Wow! This book is hard to describe. I have no idea what to think about this book and I am not so sure that was not the point of the book. The book is confusing, complex, and ridiculous. I am not sure if this book is classified as Sci/Fi, dystopia, a thriller or a mystery. The book is about wildlife trafficking, bioterrorism, ecoterrorism, and climate change. I have not read any books by Jeff VanderMeer and had no expectations for this book other than it sounded interesting and the cover is beautiful.

The people in the book are not likeable. The security consultant, Jane/Jill, who the story revolves around dumps her family to go on a chase to discover the secretes left behind by Silvina. I personally could not get over the fact that a mother would leave behind her daughter and husband. The events hurt or killed people in her work place and she did not give a shit. Jane's life was threated throughout the book but she kept going. She had no qualifications to take on a multinational corporation or a bioterrorist/ecoterrorist group. Why this woman would do this on her own was ridiculous. Others in this book were just as despicable.

I don't think I ever understood the point this book was trying to get across because it jumped around so much. The book has people in it that add very little to the storyline but add to the confusion. I have a reservation at a local book store to listen to Mr. VanderMeer speak about this book via Zoom.. Maybe after I understand his point of view, I can revise this review.

I would like to thank #NetGalley for a copy of Hummingbird Salamander. While the book may not go down as a favorite, it is always nice to read something different. It also has me interested enough to attend the authors discussion on the book so sparking curiosity is always a good thing.

Hummingbird Salamander is a unique eco-thriller that was surprising and suspenseful, but I found myself often confused. The reader is walking blindly in the dark being fed bits and pieces of information but at times there was a bit too much ambiguity for my liking. I seemed to trudge through the middle of the story and while I feel that unlikable characters can serve a purpose, Jane's character frustrated me. I expected more out of this book and it wound up falling a bit flat for me.

I've been a passionate VanderMeer fan since the publication of Annihilation in 2014, and got used to a certain style of writing that was dense and complicated but also endearing and incredibly addictive. I often found myself having to re-read passages of his books. The Southern Reach trilogy and Borne books were similar in style and story and felt of a piece with each other. His foray into young adult fiction with last years A Peculiar Peril was the first evolution I witnessed as a VanderMeer devotee, and Hummingbird Salamander continues in the recent trend of growth in evolution in VanderMeer's ouvre.

Though much more approachable than his previous adult fiction, VanderMeer still dives deep into his common themes of environmentalism and the human destruction of our ecosystem. If I was writing this review a few years ago I would categorize the world in which this takes place as being speculative fiction, but VanderMeer's view of the future seems to be inching closer and closer to our present. The world is dying, we're in the middle of a pandemic, and far-right terrorism is rampant in the US. VanderMeer has his finger to the pulse of our reality and it's certainly a scary future to be staring face-to-face with.

The book falls under a genre (detective novel) that I'm predisposed to enjoy, but it gives a nice twist on the genre by making the hero, "Jane Smith," a security consultant who goes rogue and investigates the extremely rare hummingbird taxidermy that was delivered to her. Jane's life snowballs as she digs deeper into the world of Silvina, the mysterious ecoterrorist that left her the hummingbird. The point of the mystery can sometimes seem secondary to the books literary flair and genre tropes, but the book culminates in a fascinating and satisfying ending that I did not see coming.

This book will resonate more with fans of VanderMeer's previous work than with newcomers, but it also serves as a great gateway into the works of one of the best American authors of the last decade. 5 stars.

Thank you @fsgbooks, @netgalley and @jeff_vandermeer123 for the gifted digital galley of Hummingbird Salamander in exchange for my honest review.

Excitedly,  I delved into Hummingbird Salamander as if I'd been deprived of books for decades. The hype, the mystery, the science, the beautiful cover art; everything about this book had me anticipating greatness.

From the first paragraph and the introduction of our protagonist "Jane," we are hooked. 
Jane Smith, the name she wishes to be known as, is given an envelope by a barista after leaving her local coffee shop.

