Reviews

Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer

lucilla_17's review against another edition

1.0

I think I would have loved this when I was 20. It was well written, and the plot/characters were fine, I just did not enjoy the style.

zshadow126's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-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

3.75

kateapatton's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

noreiller's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

stellarleon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

fableborealis's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

dukegregory's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

Kind of an obvious thing to say for debuts, but this feels like a true Genesis for VanderMeer's body of work. But also beyond Genesis. It is sort of a Bible of his themes:

Hybridity, man vs. nature, symbiosis, bioengineering, the uncanny, underground tunnels/architecture, the fear of the unknown, our culpability in our own demise, twins, doppelgangers, body alteration/mutilation/mutation, art in the face of cultural demise, the City as character and/or living being, love, perception, origins, and insanity.

Some of the craziest descriptions I've ever read, which seems par for the course with VanderMeer at this point. Totally imaginative and thrilling. Not as thematically deep as Ambergris or Southern Reach, but it's a younger person's novel with a sense that genre can be both enjoyed for what it is and distorted beyond recognition.

A beautiful testament to the New Weird's heyday.

wheresthebirds's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

mysterystarship's review against another edition

adventurous sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

jan1k's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I really enjoyed all the aspect of this novel and the different themes it introduced, but at times it felt like a whirlwind in which you couldn’t stop, breathe and sit with these ideas. It was very enjoyable to read but I can’t help but wish there was more. More world building. More breaks. More depth. Will definitely be picking up more of his novels :)