Borne: A Novel

By Jeff VanderMeer

**A National Post Best Book of the Year**

In a ruined, nameless city of the future, Rachel, who makes her living as a scavenger, finds a creature she names Borne entangled in the fur of Mord, a gigantic, despotic bear. Mord once prowled the corridors of the biotech organization known as the Company, which lies at the outskirts of the city, until he was experimented on, grew large, learned to fly and broke free. Driven insane by his torture at the Company, Mord terrorizes the city even as he provides sustenance for scavengers like Rachel.

At first, Borne looks like nothing at all—just a green lump that might be a Company discard. The Company, although severely damaged, is rumoured to still be making creatures and sending them to distant places that have not yet suffered Collapse.

Borne somehow reminds Rachel of the island nation of her birth, now long lost to rising seas. When she takes Borne to her subterranean sanctuary, the Balcony Cliffs, she convinces her lover, Wick, a former employee of the Company, not to render Borne down to raw genetic material for the drugs he sells.

Wick is a special kind of supplier; the drug dealers in the city sell tiny creatures that can be swallowed or stuck in the ear to release powerful memories of other people’s happier times, or to pull forgotten memories from the user’s own mind, or to just produce beautiful visions that provide escape from the barren, craterous landscapes of the city.

Searching Wick’s apartment one day, Rachel finds a burnt, unreadable journal titled Mord that cryptically references the Magician, a rival drug dealer, and the Company building. What is Wick hiding? Why won’t he tell her about what happened when he worked for the Company?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781443449151

Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer is an award-winning novelist and editor. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in the Library of America’s American Fantastic Tales and in multiple year’s-best anthologies. He writes non-fiction for the Washington Post, the New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, and the Guardian, among others. He grew up in the Fiji Islands and now lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife.

Reviews for Borne

[decaturmamaof2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dark and beautiful, deceptively simple

[ragwaine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With Vandermeer you at least are sure you're always going to get something original and interesting. The characters in this one didn't blow me away and the long "letter" that explained much of the background of the story towards the end was just too much "telling" for me, but the story itself was cool and Borne was hilarious.

[wifilibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Certainly a unique book, I really enjoyed the premise of exploring how a non-human intelligence might evolve and learn from a human trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

[amysuzannej · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a dystopian world although it is focused in one extremely messed up city. The city has been cast into ruins by a biotech company called The Company. They have created a monster named Mord that is destroying everything and everybody. Mord was formed by the company as a giant bear, and has minions that are also bears.Borne is a being found by a young woman named Rachel. She names the creature Borne because she considers him/it her child. Borne learns very quickly and helps Rachel stay alive in the city. The word "borne" is also the past participle of the word bear (to carry) and this has significance in the story.I had problems with the author's descriptions of some of the biotech. He was vague enough on some of it that I found it hard to picture. It made the story a little less believable, but I still liked the book.

[leo_depart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A weaponized Barbapapa is raised in a post-apokalyptic city terrorized by a oversized flying bear. I like weird, and VanderMeer certainly delivers in this regard. There are some fantastic dialogs between Borne (the shape-shifting entity) and Rachel (the main character and narrator) and the world definetely has interesting aspects but overall it doesn't come close to the atmospheric hostility that energises the Southern Reach Trilogy. It feels both more shallow and more predictable. The final battle is kind of obvious from the beginning and the ultimate revelation/explanation feels a bit uninspired and rushed.It's still a good read!

