HUMMINGBIRD SALAMANDER

"That month the southern white rhino and a species of pangolin had gone extinct. Wildfires in five countries meant animals were crawling to the side of roads to beg people speeding by for water. People were poisoning vultures and shooting bats out of the sky, scared of pandemics. To care more meant putting a bullet in your brain. So, like many, I had learned to care less. Silvina called it 'the fatal adaptation.'"

—page 37, Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer.

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This novel is the latest wild ride from Jeff VanderMeer, and quite the ride it is!

We meet Jane Smith, who is an unpleasant character. She is soon swept up into a narrative that is not entirely of her own making and begins with her being handed an envelope that leads her to a  taxidermied hummingbird that may or may not be extinct.

The story is equal parts eco-thriller, science fiction, and weird fiction. As Jane gets sucked deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding the aforementioned hummingbird and its companion salamander, we get sucked in alongside her.

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For those familiar with other novels by VanderMeer—especially Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance, Borne, and Dead Astronauts—there are plenty of "Easter eggs" hidden within. Some are nods to or echoes of characters or settings in prior novels, while others feel like variants or alternative universe versions. (Welcome to the VanderVerse!)

Here are some of the Easter eggs that caught my attention

• “Jane Smith” as the looking-glass version of Control.
• The naiad hummingbird as the looking-glass version of the Strange Bird.
• We encounter Mord? (This is actually a humorous allusion to a horrible situation in Borne.)
• We encounter the Blue Fox.
• We encounter Botch.
• Area X visits us. (The ark of HS. The “contained” experiments of Charlie X and the Company.)
• Unitopia as echoes of the City, the Southern Reach, Veniss.
• Shot as the looking-glass version of Control’s grandmother.
• The (house)boat along the (Pacific Northwest) coast. 

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As with other VanderMeer novels, I'm going to have to read this again (and soon). The material is so rich and chewy and rewarding. Plus, a second reading really helps me to see details I missed the first time around.