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Vanished Birds
Vanished Birds | Simon Jimenez
A mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever in this captivating debut of connection across space and time. "This is when your life begins." Nia Imani is a woman out of place and outside of time. Decades of travel through the stars are condensed into mere months for her, though the years continue to march steadily onward for everyone she has ever known. Her friends and lovers have aged past her; all she has left is work. Alone and adrift, she lives only for the next paycheck, until the day she meets a mysterious boy, fallen from the sky. A boy, broken by his past. The scarred child does not speak, his only form of communication the beautiful and haunting music he plays on an old wooden flute. Captured by his songs and their strange, immediate connection, Nia decides to take the boy in. And over years of starlit travel, these two outsiders discover in each other the things they lack. For him, a home, a place of love and safety. For her, an anchor to the world outside of herself. For both of them, a family. But Nia is not the only one who wants the boy. The past hungers for him, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart. Advance praise for The Vanished Birds "This extraordinary science fiction epic, which delves deep into the perils of failing to learn from one's mistakes, is perfect for fans of big ideas and intimate reflections."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Vanished Birds finds an intimate heartbeat of longing in a saga of galactic progress and its crushing fallout. . . . A novel of vast scope that yet makes time for compassion, wonder, and poetry."--Indra Das, author of The Devourers "The future world-building is rich and smart, the prose assured, and the story both intensely personal and a blistering commentary on capitalism and colonialism. . . . Highly recommended."--Kate Elliott, author of Black Wolves
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Kazzie
Pickpick

I liked this so much more than I thought! Not a ton of world building makes it a bit confusing, but this is also to its credit, because the story focuses on the characters and their relationships.

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Twainy
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Mehso-so

🎧 Not for me?

I liked the publishers summary better than the book. It had such a great premise & the prose was engaging. I just didn‘t connect. The prolog was disappointing … this was recommended to me so that‘s a let down.

It felt mid 🤷🏼‍♀️ Again, just not for me today.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Lizpixie
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Bk4 of my most recent #BookHaul ( I really have a problem don‘t I🤦🏻‍♀️)is a debut SciFi novel. Nia is the captain of a transport ship, losing decades as she travels through space in cryo sleep. Living only to get paid until she meets a boy that‘s literally fallen from the sky. Born with the gift to instantly travel anywhere in the universe, he‘s hunted by the corps that have a stranglehold on space travel. Sounds intriguing.

BethM This isn‘t the right place to suggest that anyone has a book buying problem😂 we‘re all enablers here 😃 2y
41 likes1 comment
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booklover3258
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Pickpick

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/qhEIfjdR0Xg

Enjoy!

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HeyT
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Pickpick

I think my favorite part of this is that you go deep into the characters and their relationships before the plot gets going. By the time things get going action wise I was very much invested into finding out more about the principle cast and the sort of whole they were developing.

HeyT I think this was my DoubleSpin for August? 2y
18 likes1 stack add1 comment
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HeyT
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#BookReport
Not my best reading week but I got through it and hopefully next week will be better.

#WeeklyForecast
My goal this week is to push through and finish at least two books to get back on my goals targets.

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HeyT
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Thought I would do an update on my BookSpin Backlog quest. I fell behind so now my daily average is up to 175 pages a day. I am trying to send all my vibes for December‘s picks to be waaaaaaay less than the 1k total I budgeted them for.

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PNWBookseller85
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Pickpick

Finished this a while back. Downloaded the audio based on a friend‘s recommendation. It‘s a good one! Reminded me of the show Firefly in all the best ways. Inventive, fast-paced, lovely characters. All good.

62 likes3 stack adds
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CampbellTaraL
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Pickpick

It's hard to word right now, that's how much I loved this story. Beautiful, beautiful writing. Brilliant weaving of themes, people, emotions, politics, and the devastation that is colonialism. I'm a David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) fan and within a few paragraphs, I felt like I'd stumbled into his successor. I really can't praise this book enough.

SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime such a great book! 4y
bookseller_cate I‘m also a David Mitchell fan. Thanks for the rec. 😊📚💚 (edited) 4y
BookwormM You had me at David Mitchell 4y
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CampbellTaraL @bookseller_cate @BookwormM David Mitchell fan club! I'm sure there's one but it's fun to find like minded organically like this. 💛 4y
CampbellTaraL @SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime I had checked it out from the library on a whim, hasn't heard about it before the other day. Now I'm waiting for my copy to arrive, first up on the re read list 🤓 4y
BookwormM @SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime @taraWritesSci my library have it too waiting on it arriving 4y
SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime @taraWritesSci yess i definitely need to reread it one day 4y
44 likes3 stack adds7 comments
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Jolynne
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Mehso-so

I stuck with this book even though I wasn‘t always comprehending it. Sci Fi is not my go to genre and this book is not going to have me looking for more in a big hurry. All in all, it wasn‘t an awful book, the issue was most likely me. I read somewhere this is a book to eye-read and I did audio, I often drifted.

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amma-keep-reading
Pickpick

Maybe it's the secret romantic in me that loves these kinds of stories. Strong characters with Unseen threads that connect them. Unexpected unbreakable bonds both romantic and platonic. As frustrating as it feels in the moment, I enjoy the anticipation of when all the pieces connect and snap into place.

In other words, please read this book. It's kind of amazing.

