Hummingbird Salamander
From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things.
"Jane Smith"--not her real name--receives an envelope that contains a note from a woman she doesn't know and a key to an anonymous storage unit. The key leads her to a pair of taxidermied animals, a hummingbird and a salamander, which turn out to be two of the most endangered creatures on earth. Jane has set in motion a series of events that quickly spin beyond her control. She is being followed, her home surveilled, her family in peril. The author of the mysterious note--Jane's only real lead--is already dead. She was, Jane learns, a reputed ecoterrorist. What did she want with Jane? Profiteering wildlife smugglers; an amoral energy company; an extremist's apocalyptic vision. The threats come from all around, and time is running out--for Jane and possibly for the world. Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer at his dazzling, cinematic best, wrapping profound questions into a tightly plotted tale of the fight to survive.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
I wanted to like this book more than I ended up once I finished. I have not read a lot of climate change fiction, but I think there must be others that are more riveting and keep you at the edge of your seat because the stakes are so high. I didn't experience that with this book. The characters aren't particularly likeable which may be why i didn't feel as invested in what happened with them.
The climate change issues mentioned specifically are issues which we see and feel already today: extinctions of animal species, wildfires, pandemics... We can imagine these more because we are already living through them versus having the author paint a picture through his words of a post apocalyptic world. I found the writing to be very choppy which may be why when listening to the book it was difficult to follow at times and lacked a certain flow.
The climate change issues mentioned specifically are issues which we see and feel already today: extinctions of animal species, wildfires, pandemics... We can imagine these more because we are already living through them versus having the author paint a picture through his words of a post apocalyptic world. I found the writing to be very choppy which may be why when listening to the book it was difficult to follow at times and lacked a certain flow.
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