Borne

De: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrado por: Bahni Turpin

In Borne, a young woman named Rachel survives as a scavenger in a ruined city half destroyed by drought and conflict. The city is dangerous, littered with discarded experiments from the Company - a biotech firm now derelict - and punished by the unpredictable predations of a giant bear. Rachel ekes out an existence in the shelter of a run-down sanctuary she shares with her partner, Wick, who deals his own homegrown psychoactive biotech.

One day, Rachel finds Borne during a scavenging mission and takes him home. Borne as salvage is little more than a green lump - plant or animal? - but exudes a strange charisma. Borne reminds Rachel of the marine life from the island nation of her birth, now lost to rising seas. There is an attachment she resents: in this world any weakness can kill you. Yet, against her instincts - and definitely against Wick's wishes - Rachel keeps Borne. She cannot help herself. Borne, learning to speak, learning about the world, is fun to be with, and in a world so broken that innocence is a precious thing. For Borne makes Rachel see beauty in the desolation around her. She begins to feel a protectiveness she can ill afford.

"He was born, but I had borne him."

But as Borne grows, he begins to threaten the balance of power in the city and to put the security of her sanctuary with Wick at risk. For the Company, it seems, may not be truly dead, and new enemies are creeping in. What Borne will lay bare to Rachel as he changes is how precarious her existence has been, and how dependent on subterfuge and secrets. In the aftermath, nothing may ever be the same.

©2017 Jeff VanderMeer (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Much better than Annihilation trilogy

This book is an absolutely wild ride. One of the most creative and weirdest premises for a story and setting told with phenomenal writing. Much more straightforward and easier to follow than the Annihilation series, which for this author is a good thing. Would highly recommend.

Great Author tainted by one irritating voice

Don't judge the author too quickly. While most characters were fine, I found Borne's voice irritating to listen to, and prematurely dismissed the book. It wasn't until I was watching the film Annihilation that a shot conjured up an image from Borne. I loved the movie and after looking up more about it, sure enough, I saw Annihilation was written by the same author.
Starting with Area X, I listened to a couple other books and absolutely fell in love with the writing.

These mental visually stimulating books create a whole new genre of bio sci-fi/ organic horror, and are chalk full of bizarre metaphors that speak to you, but can't always understand.
I suggest you read Borne instead. All the other books have great narrators.

Meh

I loved the Area X trilogy (Southern Reach). While Borne was delightfully lighter, this may have undercut the overall story. Part of this was the narrator, which was perfect for the cutesy/silly stuff, but not so much when a situation demanded suspense or gravitas.

While the Area X trilogy made excellent use of limiting the information available to the reader, this same rhetorical device was not used so deftly in Borne. I often felt adrift in the narrative. A big issue on this topic is character motivations, which were often either unclear or one-dimensional.

The first half is a lot of fun, but I didn't really care what happened as the book progressed. Part of this was uneven pacing.

If you're thinking of listening to/reading Borne, I recommend instead the Oryx and Crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood. Strikingly similar concepts/themes/tone, much better execution.

Bahni Turpin is phenomenal!

Bahni Turpin is phenomenal!
Jeff Vandermeer is also pretty good. This is well worth the listen.

beautiful and horrific and perfect

Beautifully read, never predicable, utterly original. I can't recommend this enough for anyone who enjoys a fantastical science fiction novel that feels like both a love story and a horror story.

Like reading a texture

Gorgeous word assemblages to invite you inhabitation of a very different place. A post-apocalyptic vision you’ve never tasted. Personally I reread frequently whether to reassess, reimagine or just savor the squirrelly strange ideas.

fantastic story and superlative narration

As a fan of Jeff VanderMeer's Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy, I was thrilled to see that he had a new novel out. But I was absolutely floored by the narration by Bahni Turpin, who makes an already riveting SF story even more moving with her nuanced tone, shifting with meaning and emotion at all the right moments. You'll have to listen for yourself to hear what I mean. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY.

Decent book, awful narration

Definitely play the sample before spending credits in this. The narrator sounds like the machine-voice of a GPS guidance system, which is a surprising choice for a novel about a scrappy female scavenger in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

As for the rest of the novel it is interesting, but Vandermeer keeps the pace a bit too brisk at times. I would have welcomed more time spent on Rachel exploring the city, with or without Borne, but instead we get told a lot more about the city than we are shown, which is limiting. Suspicions that this was written ultimately for the screen are confirmed in the Acknowledgements when the author thanks Hollywood producer Scott Rudin for his input and creativity. Why sell people just a movie when you can sell them a pseudo-novel and a movie ticket down the line?

Something Different for Dystopian Lit.

Narrative voices are spot on for each character and are very immersive and engaging. The story's characters are unique lovable and fun. Thee novel's concepts are usually very abstract, but they make for a wild ride that seems completely new and original. The only downside is that a lot of information and secrets are revealed right at the end, so the end seems a bit rushed.

Just enough mystery

A lot of authors give it away for free, right at the beginning. VanderMeer makes you wait for it, and see it in the light of all the clues he's given you along the way. The story is hard to believe as you go along. Almost mythical. But it feels like a solid work that was meant as a cohesive whole.

I don't know what to say Turpin other than she was the perfect personality that I wanted for the protagonist. I can't imagine reading it in paper and missing her performance.