Mord vs Borne, concept art by ArtStation
Overdue book review of Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. I have had to sit with my thoughts over this one for a few days to decide whether or not I liked it. I did. But I also… didn’t?
Theo Ellsworth’s woodcut of Mord
Concept-wise, it’s brilliant and strange… a toxic city is ravaged by bio-engineered creatures, including a three-stories-tall flying bear. At the heart of it a couple lives holed up in an abandoned apartment complex… the dude making psychedelic drugs from beetles… the gal out scavenging for edible “products” to keep them alive. Our scavenger then finds Borne, a strange glowing blob which she takes home… and raises, as it morphs through continuous forms and eventually starts talking.
sketch of Borne
Borne is a delightful, fun creature – eager to explore and learn and play word games with his human companion. But Borne is also terrifying and unknown… scarier, in a way, than all the other horrific things you come across in this book.
Unfortunately, the pacing is slow. It’s not as depressing as Margaret Atwood’s maddaddam trilogy – but it has the same structure… in that it’s slow, even for a relatively short book, and you’re interested in the characters but you don’t really like them… so it seems even slower. Eh.
Borne by rhunevild
I hear they’ve optioned it for a film. Which I look forward to. The visuals left a permanent impression in my brain – and I will never be able to shake Mord, the flying bear, his fur matted with blood and biomatter…. or Borne, the grotesque yet fascinating shape-shifting creature that hops around exclaiming things with the delight of a toddler.
Illustration by Keith Negley
If you’ve seen Annihilation, that’s also Jeff’s work. It’s based on a novel from his Southern Reach Trilogy (which is a solid 5/5 for me – every book – loved that series). Disturbing, non-conclusive, and haunting – the film was an excellent adaptation even though it changed quite a bit.
What can I say? Wait for Borne the movie? Read it? Don’t read it?
I don’t know. I do know I have enjoyed looking at the fan art just as much as I reading the book… so… maybe that helps.
See More Amazing Fan Art HERE.
RATING: THREE STARS
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