bush42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
what a fucking nightmare. grimy and overly organic. like a post-post-post-scarcity orpheus story. delightful imagery that worms its way under your skin. i read most of it while stuck in a hospital, which was not a healthy environment for this kind of story. my copy came with some short stories in the back, but the real star is definitely the original novella.
caseythereader's review
Too slow moving and descriptive for me - I could tune out for a long time and not miss any plot development, so I eventually just found myself tuning out entirely.
a_o's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
emilycarney's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
BANGER Mr Jeff VanderMeer I love you x
claudeml's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Extra weird, super intense, really poetic, but creepy. 100% Vandermeer
alphonzs's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.5
Fascinatingly disturbing. I arrived at this book with just a vague recommendation. What I found is hard to place. Feels like sci-fi and urban fantasy dipping into grotesque body horror, and I absolutely enjoyed it.
At first I found myself lost, much like when I read the Neuromancer, until it started to unfold. It’s a futuristic setting where bioengineering experiments have found a place in society, a city, and the story of 3 characters struggling in this place and its many floors below ground. The descriptions are very graphical at times, but it’s a gripping journey into strangeness.
”Soon he would bend into a totally new shape altogether. He welcomed that. He wanted that. Maybe the new thing he would become would no longer hurt, would no longer fear, would no longer look back down into the void and wonder what was left of him“
miriamrose's review against another edition
i really enjoyed the concept of this initially but there was so much body horror and gore and animal cruelty and it was only getting worse the more the book went on. was making me so depressed and i couldn’t hack it anymore. so imaginative though i want to try more of his books this one just wasn’t for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Animal death
alyaudiobook's review against another edition
Other books more interesting right now. Would attempt another day.
becsti's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
murve's review
2.0
I really enjoyed reading Borne, but this title didn't draw me in quite as much. I love VanderMeer's ability to create wild, speculative worlds, yet I was confused by this one. I had trouble keeping the characters straight while listening on the audiobook and didn't quite connect with any of their stories. Also, one of the character's name constantly sounded like when read aloud in the audiobook, which was very annoying.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.
Spoiler
"ballsack"Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.