Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Here’s the thing— Vandermeer’s *writing* is flawless. The language he uses enables sweeping feelings of existentialism, of dread, of grief all for characters we really know nothing about. I appreciate how he described the complex feelings of grief a regular person may stumble into when realizing the weight of extinction. Despite this, I am having hard time deciding if I actually enjoyed this book at all. It was such an interesting read because I can’t quite figure out if it really matters what actually happened to the characters or if this was even supposed to be read straight at all. I think this is my least favorite fever dream of his, but I have finished the book with similar feelings of climate grief and awe over the sheer amount of life at stake that is unceremoniously obscured by the day to day of capitalism. More on the mystery thriller side of things that I personally don’t enjoy, so probably not one I will revisit again.
This didn't really grab me. A quarter of the way into the book, and I don't know who any of the characters are and what their relationship is to each other, especially the narrator!
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the main character not believable, partly as gender identity not convincing at all. In nearly every book I have read where the author attempts to write as opposite sex it never fully convinces me that they live in that reality. Either way, the story itself did not convince me either. Get an obscure message from someone you don't know and then proceed to wager your family, job, health, physical well being for....? Lots of other minor inconsistencies but to be brief, I almost tossed this aside without finishing more than once but went ahead and read through the end but still not sure it was worth it.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I only finished this book so I wouldn’t have to be reading it anymore. I picked it up because the premise sounded a lot like Authority, the 2nd installment in the Southern Reach trilogy, which I found creepy and menacing and haunting and great.
However. Page after page of “something mysterious and bad is going to happen!” foreshadowing, or “the answer was right in front of me but I couldn’t see it…” hint dropping, left me feeling like the author was more preoccupied with confusing me than with telling a good or believable story.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews complain that a mother wouldn’t leave her kid—to me, the issue is more WHY. Why does Jane even care about this? I think it’s meant to be kind of like a Fight Club situation, where Jane’s worldview is forever altered by this radical eco-terrorist or whatever she is, until nothing else matters. THAT makes sense; unfortunately the story did not do a good job showing or convincing me that that’s what happened.
Also. Being large in stature does not make a character interesting. I almost feel like VanDermeer got some good feedback about his female characters in the SR trilogy, so he just sort of plunked a half baked facsimile here and waited for his cookie.
This story could have been an X-files thread, and that would’ve worked pretty well. Mulder has a better backstory anyway.
Sorry Jeff.
However. Page after page of “something mysterious and bad is going to happen!” foreshadowing, or “the answer was right in front of me but I couldn’t see it…” hint dropping, left me feeling like the author was more preoccupied with confusing me than with telling a good or believable story.
I’ve seen a lot of reviews complain that a mother wouldn’t leave her kid—to me, the issue is more WHY. Why does Jane even care about this? I think it’s meant to be kind of like a Fight Club situation, where Jane’s worldview is forever altered by this radical eco-terrorist or whatever she is, until nothing else matters. THAT makes sense; unfortunately the story did not do a good job showing or convincing me that that’s what happened.
Also. Being large in stature does not make a character interesting. I almost feel like VanDermeer got some good feedback about his female characters in the SR trilogy, so he just sort of plunked a half baked facsimile here and waited for his cookie.
This story could have been an X-files thread, and that would’ve worked pretty well. Mulder has a better backstory anyway.
Sorry Jeff.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a fever dream (in a good way)! A stream of consciousness noir thriller set on a backdrop of climate collapse. I really enjoyed piecing it all together as it went along.
mysterious
medium-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
Reading through VanderMeer's backlog - figured this one wouldn't really be for me, was right about that! Not a thriller / crime thriller kinda girl. Didn't feel like this was particularly interesting.