A review by little_worm
Veniss Underground by Jeff VanderMeer

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

3.5

In reading, it is very clearly an early work from the author. You can see him stretching some of the narrative devices and use of description that he becomes very adept in later works, and the core themes of environment and trans-humanism that are more concrete and explored in greater depth in his later works. Like a very baby brother to Southern Reach.

Would I have enjoyed it as much as a stand-alone piece, without prior knowledge of Vandermeer's body of work? Probably not, but it was still enjoyable all the same.