Dead Astronauts: A Novel

In Dead Astronauts, bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer gives readers another novel set in the fascinating world of his previous novel, Borne. It can’t really be called a sequel, but possibly a prequel as the events occur before the previous novel’s story, though it doesn’t involve any of the main characters. Nevertheless, the book expands the world and universe already set, adding depth and complexity.

Our astronauts in question are a strange trio of rebels who have been traveling through time and space for some time. They are always on the run from the all-powerful Company, looking for a place of safety and perhaps hope. But they must also deal with a great and ancient leviathan, an enigmatic blue fox that appears to be following them, as well as a strange homeless woman and a raving madman.

The book’s flow and plotting is quite different than Borne, but more in the style of VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. It can be sprawling and discombobulating at times, so readers looking for a straightforward chronological book might not fend too well with this. But for those readers who have come to love the author’s prose for its wild and descriptive nature will certainly delight in Dead Astronauts.