All the Birds in the Sky

by Charlie Jane Anders

Overview

Entertainment Weekly's 27 Female Authors Who Rule Sci-Fi and Fantasy Right Now

Winner of the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novel

Finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel

Paste's 50 Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far) List

“The book is full of quirkiness and playful detail...but there's an overwhelming depth and poignancy to its virtuoso ending.” —NPR

From the former editor-in-chief of io9.com, a stunning Nebula Award-winning and Hugo-shortlisted novel about the end of the world—and the beginning of our future

An ancient society of witches and a hipster technological startup go to war in order to prevent the world from tearing itself apart. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765379955
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of Victories Greater Than Death, the first book in the young-adult Unstoppable trilogy, along with the short story collection Even Greater Mistakes. Her other books include The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky. Her fiction and journalism have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, McSweeney's, Mother Jones, the Boston Review, Tor.com, Tin House, Conjunctions, Wired Magazine, and other places. Her TED Talk, "Go Ahead, Dream About the Future" got 700,000 views in its first week. With Annalee Newitz, she co-hosts the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct.

Reading Group Guide

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 10.5px 'Adobe Garamond'} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 10.5px 'Adobe Garamond'; min-height: 12.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} The information and discussion questions that follow are intended to enhance your reading of All the Birds in the Sky. Please feel free to adapt these materials to suit your needs and interests.
1)
In All the Birds in the Sky,Laurence Armstead and Patricia Delfine embody two worlds and two often brutally competing forces: science and magic. In what ways do those separate realms keep the two characters apart—and are there other ways in which their seemingly opposite powers make them familiar to each other, or draw them closer? How is it that they understand each other so well across such a divide?
2)
When Patricia and Laurence first really get to know each other, they are both deeply unhappy—trapped in schools and homes in which they are scorned or even punished for their greatest gifts and for the truth of who they are. How do you think that experience affects the way their adult relationship unfolds once they meet again in San Francisco? Have you ever renewed a friendship with someone who knew you long ago, at a time when you felt your life was at its worst? What was it like to revisit that relationship as an older and different person?
3)
Patricia and Laurence’s worlds orbit each other throughout the book, clashing more often and more severely as their story escalates. Are science and magic—as worldviews—essentially at odds? What are the goals and priorities of each? Are there any goals that they share? Could there be benefits to their overlapping or working together, and do you see any examples of that in the book?
4)
The witches’ code of avoiding “Aggrandizement” at all costs seems to be a constant thorn in Patricia’s side. Do you see Patricia as self-aggrandizing—trying to gather attention or praise for her abilities? What is it about her behavior that makes the other witches monitor her so closely? And how does the notion of Aggrandizement balance against her extraordinary—and growing—powers and skills? Why is humility so important to the community of witches?
5)
Laurence’s world, on the other hand, is part of the Silicon Valley culture that celebrates aggrandizement in the constant search for the most buzz, the most celebrity, the most funding, and the most attention. What is Laurence’s relationship to that culture? What are his truest priorities, the goals that he cares most about? Have they changed substantially since childhood?
6)
In the course of Patricia’s story, we learn that the world of witches spans a divide, between Healers and Tricksters. Do you see one or the other power as being stronger in Patricia? What role does each type of witch have to play in the world? Do both groups use their powers for good? If you were one of the witches in Anders’s story, which type would you be? Do you see analogous groups in the mortal world?
7)
The Tree is, in effect, the beginning of Patricia’s life as a witch, and the birds are the ones who first guide her to it. Throughout the book, Patricia dreams of being in the forest, near or searching for the Tree. How do these dreams reflect what is happening in her waking life? What does the Tree most crucially symbolize? What do you make of its riddle—and Patricia’s ultimate answer to it?
8)
Guilt seems to be a powerful driving emotion for both Patricia and Laurence. What does each of them feel guilty about? Do you think that their guilt is usually justified? How does it influence the push and pull of their relationship with each other? And how does it affect their relationships with the other people closest to them?
9)
Priya’s disappearance and subsequent reappearance haunts the second half of Anders’s story. What does this incident mean to Laurence? Why is it so hard for him to move past it? What does this scientific mistake say about the things he values most—his intellect, knowledge, and abilities? How does Patricia’s role in rescuing Priya affect him?
10)
At the core of this story is nature, and the relationship of Laurence, Patricia, and their respective worlds to it. What does Anders have to say about humanity’s relationship to nature? How do Patricia and Laurence’s communities relate to nature? What do they believe about natural powers that can or cannot be controlled by humans, by magic, or by science?
11)
Patricia and Laurence fall in love just as a catastrophic natural force hits the United States, starting a chain of events that throws the country into chaos. After having traveled such a long road toward each other, the two are suddenly spun off in opposite directions by these disasters. What do you think Anders intends by this timing? Is love at the mercy of larger forces? In the end, what does it take to decide the fate of Patricia and Laurence’s relationship?
12)
The reappearance of Peregrine comes late in the story. Were you surprised by his identity? What role has he played—and does he now play—in Laurence and Patricia’s lives? Born in their tumultuous childhood, built, in a sense, by both of them, what does he represent? Why do you think he emerges as such a strong positive force by the story’s end?