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Branwen
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Wow. I can't believe it's almost June and half the year is almost over! 😲 I wanted to showcase my favorite fantasy and scifi books of the year so far! I've loved pretty much everything in these genres that I have read so far, but these are my absolute favorites! 😀💕📚 The tagged book is also included in this selection but I don't own a copy of that one!

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Branwen
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Pickpick

Hands down one of the best scifi books I have ever read! It's a beautiful and emotional tale about found families and the importance of caring for other people. If you read one scifi book this year let it be this one! 💕📚 Despite the craziness of our current world this lovely book brought me a measure of peace and calmness. 🤗 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #roxas #keeplitsypositive

Meaw_catlady Whaat a review! I will have to get this one ASAP! 5y
TheSpineView Sounds good! Thanks for the review! Stacked! 5y
aartichapati I am listening to this one on audio now 5y
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Branwen @Meaw_catlady @TheSpineView Thanks! I really hope you guys love it too! 📚💕 @aartichapati Cool! How are you enjoying it so far? 5y
Leftcoastzen 😻❤️ 5y
aartichapati Honestly not sure! I don‘t know if audio is the best way to read this, maybe, though the narrator is great! It is just hard to tell the passage of or change of time, I think, which seem very important! 5y
Branwen @aartichapati Yes, that is such an important aspect of the book! 💕📚 5y
63 likes5 stack adds7 comments
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Branwen
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Really loving this new sci fi book! The story is compelling and intriguing. Also my cats are really loving all this extra time they get to spend with me, now that the library is closed! 😻📚💕 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #roxas

Meaw_catlady My cats feel the same way!! Looks like a cool book! 💕😻 5y
Bette 🐱❤️ 5y
MayJasper And who made the birds disappear? 😽 5y
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Branwen @MayJasper Hahahaha! 🤣😸 @Meaw_catlady The book is really good so far! Super heartfelt scifi! 🚀💕📚 5y
Meaw_catlady @Branwen I love heartfelt !! 5y
Branwen @Meaw_catlady Me too! 😍 5y
61 likes7 comments
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Smrloomis
Vanished Birds | Simon Jimenez
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My Tailored Book Recommendations are ready! 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽 This is the first one and it sounds fantastic!

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jackilynn
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Pickpick
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jackilynn
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Lots of housework today so I have a feeling my astronaut socks & I will be calling it an early night. I am finally starting to get somewhere in this book. I can't decide yet if I am enjoying it or not.

* ps If you look closely my favorite snuggle buddy decided to make a cameo** 😜

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jackilynn
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Sitting here trying to read but some keeps giving me the eye 😜🐱

LiteraryinPA That is too cute. 💜 5y
15 likes1 comment
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JSW
Pickpick

Excellent SciFi story. Layers of narrative interweave and echo each other: humanity, choices, time, music, corporations, research, societies, and the cost of progress. But mostly, about love. So so good, and I'm not a huge science fiction fan. Would be a great book club pick. 👥📚

23 likes2 stack adds
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IhoardBOOKS
Vanished Birds | Simon Jimenez
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Pickpick

Vanished Birds is a beautiful, dreamlike, beguiling, bizarre, and otherworldly story. Nia is a fascinating character, hard and strangely soft. The first 80% of the book is a slow meander, where you‘re waiting for something to happen and then the story takes an incredibly dark and horrible turn. It was both fascinating and really awful all at once. Not sure why I‘m surprised but also, ow owwie ouch.

8 likes1 stack add
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IhoardBOOKS
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The Vanished Birds keeps drawing me in more and more. What a fascinating adventure this book is. I‘m not entirely sure where this story is going but I‘m here for the ride. Nia is a fascinating character.

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IhoardBOOKS
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Really interesting book so far, slow going but intriguing.

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Jenken1998
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Pickpick

Out of this world amazing. Take your time and savor the beautiful writing in the sci fi space opera. I'm not normally a sci fi reader but this hooked me from page 1. Set in the future and among the stars one rag tag crew of a space ship receives orders to care for a special boy and keep him safe from the greedy space corporation. Complex storyline. The writer does an amazing job of keeping it easy to follow and moving forward. Easy 5 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 .

54 likes7 stack adds
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Jenken1998
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I wanted to read 1 chapter of my new hold that just came in. I have 2 other books im so close to finishing but I can't put this one down ❤ my reading buddy thinks it looks good too 🐶

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Lostinagoodbook
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Pickpick

🎉Happy book birthday to THE VANISHED BIRDS by Simon Jimenez.🎉
A beautifully written debut novel.
#bookreview #sciencefiction #scifibooks #NetGalley #reading

Full review at: https://lostnagoodbook.wordpress.com/2020/01/14/the-vanished-birds-simon-jimenez...

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parallel_pages
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The Vanished Birds!! Released today and I already read a chapter. I'm hooked. I can't contain my excitement - It's already so good and well written! So much heart to this book!! And geeze there's so many good books coming out this year. My TBR is shaking 😅

#scifi #fantasy #sciencefiction #space #timetravel #sciencefantasy #thevanishedbirds #2020

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SoManyBooksNotEnoughTime
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Pickpick

Absolutely beautiful and lyrical in it's writing, a story unlike any other I've ever read or heard. It begins in a farming village and takes you throughout space and time. Knowing it was classified as science fiction didn't prepare me for the overall vastness of this book. The depth of character and emotion was at times heartwrenching but relatable. The setting unfolds through the immersive and intricate storytelling. Highly recommended to all.

Crazeedi Great review 5y
60 likes1 stack add1 comment