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While some of the themes of the "Southern Reach" trilogy are here (the concern with environmental degradation, the deformation of character imposed by predatory organization, the secrets we hide from others) I do get a very different vibe from the world depicted here as opposed to the world of Area X. The simplest way to explain this is that while "Southern Reach" reminded me of "X-Files" at its most nihilistic filtered through H.P. Lovecraft, this book plays more in the post-apocalyptic space carved out by J.G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick and, for that matter, Richard Matheson. In this book the worst has essentially happened (as compared to looming sense of doom in the trilogy) and the one real question is whether there will be a saving remnant in the end. Or, to put it another way (and at the risk of making a spoiler), "Southern Reach" was partly about what would a clean slate look like, this book seems to deal more with the persistence of memory and the human will to survive as positive things.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In a post-apocalyptic world, in a ruined city overrun with strange biotechnology, a scavenger plucks an anemone-like creature from the fur of a giant flying bear, and, when it proves to be intelligent, raises it as if it were a child.You know, I can't quite decide if this book is more or less weird than that summary makes it sound. But it is pretty weird, which I guess is what you expect from VanderMeer. The only things of his I'd read before this were the books of the Southern Reach trilogy, (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance), and I'd say this seems to be along much the same lines, although I don't think it's quite as complex or possibly as deep as those. The writing does feel much the same, although I'm not sure the odd, detached quality of it works quite as well here as it did in those books, if only because the world this one is describing, while still hard to comprehend, is much more familiar, even everyday, to the protagonist, since she's lived with it for a long time.Still, even if it's not perfect, Borne is really interesting, at times even compelling, and the title character is fun, in his own bizarre and occasionally disturbing way. Plus, that giant flying bear is astonishingly well-realized. I don't know that everything makes huge amounts of sense in the end, and while various things are a little bit explained, I'm not sure anything at all is fully explained. But I wasn't really expecting anything different, so I was okay with that.Rating: Things like this are kind of hard to rate, but I'm going to give it 4/5, just for being the interesting read it was.

[kcshankd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Strange little post-mod apocalypse novel. Borne the sentient purple blob of goo and a couple from Mad Max. Let's hope we don't find out.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fable disguised as a dystopia, set in a ruined City on an unnamed Earth, where Rachel scavenges for supplies to give her lover, Wick, who makes biotech to sell to other survivors. The City is ruled by a gigantic bear, Mord, a bio-engineered relic of the once-powerful Company, and a woman known only as the Magician schemes to take over. Then, Rachel finds some strange biotech, which at first she thinks is just a plant, but he grows and changes and shows his intelligence. She names him Borne, and although she loves him and thinks of him as a child she is raising, she does not know what he is exactly, or how dangerous.This is a story about what a person is and how a person is made. It is a fairy tale, with a quest and a battle and possibly a happy ending. What I enjoy about VanderMeer's writing is the strangeness of his imagination, and yet how he makes that strangeness accessible to readers like me. Although I did not enjoy Borne as much as I did the Southern Reach trilogy, I found it thoroughly absorbing, a compelling story set in a strange and magical, yet familiar, world.

[adamwolf_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this. It is pretty Jeff VanderMeery, but it also seemed more approachable than most of his other work to someone who reads more... "normal" things.

I am excited to read the upcoming short stories set in this world.

[lisapeet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I put a hold on this on a total whim (yet another reason why the library is great: because impulse reading is good when impulse spending is not). I don't read a ton of sf these days, although once upon a time, late teens/early 20s, this kind of gnarly dystopian fiction was totally my thing—it matched up well with the gnarly dystopian lower Manhattan of the early '80s, and I think a lot of us secretly imagined ourselves to be undercover Mad Maxes (remember when we liked Mel Gibson?). I fell back into it easily too—VanderMeer's world building and general setup were really fun and inventive. I liked the writing a bit less so—maybe I'm out of the groove of that particular genre and its conventions, but it felt a bit loosely written, or maybe loosely edited, hard to say. Which didn't stop me from enjoying it all the way through... but definitely with a few stylistic reservations.

[jbd1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've been on something of a dystopian future kick lately, so when I saw this one, I had to give it a try. I was somewhat disappointed, but maybe I just read it too close on the heels of Maddaddam and that colored my view of it. It didn't pack the same punch for me as some of VanderMeer's earlier stories have.

[katybee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is such a fascinating post-apocalyptic story - all the characters are amazing, especially the non-humans. Borne is a shape shifter mystery and Mord is an insanely huge biotech horror. Much to ponder here - this is worth a repeat read.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 starsAnother odd science fiction-y story from Vandermeer. Here he presents a post-apocalyptic world of biotech that is effectively ruled by a giant flying bear and its venomous proxies--failed attempts at something by The Company (which is no more, though the building and biotech holding tanks are still there). Violence rules the city as scavengers try to eke out a living amidst the biotech creatures and The Magician's experiments. Wick and Rachel live in an old building, she scavenges while he makes biotech. A former company employee, Wick has been there a long time. Rachel spent much of her childhood as a refugee with her parents, moving from place to place, trying to stay ahead of environmental and political disasters. She finally lands in The City, with few memories of how she got there or what happened to her parents. Borne is biotech she scavenges.I much prefer the ending to this one over the ending of his Southern Reach Trilogy, but I wish this ending had been explained more fully. Was the change in weather after the Borne/Mord battle and the Magician's death a coincidence? Or had something/someone blocked rain and once they were dead rain returned? Was it a company thing? And how did the city begin to evolve after Mord was gone--was there no faction elsewhere that would come take over? It sounds like it is becoming "nice", with veggies and all.

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You either like Jeff VanderMeer or you don't. I like his books a lot."Borne" has been so widely reviewed there is little else that I can add. I think it is important to note that the publisher's blurbs saying that this is a book built on an environmental catastrophe are wrong. This is a book about biotech burst loose and among things that happen as a result is that water is contaminated and then, as you expect, the weather gets screwed up. So those of us who hate all the poorly-written environmental disaster books on the scene today can read "Borne" with confidence. This is one of the most sympathetic telling of an ongoing apocalypse that you will find.I received a review copy of "Borne" by Jeff VanderMeer (HarperCollins UK, 4th Estate) through NetGalley.com.

[sassybrit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am reviewing Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. Here are my thoughts:

^^ Rachel's a scavenger trying to survive in a destroyed world that is littered with biotech experiments the Company have discarded and nothing is ever what it seems. She meets Wick who makes his own way, by dealing with all sorts of things he finds, breaking them down and making the best use out of what he can. Then Rachel finds Borne, but instead of breaking him up and using him for parts, she keeps him. Not only does he start to talk, become a person and grow on her, he starts to grow - into somethi ng quite huge and alien. Yet despite his quirkiness Rachel and Borne become attached; like mother and child. What can become of such a relationship in a world where survival is everyone's priority?

^^ Borne. How to explain Borne? He waffles between childlike and adult states as he finds his way around Rachel's world. He can morph into objects and people, but without these disguises he forms a six-foot hybrid of a squid and a sea anemone with a ring of circling eyes. In short, he's a fascinating, shape-shifting character, and one Rachel takes it upon herself to teach the ways of the world. One he is clearly not used to living in.

^^ Then there's the giant grizzly God-Bear called Mord, the Magician, the poison rains, memory beetles, and the odd discarded biotech that could cause death or discomfort.

^^ I quite liked how this book is split into three parts, and each part/chapter has a sub title relating to the next part of the story.

^^ U nderneath the surface of this post-apocalyptic tale of survival, there is something more. Something deeper. You'll see it as you read through. Maybe the author is writing of a world not so alien after all. If you read in between the lines, is our society so different? Do we teach our children what is best, only to have them go their own way as soon as they have a mind of their own? If you look closer, there are so many similarities to modern life as we know it today.  It's a kind of charming, yet terrifying read all rolled into one.

^^ This is a great book for any fan of fantasy and science fiction set in a dystopian world, where technology and the supernatural intertwine.

Overall: VanderMeer's dystopian world is a weird and wonderful mix creative strange characters, a fascinating mind and world-building skills. I've never read anything quite like it!

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC copy.

[mithril_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written.

[ouroborosangel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Weird and fabulous. Jeff VanderMeer creates worlds unlike any other and fabulous and haunting creatures to inhabit them. Borne stars a "blob" that Rachel finds while scavenging on the hide of the colossal bear-creature that rules their world. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be a person? What does it mean to be good? So many themes and ideas. If you enjoyed the Southern Reach trilogy, you will definitely like this!

[veeshee-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a difficult novel to read because it is not only complex in its ideology, but also in the way it is written. It took me quite a bit of time to read and process this novel ... but it was well worth the effort. Something that I found very unique about this book is that the author leaves the bigger picture vague; we don't know all of the details that led to the ruined city. However, it is the emotions and the little things that the author expands upon. By doing this, he keeps the reader focused on the characters, as they grow, develop, and come upon their truths. The reader isn't bogged down by useless details; everything that happens and everything that is described is relevant in painting this beautiful story. I loved the relationship that develops between Borne and Rachel, and I love how it affects various aspects of Rachel's life, including her relationship with Wick. I wish I could say more but I don't want to ruin the experience for others. Suffice to say, this novel is incredibly written and extremely deep. It is not something that you can read in a rushed manner; you have to take your time in order to go beyond the surface. This isn't just a tale of survival; this is a story about identity and relationships. It is definitely a worthwhile read. 5/5 stars from me!

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely fantastic! Set in a post-apocalyptic world, our main character is a scavenger. It's a strange world and whether this is earth can only be pondered by the reader. The Company dealt with bioengineering and is one faction of the city. Defences at the ready but otherwise seemingly abandoned. The Magician is a mysterious figure working against the Company. Meanwhile, the city is terrorized by a piece of bio-engineering that has turned against the Company, a giant (Godzilla-sized) bear. It is in this world that Rachel the scavenger finds a small biological piece that she takes for a plant, that is until it starts to move around and talk. Borne is a fantastic creature and the whole story is science fiction bordering on The Weird. As soon as I had finished this I wanted more, so I've now downloaded VanderMeer's Annihilation to my kindle and am caught up in it. A new author discovered for me!

[guide2_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't finish this one: after reading a summary of the complete plot, maybe I should have kept going a bit, but just could not get interested in the story and characters

[markon_305303 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book Borne is, "as terrible and beautiful and sad and sweet as life itself." (p. 7) This quote is actually Rachel speaking of the drug (memory beetles) that her companion Wick sells. But I think it's an accurate description of each of the three main characters - Rachel, Wick, and Borne itself - and the strange family they comprise.In addition to being the convoluted story of these three and the ravaged city they live in, it is also a meditation on what a person is and how trust, distrust, secrets, love, and forgiveness mingle in our lives, and the strange places that give rise to (or bear) hope.

[codeeater · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I bought this book at City Books in Brighton while being there on vacation the week before Easter, I was mainly attracted by (1) the very colourful and pleasing cover and (2) Jeff VanderMeer's name (I had read Annihilation last summer - coincidently also bought while on vacation in the UK).I didn't really know what to expect.What I found was a unique story of a kind of patchwork family in a post-apocalyptic city (not particularly novel) ruled by a giant flying bear (very unusual) and a Magician. Strange biotech everywhere.Is this Fantasy, Science-Fiction, all of it? Does it matter?The ending worked for me although it leaves some things unanswered - which somehow reminds me of Annihilation. I guess if you liked Annihilation's writing style, you will also like Borne.This was my second book by Jeff and I read both in English - which I do with a lot of novels - but have to admit it was not always easy. This is no critism of the language used, I just felt I couldn't fully appreciate all the details of the prose. Maybe I need to reread this one as a German translation or grab a German copy of Jeff's next book - which I surely will be looking forward to.

[billiebook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This took me forever to get into. Maybe it was because it was the holidays or maybe it just didn't catch my imagination the way that Annihilation first did. Once I got into it, I liked it, but it never did engage me in the way that The Southern Reach Trilogy did.

[jdifelice-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I ended up really enjoying this, despite my slow reading pace. I found this a little hard to get into, the writing style wasn't super easy to read, I really had to slow down to take in what was happening and what was going on. Which wasn't a bad thing, just different. This was definitely one of those books that explores themes of humanity, what makes you a person, and death. Hard topics, that make you think, and thus need to be taken in slowly.

I enjoyed Rachel as a narrator, and enjoyed getting to know Borne and Wick, but I found it hard to even really like them. The writing felt distant and standoffish, not really personal. The plot was interesting, and I wasn't really sure where it was going to take us at any point - but I did enjoy what happened and how we got there. It was a very interesting read.

3.5/5 stars

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first VanderMeer Book. I read it for weird fiction category and I think it fit perfectly. I think he does a great job with prose though not consistently but here is a sample from the first two paragraphs. "I found Borne on a sunny gunmetal day..." I am still trying to picture a sunny gunmetal day. The author uses a lot of color and smells in his writing. This book is a dystopian book, set in some near future time when the world has been wrecked by companies who destroy the ecology, create biotech and the political and cultural structure has collapsed. The protagonist is Rachel, who doesn't really have full recall of how she ended up here. She works as a scavenger for her lover Wick. Rachel finds Borne one day and brings him home. Borne is like a child for Rachel. The child comes between she and Wick. She begins to have secrets from Wick. Wick has secrets from Rachel. So this would be your standard triangle of mother, father and child. Then there is the monster, a giant biotech bear called Mord who is huge, flies and crushes and devours. And there is the Magician who is trying to take control of everything; the company, Wick, etc. I do love the author's sense of humor but he also offers up insights into relationships, secrets, and faithfulness. It is definitely weird and gruesome with everyone scavenging and eating what ever and most of it sounds quite awful but also a book of hope. Vandermeer grew up in Fiji and that experience does inform the book where he talks about "smell of brine", "tidal pools of my youth".

[jlslipak · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In a ruined, nameless city of the future, a woman named Rachel, who makes her living as a scavenger, finds a creature she names “Borne” entangled in the fur of Mord, a gigantic, despotic bear. Mord once prowled the corridors of the biotech organization known as the Company, which lies at the outskirts of the city, until he was experimented on, grew large, learned to fly and broke free. Driven insane by his torture at the Company, Mord terrorizes the city even as he provides sustenance for scavengers like Rachel.At first, Borne looks like nothing at all—just a green lump that might be a Company discard. The Company, although severely damaged, is rumoured to still make creatures and send them to distant places that have not yet suffered Collapse.Borne somehow reminds Rachel of the island nation of her birth, now long lost to rising seas. She feels an attachment she resents; attachments are traps, and in this world any weakness can kill you. Yet when she takes Borne to her subterranean sanctuary, the Balcony Cliffs, Rachel convinces her lover, Wick, not to render Borne down to raw genetic material for the drugs he sells—she cannot break that bond.Wick is a special kind of supplier, because the drug dealers in the city don’t sell the usual things. They sell tiny creatures that can be swallowed or stuck in the ear, and that release powerful memories of other people’s happier times or pull out forgotten memories from the user’s own mind—or just produce beautiful visions that provide escape from the barren, craterous landscapes of the city.MY THOUGHTS:I received this book in exchange for my honest review.A once surreal, futuristic world now bleak and ruined, good only for scavenging (our future?), is the home of our three main characters, including Borne. A Company thought gone, but not, and a huge bear with an attitude for destruction and rage.I was sold on this book when I first heard it was coming out. My only fear was that, like many books that have disappointed me, I was listening to the marketing and hype. So I asked and asked for the book, looked everywhere for it and couldn’t seem to get my hands on it. It came out in stores and I juggled the idea of whether to buy it or not, sight unseen…Then, the publisher graciously sent it to me, signed bookmark included!!!!!! It was wonderful! I did a happy dance. So here the book was resting gently in my hands. I ran my fingers over the gorgeous cover, petting the darn thing like it was a newly found kitten. I felt like an idiot.I kept the book on my shelf, staring at the lovely colours and wondering if the rest of the book’s shelf existence could just be this, me gawking wistfully, it sitting gloriously. Day by day, it sat . Finally, I reminded myself that the publisher was waiting on a review… oh no, THAT… inevitable review where all my hopes and dreams could be shattered just from me opening the book and reading from the beginning. It was time to pick up the book (pet the cover some more), open it, and actually READ the darn thing. I was nervous.My palms were sweaty. I touched my forehead and when I examined my fingertips, they too were covered with perspiration (ladies don’t SWEAT). It was the moment of truth, but I just couldn’t make myself open the cover. So I flipped the book over and read the back jacket again. It was exactly as I remembered it, I thought with joy while hugging the book to my chest.But, I had a responsibility… With a stupid Cheshire cat grin on my face, listening to my dog farting at my feet, I turned the book over and with great care, opened the cover.IT WAS FANTASTIC! OMG!The end.

