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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was incredibly excited to read Hummingbird Salamander as my first Jeff VanderMeer novel. I have read some great reviews on his Southern Reach Trilogy & went in with pretty high expectations. The cover is gorgeous & the plot sounds fascinating. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed.
The story is narrated by “Jane Smith,” a security consultant that is given a mysterious note & key from an eco-terrorist, Silvania Valcapampa, who has since died in a hit & run “accident.” The note takes Jane to a bizarre storage facility where she finds a lone taxidermied rare hummingbird. Taking the hummingbird sets off a chain reaction of events that leads to Jane spiraling out of control & obsession with Silvania.
My initial expectation was an end of the world type of event or chain of events that Jane was desperately trying to figure out & maybe try to prevent from happening. After all the introduction to our narrator is this:
But what I got was a wild goose chase involving wildlife smuggling. Then, the story just kind of fizzles out at the end. However, it was a wild ride to go on & the right person reading this novel will love it.
What I liked: The writing style. Some don’t care for the train of thought type writing style or short fragmented sentences. But, in this type of story, it works. I don’t know if his other novels are like this, but I have to say I truly enjoyed it. The story is entertaining. I wanted to know where all of Silvania’s clues were going to take Jane & why.
What I didn’t like: The main character, “Jane Smith” pretty much sucks. She completely abandons her husband & daughter to go on a wild goose chase & is just an ass in general to people. Also, there were so many nicknames for people & the flipping between Jane’s nickname for them & their real name that I got confused at times. One person’s nickname starts as “Hellbender” then changes to “Hellmouth” at some point.
Hummingbird Salamander is a crazy roller coaster ride filled with bits of sci-fi, thriller, some family drama & a dash of dystopia.
Hummingbird Salamander will be published on April 6, 2021.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included herein are my own.
The story is narrated by “Jane Smith,” a security consultant that is given a mysterious note & key from an eco-terrorist, Silvania Valcapampa, who has since died in a hit & run “accident.” The note takes Jane to a bizarre storage facility where she finds a lone taxidermied rare hummingbird. Taking the hummingbird sets off a chain reaction of events that leads to Jane spiraling out of control & obsession with Silvania.
My initial expectation was an end of the world type of event or chain of events that Jane was desperately trying to figure out & maybe try to prevent from happening. After all the introduction to our narrator is this:
“Where exactly? I won’t tell you. Who am I? I won’t tell you. Exactly. But you can call me Jane. Jane Smith. If that helps. I’m here to show you how the world ends.”
But what I got was a wild goose chase involving wildlife smuggling. Then, the story just kind of fizzles out at the end. However, it was a wild ride to go on & the right person reading this novel will love it.
What I liked: The writing style. Some don’t care for the train of thought type writing style or short fragmented sentences. But, in this type of story, it works. I don’t know if his other novels are like this, but I have to say I truly enjoyed it. The story is entertaining. I wanted to know where all of Silvania’s clues were going to take Jane & why.
What I didn’t like: The main character, “Jane Smith” pretty much sucks. She completely abandons her husband & daughter to go on a wild goose chase & is just an ass in general to people. Also, there were so many nicknames for people & the flipping between Jane’s nickname for them & their real name that I got confused at times. One person’s nickname starts as “Hellbender” then changes to “Hellmouth” at some point.
Hummingbird Salamander is a crazy roller coaster ride filled with bits of sci-fi, thriller, some family drama & a dash of dystopia.
“Sometimes I feel as if we live in hell and don’t even realize it. The lacerations are endless. The lies we accept, the rituals we perform. All these useless acts.” ~ Jane Smith
Hummingbird Salamander will be published on April 6, 2021.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included herein are my own.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted City of Saints and Madmen but got more Dead Astronauts.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A just-okay detective story interspersed with a bunch of really irritating Eco and Fem preaching. It gets very awkward sometimes. Like, who is he trying to please? This is not science fiction, unfortunately, and clearly Jeff Vandermeer is not a fiction writer but a science fiction writer, and should stick to that. Terrible characters, terrible book with an extremely illogical ending but then the premise is extremely stupid as well. And all of that preaching, oy.
Content Warnings
Prepare to be extremely annoyed.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Could have been an interesting story and the set up for the ending was good but the main character was unrelatable, unlikable and uninteresting
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated