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leanninja 's review for:
Hummingbird Salamander
by Jeff VanderMeer
When I read Annihilation, I was absolutely enthralled. The entire trilogy sucked me in viscerally in a way that horror books had never done before, so I was just thrilled when Hummingbird Salamander came out.
The best I can say is that it's interesting? But god is it confusing. VanderMeer excels at describing the natural world, but the way that he makes the narrator describe these things is completely unbelievable. She works in security - cool, so why does she know so much about flora and fauna the way a scientist would? The way she throws herself into the mystery for no apparent reason is unbelievable. We are given no reason as to why should would follow this rabbit hole, she just does it, in a way that wrecks her entire world - for literally no purpose. The way the characters react around her is unbelievable. No one knows anyone but acts like they all slept together for weeks in college. None of it really follows any train of logic.
The only reason why I've given it as many stars as I have is because I was intrigued. The world is ending, and VanderMeer makes it plain that this is a future we are currently careening towards in the real world. It's the world that keeps me up at night in an existential panic. The characters are living through that future that I know could happen, and instead of making a big deal out of these things, he just throws them in as tiny details. Which makes it all the more real. Because it's the way we currently talk about these things in the news. It feels real. And that is horrible.
The best I can say is that it's interesting? But god is it confusing. VanderMeer excels at describing the natural world, but the way that he makes the narrator describe these things is completely unbelievable. She works in security - cool, so why does she know so much about flora and fauna the way a scientist would? The way she throws herself into the mystery for no apparent reason is unbelievable. We are given no reason as to why should would follow this rabbit hole, she just does it, in a way that wrecks her entire world - for literally no purpose. The way the characters react around her is unbelievable. No one knows anyone but acts like they all slept together for weeks in college. None of it really follows any train of logic.
The only reason why I've given it as many stars as I have is because I was intrigued. The world is ending, and VanderMeer makes it plain that this is a future we are currently careening towards in the real world. It's the world that keeps me up at night in an existential panic. The characters are living through that future that I know could happen, and instead of making a big deal out of these things, he just throws them in as tiny details. Which makes it all the more real. Because it's the way we currently talk about these things in the news. It feels real. And that is horrible.