Within the envelope Jane finds a key, an address and the number 7. A cryptic note written on the back of the envelope intrigues Jane enough that she abandons work and heads to the address enclosed.

At the location, a storage facility, Jane uses the key to enter room 7, finding only a cardboard box, a taxidermied hummingbird, and a note from a mysterious woman, known only as Silvina, that sends Jane in search of a preserved salamander.

Consumed with curiosity Jane delves deeper into the life of Silvina and her own connection to the mysterious woman. What ensues is a dangerous and deadly scavenger hunt that plunges Jane into the world of endangered animal trafficking, organized crime, and ecoterrorism leaving her alone and her   family in danger.

With time running out, Jane races against the clock, to not only save herself, but possibly the entire world.
●□●□●□●□●□●□●□

Review

From the moment we are introduced to our herione, Jane Smith, Vandermeer sets the stage for a fast paced thriller doling out clues bit by bit, all the while drawing the reader deeper into the mystery of Silvina, the hummingbird, and Jane's own secretive past.

Jeff Vandermeer has taken the environmental destruction of our planet and the sciences of evolution and extinction, and turned
Hummingbird Salamander into an exciting, page turning sci-fi mystery.

4☆☆☆☆

My opinion is my own.

Fortunately I have read numerous books by Mr. VanderMeer previously and knew what to expect from his writing. His mind works a tad different that many and for that I am grateful! I can see how some might not like his writing style and I will admit at times I am saying WTF... But all-in-all I enjoy everything his name writes. His characters are often intense and that makes the story even better. in this story "Jane Smith AKA Jill AKA, we do not know her real name, is given a letter from Silvina (how has since passed away) which leaders her to discovering a taxidermy hummingbird which sends her on a mission to find the Salamander and introduces her to some very unsavory characters. She leaves her job, her husband, her daughter in order to find the salamander and the truth. From her trip to NYC where she meets Jack, to her flashbacks of Ned, her father, and Shot, this story from beginning to end is mind boggling in the best possible way. If you have never read a Jeff VanderMeer book before you are in for a mind-blowing treat. but beware, as I said, his mind works in ways we mere mortals cannot always understand,
Solid 5 star book!

VanderMeer comes out of his world a little, or rather he comes out of the world he created in the Southern Reach Trilogy and also from the world of Ambergris, but remains close to the themes and style of other texts such as Borne (post-apocalypse and biotechnology) and also of Finch: even here on Hummingbird Salamander we find echoes of the biotechnological apocalypse, although only in the form of a threat created by man, it is a thriller that uses more or less classical methods, as Finch did with noir, and again as Finch exploits some peculiar and fascinating metaphors torn from the biological world (there the finch, here hummingbirds and salamander in relation to climate change and the ability to readjust or not to drastically changed environments).
Spanning from bioterrorism to climate change to the threats of disaster capitalism VanderMeer patiently feeds the reader with small spoonful of plot and builds a claustrophobic, almost surreal universe, yet tremendously close to the real world where by dint of inventing stories about dystopias and apocalypses one has almost come to consider those dangers only as narrative devices.

Novel is about Jane...who happens to be a computer sleuth, also strong and talented in hand to hand combat and familiar with guns. She us a bit of an odd duck. Men aren't afraid of her but they are not drawn to her either.
She receives a taxidermied hummingbird and begins following a strange, tortuous path of investigation into the person that sent it to her.
As the story develops, her family, coworkers, and herself become targets in this long twisty tale.
It is about many things...family, ecology ,terrorism, manias, money, the chaos in our world, and evil.
I felt compelled to keep reading even when I was confused or felt the story waning. It is not just the story that makes it worth reading...it is the writing. Sentences say so much. I do not want to quote any sentences here as I read an uncorrected proof, but there are no weird " his eyes rolled down her dress " sentences here!
do give it a try.

I found this to be an ok read. A bit plodding but interesting to power through. Will probably try it again soon. Thanks for the ARC!

