Hummingbird Salamander: A Novel

Jeff VanderMeer

Apr 2021 · Sold by MCD

About this ebook

Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2021

From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things.

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.

Ratings and reviews

I received a free electronic copy of this environmental novel from Netgalley, Jeff VanderMeer, and MCD, publisher. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. VanderMeer writes an intricately plotted mystery with larger-than-life protagonists, both very good and very bad and occasionally half crazy, and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. The slow degradation of the world, only slightly exaggerated for our times, will give you too much to think about but you won't be able to forget it, either. It's a story I hope everyone takes to heart. I have a 60-year relationship with tree huggers around the world. Hummingbird Salamander takes all those life-long fears and expands them a little, adds a touch of exaggeration, and what transpires should scare you to death. That said, I spent a great deal of the first half of this novel flipping back to see what I missed. There are several places that are a bit disjointed. Once you quit trying to make the story flow it overtakes you completely and the next thing you know it's the end. A very good book.

About the author

Jeff VanderMeer is the author of Dead Astronauts, Borne, and The Southern Reach Trilogy, the first volume of which, Annihilation, won the Nebula Award and the Shirley Jackson Award and was adapted into a movie by Alex Garland. He speaks and writes frequently about issues relating to climate change as well as urban rewilding. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida, on the edge of a ravine, with his wife, Ann VanderMeer, and their cat, Neo.