sonofachipwich 's review for:

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer

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Won me over for the most part, by the end. The mystery compelled me in all its halting, intentionally contrived weirdness. I like the main character a lot for her undying stubornness and willingness to throw everything away for a goal which her only good reasons to pursue are deeply tied to flaw and trauma. I still think the VanderMeerisms were laid on a little too thick. Also, a lot of the dialogue felt very clunky, but I'm not sure if that is because it's badly written or because it's shared between characters who are playing at being detectives and operatives and characters from hardboiled novels and doing it badly. The ending revelation and and ultimate message leave me pretty cold. Mostly makes me want to read Area X again.