Books Authors
Veniss Underground

Veniss Underground

by
Jeff VanderMeer

Synopsis of Veniss Underground

Jeff VanderMeer explores the limits of love, memory and obsession in a far-future SF novel that combines the grotesque and the sublime with a compelling mystery. On a far-future Earth, where vast deserts - ecological disaster areas - surround walled city-states slowly losing their grip on advanced technology, the mysterious Quin manipulates biological engineering to create sentient species as both toys and manual labour. When Nicholas, a failed holo artist, decides to visit Quin, he - along with his programmer sister Nicola and her former lover, Shadrach - will discover just how dangerous it is to know Quin - in the place known as Veniss Underground.

Reviews of Veniss Underground

87%

Veniss Underground is a bracingly strong first novel. -- Paul Witcover, Scifi.com

Already recognized as one of fantasy's more creative talents, Veniss Underground will only further Jeff VanderMeer's growing reputation for innovative and imaginative fiction. -- William Thompson, SF Site

"Veniss Underground" is not to be missed for several reasons. First, it's profoundly serious. In our own society, made daily more stupid by sitcoms, VanderMeer's relentlessly grim vision is a gift. Second, the Book defines with surgical clarity the strength of the human heart, even a broken one, and the weakness of the flesh, even enhanced. And finally there's the writing. -- Porter Anderson, CNN

"Veniss Underground" is full of beautiful sentences, black humor and terrible wonders, an audacious riff on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. -- Michael Berry, The San Francisco Chronicle