Komodo

I love the oddball quality of the plot and the narration, and although I have only read two books by this author so far, I find the use of female protagonists refreshing. The mythology created in this particular story is rich and intriguing too, especially in such a short work. It was at once satisfying, and yet left me wanting more.

I can always trust Jeff Vandermeer to be writing about something that it never would have occurred to me might be a thing, let alone a topic of a story. He seems to have a thing about bears. Silly me I thought he just had things about mushrooms and squid.

The story in “Komodo” is pretty incomprehensible, but that feels secondary to the spirit of invention and experimentation. This novella has something to do with multiple realities and beings (“angels”) that exist outside and across realities, but the heroine is on the run from evil komodos that are not like the ones we know. I could never quite get what was going on, and there were several minor irritants that compounded, such as how the story is narrated to a “child” but it’s unclear who the child is or how they are connected to the narrator.

As usual, Jeff Vandermeer doesn’t disappoint. This was just a short one, but I’m already planning on rereading it. Great read.

Not bad was a little hard to follow in places. Author is a master in using words though and I enjoyed reading this.

If you've never read Jeff VanderMeer before, Komodo is not the place to start. Try something fairly ordinary (for him), like City of Saints and Madmen. This is a story for seasoned fans of the New Weird - and of VanderMeer's very specific kind of New Weird. This story is funnier and less tragic than most of his work, of and despite a narrative warped into into something close to a Mobius strip, it reaches a genuinely satisfying conclusion.In fact, I'd say the warping is what makes the conclusion so satisfying. For once, Vandermeer actually explains it all, but he does it in such a clever way that what could have been bad SF turns into something extraordinary.

Wasn't my cup of tea. I finished it, but it took far longer than one would expect. I almost told someone to read it with me just so I'd have comraderie in how mad I was at its structure ("this is what happened, and btw this is why"). Also, you can't just add the world "child" to a character's vernacular and assume that it will suddenly read as a woman.

I loved this story, it was very interesting and imaginative. A truly enjoyable read. I recommend this book if you are into Sci-Di.

Ok. This is like... I imagine this is what a good trip, when high, is like. I mean this in the best possible terms. It's chaotic, jumps around, jumps back and forth, but you never lose track of anything or lose your way. The narrator rambles, but your eyes widen with the incredulousness of what is being said. To try and accomplish this in a story of one's own would be a great writing exercise. Highly recommended Weird Science Fantasy.