[outsidegrrl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a dystopian world although it is focused in one extremely messed up city. The city has been cast into ruins by a biotech company called The Company. They have created a monster named Mord that is destroying everything and everybody. Mord was formed by the company as a giant bear, and has minions that are also bears.Borne is a being found by a young woman named Rachel. She names the creature Borne because she considers him/it her child. Borne learns very quickly and helps Rachel stay alive in the city. The word "borne" is also the past participle of the word bear (to carry) and this has significance in the story.I had problems with the author's descriptions of some of the biotech. He was vague enough on some of it that I found it hard to picture. It made the story a little less believable, but I still liked the book.

[pwaites_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I’m so glad I finally got around to reading Borne. In fact, I think I liked it even more than Annihilation.Rachel is a twenty-six-year-old woman making her living as a scavenger in a nameless city. The city once played host to the Company, which created all sorts of biotech. Ultimately, the Company created their own downfall — a giant, flying bear named Mord. Now the city lies in ruins, and survival is a daily struggle. When out scavenging for supplies, Rachel finds a mysterious piece of biotech caught on Mord’s fur. Rachel names the creature “Borne” and takes it home with her. Although she sees attachment as dangerous, she begins to love Borne, even though he’s inhuman and incomprehensible to human minds. As Rachel starts becoming a parent to Borne, he proves a source of conflict between Rachel and her lover Wick. After all, Wick says, they have no idea what Borne is truly capable of.I skipped out on reading Borne when it was first released. I think I thought it would be too strange. Well, Borne‘s plenty weird but in a good way. I loved the post-apocalyptic setting VanderMeer created. It felt creative and original. I mean, where else have you read about a giant flying bear? It’s the use of biotech and ecology that really gave the setting it’s own flavor. Environmental focuses are something VanderMeer does so well, and you can really see it with Borne. Borne has a highly limited cast. While you may see a few other scavengers among the ruins of the nameless city, really there’s only three major characters: Rachel, Wick, and Borne. The only other characters who could even count are Mord himself and his nemesis, the Magician, Wick’s rival in city. The limited cast works well for Borne, allowing each of the three main characters to develop complexity. Rachel is a strong protagonist, and I loved her memories of the past, the islands she grew up on, and the times with her parents before the world entirely collapsed.However, the heart of the book is the relationship between Rachel and Borne, her monstrous child. In a way, it reminded me of The Girl with All the Gifts. Rachel knows that Borne might be dangerous, but she can’t bring herself to stop loving him. Borne might not be human, but Rachel tells him that he’s still a person.“We all just want to be people, and none of us know what that really means.”Borne is eerie and melancholy, but somehow still hopeful and loving, filled with a complexity that is oh so human. I highly recommend it.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a weird book, I love Jeff VanderMeer's writing. Didn't top the Southern Reach trilogy, but really fascinating and entertaining.