Way in the future, during a time when those living in the twenty-first century would be considered tame, perversion is so wide-spread it is the norm; Living Artists create grotesque biological pieces of art. At the same time the genetically altered meerkats plan to either turn the lesser "natural" humans into drudges or make them extinct, whichever proves easier.
In Veniss, Nicholas is a Living Artist, but lacks the skills necessary to become popular though he fantasizes otherwise while producing what some say is excrement. Perhaps it is from being raped in a chemical tub or just a bi-product of her relationship with her former lover sleazy Shadrach, but Nicholas' twin sister Nicola sees Veniss much clearer than her rose colored glassed brother does.
Someone breaks into Nicholas's apartment and steals his artisan tools. Desperate he asks Shadrach to introduce him to his employer Quin, the world's greatest Living Artist and the uncrowned "emperor" of iniquity. Shadrach provides directions, but Nicholas gets lost and begins a frightening but eye opening odyssey through the layers underneath Veniss.
Take Homer's rendering of the myths and put them in a future nightmarish landscape painted by Dante to get a feel for the horrific adventures awaiting Nicholas as he journeys through the underbellies of the dissolute city he calls home. The story line is filled with detail that brings to life loosely put humanoid like creatures that will shock the audience as much as it stuns the lead protagonist, who comes from an already depraved society (some will say so do we). A well written and thought provoking parable, VENISS UNDERGROUND is a fabulous novella (there are also three shorts included) that grips those brave enough to make the trek into the degenerate bizarre.
Harriet Klausner
Jeff VanderMeer is finally available in the US from a major publisher!
The text of the novel is the same as from the previous editions
(published by an smaller independent publisher in this US and by Tor in
the UK). However, this new edition contains material not previously
available in US editions, namely shorter length fiction set in the same
far future Earth as the novel. This extra material is also available in
VanderMeer's excellent collection Secret Life (which contains many
great stories besides the few duplicated in this edition of Veniss).
As for the novel itself, many other reviewers have done it justice
here, so I won't go deep into it. It's a real page turner once you get
settled in to the author's cadence. The style and rhythm of the prose
will get under your skin and influence your mood and reaction to the
characters in the story. It's remarkable how VanderMeer does this,
really. Readers of some of VanderMeer's more...contemplative fiction
might be surprised how lean and fast paced his prose is here.
The last sections of the novel are real hell ride--in a good way! I
won't soon forget this story, and I'm certain I'll be reading it again
before too long. You don't want to miss VanderMeer, and Veniss
Underground is a great place to start.
