Dead Astronauts

A Novel

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A messianic blue fox who slips through warrens of time and space on a mysterious mission. A homeless woman haunted by a demon who finds the key to all things in a strange journal. A giant leviathan of a fish, centuries old, who hides a secret, remembering a past that may not be its own.

Three ragtag rebels waging an endless war for the fate of the world against an all-powerful corporation. A raving madman who wanders the desert lost in the past, haunted by his own creation: an invisible monster whose name he has forgotten and whose purpose remains hidden.

Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts presents a city with no name of its own where, in the shadow of the all-powerful Company, lives - human and otherwise - converge in terrifying and miraculous ways. At stake: the fate of the future, the fate of Earth - all the Earths.

©2019 VanderMeer Creative, Inc. (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

"Narrator Emily Woo Zeller reprises her role as the listener's guide through the beguiling postapocalyptic 'Borne' world. While part of a series, the story is accessible as a stand-alone with its own protagonists.... Zeller's low register and unhurried pace depict ever-present menace, simmering resentment, and indestructible personal bonds between friend and foe alike.... Attuned vocal characterizations of nonhuman characters - including an isolated behemoth, a dark bird, and a mysterious blue fox - facilitate entry into this mesmerizing realm." (AudioFile Magazine)

This should not be an audiobook

The actual paper book has all kinds of notes, drawings, and scribbles in the margins and the author intended the reader to actually *see* these things. In the audiobook, these notes are simply read aloud, so you’re left with the reader spouting random numbers from time to time and it gets super confusing. There really needs to be a disclaimer on this stating that by going the audiobook route, you’ll miss the whole point of the book. It should also tell you to read Borne and Strange Bird first. I gave it 3 stars because the performance is great and I do love anything VanderMeer.

Wasted 7hrs of my life

What a horrible, horrible book. It contributes nothing to the Borne story. I kept listening in hope that the book will take a turn and will finally make sense, but it never did.

Dizzyingly beautiful and worth the work.

I don’t usually write reviews, but I just finished this audiobook and I feel compelled to write something.

This story has a loose narrative, it can be repetitive, and there are times where you might not totally understand what’s going on, but rather, you have to trust VanderMeer’s writing to take you on a journey that you can figure out in greater detail later. This book will ask you to do a lot more than most modern novels will, but trust me, it’s worth the occasional confusion and extra work.
This is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read/ listened to, and the last few chapters actually left me sobbing.
Lastly, Emily Woo Zeller captures the spirit and beauty of this book perfectly with her soothing but expressive voice. The only complaint I have there is that sometimes her voice is TOO soothing, and I had to go back and re-listen to some parts after I dozed off a little bit.
Please, if you’re a fan of VanderMeer, weird fiction, post apocalyptic science fiction, books that make you think, or even if you’re just curious, give this book a try.

Can surreal sci-fi poetic fiction become a genre?

This book combined so many interests of mine into one. Full of visions, depth, obscurity, and all sorts of other trippy goodness.

Meditation incognito

His works will transcend you into the state as described. He is a genius. I have never read or heard since was audible any other writer portray a moment to moment flow ,with dark undertones and deep understanding some will never admit even too themselves. He keeps you guessing like you do every moment of the day. You are the story. hypnotizing oneself has never been so fun or brilliant. He can make one meaning into 1000 and 1000 meanings lead to one.
It wouldn’t be the same if anyone other than Emily woo zeller narrates. She makes it even more seductive for your mind from your emotions.

Summer d

Well-read; hard to follow

This audiobook is really well-produced; Emily Woo Zeller is amazing. But the book is nonlinear and almost surreal, and it’s structured in such a way that I wanted to go back and look at what the author was doing with things like chapter numbers, etc. Overall I found it hard to follow and make sense of.

I’m curious to read it as a book, because I’m wondering if my frustration was with the format. Again, nothing wrong with the audiobook itself; I think it may just be one of those stories that’s better to actually read than to have read to.

What?

Yeah I’m too dumb for this book. I thought it was a fluke with Strange Bird, but no, I’m too dumb. I highly suggest reading along and listening to this. Or more importantly, listening in LARGE chunks. It’s the epitome of “wibbly wobbly timey whimey space stuff”. Coincidentally it’s the second finale to a series of his I just don’t understand. But maybe that’s because every time I heard leviathan/tide pools I kept thinking of Acceptance. Good luck.

Emily Woo Zeller carried me through

I think if I were to sit and read the text of this novel I would have struggled. There's a lot of phrase repetition, numbers that don't necessarily make sense, strange things your can't picture or imagine not because the language is insufficient, but because it's too fantastic and alien to comprehend. The narrator stays the course and keeps us on track. She had excellent range for different voices so I always knew who was talking and she captured their emotions perfectly.

I don't claim to understand everything that happened, but I understood each character's swirl of emotion as they described their experiences. VanderMeer is always a pleasure to read/listen to. I really enjoyed this experience.

Unsure if it is a good read as audio

I have read other Vandermeer titles and enjoy his writing. However, I am unsure if this is a great audiobook because I found it really hard to track what was going on and easily lost track of the time/world they were in if I was distracted for a moment. I also didn’t totally enjoy the narrator.

a dreamy sequel ?prequel? to Bourne

the whole story feels like a dream mixed with a memoir and sometimes read like a strange owners manual. in some ways it feels like it's tying together the world's created by VanderMeer.