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A review by annamickreads
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
3.0
3.5!
I think this book had all the classic staples of a VanderMeer book and that's not a bad thing! But if you were expecting something entirely different, then I can see how you'd be dissatisfied.
"Hummingbird Salamander" follows an anonymous female narrator known as "Jane Smith" through a recording of an incident where she was tasked by a deceased bioterrorist (Silvina) to follow a series of clues for an unknown result. "Jane" is a digital security consultant who is good at her job - to a point - until the ghosts of Silvina's past start viewing Jane as a threat. The narrator and the activist had no prior relationship, so the mystery of the task and the clues are arguably what drives the narrative forward.
Readers quickly discover that the bioterrorist was facing off against her own father, who ran a series of shell corporations that polluted the environment, and a third party wildlife trafficker named Langer. As "Jane" attempts to do work-life balance and solve a mystery, the task at hand quickly spills into her personal life and puts her on the run.
To me, the book also felt very short - we got as much backstory as can be expected from a VanderMeer novel where the protagonist is typically pretty anonymous and reveals themselves slowly, but there was something about the pacing that made me want more, rather than jumping from clue to clue to clue.
I think this book had all the classic staples of a VanderMeer book and that's not a bad thing! But if you were expecting something entirely different, then I can see how you'd be dissatisfied.
"Hummingbird Salamander" follows an anonymous female narrator known as "Jane Smith" through a recording of an incident where she was tasked by a deceased bioterrorist (Silvina) to follow a series of clues for an unknown result. "Jane" is a digital security consultant who is good at her job - to a point - until the ghosts of Silvina's past start viewing Jane as a threat. The narrator and the activist had no prior relationship, so the mystery of the task and the clues are arguably what drives the narrative forward.
Readers quickly discover that the bioterrorist was facing off against her own father, who ran a series of shell corporations that polluted the environment, and a third party wildlife trafficker named Langer. As "Jane" attempts to do work-life balance and solve a mystery, the task at hand quickly spills into her personal life and puts her on the run.
To me, the book also felt very short - we got as much backstory as can be expected from a VanderMeer novel where the protagonist is typically pretty anonymous and reveals themselves slowly, but there was something about the pacing that made me want more, rather than jumping from clue to clue to clue.