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roysbookmark's review against another edition
5.0
I always felt small in that place, amongst the cathedrals of that age.
When I reflect on this novel, I reach a simple description: pleasantly bizarre. Borne is unlike anything I've ever read before. VanderMeer does an impeccable job of the classic "show, don't tell". There were several points throughout reading this where I had to double back and reread a sentence or a paragraph to truly understand what was going on. At first glance that may seem like I'm speaking negatively of the text, but I promise you that I reread out of pure curiosity and pleasure.
We were always finding each other and losing each other and finding each other again, and that was just the way of us.
While the prose found in Borne may not be overtly flowery or poetic, I can assure you that you will find beauty within it. There were many quotes I took away and highlighted throughout the novel – a testament to VanderMeer's powerful writing. As for the story itself, I cannot even begin to explain it without spoiling all the fun. I promise you that it's worth the read and will leave you wanting more of this beautiful world crafted before you.
He kept gaining parts of the world, while I kept losing them.
I was recommended this book by a friend and I can confidently tell you that I am so glad that I gave it a chance. Borne was my first time reading VanderMeer's work – now I know it will not be the last.
Spoiler
I wanted to be worthy of it, the way Wick shone so bright, for me.
caryryan78's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book has a dark and intriguing plot that steadily grows more mysterious and dangerous. To me it all kind of fell apart the last 50 pages or so. Ending seemed rushed and forced, and didn’t fit with the mood of the rest of the book.
peter_ewing's review against another edition
3.0
An incredible piece of imaginative writing but relentlessly bleak and unsparing in its contemplation of technology gone awry, environmental apocalypse and the characters' struggle to survive in a world that's fallen apart. The happy-ish ending is a minor relief, much as I would usually find such endings unsatisfactory.
shyfroglet's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
kaynic22's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jnzllwgr's review against another edition
4.0
“Borne” is set sometime in the future in a nameless City, with inferences that the state of the City is not unlike the rest of the world: post-manmade catastrophe involving, in no small part, bizarre living biotech mods of all creature types running amok, mostly not helping things. However, it is a pretty straightforward, hero’s narrative-tale for our protagonist and the bad folks linked to “the Company” who was responsible for all the genetic experiments gone awry. It offers a reasonably brisk pace while forging some strong emotional connection to the characters. And it occurred to me more than once that this would be readily adapted to film, much like VanderMeer’s “Annihilation” was. As it turns out AMC may be developing it into a series, so thumbs up on my intuition. The big takeaway here is VanderMeer’s deft ability to conjure an authentic vision of the apocalypse. There is an explosion of diversity amidst the dregs of civilzation. A cornucopia of menace along with a paucity of basic resources like clean water or food. And, perhaps *not* unlike the world today, energetic, vibrant life intertwined with death. At the heart of it is the hubris of man blinding ourselves to coming destruction. And, despite the increasing horror of societal collapse, there persisits a nonsensical, maniacal, push in performing the experiments, the torture and the hybridization of creatures —even with the absence of purpose. Not so uplifting, you might say, but it’s more complex that this and a compassion and celebration life that threads its way through the novel.
autoluminescent's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
biblioberuthiel's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I just love everything about this. Forever. Unendingly. VanderMeer is best.
homebuddy's review against another edition
4.0
After reading the Area X trilogy, I wanted to see what else VanderMeer had written as it left a lingering impression on me. Borne is a gorgeous book that I think only VanderMeer could pull off. Stuffed with weird bio-tech, giant bears, and an all pervasive questioning of what it means to be alive. This has a more fantastical style in comparison to Area X but it is VanderMeer through and through.