Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Hummingbird Salamander
Hummingbird Salamander: A Novel | Jeff VanderMeer
25 posts | 25 read | 18 to read
From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things. Security consultant Jane Smith receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvinas footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running outfor her and possibly for the world. Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his brilliant, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions about climate change, identity, and the world we live in into a tightly plotted thriller full of unexpected twists and elaborate conspiracy.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
blurb
Jari-chan
post image

Thank you so much for your lovely package @iread2much 💖 So many beautiful and unique gifts! Thank you!!!

review
Jari-chan
post image
Pickpick

I think this is a pick...? A soft one, I'd say. I loved the start, the writing, and of course the topic of the book. It was special, different. Exactly what I expected from Vandermeer. But I think he lost himself and the plot somewhere in the middle. At least it felt like this to me. And therefore, he also lost me. It got better again at the end, but there was a big whole, where I wasn't sure what the author wanted to tell me exactly...

37 likes1 comment
blurb
Jari-chan
post image

I think we all agree that #Litsylove letters and book mail are the best ❤ Yesterday I got lucky and had both in my mail box 💛 This little gem is due for another big journey after I read it. Really, I wanted to have this book since I first lay eyes on it. Yes, I totally judge books by their covers (and their authors).

@iread2much

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 7mo
Jari-chan @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Right?! 😍😍😍 7mo
iread2much I‘m looking forward to reading your thoughts on it 😁 7mo
Jari-chan @iread2much I'm so excited for our exchange 😁 7mo
iread2much @Jari-chan me too! 7mo
32 likes5 comments
blurb
Conservio
post image

reading The Library at Mount Char has me craving some more Weird books. I loved annihilation by jeff vandermeer. #buddyread #Weird

10 likes1 stack add
review
Buchbeeg
post image
Panpan

Another 2022 read.
I was overly excited for this book which is probably why this is a no go instead of so so.
The main character is so unlikeable it's hard to be with her for an entire novel. And honestly there isn't a lot of story in the pages. I know so many people who really loved this, so I think I'm in the minority with this one but it just wasn't for me.

blurb
traa
post image

review
cariashley
post image
Mehso-so

I‘m a big fan of VanderMeer but overall this was disappointing and my least favorite of his books. It started out strong but I couldn‘t get a handle on what was really motivating the main character‘s obsession, at the expense of literally everything else in her life. The suspenseful tone was on point throughout though and kept me reading.

blurb
Conservio
post image

#newin

top two are from an local bookstore (#bookworm) and bottom are from the book subscription box #wordytraveler

the left 2 are nonfiction and the right two are fiction #aroundtheworld #danube

blurb
MaleficentBookDragon
post image

#bookoutlet #bookhaul #bookmail
This book has almost 50/50 reviews, so I was debating not purchasing it; but, it has the most #beautifulcover I‘ve seen in a while. I‘m judging this book by its cover .😁

58 likes1 stack add
review
TracyReadsBooks
post image
Pickpick

So I liked it but less for the story, there really isn‘t much of one, & more for the telling of the story which is absolutely phenomenal. If you are interested in the craft of writing, you could do much worse than reading this book to understand how to create tension, effectively use foreshadowing, the slow & steady building of seemingly innocuous moments into big consequential moments & more. Strong first half, weaker back half but interesting.

LiteraryinPA Great review! 3y
tessavi I had a similar feeling about this book! 3y
TracyReadsBooks @tessavi Right? Such an unusual reading experience. It‘s so well constructed and so-well-written but the story itself is more than a little uninspiring. And yet…and yet…the writing! 3y
Alfoster Great review! I loved this one too!❤️👊 3y
24 likes4 comments
blurb
TracyReadsBooks
post image

Monday morning reading

vivastory I love the new editions of Vandermeer's books 3y
19 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
BekaReid
post image
Pickpick

I really liked the narrative voice of Jane, who is frankly not a very likable character. But Jane speaks honestly and openly about who she is recognizing her selfishness and other flaws. She doesn‘t try to make excuses even as we eventually discover the awful childhood she had. I was engrossed in her story and wanted to understand what compelled her to abandon all and continue to dig deeper despite the danger not just to herself but to others.

quote
BekaReid
post image

“The face that stares back at you from the mirror later in life is so different than when you‘re young. There‘s a winnowing away and a shutting down. A sense of something having been taken from you and you don‘t know exactly what it is, just that it isn‘t there anymore. What opens up to you instead is experience, is cunning, is foreknowledge. Nothing you sought.“

review
BookmarkTavern
post image
Panpan

A stuffed hummingbird is only the beginning of an obsession that leads to Jane losing everything.

This didn‘t click with me. It‘s slow, not very thriller paced until 1/2 way. The stream of consciousness style was tough to follow. And I didn‘t feel like we ever really know Jane, for all the time we spend in her head.

I‘m not sure what story was told here or what I was supposed to take away from it. I was just left a little hopeless. 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

quote
welltemperedwriter
post image

As my illness progressed, over time, I would see also the complexity of what we took for granted in our landscapes and hidden lines of connection would attach to me until moving through the world was like being wrapped in chains. But it was the links, the chains, that made you free. Once you saw it all, you could never go back. Everything was alive. Overwhelming. I was overwhelmed eventually. Overcome.

review
nosferatu
post image
Mehso-so

Like: the overall sense of mystery; the idea of environmental disaster slowly moving into the narrative foreground; the sense of space; the salamander facts.

Dislike: a bunch of isolated events that barely constitute a plot; characters boasting so much pathos and introspection I expected them to say "I‘m a character in a mystery novel" any minute; the abundance of sentence fragments.

Rachel.Rencher I feel like this author always has great concepts but just doesn't know how to execute them. 4y
nosferatu Agreed! I absolutely loved Annihilation, but didn‘t really care for the two sequels and what they did with the original story. Also, never got past the first chapter of Dead Astronauts (but still planning to do so one day). 4y
6 likes2 comments
review
Bookgirl
post image
Panpan

I wanted to like this. There are some really interesting elements. Ultimately, though, the writing didn‘t work. It was disjointed and led to confusion. It‘s honestly a crazy plot and there‘s no apparent reason why Jane would abandon her life to follow clues left for her by someone she doesn‘t know. It also tries to make statements on too much - there are too many ideas here. This needed a better editor - I think it could have been really good. 😕

BoleyBooks I feel much the same about this one. Still love the cover art. 4y
38 likes1 comment
blurb
Buchbeeg
post image

Book mail! My books from Idependent Bookstore Day came. I've already read Horrorstor, but it's one worth having on your shelf. Hendrix has the coolest books! I've never read VanderMeer but I'm excited to see what he's all about.

blurb
BoleyBooks
post image
review
Well-ReadNeck
post image
Mehso-so

Super weird in the normal VanderMeer way and add taxidermy! The plot was propulsive but just didn‘t really lead anywhere. #ARC #Netgalley

BoleyBooks I wanted to like this one. It fell a bit flat for me too. I still love the cover!🤓 4y
62 likes1 comment
review
Thndrstd
post image
Pickpick

Security consultant “Jane Smith” receives a key to a storage unit. Inside, she finds a taxidermied hummingbird & clues about a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, is a reputed ecoterrorist & daughter of a wealthy industrialist. VanderMeer twists the world we live in ravaged by environmental devastation, into an unsettling mystery-thriller for his readers.

[I received an advanced e-galley through #Netgalley.]

38 likes1 stack add
blurb
BoleyBooks
post image
37 likes2 stack adds