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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
I'm a big fan of VanderMeer, but this was not his finest.. far from it- the plot was completely muddled, the "hero" totally unbelievable (what is up with the increasingly absurd action sequences??), and the most interesting parts obscured and ultimately avoided. The underlying premise could have been really compelling, but instead we're stuck with a dull, suburbanite-turned-Rambo wandering aimlessly through the past and present. That said, he can still write a damn good sentence, which barely got me to the end of this one.
dark
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Climate fiction rather than weird fiction, and more of a thriller in pacing and tone.
Climate, family and psyche come apart in this tense eco-thriller. As usual with him you have to work hard at the cryptic prose; I couldn't always be bothered tbh.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hummingbird Salamander has a lot of components. Science fiction, crime fiction, mystery, ecology, even some noir thrown in. It seems like a mix that could go wrong at some point, but in VanderMeer's hands it works. The story follows an IT security consultant who only gives her name as Jane Smith down a rabbit hole after she receives a mysterious envelope with only some cryptic clues and spirals from there, with climate change raging on all the while. I will say I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, but it does fit the story and the journey there was well worth my time, so I won't complain too much. Definitely going on my library's best of 2021 list.
Took a while to get into it. The book is a comment on the illegal trade in exotic taxidermy animals, the state of the environment and the decimation of species. The book guides you through 'Jills' awakening to environmental issues set to the back drop of a mystery she feels compelled to solve.
I have given it 3 stars as it was hard to get into for me and some parts (jumping from a first floor balcony with hands tied behind her back, not being found after a Google search on bomb making, finding random numbers and assuming how they fit together this leading to another clue) seemed unrealistic.
I have given it 3 stars as it was hard to get into for me and some parts (jumping from a first floor balcony with hands tied behind her back, not being found after a Google search on bomb making, finding random numbers and assuming how they fit together this leading to another clue) seemed unrealistic.
Strangely not strange, given what I expect from VanderMeer after Southern Reach and Ambergris.
Very readable eco thriller, with a great mystery at the center and questions of identity peppered throughout.
Very readable eco thriller, with a great mystery at the center and questions of identity peppered throughout.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer, the world is at stake. In the noir mystery novel, the world is becoming more ecologically unstable as time goes on. “Jane Smith”, a security consultant is mysteriously sent a note and key from a known eco-terrorist, Silvina. This leads to a storage locker that contains a taxidermied hummingbird and clues that lead to a taxidermied salamander. As it becomes apparent that she is in danger, events spin out of control and lead her into the dark corners of Silvina’s world. By the author that brought us the Southern Reach Series, and Borne, this new novel centers around what our world could look like as things begin to unravel.
Favorite Quote
“Hold on to that. Discard the rest. Even though it didn’t really work that way” Jeff Vandermeer, Hummingbird Salamander
Review
Jeff Vandermeer has a unique eco-horror take on things that runs through all of his novels and Hummingbird Salamander is no different. This noir take on the world leading up to eco-disaster was unique from his other novels in that it wasn’t so fantastical. Up until the very end, you could see how the world that these characters were in was still our world, just darker. I can’t say I enjoyed any of the characters or even the story, but it kept me reading steadily. Just out this month, Hummingbird Salamander will be one of the most unique novels of 2021.
This book wasn’t as horrifying to me as some of Vandermeer’s other works. Some of the worst images were of family trauma and the horrifying nature of taxidermy. It was interesting and incredibly sad at moments but not as blatantly horrific as some of the psychological scares in Annihilation or some of the body horror of the Borne world. I have to agree with someone I saw on Twitter who described Hummingbird Salamander as the pre-prequel to Borne. I think they could definitely be the same world, and possibly the same one as the Southern Reach. All of it could cohesively enough go together.
I recommend these books if you’re looking for a surrealist noir novel that highlights ecology and nature.
I received an e-book arc of Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer from the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux & MCD.
Favorite Quote
“Hold on to that. Discard the rest. Even though it didn’t really work that way” Jeff Vandermeer, Hummingbird Salamander
Review
Jeff Vandermeer has a unique eco-horror take on things that runs through all of his novels and Hummingbird Salamander is no different. This noir take on the world leading up to eco-disaster was unique from his other novels in that it wasn’t so fantastical. Up until the very end, you could see how the world that these characters were in was still our world, just darker. I can’t say I enjoyed any of the characters or even the story, but it kept me reading steadily. Just out this month, Hummingbird Salamander will be one of the most unique novels of 2021.
This book wasn’t as horrifying to me as some of Vandermeer’s other works. Some of the worst images were of family trauma and the horrifying nature of taxidermy. It was interesting and incredibly sad at moments but not as blatantly horrific as some of the psychological scares in Annihilation or some of the body horror of the Borne world. I have to agree with someone I saw on Twitter who described Hummingbird Salamander as the pre-prequel to Borne. I think they could definitely be the same world, and possibly the same one as the Southern Reach. All of it could cohesively enough go together.
I recommend these books if you’re looking for a surrealist noir novel that highlights ecology and nature.
I received an e-book arc of Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer from the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux & MCD.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot