Borne

After the Southern Reach Trilogy it would be difficult for any writer to come up with a followup of the same high order. To his credit, VanderMeer tries, but ultimately fails. The setup is intriguing, though I'm at my limit with apocalyptic novels, even though this seems to be VanderMeer's metier. The book is slow and, ultimately, is about parenting, which, frankly, is dull and not very interesting, as the typical progresssion ensues without any surprises or deviation whatsoever. Sadly, though, the first part of the book is better than the last third, which is just plain disappointing. No spoilers, but the explanation of Borne's origin is neither well-enough defined nor very interesting. One other problem, and it's a big one: one of the three major characters is so annoying that even when an explanation is offered for his actions it makes no difference.Highly anticipated by me, but when I finished I wondered why I'd bothered.

This was a imaginative story that kept me up late finishing. A story about what happens to us when we are alone and must bring all our talents and experience together to survive. It brings up how fast things can change how humans tend to need another human in their vicinity to keep thier sanity

If you like the odd, the mysterious, and strangely beautiful yet grotesque creatures and and world's, then Mr. Vandermeer is for you.

No one else out there takes such risks with the new and odd. It's at once awe inspiring and brilliant and disturbing and gorgeous. The creativity flows. And the true magic lies in how deeply he believes it, how effortlessly he conveys such oddities in a manner that, in the face of impossible things never before imagined, I understand and believe.

Mr. Vandermeer has the technical ability of Gene Wolfe with odd and colorful world's that bring to mind Jack Vance.

This book is good, not great. Nice world building and unique points of view. I felt a little underwhelmed by the ending, though it's not a bad or inconsistent one. But the main antagonists are unsatisfyingly dealt with. After a book building both of them up, it was just disappointing.I just didn't think there was enough "meat" here to justify the price of the book. An interesting idea with quirky main characters, however tonally the book is all over the place with many whimsical moments jarringly interrupted with gruesome violence. I'm sure this was on purpose as one of the main characters is literally growing up from naivety to maturity, but it didn't quite work for me for some reason. I also don't know why Vandermeer's books are so expensive. This one in particular was a nice but quick and easy read. I liked this enough to look at his other work but the price-points are the main barrier to me picking up any more of his stories. He just hasn't convinced me he's good enough or says enough to make it worth it. Those looking for a quirky unique scifi novel who aren't particularly price sensitive should pick it up. Just don't expect the Hyperion Cantos and you should be alright.

I loved it. There was the typical ration of VanderMeer cop-out when it came to describing the most surreal (he really loves to leave a little more than he ought to to your imagination), but loved it despite that.

I loved it. There was the typical ration of VanderMeer cop-out when it came to describing the most surreal (he really loves to leave a little more than he ought to to your imagination), but loved it despite that.

Learning just what Borne is all about is just part of this story. Rachel, our narrator, is lost in a ruined city on a ruined world and paints its picture in mind numbing detail; occasionally turning and talking directly to her dear reader. Her history is vague, her reality terrifying and her journey fascinating.

Borne enters her life as an unknown thing and the more she gets to know it the more unknown it remains. What becomes known is the impact Borne has on her and the city. It's hard to explain just how alien the setting and this entity is and yet how engaging and believable the story becomes. You will even believe in the giant flying bear!

Once again the author has created an incredibly different place in which to spend a few hours. Enjoy! I did!

Fantastic read. There is enough reviews that cover the strange things in the novel, but do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

Interestingly enough, I haven't been the biggest fan of Vandermeer as an author in the past. I love his collection The Weird, which is the singular collection of weird fiction one should own if they are interested in an in depth and varied compilation of weird stories through the century, but his other books have always been close to great, but not all the way there.

This one is it. His prose is flowing, unique, and sometimes challenging, and his world building has reached a point of incredible immersion. It's a story that deals with identity, grief, loss, struggle, and finding joy in a world that seems to do everything to sap it from you. There's not much that can be said that wouldn't take away the joy of reading the story, so I'll end it here. If your interested in weird fiction, dystopian fantasy, or Vandermeers work, don't hesitate to pick it up.

Giant flying bears, ruined cities, mutant anemone, love, adventure, survival, what a strange and beautiful book. I started it yesterday evening and finished in the wee hours. Sentence by sentence, 'Borne' by Jeff VanderMeer packs the most wonder and the finest prose in any book I've read in a long while.

Amorphous shapeshifting blobs, winged children, and giant flying bears, oh my. Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne is a lyrical and lovely novel whose stylistic aplomb, weird inventiveness, and great heart more than compensate for what might have ordinarily been noted as flaws in the book. Sure, there are issues, but I loved nearly every minute of Borne, and if it hadn’t come in the same month I’d finished the exceptional City of Miracles and A Gentleman in Moscow, it would have been my best read of the month.

Borne is told from the first-person perspective of Rachel, a scavenger trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world in the near-ruins of a city ruled over by a Godzilla-sized flying bear named Mord. The city is home to The Company, a once powerful and mysterious biotech organization that created Mord and then, as almost anyone could have predicted, was destroyed by him. Mord alone is inventive enough (how does he fly? Who knows? Who cares?). But VanderMeer rarely settles for the “normally weird,” and so he adds the twist that people follow Mord in order to scavenge the flotsam and jetsam that gets stuck in his fur as he travels the city. Sometimes they just wait for it to fall off; other times that scale his mass as he sleeps, searching for something of value.

In one of her scavenging trips, Rachel finds, well, she’s not sure what it is. At first she thinks it (looking like a “half-closed stranded sea anemone”) a plant, then a dumb animal, then, as becomes clear, something more. Rachel is intrigued, her roommate Wick (who once worked for the Company) more worried, especially as Borne starts to demonstrate several traits: speech, an accelerated growth rate, intelligence (though with the knowledge of a young child), shapeshifting, and most worrisome—the ability to absorb or “sample” living things.

Borne then becomes several books as it moves forward. One is a post-apocalyptic novel that makes use of all that genre’s tropes (in original fashion): ecological disaster, refugees, distrust, scavenging, a dog-eat-dog ethos (balanced, as is often the case in other such works, with moments of surprising—and thus all the more effectively moving—kindness and compassion). It’s also a mystery. Or several mysteries. Who/what is Borne? Where did he come from? Who created him and for what purpose? Why did Wick leave the Company? What is the Company and where did its advanced tech come from? Who is The Magician (a mysterious figure seeking to reclaim the city from Mord)? Even Rachel’s own muddled memories of her refugee childhood offer up a potential mystery. Borne is also possibly a love story (Wick and Rachel), though VanderMeer expertly keeps us dancing on the edge of that one, portraying their relationship with all the complexity one would expect of any such pairing in a world such as this.

But perhaps most centrally, it’s a story about being a parent. For Borne is the quintessential blank slate per Rousseau’s view of childhood. He “absorbs” everything, not just matter but information, ethics, emotions. Always growing, evolving, questioning. His name itself is a clue to this aspect, as Rachel tells us she “bore” him. As are Borne’s questions, which any beleaguered parent will recognize as all too familiar (“why is water wet?”). At first VanderMeer is content to let the reader themselves make these connections, as for instance when she early on treats him first as a house plant, then as a pet, and finally as more, as she reads to him, tries to teach him the difference between right and wrong.

Finally, a point comes when the two of them look out on the same view, but what to her is terrible is to him beautiful, and Rachel thinks:

I realized right then in that moment that I’d begun to love him. Because he didn’t see the world like I saw the world. He didn’t see the traps. Because he made me rethink even simple words . . . That was the moment I knew I’d decided to trade my safety for something else. That was the moment . . . I had crossed over into another place.

That scene reminded me of how the first time pushing my infant son in the stroller for the first time I thought to myself as I waited for a car to cross before us that I would throw my body between my son and that car if I needed to. Instantly. Without thinking. I had “crossed over.”

As the book progresses, the parenting theme becomes ever more explicit even as it becomes more emotionally fraught, culminating in Rachel’s simple declaration: “I’m like a mother to Borne . . . He’s like my child.” Which is a good decision I think, since as the parallel grows ever more clear, keeping it unnamed just starts to seem overly cute. Besides, such direct acknowledgement allows for yet another shift in their relationship.

Because of course children don’t “not see the traps” forever. Nor do they stay home. They begin to want to explore the wider world. They start to wonder who they are, who they might turn out to be. Soon Rachel and Borne’s conversations are more and more complicated, eventually Borne decides he needs to “move out” — first down the hall and then, later, for reasons I won’t spoil, even farther.

Beyond the book’s mature themes, it’s filled as well with a wild inventory of creativity — feral children with “gossamer wings”, Mord “proxies,” intelligent foxes, minnows that act as cocktails, biotech camouflage robes, beetles that when “shoved in your ear . . . could rid you of memories and add memories . . . someone else’s happier memories from long ago, from places that didn’t exist anymore.” Some of these, such as the children, come and go a bit too quickly, or are dropped without being on stage long enough for full impact, such as The Magician. But these flaws pale beside the emotional heft of the relationships in the book — Rachel and Borne, Rachel and Wick — as well as the larger issues explored in the novel. The ways in which we impoverish ourselves and our world. The ways in which that world will respond in ways we cannot anticipate or even, perhaps, cannot even comprehend as “response” (themes found as well in VanderMeer’s excellent SOUTHERN REACH trilogy). What it means to be human. How we react when faced with the inhuman. Thanks to those few flaws, Borne is not a perfect book. But thanks to the way it moves the reader’s heart, provokes the reader’s mind, and thanks as well to its literarily lyrical language, it edges up pretty close to being a great one.
(originally appeared on fantasyliterature.com)

As technology develops, we're presented with new possibilities for how humans can destroy the world as we know it. Borne by Jeff VanderMeer depicts a world in ruins and filled with abandoned biotech experiments running rampant.

Scavenging for survival in a city ruined by conflict and the rulings of a fearsome, giant biotech bear, Rachel comes across an odd piece of salvage, which she brings home to her partner Wick and names Borne. Borne initially resembles a plant, but quickly begins to grow and develop - he can speak, change his shape, and learn at an incredible rate. Rachel quickly becomes very attached to Borne, despite Wick's apt warnings not to as Borne's development has thrown their fragile ecosystem off-kilter and exposed them to enemies, which threaten their livelihood and odds of survival.

The writing was rather interesting and well crafted. I quite enjoyed the premise and story as a whole, but I was a little confused by how some of the narrative was constructed - uncertainties in the specifics of various things, primarily settings. Toward the end of the novel, it turned more existential in asking "am I human?" and that was a more overt way of calling attention to a primary theme of the novel. I enjoyed Borne's growing up and learning new vocabulary and distinctions in the world (albeit it a dystopian future world) as there was an innocence to it and it provided some levity and an alternate perspective from which to consider words and accepted ways of the world.

Exciting journey. Destination not so hot. All l could think of at the end was the battle of Godzilla and Ojira (or is it Gammera). After Area X and this book the blush is off the rose with VanderMeer. I'll stick with Neal Stephenson.

