Space Opera Fans discussion

The November 2025 READER Pick is The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez. Please use this thread to post questions, comments, and reviews, at any time.

Official description -

Bold, lyrical and imaginative, this space opera is a must for fans of Becky Chambers and Alastair Reynolds

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. The captain of a transport ship contracted to the Umbrai corporation, 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, and hunted by his present. For he is one of the few born with the gift of the Jaunt. The ability to travel instantly anywhere in the universe. An ability that threatens the vicelike control of the settled worlds by corporations such as Umbrai.

Fumiko Nakajima, the great scientist responsible for the design of bird-like Stations that Umbrai uses to control vast tracts of space, has been searching for one such as he for a thousand years.

Together, they set out to protect the boy, a journey that will cross the decades and light years all the way out to the fringes of settled space where the laws of civilisation do not apply, and they will have only each other to rely on.

I'll be starting this one today. It seems to have been an impressive debut - in 2021 it was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke award and for the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer, as well as being a finalist for the Locus Award for a first novel, and for the "Astounding" Award.

I'm about a third of the way through The Vanished Birds and I can see why it won so much acclaim. An intriguing storyline with well-drawn characters. I have no idea at the moment where the story will go from here, but it's a pleasure to read so far.

Finished The Vanished Birds today - what an amazing debut. 4 stars from me and I'd seriously considered giving it a rare 5 stars.

Its described everywhere as space opera, and it does have spaceships, and other planets and civilisations but its cross-genre in my opinion - its also about love, and betrayal, and family, and friends, and evil corporations. Best to just describe it as speculative fiction. But do read it - the writing is wonderful and the characters are so well-drawn.

And its also a pleasure to read a book that stands alone and complete. I look foward to reading more from Simon Jimenez, and look forward to hearing what others in the group think of this novel.

That sounds really interesting John, hopefully it will become available on audio soon, I "read" most of my books on audible these days

That's an interesting point Paul - its definitely not available on Audible UK but it is available on Amazon US, and seems to have been available since 2020. Its narrated by Shayna Small and gets 4 star reviews.

I have no idea if its a publishing rights issue or if its because Audible operates separate marketplaces for different countries, like Audible USA and Audible UK, which are curated with region-specific content and pricing. I'm tempted to treat it as another reason to hate Amazon, but that list is way too big already.

Thats interesting, I just checked Amazon, just paperback, hardcover and kindle versions such a shame. Not on Kobo either, I even enrolled a new audiobook provider Everand as they advertised they had this novel in audio but alas no it's only an e-book .... maybe I will get a copy one day. I like audiobooks though I am finding I can read around 4 books a month this way.

I was keen to read this this month but the only copy at my library is out until the 22nd! I will join the waitlist and hope it comes back early.

Thats an idea...the library!

Paul wrote: "Thats an idea...the library!"

Oh Paul, I just saw you have been struggling to find a copy! Definitely try the library. I saw there isn't an audio version on Spotify, so if all else fails, maybe buying a Kindle copy could be okay for you?

The suggestion of checking the library was a good one. I just looked at my library's website and they have it. I think I will head over there this week to borrow a copy.

Excellent - I hope Audrey, Alex and Paul all manage to get your hands on a copy, and I'm hoping you enjoy it as much as I did.

John wrote: "Excellent - I hope Audrey, Alex and Paul all manage to get your hands on a copy, and I'm hoping you enjoy it as much as I did."

That is so awesome to hear you enjoyed it, John! That makes me really want that single copy from the library! If it comes late, I'll probably keep reading it into December.

The thread will stay open Alex and I'd love to hear what you think of the book.

i am about a quarter of the way through. The author is a very good writer and is holding my interest.

Audrey wrote: "i am about a quarter of the way through. The author is a very good writer and is holding my interest."

Thats encouraging, Audrey - I hope you continue to enjoy it.

An interesting post from the "Novel Notions" site -

I will begin by saying that the first chapter of The Vanished Birds is one of the most memorable first chapters of any book I have ever read. The first chapter worked pretty much like a beautifully written coming-of-age short story, and after reading it, I knew right there I would love the rest of the book. This isn’t to say the main character will be Kaeda, the POV character in the first chapter, which I believe should be titled as a prologue instead of chapter 1 because of this. But the way The Vanished Birds is written from the first chapter… it is stunning. It reminded me of reading Ken Liu’s writing, and I don’t say that lightly. At all. Ken Liu is one of the best writers in SFF, in my opinion, and I treat his prose to be at a sky-high level. I was reminded of Liu’s prose from reading Jimenez’s writing style, both in the magnificence of the lyrical prose and the way the author utilizes unconventional storytelling to deliver a well-written character-driven story with poignant messages and emotional scenes. And it persisted throughout the whole novel.

