I love the way Weird Fiction can make the bizarre seem grounded. An emotionally affective and lyrical look at how people can both disappoint and come through for us in the backdrop of scavengers and monsters in a post-apocalyptic medical wasteland.

Slow and a little hard to read since there is really no context clues or even explanation throughout the story that explain what things are. Interesting back and fourth but half the time I was so confused on what the narrator was talking about I couldn't fully get into the book.

Jeff VanderMeer creates an engrossing post-apocalyptic world filled with abandoned biotech and different factions of survivors scavenging for a living in a destroyed city policed by a magician and a giant flying bear. If this sounds weird, it is and it only gets weirder when Rachel, the main character, comes across a strange plant-like creature. The creature, named Borne, starts growing, develops the ability to speak and think and could bring salvation or death and destruction to Rachel's world.

Weird is a good word to describe this book.
Borne takes places in the future in an unnamed city where humans are scavenging for food and struggling for survival after ‘a Company’ that was in control of the city created a biotech experiment that went wrong and destroyed most of the city. Some of the ideas and characters are certainly original and interesting, and I think Jeff VandeeMeer did a good job of writing in such a way that always kept me engaged and interested.
The story starts with Rachel (the narrator), finding a mysterious blob who she decides to name Borne. Realizing that he can speak and learn, Rachel tries to raise him like a human. The story is interesting during this part because while trying to teach Borne, Rachel learns a lot about herself and we also get to learn about the city and her past. But once Rachel realizes that Borne is more than just a blob, she kicks him out of where she is living and the focus of the book shifts from being on him to being on Rachel. I think the story stops being interesting after that. I think what really ruined this book for me was the ending. Borne did not end in the way I expected it to. Like for most stories, you want a resolution to all of the problems that happen. Borne doesn't really do that and it just sort of ends. It also feels a little rushed. So while this book wasn't awful or anything, I think that it could have been a lot better. I'd only reccomend this book if you're into the weird fiction genre. Otherwise, it's just too weird.

Scary!

Once again, Vandermeer serves up a full portion of fear.
As with his earlier work (the Southern Reach trilogy with "Annihilation" coming out in film 2018), the aspect that drives the reader mad is how little we can see and know about the forces moving in the ruined world around; the writing will leave you looking over your shoulder wondering when the next deadly attack will fall, and if you will even see it coming.

In a ruined futuristic city, live Rachel and Wick, both dealing with their own pasts. After 'The Company ' leaves the city to its fate, mechanical and biological creatures flourish-none more terrifying than Mord, a gigantic bear. Then Rachel finds a creature she names Borne. His relationship with Rachel is complicated and neither she or Wick can know what he will mean to their future. Wonderful writing and this book would make a great movie.

While well written, and an interesting premise, I had to return this book about halfway through: I couldn't take the violence and gore.

A really interesting fresh take on a post-apocalyptic world. Reminiscent of Atwood's Oryx and Crake, but also different.

I loved this book.