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer is one of his most unsettling and endearing novels; it has the brutal edginess of some of his earlier work, but also a nuanced softness to draw in readers who might not otherwise go for Weird fiction. Borne has its monsters, biotech abominations, hideous children surgically given vicious claws, the soft skin of their throats replaced with reptilian scales, anything to make them better killers that don't end up prey to worse killers. See, the world has collapsed, no governments, no countries even, just cities and land, nameless decaying cities sitting on decaying bits of land. We kind of know the hows; climate change, war, pollution, the explosion of biotech. Biotech was supposed fix everything, but the minds behind the technology decayed just like everything else.

Borne's story is told by Rachel, a scavenger in a place its inhabitants simply call, the city. Nobody is alive from "before" to know what the now useless maps used to label the place. The city is blessed, but mostly cursed by biotech that was birthed in the labs of the Company. When the Company realized that the city was beyond help, and hope, they simply started releasing their creations into the field. Creations like Mord, a ten-story tall bio-engineered grizzly bear of near-human intelligence... with the ability to fly. Though, somewhere along the way, that intelligence turned to madness. Mord's original purpose was to protect the Company, but once again, decay stepped in;, it touched Mord, his mind, his purpose. He went rogue, smashing, tormenting, ruling the city through his deranged whims. Rachel is a scavenger for a former Company technician, Wick, her business partner, friend, sometimes lover. One day, while climbing a napping Mord, searching for the rich salvage that's often tangled in his fur, she finds a... thing. It looks like some sort of sea anemone crossed with a squid that in sum looks kind of like a bizarre vase. It makes a humming sound and smells of the oceans of "before." Its color shifts from purple to blue to sea green, Rachel has to have it. She is pretty sure it is biotech, and Wick is certain that it's Company-related and potentially dangerous. Wick wants to cut it up and figure out what it is, what it was created to do, but Rachel makes a decision that will change their lives utterly. She decides to keep it, she even feels protective of it. The "it" soon becomes a "he," and he is Borne. A sentient, funny, child-like, intelligent, caring person, who isn't a human being. That's one of the first things Rachel decides to teach Borne, that he's a person. She raises him as her own, tries to teach him the lessons all parents hope to teach their children, especially right from wrong. Only later does she realize that while she feels certain that deep down Borne is a good person capable of finding a good purpose, he might also be a very dangerous person.

Borne is the sort of novel that can't be neatly tucked into this or that genre, which is why it feels so accessible. I think just about anybody can pick up and enjoy it; there's sci-fi, there's grit and violence, there's elements of modern Weird fiction, but ultimately it's a story of people trying to be a family in a world that may no longer allow such fragile things to exist. It's about the relationship between a mother and her child, a child who may have been created to be a monster, or simply a being with a morality that is suited for a monstrous world. Is it wrong to love him? Is it wrong to want him to be safe? To be happy? Through Rachel and Borne we get to examine such concepts, such questions.

The novel is also a true testament to VanderMeer's skill toward world-building. Mord a GIANT bio-engineered flying bear, yet nothing about him seems false, or overdone, or hokey. Mord feels as real and as serious as a heart attack. Borne is this anemone squid vase thing with multiple eye-stalks, whose shape and color can change at will, yet one never doubts the reality of his existence, nor does one ever doubt his personhood. The ability to create such characters and make them feel absolutely real shows a total confidence in one's use of craft, confidence that in VanderMeer's case, is not at all misplaced.

Borne is a must-read novel, one that will endure because it touches on questions almost everyone asks themselves at one time or another; Why do I exist? Why am I here?

Rachel and Wick live in the City, although living is a very different proposition from what it was six years ago when the Company failed. Now everyone must be considered an enemy and a residence must be hidden and provided with plenty of traps to catch would-be intruders. There are no government services, no money and no civilization as most would consider it. There are only power factions and a demand that everyone pick a side. Rachel is a scavenger and brings home to Wick the food and technology she finds. Wick is a scientist and can still create protein and items that help people survive, like medicine bugs or items that fight.

The Company was a biotech one, and when it got out of control, bad things happened. They engineered bits of life and when those lives got too big to handle, they were released. The biggest is Mord, a bear-like being that is stories high, huge yet able to fly. He is psychotic from what was done to him and spends his days looking for anything to kill. He is the defining element of this world. There is also The Magician, a woman who knows enough secrets that she is sure she can defeat Mord and restore society, with her as ruler of course.

One day while scavenging, Rachel comes across Mord sleeping and crawls up on his fur. Most scavengers would never have the courage to do that and Mord tends to have interesting things stuck in his fur. That's the case this day as Rachel finds a small anemone-like item with beautiful colors. She sticks it in her bag and takes it home. For some reason she doesn't share it with Wick but keeps it. As the days go by, it starts to grow and soon she is finding it in places she didn't leave it. Finally, one day it speaks and she realises it is a sentient being. As the days, weeks and months go by, Rachel thinks of Borne, which is the name she gives it, as her child and she nurtures and teaches him. Wick is adamantly opposed as he believes Borne is a monster that Rachel hasn't seen the truth of. Who is correct and what will happen if Rachel has brought in an entity that could destroy the world they tentatively inhabit?

Jeff Vandermeer is one of the shining stars of the sci fi/fantasy world and his novels tend to be dsytopian. He writes of the fine line between the wonders of science and the horrors that can be released when humans err on their knowledge of the consequences they can unleash. His Southern trilogy is considered a modern masterpiece, and this novel continues his themes and his readability. This book is recommended for sci fi/fantasy readers.

