ARC Review: Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

Genre: Sci-Fi / Post-Apocalyptic

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 15th June 2017

My Rating: 

Synopsis: A ruined city of the future lives in fear of a despotic, gigantic flying bear, driven mad by the tortures inflicted on him by the Company, a mysterious biotech firm. A scavenger, Rachel, finds a creature entangled in his fur. She names it Borne.

At first, Borne looks like nothing at all― a green lump that might be a discard from the Company. But he reminds Rachel of her homeland, an island nation long lost to rising seas, and she prevents her lover, Wick, from rendering down Borne as raw genetic material for the special kind of drugs he sells.

But nothing is quite the way it seems: not the past, not the present, not the future. If Wick is hiding secrets, so is Rachel―and Borne most of all.

My Review

Thanks to my aunt who kindly lent me this ARC copy!

If you’re someone who needs answers immediately when reading a book or watching a film, someone who, when something unexplained happens, asks, “Why did that happen?” or “Why did they say that?” instead of waiting a few more chapters or 15 minutes more to find out, or someone who is not content with ever knowing the answers at all, then this is not the kind of book for you.

However, if you’re someone who likes a bit of ambiguity, who likes to be confused in a good, page-turning kind of way, then Borne is for you.

I read Jeff VanderMeer’s The Southern Reach Trilogy a few years ago and devoured each book one after the other. Usually, I leave a bit of a gap between books in a series if the series is already complete. However, I had so many questions, I needed to keep reading. That trilogy was fantastically creepy, suspenseful, horrifying and twisted. So that should give you a good idea of what Borne is like.

Borne, I would say, is the slightly calmer younger brother of The Southern Reach Trilogy. It’s still totally bizarre and full of some very creepy creations, but whereas that first trilogy was a full-throttle Sci-Fi Horror, Borne is more of just a Sci-Fi with a touch of Horror.

And immediately, the opening to Borne totally confused me. I had to go back and re-read sections because VanderMeer writes very intricately, yet with a throwaway attitude whereby he drops names of creations and places as if to say, “Keep up.” However, after the first twenty or so pages, I quickly settled into the rhythm and was captivated. VanderMeer has crafted a weird and wonderful story, with a bit more humour than his previous series, but with no less strangeness.

The story is narrated by Rachel, a young woman scavenging in a ruined city. She doesn’t quite know how she got there, but knows she travelled a dying Earth with her parents in search of salvation. Rachel lives with a man called Wick, who is a drug dealer of sorts, selling bits of ‘biotech’ to make a living. This crumbling city is haunted by a massive, murderous bear known as Mord. (Yes, you did read that right). One day, whilst searching Mord’s fur for bits to scavenge, Rachel finds a glowing blob that she takes home and calls Borne. She assumes it’s a strange plant, but it soon becomes apparent that Borne is much more.

Rachel herself is a great protagonist. Strong, hardened, but with a softness brought out in her by Borne. Borne, however, is the real star of the show, as the title would suggest. I won’t spoil what Borne is or much about him, but he’s a brilliant character. Innocent and funny, yet also deeply unnerving. He was crafted excellently and was easy to connect to, despite the fact he’s not even human. 

Wick was an odd character, but I ended up also liking him. I would say Wick is the most complex; you never really know what he’s thinking. He’s very flawed, yet clearly caring. I liked the dynamic the three characters had: Rachel, Borne and Wick. Despite the setting being just downright odd, the characters felt entirely real and relatable. 

And trust me, the setting is strange. It can be hard to imagine at times, but I find that VanderMeer manages to pull off describing these weird places. Whilst all my questions weren’t answered about the setting, I didn’t mind, and VanderMeer is able to write a setting and story shrouded in a bit of mystery, instead of feeling like he just couldn’t be bothered to tie up loose ends or have any reasoning behind particular aspects. The ending left me wanting to know more, but it didn’t feel incomplete. After The Southern Reach Trilogy, I have come to expect that VanderMeer likes to leave you guessing, and to leave parts open to interpretation. That works well for his novels, because any answers might actually ruin it in that they don’t feel right, or they feel anticlimactic.

For a while whilst reading, I compared Borne to The Southern Reach Trilogy and thought I liked the trilogy better as it was grittier and darker. However, thinking about it, Borne is totally its own entity and I shouldn’t compare it. Borne is a slightly ‘lighter’ read, and for that I found it had a little more meaning behind it rather than just being a brilliant idea. It’s a novel about loss and human nature, and can be quite moving at times. Not in the totally bleak and terrifying way of The Southern Reach Trilogy, but in a more bittersweet way.