This book is a mix of crazy and genius. At first, the book reads like a gripping script of a classic noir film (I have an affinity for old-school black and white noir), then it veers off into the weeds. I was in the thick of some racing madness like in the House of Leaves. It was like traveling in the head of a paranoid schizophrenic who was off their medication. I couldn't quite tell if it was supposed to be real or just an elaborate string of hallucinations like in Shutter Island. If that is the effect Jeff Vandermeer was going for, then . . . Bravo!

There were moments midway into the story where I felt the origin of all this chaos would unfold and reveal itself as a rare exotic flower blooms at midnight, that we were digging in to find some really deep, really painful revelation, but most of it landed like an inside joke that the reader just wasn't fully included in.

Hummingbird Salamander is considered by many to be an Eco-thriller, a niche that's new to me. Considering the state of things though it may be an ever-burgeoning trend. I have the same concerns of most inhabitants of this world . . . about our human folly and continued existence, trudging ever faster toward a fate, without enough concern of the environment. For me, this book did pose a question, one advocating the protection of a future for nature at all costs. We currently sacrifice and exploit our resources in the name of human survival . . . the ironic result will be the existence of neither. What are we willing to do about it?

I write historical fiction that often includes government spies, organized crime, and deep dark secrets, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. Alas, it felt more like a damaged lover who built a protective wall too high and wouldn't let me in.

I sincerely thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for allowing me to read an advance copy of Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer for an honest review.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer is a highly recommended biotech speculative conspiracy thriller.

An unnamed security consultant “Jane Smith” is the narrator who states that is telling us the story of how the world ends. Jane receives an envelope with a note and a key to a storage unit. Inside the storage unit is a taxidermied hummingbird and a note from someone named Silvina with the words hummingbird ... salamander. Jane takes the hummingbird and begins to surreptitiously look into who Silvina is. Jane discovers the note was from Silvina Vilcacampa, a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. Her research, even though it was carefully undertaken, sets into motion a series of events that result in surveillance and danger from unseen and unknown enemies. Jane, though, is a strong, capable woman, physically and mentally, and she continues looking into Silvina's life even as the danger increases.

Hummingbird Salamander is an absolutely unique twisty thriller with a noir vibe. We have antagonists who are destroying the natural world and involved in exotic wildlife smuggling, but they aren't absolutely bad. We have protagonists who mean well, but are also running on the wrong side of the law. There are also endangered species, climate change, the approaching end of the world, a dark global conspiracy, and a host of unseen foes who want to stop anyone looking into any knowledge of whatever it is that Silvina was doing - but why? And the attacks are directed at everyone even remotely connected with Jane.

The thriller is extremely well written and carefully plotted to allow an increase of tension as the action carefully unfolds and the danger is ever present, ever increasing. The world described is certainly similar to the one we live in, although not entirely realistic, but in a future transmutation of the world. It is not a created new world/new reality. It does, at times have a sort of cinematic dream-like feeling. As if we are being shown the reality of what is behind the curtain, what could be a future.

Jane is a well-developed character, although not particularly likeable. She wouldn't care if you liked her either. She was a body builder, she is tall, strong, and already prepared with a go-bag to escape some threat. She is not afraid of defending her self. She does the unexpected in physical fights which put the men attacking her off-balance. She's in many ways a very good role model for women to be physically strong and mentally smart. On the other hand, she continues to call the large bag she carries "shovel pig" after her boss gave it that moniker. That's a little odd. But you will also follow Jane's actions with rapt attention right to the ultimate final revelations.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux via Netgalley
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Hummingbird Salamander has all of the angsty dread that I expect with Jeff VanderMeer. A page turning eco-thriller. The plot points didn’t quite line up for me here, though and there were a LOT of threads to tie up.

