Listen free for 30 days
-
The Vanished Birds
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Vanished Birds
Buy Now for $39.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
A “highly imaginative and utterly exhilarating” (Thrillist) debut that is “the best of what science fiction can be: a thought-provoking, heartrending story about the choices that define our lives” (Kirkus Reviews, Best Debut Fiction and Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year).
Finalist for the Locus Award • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by Tordotcom and Kirkus Reviews
A mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever.
I expected many things from this trip. I did not expect a family.
A ship captain, unfettered from time. A mute child, burdened with unimaginable power. A millennia-old woman, haunted by lifetimes of mistakes. In this captivating debut of connection across space and time, these outsiders will find in each other the things they lack: a place of love and belonging. A safe haven. A new beginning.
But the past hungers for them, and when it catches up, it threatens to tear this makeshift family apart.
Praise for The Vanished Birds
“This is the most impressive debut of 2020.”(Locus)
“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)
“A lyrical and moving narrative of space travel, found families, and lost loves set against an evocative space-opera background.” (Booklist, 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)
What the critics say
"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)
"A lyrical and moving narrative of space travel, found families, and lost loves set against an evocative space-opera background." (Booklist 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)
More from the same
Author:
What listeners say about The Vanished Birds
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-08-29
Captivating story and performance
I loved everything about this novel, the story, the well-developed characters, the beautiful prose, and that the narrator did justified to all of these things. Looking forward to more books from this author.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- David
- 2020-02-08
Character driven, tech minimum space opera
Unusual book about chosen families and memory (and colonialism, too) in a space opera setting. Some beautiful writing. Will look forward to author’s next book. Narrator conveys story well.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aydelette
- 2020-02-18
Human story
I love this novel. I wish I were better at writing down why.
It's perfect for listening, intricate but with an overall clarity which makes all the rich detail a dark foliage. (I want to start listening again.)
It's about transport, in a way, and it does that, describing places and times and following a few strong, imperfect characters. These are the kind of characters who unknowingly and secretly shape the world beneath the notice of large powers, or knowingly and secretly despite the notice of large powers. But only in fine strands between the giant impersonal idiot waves of those large powers. (You know the ones.)
The performance is excellent mostly. There are a very few false shifts and accents in the thirteen hours.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brenda
- 2020-02-15
Incredible Deeply moving
I love science fiction for its exploration of big themes like what does it mean to be human and what is our place in the universe. This story delivers one that is much more personal and specific. It destroyed me. Reduced to tears so that I had to pull over to the side of the road more than once. Deeply moving on many levels. Also delivers the space tech and world building if that is your thing. This is an immediate favorite , an incredible debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what Jimenez comes up with next.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- CJC
- 2020-02-13
Unique and lovely
Poetic and probing. I loved that there were same sex partnerships and strong women characters. Eventually stopped what I was doing and just listened to the last few hours.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- GG
- 2020-03-16
Didn't live up to potential
The concepts, character development, and description of the ways in which the characters experience time was phenomenal. However, the overall story felt lacking. After the climax (at least, I think it was the climax because it took almost the entire book to get there), the story faded away a bit and I was close to losing interest. By the ending, I wasn't really invested anymore. Interesting, but I feel like it had so much more potential.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kevin E.
- 2022-04-05
The Plot is Amazing, but…
This book pulls a Game of Thrones (TV show). The plot and writing are so good for most of the story, but then there comes a point when you realized there isn’t enough time left to resolve the story. The resolution is rushed and all of the satisfying details are skipped. The author basically wrote half a book and tacked on the outline at the end. I’m genuinely disappointed.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tyler
- 2021-04-23
Great book. Wow.
I loved this novel. Would have loved for it to last a bit longer, but wow, ended it misty eyed.
I will say the narrator did a pretty great job, despite her portrayal of male characters being hard to distinguish at times. Other than that she was great.
Great book if you love space opera. Highly recommend.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- One of the Hoomans
- 2022-10-20
disappointing
This started out really well. The first, long, chapter was a great story, reminiscent of the Consul's tale from Hyperion. Sadly, this chapter has very little to do with the rest of the book. The rest of the book suffers from pacing issues, overuse of pronouns, lack of descriptive language,, and ultimately a rather dull story.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Halo
- 2022-06-08
One of the best books I have ever read
Not only is the narrator absolutely superb, this is so clearly one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Jimenez is a genius. Can’t wait for the next one!!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- D.R.
- 2022-03-01
Only the first chapter is good
The first chapter was a beautiful short story. If the whole book had captured my imagination like the first chapter did, the book would have been among my favorites. As it was, the rest of the book was a slog until the last chapter, which was interesting but not amazing.
The narration is not very good, with a notable lack of distinctive voicing. It's possible I would have enjoyed the series more if the narrator was any good. I will avoid any future books with this narrator.
1 person found this helpful