Borne is a complicated experience that will likely land readers on one of two sides of the fence; love or hate. For myself, I fell onto the “love” side with a heavy landing. Although, with my constant appetite for the peculiar, I cannot say I am surprised.

The Company lies at the edge of the city, where while known to be almost defunct, many still believe continues to create. One such creation, Mord (a bio-engineered bear) flies above the city where he was once created, held captured and ultimately tortured. Now he reigns havoc on the land while also providing a way of life for scavengers, such as Rachel, who survive off of the remnants of Mord’s destruction. Upon discovering a small green, gelatinous blob (Borne) snared within his fur, she makes the decision to bring the creature home into her safe haven shared with her only companion Wick. He happens to be a drug dealer, developing tiny creatures who have the ability to give others more desirable memories, and he immediately wants to dissect Borne to experiment with his genetic composition. However, Rachel develops an attachment and refuses to surrender her newfound discovery, much against Wick’s advice. But as Borne begins to evolve, secrets also begin to surface. Secrets about Wick and the Company he once worked for. The same company responsible for Mord. What is it that he cannot tell Rachel? And what is Borne?

Attempting summarize Borne in a paragraph feels like a ridiculous and almost impossible task. As you may have noticed, it is not easy to do. I am sifting through the many notes I acquired during my listen (read) and trying to reduce this review into a more digestible and compact recap of my time with Vandermeer’s very original, and often odd approach to an ultimately endearing and emotional dystopian tale.

In terms of character growth there is an enormous amount happening, but in the most subtle of ways. Rachel begins to bond with Borne over her own loneliness and desire for something more in a desolate and harsh environment. But in turn, we soon discover that Borne is the one who truly encompasses that loneliness. There is a brilliant exchange of developments, realizations and acceptance that is continually occurring between both, supplying the reader with a very unique and profound form of character development that is rarely seen. As Rachel’s relationship with Borne evolves it slowly begins to challenge her relationship with Wick, bringing multiple questions to the surface, further exploring all characters. And tucked within it all, we learn that everyone is grappling with various issues of self-identity and acceptance.

The setting is typical of many dystopian tales in the sense of the usual suspects: imminent dangers, the fight for survival and a barren landscape that requires daily scavenging and roaming. All of the expected threats and dis-pleasantries are offered with the additional element of bio-engineered life forms. The effect is intriguing and inviting, but not in the warm, fuzzy sort of way.

But the real appreciation for Borne can be found in its strangely contrasting narration that manages to present the often harsh and brutal reality of a post apocalyptic setting in an almost child-like and innocent manner. There is an ever-present air of light-heartedness that should clash with the current setting and events, yet it successfully fuels a rare and welcomed study of humanity and the significance of its small presence on Earth. Accompanied with Bahni Turpin’s well paced and enthusiastic narration, it becomes something of great worth in terms of science fiction. I was convinced this story was written to be told by Turpin.

The final product is a bizarre and bracing take on a timeless tale that will not be for everyone’s taste. However, there will be those that cannot help but find delight and fascination between the pages, making it an instant favorite. I am happy to fall well within the latter group. Highly recommending that you give this one a chance!

A scavenger, Rachel, lives on the fringes of a city destroyed by an apocalyptic event, atop what used to be a hotel, which she whimsically names “Balcony Cliffs”, with her boss/lover, Wick, the original name of the building inscribed “on a rusted placard in the subterranean lobby... unreadable”, as a giant flying furry bear-like creature, Mord, terrorises the city, swiping at the remnants of the buildings, and devouring anything that moves, like the resident Godzilla. Meanwhile biotechs and other bioengineered animals prowl among this post urban landscape, serving as prey for both Mord and the human and subhuman stragglers hiding in nooks and crannies of the city.

Into such a dystopian setting, VanderMeer introduces an amorphous creature Rachel finds nested in Mord’s fur on one of her scavenging expeditions, and which she names Borne (inspired by Wick’s reminiscing about a creature he had created as a biotech engineer with the Company, “He was born, but I had borne him”). Possibly a plant/animal/mineral combination or none of these, Rachel becomes obsessed with taking care of him as he grows and begins to show human intelligence, and the rest of the novel seeks to examine the philosophical question of what makes a human being human, in the midst of the horror of the city, as they defend themselves from mutated children and other Mord proxies, smaller versions of Mord (which I pictured as monster Care Bears for some reason) and the ominous Magician who seems to have a hold over Wick, and his secrets that he had taken with him from the now-defunct Company, a corporate biotech lab with their Frankenstein creations running amok, and as Rachel pieces together for the reader parts of her past and how she came to become who she is.

Like the Southern Reach Trilogy for which he is best known, VanderMeer’s forte is in his brand of psychological horror (though there’s also a fair bit of blood, gore and violence in this novel) and the unconventional choice of words and phrases that somehow reveal the uncanny in the most profound way. However, as much as his writing captivates, Rachel’s maternal relationship with Borne and how that complicates things with Wick, which supposedly drives the plot, did not much move me.

As readers of my reviews likely already know, I am generally a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. That said, Mr. Vandermeer’s work doesn’t appeal to me. I cannot say I really enjoyed the Southern Reach trilogy and, though I think this novel has some very nice moments, I cannot say I enjoyed Borne either.

Let me start with the real strength of this novel: Rachel. She is a great character. Her life as a scavenger, her flashbacks to her childhood, her tricky relationship with Wick, her motherly attachment to Borne—all of this rings true and is often compelling. I like the way her relationship to Borne grows and changes as well as her conflicts and reconnections with Wick. She kept me coming back to this book.

