I wasn't a huge fan of the Southern Reach trilogy, so didn't have high hopes for this book. What a surprise!
Rachel and her partner Wick are trying to survive in a world no longer ruled by humans. Strange creatures created by a biotech corporation referred to as The Company wander the same lands as Rachel. Some of the creations are helpful to humans, but others consider people to be lunch. Rachel takes a ball of biotech slime into her home initially as a sort of houseplant, but the object (later named Borne) begins growing, talking, and learning at an alarming rate. Borne will test Rachel's relationship with Wick, and the three of them will change the world.
Borne does not forgo emotional resonance for weirdness. The book is at its best when describing the interactions and feelings between Rachel and Borne. Borne as a novel is more approachable than Annihilation, so a good place for new readers of VanderMeer to start.
Rachel and her partner Wick are trying to survive in a world no longer ruled by humans. Strange creatures created by a biotech corporation referred to as The Company wander the same lands as Rachel. Some of the creations are helpful to humans, but others consider people to be lunch. Rachel takes a ball of biotech slime into her home initially as a sort of houseplant, but the object (later named Borne) begins growing, talking, and learning at an alarming rate. Borne will test Rachel's relationship with Wick, and the three of them will change the world.
Borne does not forgo emotional resonance for weirdness. The book is at its best when describing the interactions and feelings between Rachel and Borne. Borne as a novel is more approachable than Annihilation, so a good place for new readers of VanderMeer to start.