This is my first book by Jeff Vandermeer so I wasn't sure what to expect. Hummingbird Salamander is written as a constant stream of thoughts by the main character who calls herself Jane Smith. Jane's point of view is the only point of view you get to experience in this book. There are other characters but you only view them from Jane's mind; they are only given names by Jane and she states that they are made up names so you don't even know who they really are.
You learn a lot about Jane's view of herself and her world. You see that she is a security manager, but what that means and who her clients are, are never explain. You see that she is married to a husband she loves yet cheats on, and that they have a daughter that she loves but doesn't really have interest in.
Jane receives a mysterious note from a barista with a location. Instead of disregarding the note, Jane drives to the location and finds a storage shed with a taxidermy hummingbird inside. This makes Jane embark on a dangerous decision to investigate the source of the note and the meaning of the hummingbird.
The hummingbird seems to be from an ecoterrorist name Silvinia. The story starts to, intentionally or subconsciously or subliminally, make you more aware of the dangers humankind are inflicting on the ecosystem. As Jane is drawn into the mystery of the hummingbird, you the reader start to wonder if Silvinia's thoughts on the environment are infecting not only Jane but yourself. You also begin to wonder if the entire story is going on in Jane's head or if she is in fact the Silvinia she is researching.
This story starts out slow, then meanders along various tracks. It is crazy, adventurous and so captivating. You just get sucked in to all the craziness and you wonder what the heck am I reading and what is going to happen next.
This book is confusing and frustrating. It makes you want to pull your hair out and throw the book across the room. Yet, your eyes can't leave the page and you can't put the book down because you wonder if it will all make sense or if the ending will be satisfying. You wonder if Jane solves the puzzle or saves the world. You wonder until... If I told you it would ruin the whole adventure so go purchase the book and live this crazy, confusing, and captivating story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Part eco-thriller, part climate change manifesto, Hummingbird Salamander is Jeff VanderMeer doing his abstruse best. Probably not quite as compelling as the Southern Reach Trilogy, nevertheless I was sucked in from the very beginning, even though I had no idea where I was going. The pacing was superb - I really wanted to see where this story was going. Everything connects at the end - no detail is too small to be connected into the whole. The only real disappointment I had was the connection between Silvina and Jane, but that did not diminish the storyline as a whole.

"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."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Dropped into a near-future world with very little handholding, readers may find that Hummingbird Salamander is a book that takes some time to fully get into. It took me a little while to find my bearings with this book, but that actually enhances some of the off-kilter spookiness that runs throughout. Like his Southern Reach Trilogy, this books provides more questions than it does answers, but whether that is a good thing or a bad thing will vary from reader to reader. There is a sense of dread throughout, but in what is happening to "Jane" and to what is happening to the world at large in terms of climate change.

I found "Jane: to be an interesting character, if not a particularly likable one. I didn't always follow her decision making or her reactions to the various mysteries she encounters. For how much time we spend in her head, I don't feel like I ended up knowing her as well as I would have liked.

For me, this was a slower read than some of VanderMeer's previous works. I don't want to say that it was ever a slog, because his prose is engaging and his ideas are interesting, but it's a very *dense* work. There are a couple of times when the environmental message comes across a bit "lecture-y", but it's such an important message and one that is obviously close to the author's heart, so I forgive that more here than I usually would in prose fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a free eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Once again Jeff Vandermeer drops you in the middle of a world and through unique and well defined characters, takes you on a roller coaster of a thriller.

A letter with an address, a taxidermied hummingbird and a mystery that unravels as the narrator takes us along on her own personal investigation as to why. Why her? Why a hummingbird? Why a reference to a salamander?

Don’t ask questions. Just sit back and enjoy this wild ride.