On the other hand, I struggled with the setting here. I couldn’t appreciate the flying, super-sized bear Mord as a scientific creation of destruction nor the other various pieces of dangerous biotech that showed up. I liked Borne better because of its internal conflicts but, like Mord, I struggled with its physical characteristics. This culminates in an ending which I found troubling because it attempted to explain things in ways that really didn’t explain much. It shifted the questions from the characters with which we are familiar to characters with whom we are not familiar. I found this unsatisfying.

I feel this book straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy in ways with which I couldn’t connect. If I’m being honest, I think this is one of those books that probably deserves more credit than I can give to it. It will likely to appeal to certain types of readers of experimental science fiction and fantasy but it does not appeal to me. I simply had trouble connecting to the world created here which left me as an outsider as I read. That’s not something that I like.

{Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC of Borne free of charge.}

Have you been looking for a book featuring a giant god-like flying bear, a mysterious Company ensconced in a skyscraper within a decimated city, and some shape-shifting biotech? Then do I ever have the book for you - Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. I guess the cover should have clued me in to what I was in store for!

While reading Borne I learned about the existence of an entirely new-to-me genre - New Weird. The genre starts with ideas often found in fantasy novels, but pushes those ideas to extremes that will leave your brain hurting. According to this article from Book Riot, the idea is to "subvert cliches of the fantastic in order to put them to discomfiting, rather than consoling ends." Other authors who write in this genre are China Mieville, David Mitchell, and Octavia Butler.

But back to the giant bear . . . in Borne, we are introduced to an unnamed post-apocalyptic city and to Rachel, who has survived it by the skin of her teeth. She has teamed up with Wick, a drug dealer, in an alliance that can feel tenuous. We follow her as she meets the titular Borne and struggles to deal with her circumstances. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but this story was riveting.

I was very happy to see that VanderMeer is writing a few novellas in the Borne universe, which I will certainly pick up. I also plan on reading his Southern Reach Trilogy because I am apparently a fan of New Weird!

Borne is a complicated experience that will likely land readers on one of two sides of the fence; love or hate. For myself, I fell onto the “love” side with a heavy landing. Although, with my constant appetite for the peculiar, I cannot say I am surprised.

The Company lies at the edge of the city, where while known to be almost defunct, many still believe continues to create. One such creation, Mord (a bio-engineered bear) flies above the city where he was once created, held captured and ultimately tortured. Now he reigns havoc on the land while also providing a way of life for scavengers, such as Rachel, who survive off of the remnants of Mord’s destruction. Upon discovering a small green, gelatinous blob (Borne) snared within his fur, she makes the decision to bring the creature home into her safe haven shared with her only companion Wick. He happens to be a drug dealer, developing tiny creatures who have the ability to give others more desirable memories, and he immediately wants to dissect Borne to experiment with his genetic composition. However, Rachel develops an attachment and refuses to surrender her newfound discovery, much against Wick’s advice. But as Borne begins to evolve, secrets also begin to surface. Secrets about Wick and the Company he once worked for. The same company responsible for Mord. What is it that he cannot tell Rachel? And what is Borne?

Attempting summarize Borne in a paragraph feels like a ridiculous and almost impossible task. As you may have noticed, it is not easy to do. I am sifting through the many notes I acquired during my listen (read) and trying to reduce this review into a more digestible and compact recap of my time with Vandermeer’s very original, and often odd approach to an ultimately endearing and emotional dystopian tale.

In terms of character growth there is an enormous amount happening, but in the most subtle of ways. Rachel begins to bond with Borne over her own loneliness and desire for something more in a desolate and harsh environment. But in turn, we soon discover that Borne is the one who truly encompasses that loneliness. There is a brilliant exchange of developments, realizations and acceptance that is continually occurring between both, supplying the reader with a very unique and profound form of character development that is rarely seen. As Rachel’s relationship with Borne evolves it slowly begins to challenge her relationship with Wick, bringing multiple questions to the surface, further exploring all characters. And tucked within it all, we learn that everyone is grappling with various issues of self-identity and acceptance.

The setting is typical of many dystopian tales in the sense of the usual suspects: imminent dangers, the fight for survival and a barren landscape that requires daily scavenging and roaming. All of the expected threats and dis-pleasantries are offered with the additional element of bio-engineered life forms. The effect is intriguing and inviting, but not in the warm, fuzzy sort of way.

But the real appreciation for Borne can be found in its strangely contrasting narration that manages to present the often harsh and brutal reality of a post apocalyptic setting in an almost child-like and innocent manner. There is an ever-present air of light-heartedness that should clash with the current setting and events, yet it successfully fuels a rare and welcomed study of humanity and the significance of its small presence on Earth. Accompanied with Bahni Turpin’s well paced and enthusiastic narration, it becomes something of great worth in terms of science fiction. I was convinced this story was written to be told by Turpin.

The final product is a bizarre and bracing take on a timeless tale that will not be for everyone’s taste. However, there will be those that cannot help but find delight and fascination between the pages, making it an instant favorite. I am happy to fall well within the latter group. Highly recommending that you give this one a chance!

A scavenger, Rachel, lives on the fringes of a city destroyed by an apocalyptic event, atop what used to be a hotel, which she whimsically names “Balcony Cliffs”, with her boss/lover, Wick, the original name of the building inscribed “on a rusted placard in the subterranean lobby... unreadable”, as a giant flying furry bear-like creature, Mord, terrorises the city, swiping at the remnants of the buildings, and devouring anything that moves, like the resident Godzilla. Meanwhile biotechs and other bioengineered animals prowl among this post urban landscape, serving as prey for both Mord and the human and subhuman stragglers hiding in nooks and crannies of the city.

