wealth and success to logic and rationality. Into the mix is a brewing war between magic and science and technology, hidden from both Patricia and Laurence, but centered around both.
All the Birds in the Sky was nominated for the 2017 Hugo Award for best science fiction or fantasy novel, and won the 2017 Nebula Award for best novel from the Science Fiction Writers of America.
Anders was the founder and co-editor of io9, the science, science fiction and fantasy website.