interrowhimper's review against another edition
4.0
Tbh I was kind of bored the first 350 pages. I didn’t care about any of the characters, was tired of being told instead of shown, and wasn’t sure what the major arc was about. But then it got really strange and dark and fascinating and I forgave the rest. Would read for the last ~150 pages alone.
tamouse's review against another edition
5.0
Wow.
[b: The City in the Middle of the Night|37534907|The City in the Middle of the Night|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532447389s/37534907.jpg|64654648] from [a: Charlie Jane Anders|4918514|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532450668p2/4918514.jpg] is a book I've been waiting for and didn't even know it. It involves human settlers on a tide-locked planet, a completely misunderstood indigenous species, and centers around 4 settlers, Sophie, Biancha, Mouth, and Alyssa, with vastly different backgrounds, and charts the courses of all of them as the come together, fall apart, come together again, several times over the course of book, and go through personal tragedies, dangers, and deep changes.
The story ends in a hopeful tone, but nothing is truly resolved, which for me is a just a rather fine ending. I am personally hopeful for the stories of all 4 of these women to continue, and expand, but it's not necessary for me to have it be explicitly told. This book does stand on its own. Should Charlie Jane decide to write a sequel or more set in this particular world, that would be extremely welcome, and I'm happy to move on as well as she sets her imagination loose.
Through reading, there were some really key passages that I quoted. Of these, the one that still sticks with me the most is "Maybe you don't get to choose how you make peace, or what kind of peace you make. You count yourself lucky if peace doesn't run away from you." Thank you, Charlie Jane, you are the best.
[b: The City in the Middle of the Night|37534907|The City in the Middle of the Night|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532447389s/37534907.jpg|64654648] from [a: Charlie Jane Anders|4918514|Charlie Jane Anders|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1532450668p2/4918514.jpg] is a book I've been waiting for and didn't even know it. It involves human settlers on a tide-locked planet, a completely misunderstood indigenous species, and centers around 4 settlers, Sophie, Biancha, Mouth, and Alyssa, with vastly different backgrounds, and charts the courses of all of them as the come together, fall apart, come together again, several times over the course of book, and go through personal tragedies, dangers, and deep changes.
The story ends in a hopeful tone, but nothing is truly resolved, which for me is a just a rather fine ending. I am personally hopeful for the stories of all 4 of these women to continue, and expand, but it's not necessary for me to have it be explicitly told. This book does stand on its own. Should Charlie Jane decide to write a sequel or more set in this particular world, that would be extremely welcome, and I'm happy to move on as well as she sets her imagination loose.
Through reading, there were some really key passages that I quoted. Of these, the one that still sticks with me the most is "Maybe you don't get to choose how you make peace, or what kind of peace you make. You count yourself lucky if peace doesn't run away from you." Thank you, Charlie Jane, you are the best.
fedak's review against another edition
4.0
A really great piece of world building with a YA lesbian romance novel layered on top of it. Loved the setting, the alien race, the backstory on the protagonists. The dialog and most of the interactions between the characters strayed into tedious "teen angst drama".
It also ended abruptly without tying up the narrative and the pacing in the middle dragged- Probably could have benefitted from having 50 pages edited out of the middle and the addition of a more comprehensive conclusion.
It also ended abruptly without tying up the narrative and the pacing in the middle dragged- Probably could have benefitted from having 50 pages edited out of the middle and the addition of a more comprehensive conclusion.
tobesmagobes's review against another edition
5.0
I adore Charlie Jane Anders so when I found out she had released a new book I pulled a muscle trying to get at it. I don’t like to read too much about a book before starting it and got very worried early on that this was a basic YA dystopian novel. Then I met the Gelet. This is essentially a novel about shared trauma and Jewish ancestral memory, set on a tidally locked planet that humans have colonized with dubious levels of success. All the main characters are ostensibly queer women, but there was much less of a focus on this than I would have liked. These women are fully developed and pretty much every other character is not, which may be intentional, but was also kind of disappointing as I have a poor memory (brain damage!) and had a hard time remembering who a lot of the less major players were. CJA has some of the best prose out there these days and I highlighted many passages. Reminiscent of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis saga, and, to an extent, The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber and The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Set up so a sequel is possible but not necessary. I think I’m giving this 4.5 stars, five for the purposes of this site and promoting it. I did not listen to any of the audiobook so I can’t review that aspect. Highly recommended, but All the Birds in the Sky is definitely superior.
gareless's review against another edition
I really tried to finish the book for the tome infinity readathon but i just can’t. I had no idea what was going on during the first fifty pages and the other fifty were just..... not interesting enough to keep me reading. I also found out something that happens in the end that’s surely gonna frustrate me and I ain’t here for it sorry.
laranela's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
talvinovels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
4.0
what an interesting book! I don't even know what to say! If you're in the mood for something with a clear plotline, then this probably isn't what you're looking for. but if you're like me and you enjoy stories that just take you along for the ride with no particular structure, I highly recommend trying this out.
there were times when I wasn't super engaged with what was going on, but overall I really liked this. it's kind of weird and meandering, both qualities that I really appreciate in a book lol.
there were times when I wasn't super engaged with what was going on, but overall I really liked this. it's kind of weird and meandering, both qualities that I really appreciate in a book lol.
chirson's review against another edition
I wish it weren't so, but at almost 1/3, I give up. It's a pity because while I wasn't a huge fan of All the Birds in the Sky, I still found it very, very readable, gripping and atmospheric - whereas this novel just couldn't hold my attention at all. Maybe it's just not the right story or style for me right now, but after several attempts to get to a part that I'd find gripping, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters, or enjoy the road to learning more about them. I can't really tell why, since there are many reviews that make this novel sound exciting and fresh - but I just couldn't get into it at all.
mad_matx's review against another edition
4.0
A great book. Not a standard book; if you mist have an Aristotelian dramatic arc, and gave all things neatly resolved, then this book is probably not for you. If instead you are up for a drive through a strange new world and want to meet and share with the people in it - their hopes and dreams and angers and fears - then maybe this book is for you.
zeldiecakes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0