With Borne, VanderMeer gets even weirder, but more literary as well. It’s a creepy, fascinating post-apocalyptic story set in a world overrun with bizarre biotechnology.
A scavenger in a ruined city finds a small, talking plant-like creature while ruffling through the fur of a bear the size of an apartment building. Things get stranger from there as the plant thing becomes both much more human and much less human.
The characters are fully-realized, full of doubts and vulnerabilities and strengths. While I was a little let down by the ending, Borne is still an impressive, inventive book.
Recommendation: Read it, especially if you’ve already read the Southern Reach trilogy. If you haven’t, you might want to start with Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance before hitting Borne.
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