Hummingbird Salamander

Reviews / Votes

Praise for Hummingbird Salamander:



'Every now and again a writer reimagines noir fiction for their generation. Now it's the turn of Jeff VanderMeer... He proves more than up to the task ... a gripping kick-the-door-down investigation of wildlife smuggling that expands maniacally to include all that our planet has lost as the sixth extinction gathers pace ... This is natural history as police procedural; and life on Earth as the scene of a crime' The Times


'An enigmatic eco-thriller that delivers on the subject of worlds - inner worlds such as the biosphere - that are coming apart' Observer


'VanderMeer is utterly confident and convincing in his storytelling... The action is delivered in short, punchy prose that builds up its own irresistible rhythm as the book progresses to a climax that deals with the possible end of the world, yet does so with nuance and thought-provoking speculation ... A terrific piece of work' Big Issue


'A violent, darkly witty adventure, haunted by the threat of looming environmental apocalypse ... while there's an urgency and a justified anger here, there's also a necessary glimmer of hope, a suggestion that perhaps we're not all completely doomed. Well, not yet, anyway.' Will Salmon, SFX Magazine


'An existential mindfuck cleverly disguised as a thriller ... Visionary, dark, beautiful, and strange, that rare novel that coaxes you into imagining the unimaginable' Kristen Roupenian, author of You Know You Want This: Cat Person and Other Stories


'Quirky, compelling ... The engine that drives it is speculation about the future not only of civilisation, but of all life on this planet.' Guardian


'Harrowing, gripping, and profound. It's both a thriller and a requiem for a disappearing world. I expect this novel will haunt me for a long time' Emily St. John Mandel, author of The Glass Hotel