Editorial Reviews

"The very short list of novels that dare to traffic as freely in the uncanny and wondrous as in big ideas—I think of masterpieces like The Lathe of Heaven; Cloud Atlas; Little, Big—has just been extended by one."—Michael Chabon

“What a magnificent novel—a glorious synthesis of magic and technology, joy and sorrow, romance and wisdom. Unmissable.” —Lev Grossman, author of The Magicians

“Into each generation of science fiction/fantasydom a master absurdist must fall, and it’s quite possible that with All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders has established herself as the one for the Millennials...highly recommended.” —N. K. Jemisin, The New York Times Book Review

"Charlie Jane Anders has entwined strands of science and fantasy, both as genres and as ways of experiencing life, into a luminous novel." —John Hodgman

"Has the hallmarks of an instant classic." —Los Angeles Times

“Genius....My fave read this year.” —Margaret Cho

“Do yourself a favor and go pick up All The Birds in the Sky! You will lurve it.” —Amber Benson

“Thoughtful and hip and fantasy and sci-fi all wrapped up. A+.” —Felicia Day

“Everything you could ask for in a debut novel — a fresh look at science fiction’s most cherished memes, ruthlessly shredded and lovingly reassembled.” —Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

“Read it immediately. Thank me later.” —Laurie Penny

“It’s fantastic when someone who is so important in the scifi world can flat-out write as well as critique and analyze.” —Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Alive

“The craziest thing about Charlie Jane Anders’ book is how it remains so intimate and accessible despite genre jumping. All the Birds in the Sky moves from a coming of age story to a millennial romance and then a dystopia — and it’s filled with so much of the uncanny. That includes, but is not limited to, a shapeshifting teacher, talking birds and an anti-gravity gun...A truly fun read.” —New York Daily News

“A fairy tale and an adventure rolled into one, All the Birds in the Sky is a captivating novel that shows how science and magic can be two sides of the same coin.” —The Washington Post

“Anyone suffering from midwinter blues should read Charlie Jane Anders’s between-categories fantasy All the Birds in the Sky. The scenario is (almost) Harry Potter, the tone is (quite like) Kurt Vonnegut, the effect is entirely original.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Heartfelt, ambitious, and dynamic. Fantastic stuff.” —Financial Times

“Imagine that Diana Wynne Jones, Douglas Coupland and Neil Gaiman walk into a bar and through some weird fusion of magic and science have a baby. That offspring is Charlie Jane Anders’ lyrical debut novel All the Birds in the Sky.” —Independent

“Highly readable and imaginative, All the Birds in the Sky will sing to Philip Pullman fans.” —Mail on Sunday

“An entertaining and audacious melding of science, magic, and just plain real life that feels perfectly right for our time.” —BuzzFeed, “5 Great Books to Read in February”

“Like the work of other 21st century writers — Kelly Link and Lev Grossman come immediately to mind — All the Birds in the Sky serves as both a celebration of and corrective to the standard tropes of genre fiction. [...] Like William Gibson, Anders weaves a thrilling, seat-of-the-pants narrative with a compelling subtext.” —Elizabeth Hand, Los Angeles Times

“Two crazy kids, one gifted in science, the other in magic, meet as children, part and meet again over many years. Will they find love? Will they save the world? Or will they destroy it and everyone in it? Read Anders lively, wacky, sexy, scary, weird and wonderful book to find the answers.” —Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club

"Impossibly hip fiction with the voice and cultural inflections of the millennials.... Often quirky and amusing but rising to encompass a moral seriousness and poignancy...an engaging book." —The Sydney Morning Herald

From the Publisher

Into each generation of science fiction/fantasydom a master absurdist must fall, and it's quite possible that with All the Birds in the SkY, Charlie Jane Anders has established herself as the one for the Millennials…It's going to be hard for even the most jaded reader not to fall head first into the tale of a boy who builds an artificial intelligence in his bedroom closet, a girl who magically talks to birds, and (among other hilarious characters) their school guidance counselor, who also happens to be an ice-cream-binge-eating assassin…The result is as hopeful as it is hilarious, and highly recommended.