Into such a dystopian setting, VanderMeer introduces an amorphous creature Rachel finds nested in Mord’s fur on one of her scavenging expeditions, and which she names Borne (inspired by Wick’s reminiscing about a creature he had created as a biotech engineer with the Company, “He was born, but I had borne him”). Possibly a plant/animal/mineral combination or none of these, Rachel becomes obsessed with taking care of him as he grows and begins to show human intelligence, and the rest of the novel seeks to examine the philosophical question of what makes a human being human, in the midst of the horror of the city, as they defend themselves from mutated children and other Mord proxies, smaller versions of Mord (which I pictured as monster Care Bears for some reason) and the ominous Magician who seems to have a hold over Wick, and his secrets that he had taken with him from the now-defunct Company, a corporate biotech lab with their Frankenstein creations running amok, and as Rachel pieces together for the reader parts of her past and how she came to become who she is.

Like the Southern Reach Trilogy for which he is best known, VanderMeer’s forte is in his brand of psychological horror (though there’s also a fair bit of blood, gore and violence in this novel) and the unconventional choice of words and phrases that somehow reveal the uncanny in the most profound way. However, as much as his writing captivates, Rachel’s maternal relationship with Borne and how that complicates things with Wick, which supposedly drives the plot, did not much move me.

As readers of my reviews likely already know, I am generally a huge fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. That said, Mr. Vandermeer’s work doesn’t appeal to me. I cannot say I really enjoyed the Southern Reach trilogy and, though I think this novel has some very nice moments, I cannot say I enjoyed Borne either.

Let me start with the real strength of this novel: Rachel. She is a great character. Her life as a scavenger, her flashbacks to her childhood, her tricky relationship with Wick, her motherly attachment to Borne—all of this rings true and is often compelling. I like the way her relationship to Borne grows and changes as well as her conflicts and reconnections with Wick. She kept me coming back to this book.

On the other hand, I struggled with the setting here. I couldn’t appreciate the flying, super-sized bear Mord as a scientific creation of destruction nor the other various pieces of dangerous biotech that showed up. I liked Borne better because of its internal conflicts but, like Mord, I struggled with its physical characteristics. This culminates in an ending which I found troubling because it attempted to explain things in ways that really didn’t explain much. It shifted the questions from the characters with which we are familiar to characters with whom we are not familiar. I found this unsatisfying.

I feel this book straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy in ways with which I couldn’t connect. If I’m being honest, I think this is one of those books that probably deserves more credit than I can give to it. It will likely to appeal to certain types of readers of experimental science fiction and fantasy but it does not appeal to me. I simply had trouble connecting to the world created here which left me as an outsider as I read. That’s not something that I like.

{Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC of Borne free of charge.}

Have you been looking for a book featuring a giant god-like flying bear, a mysterious Company ensconced in a skyscraper within a decimated city, and some shape-shifting biotech? Then do I ever have the book for you - Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. I guess the cover should have clued me in to what I was in store for!

While reading Borne I learned about the existence of an entirely new-to-me genre - New Weird. The genre starts with ideas often found in fantasy novels, but pushes those ideas to extremes that will leave your brain hurting. According to this article from Book Riot, the idea is to "subvert cliches of the fantastic in order to put them to discomfiting, rather than consoling ends." Other authors who write in this genre are China Mieville, David Mitchell, and Octavia Butler.

But back to the giant bear . . . in Borne, we are introduced to an unnamed post-apocalyptic city and to Rachel, who has survived it by the skin of her teeth. She has teamed up with Wick, a drug dealer, in an alliance that can feel tenuous. We follow her as she meets the titular Borne and struggles to deal with her circumstances. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but this story was riveting.

I was very happy to see that VanderMeer is writing a few novellas in the Borne universe, which I will certainly pick up. I also plan on reading his Southern Reach Trilogy because I am apparently a fan of New Weird!

Borne
Mysterious Book Report No. 297
by John Dwaine McKenna

With their uncanny ability to somehow tap into the future, science fiction writers have been stimulating readers minds for the past hundred and fifty years . . . usually with tales of science which benefits the human race as it propels us the stars, and spreads our kind throughout the universe. But there’s an alternative point of view, that factors in the potential for uncontrolled science to wreck havoc on all. They fall into a category know as dystopian—the end of civilization—and this week the MBR has an absolute epic of that genre.
Borne, (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26.00, 323 pages, ISBN 978-0-374-11524-1) by Jeff VanderMeer imagines a time and place that’s been utterly destroyed as a result of bio-engineering run amok when the mysterious company that produced it, fails to safeguard the creatures and loses control of them. The result is a nightmarish world in which humans are reduced to living no better than animals, fighting for survival, existing like rats in a destroyed city where there’s less to live on every day . . . a city being terrorized by a giant Godzilla-sized bio-engineered renegade bear named Mord. He’s stomping what’s left at the city to rubble and eating any and all life-forms, including humans . . . especially humans . . . unlucky enough to come into contact with him. The narrative begins when we meet Rachael. She’s a scavenger, slipping into the city, collecting anything useful, whether it’s flesh, plastic, metal or some other article which can be re-engineered or provide sustenance. She brings everything back to the hideout she shares with Wick, her bioengineer lover and compatriot who’s somehow connected to the mysterious company that’s responsible for humanity’s plight. He repurposes it into something more useful, like diagnostic worms that live in the human body and emerge from a wrist with health dat?? about their host, or beetles, which come in many varieties and do everything from battle to memory. Then, in a daring raid in which she climbs into the gargantuan beast’s fur, Rachael finds a purple and green ball that changes color. Not knowing if it’s plant or animal, alive or dead, useful or junk, Rachael takes it home where—contrary to her usual custom—she puts it on a shelf and keeps it secret from Wick, who has secrets of his own. A few days later, she realizes that the thing has moved. It’s not where she put it. She names it Borne. Notices that small things are missing from her room . . . and that Borne is getting bigger. Then he speaks, and the world comes more unglued than ever in this compelling and fascinating piece of dystopian fiction that will make every reader think long and hard about the cutting edges of science in our own genetically modified, roboticized and bio-engineered present day world. One last caveat: like Dante’s lost souls who are advised to abandon hope; readers of Borne will have to suspend all their ideas about rational science and accept the premise the author posits to fully enjoy it. That said, the novel is a walk on the wild side that you’ll remember long after you’re done reading it. It’s a masterful blend of science-fiction and conjecture that’s a compelling read and impossible to put down!

