Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
such a good story, but I think the ending didn’t quite work for me. very much appropriate/in-line with the themes of the book, however it doesn’t give you the satisfaction of a great mystery unraveled. If you think of it as less of a mystery/spy novel and more as a story about someone who goes on a journey they don’t understand, I think it is a fantastic book! The character development and arc are amazing to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Classic Jeff, although I don't feel that it's his best. The prose was lovely as usual, but I just didn't connect with Jane as much as I would have hoped to. She pissed me off at times LOL and her thoughts were often too circuitous and samey. My main gripe is that it dragged in a lot of places. I did enjoy Jane as a very flawed, traumatized character. Her arc is complicated and like many Vandermeer transformations, sometimes you wonder if she'll even be a person at the end of it.
I also think Sylvina's whole Stance™ was a little too opaque. I understand that the reader and Jane don't get the full picture, but a few more clarifying details about her ideology would have helped.
If you're new to Jeff Vandermeer I would recommend reading Annihilation first. His roots are in New Weird, so be prepared to embrace confusion and surrealism. I encourage all readers to try and participate in a dialogue with the text and trust that it'll take you somewhere.
If you're new to Jeff Vandermeer I would recommend reading Annihilation first. His roots are in New Weird, so be prepared to embrace confusion and surrealism. I encourage all readers to try and participate in a dialogue with the text and trust that it'll take you somewhere.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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:
Yes
my first vandermeer joint. liked it enough at first, then read the southern reach trilogy which made me realize this book kinda sucked in comparison. the protag is horribly unlikable in a pretty major way (compared to the protagonists of the southern reach who are similarly unlikable but for better reasons), the person who sent her on this goose chase is also unlikable in a pretty major way, and the only likable characters are the ones she treats like trash throughout the book and not in a "flawed character" way but in a "dickhead for no reason" way. its very bleak, it ends even more bleak, and it almost makes you feel like you wasted your time a bit, but the mystery itself is pretty dang good and i liked the concept of her completely failing to actually solve the mystery, and many years later explore one final lead and find the remnants of what she was meant to find all along even if it makes you feel pretty bad. certainly not his best work but it got me to read his actual best work so it's cool
challenging
slow-paced
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This starts off seeming like it will be quite exciting but quickly slows down a lot. I didn't think much of it until at one point I thought somehow my Kindle had taken me back many pages. No, it turns out this similar ground was covered again and seemed exactly like another part of the book. I think this book would have been far more interesting with at least 100 pages less writing. I think there was too much of Silvina's diary and not enough progression in the story. Yes, that background information was important to the story, but there was way too much of it. Also, there was a scene in a warehouse relating to taxidermy, and I won't say more, but it was gruesome. I get that the story was also about a family who did illegal taxidermy. I will say that I wouldn't have read this book if the main character was doing taxidermy and I don't think it gives anything away to say she wasn't. There is a lot of good stuff in this book, too, though, sort of a finding a place for yourself in the world and a meaning to it all. The ending was interesting. I'm not sure what I expected, but I didn't expect that. There was an interweaving of climate change and pandemics into the story, as well. I thought about rating this 4 stars, but mainly the excessive Silvina diary writing, really made it 3 stars for me.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review