BIRDS IN A LAND OF NO TREES: Notes From the Field (Notebook A: Habits and Habitats)

Anthony Lange’s BIRDS IN A LAND OF NO TREES is such a quietly clever and unexpected read. It begins with an almost documentary-style “field report” about humans, then slowly shifts into the story of Quentin, an astrophysicist who gets roped into a bizarre off-world assignment by an alien visitor. What follows with Quentin and his friends transferring their consciousness into new bodies on another planet, complete with shoulder-perched “minders” whispering guidance, is imaginative but also gently funny and thoughtful. Beneath the sci-fi setup, the book keeps circling back to very human questions about awareness, purpose, and why we’re always searching for something we can’t quite name. It’s strange in a good way, playful on the surface, but surprisingly reflective underneath.