Hummingbird Salamander is a strange, thought-provoking eco-thriller. This is the first book of Jeff VanderMeer that I have read, and very much appreciated how beautifully written it is. Initially it took a bit to get involved in the story of Jane, but eventually I was totally able to grasp the nuance and was surprised at how it played out.
The story revolves around “Jane” (not her real name), a very dark character, who is employed as a Security Consultant. She mysteriously receives an envelope containing a key from a deceased eco-terrorist, Silvina. The key arouses Jane’s curiosity and initiates her pursuit of solving the mystery that unfolds throughout the story. While playing at detective she encounters many dangerous situations including unsavory characters and untamed surroundings. As Jane tells her story you will also learn about her abusive past which defines her future, and her impulse to follow each lead she acquires along the way. Pandemics and environmental ruin are mentioned, and the events become even more ominous, as it leads you to believe you are reading about the ecological conditions in our world today.
I will say, I somewhat enjoyed Hummingbird Salamander, even though I did not want to; in fact, at times, I could not fall asleep thinking about some events in the story. Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for an advanced preview of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. This book was just too much work to enjoy. A little short of halfway through, I debated not finishing because at that point I still didn't really understand why Jane was making the decisions she was, and I certainly didn't like her or care about her. I kept thinking, maybe if her past was revealed a bit sooner it would make sense as to why she cared so much about figuring out the mystery of Silvina, but then thought, if that was true, why would she spend so much time questioning herself? So it was somewhat satisfactory to find out what the link finally was, and it did make sense that Jane didn't even know. But then the rest of the end just dragged on, although I did finally realize that I had confused 'Hillman' and 'Hellmouth,' thinking they were the same person, when actually they weren't. None of the characters outside of Jane's past were memorable or meaningful to me. I had lost so much interest by the actual end that I didn't want to spend another minute thinking about if it actually made sense.

This was a tough one for me. It was a complicated, confusing series of events that took a while to finally come together. I had difficulty with Jane, the main character. She is not a wholly sympathetic person who becomes obsessed with a taxidermed hummingbird and a woman named
Silvina. It moves from curiosity to ecoterroism, bioterrorism, animal trafficking, murder and environmental destruction. This is quite a lot to comprehend. I think it will be a great movie.

Thank you to #JeffVanderMeer #netgalley#FarrarStrausandGiroux for this e arc.

I think the trouble I had with this might be a case of reading something by an author I really like, writing in a genre I might not. There were some really imaginative and awe-inspiring passages, but the main plot read like kind of standard mystery fare with a protagonist whose motives for getting involved were kind of incomprehensible to me, which got pretty distracting as the stakes got higher and higher.

Maybe I'd have followed better if I had read this in fewer sittings, but I found it was a lot of the main character being like "it's all starting to make sense!" and me being like "is it?" and then her drawing a conclusion that did not seem to follow from what had just happened. The ending was very cool but felt like a prologue to a different book that I would have liked better.

When I tell you I audibly shrieked when I was accepted to receive an e-arc for this book, I mean it. Like, I was in a public place, I saw the email, and I squeaked. People looked at me funny. People are always looking at me funny, but for once, there was a really valid reason for this.

It’s interesting how much Jeff VanderMeer novels have stuck with me. A few of my closest friends and family have heard me go on and on about how much I love his books. I listen to Annihilation to fall asleep. I dunno, something about going into a foreign environment and slowly becoming a part of it has the same relaxing effect on my mind that Hozier’s “In the Woods Somewhere” does.

I want to like this book, I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. I think my expectations led me to find issue with it more; but these issues are not issues with the book, exactly, but with my own desires and expectations.

This book centers around “Jane Smith,” which she says is not her name, but a name with which you can associate with her. I always love the way VanderMeer plays with names- Silvina has many meetings that connect with “rooted,” and “forest,” which is a fun little thing to note while you’re reading. Jane proceeds to blow up her entire life in pursuit of the mystery of a woman named Silvina.

I don’t think this book was very science fiction-esque. It feels more eco-thriller than eco-fantasy. If you’re going in expecting Annihilation or Borne or even A Peculiar Peril, you’re not gonna get it. I was disappointed because of this, but I don’t think this makes the book objectively bad.

This book is tense, uncomfortable, and real. It hurts to see lines that terrify me that connect more to reality than to some fictional dystopia. Our world is falling apart; is that not as dystopian as it gets?

I would recommend this book to people who haven’t read VanderMeer or didn’t like his other books, but love thrillers and need a little motivation to care about the Earth. This shows off all his talent in writing while also punching you in the gut with all that existential dread.