The New York Times Book Review - N. K. Jemisin

11/09/2015
A friendship between two adolescent misfits is the catalyst for an apocalyptic reckoning in Anders’s clever and wonderfully weird novel. Novice witch Patricia and preternaturally intelligent Laurence form an uneasy bond as they attempt to survive bullying at their Massachusetts middle school. Ten years later, they reunite in San Francisco, where Patricia quietly practices her craft and Laurence, now a tech-world wunderkind, attempts to manipulate time and space, setting off a battle between magic and science that could mean the end of the human race. Anders (Choir Boy) smoothly pivots from horror to humor to heartbreak and back again, and she keeps readers guessing as to the fate of her two protagonists—and the world. Talking animals and a sentient computer searching for love and understanding tighten the narrative strings. Fans of genre fiction will be delighted by Patricia and Laurence’s story, and Anders’s smart, matter-of-fact prose will appeal to a mainstream audience as well. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 12/01/2015
They met as children, both awkward and otherwise friendless but otherwise as different from each other as they could be. Patricia always wanted to be in the woods, where she came to believe she could speak to animals. Laurence was obsessed with science, building a computer in his bedroom closet. Still, the two were allies until Laurence witnessed Patricia's abilities and couldn't accept them. Decades later, the two are in San Francisco, where climate change has left the planet on the tipping point of disaster. Patricia is a part of a community of witches, and Laurence has joined a think tank of sorts that is trying to find a scientific solution to the world's ills. Nature vs. technology: the two old friends are on paths that will lead to unavoidable collision. VERDICT At turns darkly funny and deeply melancholy, this is a polished gem of a novel from the Hugo Award-winning (for the story "Six Months, Three Days") editor in chief of the website io9.com. Her depiction of near-future San Francisco shows a native's understanding (and love) of the city, while gently skewering it at the same time. Readers will follow Patricia and Laurence through their growing pains, bad decisions, and tentative love.—MM

Library Journal

06/01/2016
Social outcasts Patricia and Laurence have been friends since they were young, when they dodged cafeteria food that was thrown at them. But when Laurence, a supercomputing genius, finds out that Patricia can talk to birds, even he isn't sure if their friendship will last. Fast forward a few years and Laurence is working for a billionaire who wants to create a machine that allows for intergalactic travel to save humans after they have destroyed their own world. Patricia, meanwhile, has honed her magic skills at a witch academy and is now wandering the city healing people when she isn't supposed to. With the help of smart devices, Patricia and Laurence find love, but the looming end of the world tests their relationship. Give to readers who don't mind a bit of quirky romance like Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park mixed in with their fast-paced Daniel H. Wilson-esqe futuristic science fiction. Patricia and Laurence are awkward, lovable, smart, and dorky, and readers will cheer for them to save the world hand in hand. VERDICT Perfect for fans of The Big Bang Theory, this novel has plenty of appeal for readers of fantasy, science fiction, and apocalyptic fiction.—Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

School Library Journal

★ 2015-12-09
Will science or magic save our world and all the living beings on it? That's the question posed in this science fantasy love story by the editor-in-chief of online geek mecca io9.com (Choir Boy, 2005). Tweens Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead are desperate misfits who find both solace and confusion in each other. Patricia is a nascent witch, waiting for her magic to blossom and destiny to call. Laurence is a brilliant tech whiz building a supercomputer in his bedroom closet. Their parents, teachers, and peers react with hostility to their refusal to conform, but they're egged on by Theodolphus Rose, an assassin masquerading as a guidance counselor. Rose's manipulations separate the two until they rediscover each other at a party in San Francisco years later. Patricia and her fellow witches are attempting to maintain a quiet, unobtrusive balance in a world tipping toward ecological and political disaster but which they feel is still worth saving. Laurence has joined a covert project to open a wormhole to another planet, believing that humanity's only hope is to leave Earth behind. A relationship between these two seems impossible, given their incompatible points of view, until unseen forces help their love along. The author introduces technological and magical marvels in a wonderfully matter-of-fact way. But this lyrical pre-apocalyptic work has an edge, too. Laurence's behavior is often far from noble. His colleagues use violence to defend their inventions, and Patricia's compatriots employ some fairly creative, nasty solutions to people and things they deem problematic. Anders clearly has an intimate understanding of how hard it is to find friends when you're perceived as "different" as well as a sweeping sense of how nice it would be to solve large problems with a single solution (and how infrequently that succeeds). Reminiscent of the best of Jo Walton and Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

Kirkus Reviews