Jeff VanderMeer presents a compelling post-apocalyptic landscape populated by a pair of highly interesting human characters and vicious biotech experiments run amok in the wastelands.

Rachel and Wick survive by scavenging whatever they can from The City, and steering clear of the massive bio-engineered bear that lords over the ruins. On a scavenging run, Rachel notices something odd stuck to the bear’s fur, which she manages to dislodge and bring back home. What this “it” is, though, defies description – it’s not a plant, nor is it an animal, nor a machine. Or maybe it’s all three. As time goes on, Rachel begins to notice new things about this strange discovery, eventually realizing that Borne is, indeed, sentient. Her partner, Wick, an ex-employee of the biotech Company, wants to dissect Borne, or perhaps scrap him for parts, but she refuses to allow that to happen. While Borne is certainly strange, Rachel becomes not only fond but paternal of it, and she strives to protect Borne from the threats lying within and without their sanctuary.

While the post-apocalyptic world-building is very well done, Borne really thrives and revels in its characters. VanderMeer has created a trio of relateable, sympathetic, and ultimately very human personalities. Rachel and Wick squabble, share their disagreements and keep their secrets. Borne, meanwhile, grows, adapts, and learns, becoming a sounding board for Rachel and a mirror to hold up to humanity in all its brilliance and flaws. Borne is a highly intriguing creation from VanderMeer and one that is highly charismatic in its child-like mentality, at times reminding me a bit of Johnny Five from Short Circuit in its earnestness and keen attempts to learn and study the world.

Although this is primarily a character-driven drama and not an action-heavy sci-fi title, VanderMeer does manage a few terrific set pieces. And with Mord, the larger-than-life bioengineered bear, being so massive a few of these sequences carry the weight of a kaiju-like destructiveness. Others action scenes are smaller in scope, but no less effective and dramatic in their execution, such as an early attempt on Rachel’s life by a gang that invades her sanctuary.

Told entirely from Rachel’s point of view, this is a title that is only made stronger by the brilliance of its narrator. Bahni Turpin delivers a stellar reading of VanderMeer’s terrific writing, completely selling the story and bringing Rachel’s tale to life. Turpin does some solid voice work for each of the characters, but it’s her performance as the titular character that proves just how adept she is as an audiobook narrator. She nails the humor and warmth, and when necessary the anger, of each of the three leads, making this an absolutely engrossing read.

[Note: Audiobook provided for review by audiobookreviewer dot com.]

With Southern Reach, I had a feeling that everything Vandermeer had written up to this point was leading specifically to that book. It had that inevitable feeling of a swan's song, a culmination of everything that came before it. Borne feels like that even more so.

It's amazing to read a writer at the top of his game, as Vandermeer clearly is with Borne. We have here a complicated story. Not just one thing or another. Not just specifically about Borne, or about Rachel or Wick (though their relationships and characters are endlessly fascinating and feel right and true and real), or even about Mord or the Magician. It both is and isn't a Dying Earth story. It both is and isn't a story about family and drama of the every day. It both is and isn't a war tale, a dystopian tale, a science fiction story, a biotech story, an eco disaster story.

Heartbreaking in the humanity of it all. Terrifying with the revelations it uncovers. I think at times it might be a sequel of sorts to his book the Situation. But it might not be, at the same time. The two feel like they inform each other, and bounce around each other, and carry some of the same things...but aren't at the same time.

At the core of the story is a relationship, and a family, and what that means. At the core of the story is also refugees, about trying to find a place in a world constantly overcome with war. And the little people trying to survive it.

Deep in the nestled heart of it all, the humanity of the story shines through. And that what makes Borne really truly work. And why I think that it's going to be a classic of literary science fiction. Up there with Slaughter House Five and the Martian Chronicles

What a WEIRD book!

I know the whole dystopian thing is sort of “over,” but trust me, you need to read Borne. This might be the most creative fiction I’ve read since Dark Matter, and ya’ll know how much I screamed over that one. I’m STILL yelling at my friends to go read it, in fact. And now Borne is probably going to be next on that list.

The person I got this book from told me it reminded him of Fallout. I don’t play video games, so I can’t really compare it to that. The image I kept coming up with was if WCKD invented Flubber instead of Grievers. Think sentient biotech that grows and morphs into just about anything, with that same curious childish personality…with a bit more sinister background.

