Hummingbird Salamander (Jeff VanderMeer)

I loved the atmosphere of this more than anything - just felt like the modern world viewed through a certain lens. Not a one you would want to be trapped in, but I ultimately liked the main character, as she seemed to be doing what she could with a deeply flawed personality, amongst other things. Very effective writing. Plus the most horrific book I've ever read about in a book.

I would recommend this as an entry point for new readers to VanderMeer; very good, but not as weird and 'out there' as his best work. This is the VanderMeerian equivalent of a Michael Crichton eco-thriller and as such does not have the fecund imagination or, indeed, tour de force performance of "City of Saints and Madmen", his collection of linked novellas, short stories, appendices, mock-documents -essays etc. After Hummingbird Salamander I would suggest new readers move onto the Southern Reach trilogy then dive into Saints & Madmen.

To me, this story is saturated with its protagonist's grim perspective, she as much of a mystery as the clues she obsessively follows. Every relationship is dysfunctional, everyone is corrupt and the world crumbles along with her ersatz life. Chasing a messiah and a miracle to fix her and the world, as she goes further and loses more, as every awful truth is outed, every chance of turning back vanishes. All that's left is a desperate, ambiguous act of faith. Not comforting to read in any way but brilliantly unsettling.