Reviews

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

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lost_keys's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Vandermeer’s prose is so chewy and toothsome, and his characters are so human and strange.

Content Warnings

melissa_bookworm's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a 2.5 Star read for me.

I didn't warm to the story at all. I read the first two in VanderMeer's Southern Reach Series, which I found quite disturbing, Borne didn't have the same sort of vibe. It was mainly post apocalyptic strangeness rather than the unsettling events of Southern Reach. Sci-Fi isn't a genre that I read widely in and this wasn't one of my favourites.

I found some of the concepts, like the biotech. The beetles are meant to be small diagnostic technology, but can be eaten as a meal for several people and can block a door. Mord was strange as well, that he was a gigantic flying bear which was engineered from a human (HOWWWWW?). I think I was looking for more of an explanation than is necessary, but it definitely impacted on my enjoyment.

The only part I enjoyed was the reveal of the secrets Wick was keeping towards the end. The book was well written but I couldn't connect with the text. Probably wouldn't recommend to people who don't read lots of sci-fi.

venrus_stryder's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

matt_headland's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.25

thecaptainand's review against another edition

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dark

3.5

soupgirl9's review against another edition

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2.0

sigh... yall i really wanted to like this one but the characters were so flat and boring that i just couldn't care. also i really liked borne but the fact he was barely in the second act of the book like?? he really didn't have much point to the plot beyond straining wick and rachel's relationship but they made up at the end so it really didn't even matter???? ALSO THE FACT THAT WICK LIVED BUT BORNE DIED PISSED ME OFF LIKE??????

tldr this could have been so good but it fell flat imo

marusinp's review against another edition

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5.0

Excellent eco-dystopian piece w/ some of the most dreary visions of future maybe not as distant as one would think. Harsh, but in some sense psychadelic universe full of scents, sweat, biologically modified creatures (who however still resemble humans/animals just enough for reader to relate to or identify w/). Solid underlying concepts included. Unique off-the-wall gem of contemporary sci-fi.