Borne is definitely the star of the show, but we also have a WOC main character who’s family were refugees, and her partner is chronically ill. I couldn’t find any major faults with the rep (but I am not a WOC nor refugee), I thought the writing was incredible, and as I said before, it’s for sure one of the most creative books I’ve read this year.

My husband has started listening to audiobooks recently and I’m adding this to his must read list–as soon as he gets done with Armada, I’m going to have him download Borne. You should too!

What I Liked:

Plot. The story was extremely strange, genetically modified bears and Borne who can change his body, it was an interesting world and the author did a great job of world-building. I did struggle a bit with some of the concepts.

Characters. The three main characters, Rachel, Borne, and Wick were all had diverse voices and I enjoyed following their struggles in the failing world. I also loved the fact that Rachel was the sole narrator and we saw the others threw her eyes. However, I would have liked to see something from Borne's point of view as well.

What I Disliked:

Writing. I liked aspects of VanderMeer's writing style but I did notice that at points the sentences were hard to follow and struggled to keep my attention. I do not know how to explain it but I lost my place or had to reread sections because of some of the sentence structures.

Pacing/Plot. The beginning and the ending of the novel were the best parts but I felt that the middle was hard to follow and confusing. I felt that the novel would have been even better with a smaller middle section.

I recommend checking out this strange novel because of the interesting plot and characters.

Technically I would give this book four stars, mostly because the middle dragged and a lot of the exciting information at the end would have propped it up if it was moved to the middle. Still, I’m super picky about what constitutes a good book and I liked this book a lot. It was very creative and I thought the writing was very good. Usually with this kind of genre I would say I’d rather see it on screen than read it but this book had me thinking the other way around. I think this would look so stupid in film but as a book it’s fantastic. There were a couple lines that undermined the authors credibility as a literary writer. I’m thinking of when Rachel addresses the reader. A couple other things that aren’t that important. Good work.

Full Disclosure - I did not purchase this book. I am newly retired and on a fixed income, so I cannot afford to buy most books that I want to read. However, thanks to public libraries and especially to e-books and e-readers, I can still enjoy most books. I borrowed "Borne" from the library because of a review on NPR, and I was eager to read it. I really enjoyed the first 60-70%, but then I started getting really bored, and had to stop. I agree with one reviewer who said it seemed that the author himself had gotten bored with the story and just tried to get it over with. However, the story kept nagging at me, and I kept thinking about it. After a few days, I finally decided I wanted to find out more, so I resumed reading about 50 pages from the end. After having taken that break, I found it easier to get through the boring (IMO) parts and soon the story began to hold my attention again until, in the last 30 pages, I couldn't put it down. My advice is "don't give up". I'm glad I didn't.

I enjoyed this book's depiction of environmental apocalypse as a byproduct of commercial activity rather than out-and-out warfare or other singular event. It's as though the situation deteriorated slowly enough to allow everyone to hide behind half-measures and political posturing until a tipping point was reached and everything fell apart. I enjoyed less the unrelenting brutality of the survivors. Why were there so few efforts at cooperation? Sure, during the apocalyptic event and in its immediate aftermath, people could easily panic and act out violently, but this story takes place more than a decade after the collapse.

The creature "Borne" was interesting and surprisingly sympathetic. I found the relationship between Borne and the (human) protagonist to be plausible.

One other thing: I found this book to be well-edited, something I appreciate a lot.

I was introduced to Vandermeer's writing through his Southern Reach Trilogy. To this day if someone asks me for a Sci Fi recommendation, my immediate question will be- "Did you read the Southern Reach Trilogy?" That is how much I loved those books. So, when I saw that a new Vandermeer book, called Borne, was coming out, I salivated until the day it was released. The day I got it, I pushed my entire TBR pile aside and sat down to read this book. I am glad to say the wait was worth it.

The difficulty is trying to describe this book as it is an original sci fi story in every single way. Rachel is the main character. She is a scavenger in a world where a giant corporation run by a giant flying killer bear, yes you read that right. The big bear has minion bears that poison and kill everything. Standing in opposition is a woman named The Magician, who has demonic drug possessed children running around. The two are at war constantly.

Rachel is protected by a drug dealer, who deals drugs which are administered through bugs especially beetles. These bugs are both drugs and healers. Still with me? Good.

Rachel finds a blob that looks like a plant, but is alive. She takes it home and names it Borne. Borne begins by moving only at night and seems to eat when no one is looking. When Borne eats, Borne grows.

One day, Rachel is viciously attacked by a group of demonic children who break into her home and torture her for hours. When they leave, Borne is also gone. The next morning Borne is back, is now larger, and can now speak. It is now up to Rachel to find out what is happening, teach Borne about himself, and survive the battle between The Magician and the Giant Killer Bear.

I know the above description seems like a giant acid trip or something, but trust me when I state- This book works well. Once you get used to the world it takes place in, the story just falls into place and moves pretty quickly. I tore through this book.

VanderMeer seems to like to play with environmental issues in such a way where they are true, but teach about what happens when something goes a step too far. In the Southern Reach Trilogy, the environment has grown out of hand. In this, a corporation has grown too large and a nebulous blob that seems like a plant, but can transform shape might be the key to a normal life, even if this blob's whole way of life is consumption. Says a little something doesn't it?

This is what I enjoy about VanderMeer's books and Borne is no different. On one layer is this odd sci fi story that doesn't seem to make much sense when trying to explain it. On another level, there is deep meaning to what he is writing and subtly stating about life. When corporations get too out of hand, nature may be the answer. I love layered books.

I went into this one with high hopes and it didn't disappoint. This was truly the first book this year that I loved and would recommend to anyone. I gave this one 5 stars.