"Hummingbird Salamander" by Jeff VanderMeer

 

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 Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As she desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out—for 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. ~taken from Goodreads

From the author of The Southern Reach series come a new thriller! I was a huge fan of the trilogy so I was so excited to read this latest from Jeff VanderMeer. However, if you were expecting a mysterious, sci-fi thriller you will be disappointed. This is more of an eco-thriller, set in the modern world and based on reality. 

Part 1 was a slow and confusing start. We meet "Jane", who is pretty much a selfish human being. She doesn't seem to give two hoots about her coworkers, her husband, or even her daughter. She's a damaged woman (who isn't) but has built up so many walls and pushed so many people who care about her away, keeping them at an arms length and not caring about how her actions will effect them. She was completely unrelatable, and I found it hard to get into the story because I truly didn't care about the character one way or the other. The only mystery that kept me reading was finding out who Silvina was and why she left taxidermy animals to Jane after her death. Part 1 was filled with long ramblings of Jane's backstory that seemed to have no relevance to the current story. I skimmed some paragraphs and kept pressing on.

Part 2 is where the story finally got me hooked! It took a few days to get through Part 1, and it took all of 3 hours to get me through Part 2- that's how good it got! There are people after Jane. Bad people, but figuring out who they work for and why they are chasing her is the mystery. Jane starts investigating the places in Silvina's  world, her apartment, her commune, and how close she was to her family who are part of a powerful criminal empire. Was Silvina, the eco-terrorist with a good heart, involved in highly illegal activity? Did she sacrifice her beliefs in the name of money? What was her end goal? Was her death truly and accident or was she murdered?

Part 3 was good at the start, but the ending got weird. The novel seemed to go from reality to a sci-fi dystopian world and the jump from reality to this crazy fiction came fast and without warning. It left me confused and flipping back pages, wondering if I missed something important. The end-end was less than satisfying and I felt a huge let down as everything tied together and came to a close. 

I am glad I read this novel and I can honestly say I did enjoy the read. It was a 3 star read for me. 

"Hummingbird Salamander" is set to be released here in the U.S. on April 6, 2021. Pre-order your copy now!

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review. 

Happy Reading!