If you haven’t tried any of VanderMeer’s books, I really recommend you do. If you’re not a Sci-Fi fan, and you’re scared easily, then you should probably skip them, but otherwise don’t be put off. They’re brilliantly imagined, entirely vivid and unique, and such gripping reads. Borne might be a softer introduction, but I honestly think VanderMeer has earned his place as one of my favourite authors, and I really look forward to more of his novels in future.

Have you read any of VanderMeer’s books? What did you think of them? Do you want to read Borne? Let me know in the comments below!

 

 

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Review: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Genre: Historical WWII fiction / Young Adult

Publisher: Electric Monkey, 2013

My Rating: 

Synopsis: Rose Justice is a young American ATA pilot, delivering planes and taxiing pilots for the RAF in the UK during the summer of 1944. A budding poet who feels vividly alive while flying, she is forced to confront the hidden atrocities of war – and the most fearsome.

 

 

They yelled in French and in Polish, English and German. “TELL THE WORLD! TELL THE WORLD! TELL THE WORLD!”

I read Code Name Verity, Wein’s first YA WWII novel about women during the war, quite a few years ago now. At the time, I loved it, as the World Wars are a time period I’m very interested in learning about. So, when I stumbled across the fact Wein had published another similar novel, I was over the moon. However, part of me worried it wouldn’t live up to the expectations of the first book.

That worry was pretty stupid, because of course Rose Under Fire was great. It tells the story of a young American girl who puts her passion for flying to use as she delivers planes for the allies in Britain, taking them to where they need to be for repairs or where fighter pilots need them. Rose is frustrated by the fact that the female ATA pilots cannot travel abroad. However, she has a few family connections, and strings are pulled that allow her to fly to a part of France recently liberated by the allies. That’s where something goes wrong.

The story has a slow start, but it’s not a bad kind of slow. It sets up Rose’s character well, the position of women in the air force, and what it was like for those in Britain during the Blitz. Wein is brilliant at crafting a believable voice for her first-person narrators. Both Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire are written in diary format. The little descriptions Wein throws in of Rose’s childhood are detailed yet short, building up a believable portrait of Rose Justice.

Rose is headstrong yet romantic, and it’s these qualities that get her through the horrors of the war as one headstrong mistake lands her in enemy territory, away from the relative safety she has known in Britain and America.

We don’t initially find out quite what’s happened to Rose. Her diary ends abruptly a quarter of the way through when she is supposed to be heading home from France and the voice changes to a friend. From this section, we glean that Rose has gone missing, presumed dead. Then, Rose’s voice returns some six months later. She has made it back from Ravensbruck, the concentration camp for women.

The rest of the book follows Rose as she writes about the horrors she has witnessed and endured, as well as the struggles she faces readjusting to life after the war. Wein details a horrific and vivid depiction of Ravensbruck, making sure not to dress-up the story in a way that makes it easier to read. This part of the story is harrowing, yet tinged with hope, as Rose finds a surrogate family in the camp, with two stand-out characters being Roza and Irina.

Roza in particular was a captivating character, especially because of who she was. Roza is one of the Rabbits, Polish girls who were experimented on by the Nazis in Ravensbruck. These experiments involved, in very simple terms, cutting into the girls legs and studying infection, as well as removing parts of bones. As a result, Roza struggles to walk, but what has been done to her only enhances her already feisty, and sometimes heartless, nature. Roza can be really quite rude and spiteful, and it seems these are qualities she has had since childhood. Yet, despite the fact she can say some very nasty things, I really warmed to her. She’s determined, vicious, intent on justice for what has happened to the Rabbits. You can’t entirely blame her for her sometimes savage remarks after the way she’s been treated since her capture at age 14. She was definitely the most nuanced, as well as flawed yet likeable, character.

Then there is Irina, who is a Soviet fighter pilot. Like Roza, she can also be a bit hard, but together with Rose she is instrumental in the survival of this ragtag family of girls: Rose, Roza, Irina, Karolina and Lisette. They are determined that the world will know what has gone on here, that the world will find out what was done to the Rabbits. As the American, Rose is singled out as the one with the connections to get the story out there.

I really grew to love these characters. Even at the darkest moments, they stick together, intent on getting Roza and the other Rabbits’ story out of the camp. Sometimes when reading, I struggled with the fact that this all really happened. Whilst Rose’s personal story or Karolina’s or Lisette’s didn’t specifically happen, Ravensbruck did exist, and so did the Rabbits.

I thought the story was brilliantly written. Harrowing, hopeful, and not afraid to shy away from the realities of the war and the lengths these women would go to to make sure the world knew, to make sure that at least some of them got out alive.

Perhaps my only criticism, which is not actually a criticism, is that it ended too soon. I was so engrossed that when I turned the final page, I was shocked to see the notes from the author. I turned back and forth, confused, and then re-read the final passage, in disbelief that I wouldn’t find out any more.

