Hummingbird Salamander: A Novel

I received a free electronic copy of this environmental novel from Netgalley, Jeff VanderMeer, and MCD, publisher. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. VanderMeer writes an intricately plotted mystery with larger-than-life protagonists, both very good and very bad and occasionally half crazy, and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. The slow degradation of the world, only slightly exaggerated for our times, will give you too much to think about but you won't be able to forget it, either. It's a story I hope everyone takes to heart. I have a 60-year relationship with tree huggers around the world. Hummingbird Salamander takes all those life-long fears and expands them a little, adds a touch of exaggeration, and what transpires should scare you to death. That said, I spent a great deal of the first half of this novel flipping back to see what I missed. There are several places that are a bit disjointed. Once you quit trying to make the story flow it overtakes you completely and the next thing you know it's the end. A very good book.