“Let my daughter be a lesson to the world… that society’s idealization of physical beauty is wrong—that beauty comes in many forms, the most wonderful being the brilliance of the mind.”
In The Vanished Birds, Jimenez employed an omniscient narration that I don’t usually gel with. It was the same with The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu, but although not my preference of reading as I prefer to read first-person POV or close third-person POV narration, just like The Grace of Kings, it worked. The Vanished Birds is not a big book. My paperback copy of it is less than 400 pages long, and Jimenez’s omniscient narrative allowed him to be efficient and effective at implementing many ideas while developing the five key characters. Praising an omniscient narrated book seldom happens in my experience, and it was certainly gratifying to witness in The Vanished Birds. Even though there is an omniscient narrator, Jimenez strikes the right balance between when to focus on a specific main character’s point of view and when to switch them up quickly, especially during frantic situations like the last chapters. After the story shifted from Kaeda’s, I was still immersed in every subsequent main character. Nia, the mysterious boy, Fumiko Nakajima, and even Sartoris (who initially didn’t attain my interest) became characters I’m invested in sooner or later.

“Whatever you might think, I am but a mere mortal, and it is startling how easy it is for mortals to be cruel when they are afraid… But I hope that doesn’t dissuade you from learning your own lessons on love… whenever that may be. It should say something that despite my regrets I still stand by its recommendation. I would do it all again if I could, even with its lackluster ending.”

The Vanished Birds is a space opera story spanning decades, even a thousand years, of storyline. And it is brimming with thought-provoking, heart-rending, and intimate moments. I think the way I see it is this. With the group of motley crew in a spaceship that became a found family, The Vanished Birds gave me what I wanted from Becky Chamber’s Wayfarers series. It is wholesome, feel-good, and yet intense. The high stakes of the mission are there. The peril and dangerous moments keep ramping up starting from the final quarter. This contrast elevated the calm and peaceful moments so damn well. Jimenez implemented some big questions into the overall narrative. What will you sacrifice for progress? How far will you go to protect the ones you love? I would have preferred having an epilogue chapter at the end, but in hindsight, by ending the book the way it did, the impact of reading the last sentence of The Vanished Birds felt more profound and unforgettable.

There is still so much unsaid brilliance about The Vanished Birds. However, as I said at the beginning of this review, it would be better for you readers to read this book with as little information as possible. If you want to read an impressive standalone novel about compassion, progress, artistry, and virtue in a journey of wonder and magic, then read The Vanished Birds. The storytelling in The Vanished Birds, just like the sound of music coming out of the flute from Macaw in this book, has the power to touch the soul of its reader. This is now one of my favorite standalone novels. An incredible debut. And if The Spear Cuts Through Water is as good as The Vanished Birds, even better if it ends up being superior, then Simon Jimenez will become one of my favorite authors. Unquestionably an author to watch out for, regardless. I look forward to reading The Spear Cuts Through Water in 2024.

John wrote: "The thread will stay open Alex and I'd love to hear what you think of the book."

Thanks John. Good news, everyone! It is ready for me to pick-up at the library!

Finished! Never lost my attention. Hard to believe this is the author's first book. There were a few spots where I thought he was trying too hard, but overall well done. Love, betrayal, evil government, sociopaths, death, destruction... And a flute, which was a main character too.

Audrey wrote: "Finished! Never lost my attention. Hard to believe this is the author's first book. There were a few spots where I thought he was trying too hard, but overall well done. Love, betrayal, evil govern..."

That sounds awesome, Audrey! I picked up my copy today, hopefully I can start it soon.

Audrey wrote: "Finished! Never lost my attention. Hard to believe this is the author's first book. There were a few spots where I thought he was trying too hard, but overall well done. Love, betrayal, evil govern..."

I'm delighted you enjoyed it Audrey, and I totally agree that it was an impressive debut.

I rated this 3 stars but didn’t review it, which is quite unlike me. Even after reading the description I have no memory of the story. Weird.

Some books are just mysteries.