I cannot recommend Rose Under Fire and Code Name Verity enough. Even if you’re not a fan of WWII fiction, I urge you to read them. The writing and characterisation is great, and the stories open your eyes to the atrocities that have been committed, and the hope that endured.

Sorry for the slightly late review, but I finished Rose Under Fire just before I went on holiday for a week! Anyway, have you read either of these books? What did you think of them? Or do you want to read them? Let me know in the comments below!

Film Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

I read the novel The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey about two years ago now and it’s definitely a book that has stuck with me. Excellent writing, lots of tension, great characters, and a unique twist on the zombie genre. If you’ve followed my blog for a while now, you know I love all things zombie, so to find such a well-written addition to the genre was great.

Understandably, I had high expectations for the film adaptation, especially after seeing some glowing reviews from the likes of Empire.  Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed!

I dragged my boyfriend along to see the film and, strangely, we had an entire screen to ourselves. This was good in the sense that no one would be talking or texting, but bad in the sense that when Mark left to go to the loo, I was sat in a big screen watching a zombie movie all by myself with surround sound. Needless to say, it was creepy.

Anyway, onto the film itself:

The film itself is very, very true to the book. A couple of scenes were dropped, along with the concept of the “Junkers”, but the vast majority of the major plot points are pretty much identical, which was amazing.

For those of you who don’t know, The Girl With All the Gifts tells the story of Melanie (Sennia Nanua), a young girl kept in an army base along with other children. Each day, she is strapped into a wheelchair by guards who treat her like she’s dangerous and taken to a classroom for lessons from the kind Miss Justineau (Gemma Arteton). That’s when we discover that, outside the army base, the world has been ravaged by a zombie virus, specifically a fungal virus that turns people into “Hungries”. Melanie and her fellow kids in the classroom are Hungries, but they’re different. They aren’t mindless and feral, but instead act like any other average human child. I won’t say why, but be prepared for a very unique zombie story.

And then, one day, it all goes wrong and the army base must be evacuated. Only a handful escape, including Melanie, Miss Justineau, Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine), Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close) and a couple of soldiers. Will they make it to safety? Can the calculating Dr Caldwell develop a cure? You’ll have to wait and see.

The heart of the story is Melanie. A kind and courageous girl, you can’t help but become deeply attached to her whilst almost slightly fearing her, and I thought Sennia Nanua did an excellent job of portraying the complexities of Melanie on the big screen. Interestingly, in the novel Melanie is white and Miss Justineau is black, but it’s been reversed in the film. I think it’s great that a young black girl has been given such a big part as the main protagonist here, and she was definitely the best actress to play Melanie.

Aside from that one change, I thought all the characters were very true to the book in terms of personality. Helen Justineau’s kindness and protectiveness, Sergeant Parks’ bravado hiding a softer interior, Dr Caldwell’s determination, Private Gallagher’s innocence. It really is a very true adaptation, keeping the core values of the book and much of the plot.

However, whilst this is a film about zombies, it is truly a film about humanity. Some of the best zombie films and books are the ones that look at humanity, not just the blood and gore. I can’t explain too much without revealing the ending, but there are some huge moral dilemmas in The Girl With All the Gifts. Me and Mark had a long conversation about it all afterwards, with differing opinions on morality. It’s definitely a bittersweet story.

The film has also clearly taken inspiration from Danny Boyle’s amazing 28 Days Later so, if you enjoyed that, you should enjoy this. I don’t think it’s as scary as 28 Days Later (Cillian Murphy in the church? The infected at the window? Terrifying), or even as scary as the novel, but it’s not trying to terrify you with jump scares; it’s about so much more than that. It’s about terrifying you with the prospect of the end of humanity.

In addition, I have to give a special shout out to the score for this film. It’s amazing. So creepy and tense and eerie, it was one of the best scores I’ve heard in a long while for a horror film. EDIT: (See link at the bottom to listen to the main theme).

However, there were a few slight negatives to the adaptation. One was that I think the ending was a little rushed. It needed more explanation. This was where me and Mark argued a little as the climax missed out some key aspects from the book and I had to explain it fully to him to make him understand the reasoning behind some of the actions in the finale. There were also a few scenes from the novel I would have liked to have seen included, but there was probably issues with running time. Lastly, whilst most of the big scenes did make it to the screen, some had been changed, and I would have liked them to be the same as the book because I think it would have had more of an impact. But hey, that’s just me being a picky reader.

Overall though, this was an excellent adaptation of the book and I was thoroughly impressed. Excellent acting, very true to the novel and a great score, I couldn’t have asked for much more. I definitely recommend both the book and the film.

Have you read The Girl With All the Gifts? Or seen the film? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

EDIT: I just managed to find the main theme from the composer on Soundcloud, so check it out here.