The Vanished Birds

A Novel

By: Simon Jimenez

Narrated by: Shayna Small

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

Critic reviews

“Simon Jimenez’s touching, bold, surprising, gorgeous debut novel…is not only the best debut novel I’ve read in ages, but simply one of the best SF novels in recent memory.”—Locus

“If you enjoy science fiction with heart, if you love stories about stories, about people and the future and the things we do to keep making a future for each other, then read The Vanished Birds. You’re not going to want to miss this one, I promise.”—Tor.com

“The Vanished Birds is at its best when it’s most intimate, spinning a story filled with romance, much of it queer, along with platonic relationships that demonstrate the power of found families. An impressively ambitious debut novel.”—AV Club

“The Vanished Birds is a well-crafted, superior science fiction debut. Spanning countless years, this book is anchored by gorgeously drawn prose, faulted players, and the idea that hope is our most valuable commodity.”—Lambda Literary

“Simon Jimenez’s writing is deep and soulful. This is an excellent, thoroughly enchanting debut.”—The BiblioSanctum

“[The Vanished Birds] is an . . . emotionally powerful read. Highly recommended.”—Bookshelf Fantasies

“The Vanished Birds is a truly remarkable debut novel. Heavily influenced by Gabriel García Márquez’s prose and the whimsicality of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, Simon Jimenez is an author readers should definitely keep an eye on.”—The Nerd Daily

“The Vanished Birds is an all-around beautiful journey, filled with moments of love, of home, and everything in between.”—Seattle Book Review

“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

“Reminiscent of Justin Cronin’s The Passage, yet the journey itself evokes Bryce Courtenay’s The Power of One, creating crossover appeal for readers who enjoy a bit of emotional attachment with their time travel . . .The story takes on a tone and depth that recalls an N.K. Jemisin novel.”—Library Journal

“This powerful, suspenseful story asks us to consider what we’d sacrifice for progress—or for the ones we love.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The Vanished Birds strikes a breathless balance between the conceptually dazzling and the emotionally resonant, and it’s in that balance that a bright new voice in genre fiction is born. Simon Jimenez has announced himself as a graceful, spellbinding storyteller.”—BookPage (starred review)

The most beautiful story

It is rare for a book to so encapsulate the human condition. This touches the soul

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.

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.

The Narrator's Melancholy Was Too Much

I read the first 30 or so pages of this book and very much enjoyed it. Like a lot of best sellers, it's heavy on despair but there was enough levity for me to want to continue the journey.

The audiobook made that despair much more prevalent. The narrator has a Melancholy delivery. words are drawn out in a dramatic way that reminds me of when a friend is quietly explaining something very sad and personal. after hours of this delivery and the sad tones of the book itself, I was done. It was no longer a fun adventure balanced by moments of seriousness, it was simply a sad trudge through other people's lives.

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.

Avian jaunts

Simon Jimenez' The Vanished Birds is an intriguing story spanning one thousand years. During Earth's environmental collapse a young engineer is critical to the design of space stations and manages to get off planet (although leaving her lover behind). Throughout successive cryogenic sleep cycles she manages to amass fortune and influence. The 1K future world is a bit colonial with planets supplying foodstuffs and other materials for the conglomerate that owns the space stations. One one world, a boy is found among space wreckage and becomes the key in a power struggle between the engineer and the conglomerate. The boy has the ability to 'jaunt; or travel interstellar distances directly. Eventually he is captured, and the conglomerate learns his secret, but keeps him in coma using his blood for the interstellar drive. The engineer takes her revenge on the conglomerate and the boy and the captain who raised him are re-united.

Jimenez provide quite a bit of backstory for the characters such that the tale is more a story, rather than a novel. The secret of the boy's jaunts remains a mystery, nor was it ever clear how he was first identified and how everyone seems to know of him.

The narration was reasonable with decent character distinction. Pacing is smooth and brisk.

Unusual

I really liked it a lot. It’s not your usual sci-fi and that’s part of its charm. Can’t say it was a happy ending, but it was an excellent one. You can’t be a lazy listener or you will get a little lost.

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.

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.

Good but I wanted better explanations at the end.

I wasn’t quite sure how to write the review for this book. I absolutely loved the beginning, but the last third left me wanting something. It was a realistic ending, and well written, but also felt like much of the most fascinating aspects of the world-building were left as loose ends.