Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
I received an eARC copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I’ll be honest, this review was going to be more like a 3 star until I sat and digested the novel for 24 hours. This one, as Troy would say, wrinkled my brain.
For the first 150 pages, I was so confused and lost as to why the narrator even cared about the mystery of Silvina. It was long and boring and I could not concentrate on the story because I wasn’t sure why I cared. The last half of the book, however, not only answered most of those questions, but made me aware of why I disliked the first half of the book so much!
With most books, authors create a main character or narrator the reader can relate to. In this book, however, I found myself disliking the narrator more and more as the story continued. When I hit the halfway point and more towards the end, I understood why. The author really pushed this book and this narrator I could not connect with, and created an interesting and still confusing story.
I found this to not be my favorite book by Jeff VanderMeer, however, still worth a read if you like mystery/thrillers and brutally honest scenarios.
I’ll be honest, this review was going to be more like a 3 star until I sat and digested the novel for 24 hours. This one, as Troy would say, wrinkled my brain.
For the first 150 pages, I was so confused and lost as to why the narrator even cared about the mystery of Silvina. It was long and boring and I could not concentrate on the story because I wasn’t sure why I cared. The last half of the book, however, not only answered most of those questions, but made me aware of why I disliked the first half of the book so much!
With most books, authors create a main character or narrator the reader can relate to. In this book, however, I found myself disliking the narrator more and more as the story continued. When I hit the halfway point and more towards the end, I understood why. The author really pushed this book and this narrator I could not connect with, and created an interesting and still confusing story.
I found this to not be my favorite book by Jeff VanderMeer, however, still worth a read if you like mystery/thrillers and brutally honest scenarios.
Wtf did I just read?
If you’re going to write a story this cryptic and deliberately opaque, you need to dish out more puzzle pieces along the way to keep the reader engaged. At the 30% mark I rapidly started to lose interest because I couldn’t tell where the story was going, and if there were even any stakes that I should care about.
I adooooored the Southern Reach trilogy in all its cryptic and confusing moments, because I had a clear sense of something big going on. With Hummingbird Salamander, there were so few signposts along the way and I often felt like I was reading the slowest cartel thriller known to man.
I really liked how it ended, but I could’ve done without the 150 pages in the middle. This would’ve been far more effective as a novella!
If you’re going to write a story this cryptic and deliberately opaque, you need to dish out more puzzle pieces along the way to keep the reader engaged. At the 30% mark I rapidly started to lose interest because I couldn’t tell where the story was going, and if there were even any stakes that I should care about.
I adooooored the Southern Reach trilogy in all its cryptic and confusing moments, because I had a clear sense of something big going on. With Hummingbird Salamander, there were so few signposts along the way and I often felt like I was reading the slowest cartel thriller known to man.
I really liked how it ended, but I could’ve done without the 150 pages in the middle. This would’ve been far more effective as a novella!
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Boring voice acting. Started reading bc it was free for a promo but it bever really hooked me.
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this mystery set in an ecologically dystopian America that doesn’t seem all too far off. The main character makes frustrating choices but ultimately is written in a way that seems she is compelled to do so. I love VanderMeer and this book has a lot of what I love about his work- a mix of real nature with some magical realism/supernatural/evolution baked together in a world full of terrible polluting corporations. And the friends/enemies you make along the way.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced