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Trespass collection #2
Wildlife
Nature offers sanctuary for a woman with a violent past. But anything can happen when borderlands are crossed in a short story about the menace next door by a New York Times bestselling author.
Sam has retreated to her late father’s rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns—until an aggressive neighbor from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.
Jeff VanderMeer’s Wildlife is part of Trespass, a collection of wild stories about animal instincts, human folly, and survival from award-winning, bestselling authors. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
Sam has retreated to her late father’s rental house, a safe place to commune with the animals in the greenbelt out back, tend to her garden, and keep her secrets. Her sense of security slowly returns—until an aggressive neighbor from the other side of the ravine fells a tree on her property. How little he regards nature. Or understands its darkness. How little he knows Sam.
Jeff VanderMeer’s Wildlife is part of Trespass, a collection of wild stories about animal instincts, human folly, and survival from award-winning, bestselling authors. Read or listen to each in a single sitting.
57 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 24, 2022
About the author
Jeff VanderMeer
242 books15k followersNYT bestselling writer Jeff VanderMeer has been called “the weird Thoreau” by the New Yorker for his engagement with ecological issues. His most recent novel, the national bestseller Borne, received wide-spread critical acclaim and his prior novels include the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance). Annihilation won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson Awards, has been translated into 35 languages, and was made into a film from Paramount Pictures directed by Alex Garland. His nonfiction has appeared in New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic, Slate, Salon, and the Washington Post. He has coedited several iconic anthologies with his wife, the Hugo Award winning editor. Other titles include Wonderbook, the world’s first fully illustrated creative writing guide. VanderMeer served as the 2016-2017 Trias Writer in Residence at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He has spoken at the Guggenheim, the Library of Congress, and the Arthur C. Clarke Center for the Human Imagination.
VanderMeer was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but spent much of his childhood in the Fiji Islands, where his parents worked for the Peace Corps. This experience, and the resulting trip back to the United States through Asia, Africa, and Europe, deeply influenced him.
Jeff is married to Ann VanderMeer, who is currently an acquiring editor at Tor.com and has won the Hugo Award and World Fantasy Award for her editing of magazines and anthologies. They live in Tallahassee, Florida, with two cats and thousands of books.
VanderMeer was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, but spent much of his childhood in the Fiji Islands, where his parents worked for the Peace Corps. This experience, and the resulting trip back to the United States through Asia, Africa, and Europe, deeply influenced him.
Jeff is married to Ann VanderMeer, who is currently an acquiring editor at Tor.com and has won the Hugo Award and World Fantasy Award for her editing of magazines and anthologies. They live in Tallahassee, Florida, with two cats and thousands of books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
March 8, 2022
I have no idea what just happened in this story.
January 27, 2024
I was really enjoying this until the ending. I just don’t get it. Is it me or is it so obtuse as to be indecipherable????
February 27, 2022
I’m giving this book one star because the last six sentences completely confused me. I suggested this book to three of my friends and they, also, did not understand the ending so I know that it is not me.
If anyone can tell me what the ending of the story means, I would be greatly appreciative.
If anyone can tell me what the ending of the story means, I would be greatly appreciative.
April 1, 2022
This was fantastic! Ecological horror in a short story that is a bit longer than some of the other stories in the collection, and that is to its benefit. Wildlife follows a woman who has moved into a house her father left her after she killed someone and left her husband. The house is on the edge of a ravine and the main character wants local wildlife to flourish, but her nasty neighbor is killing off anything on his side of the property line. But there might be something more lurking in the ravine... This story has themes of guilt, secrets, and the dark side of humanity meeting nature. Loved it.
It's worth noting that this does have an open-ended ending, which I actually like but some people seem not to be a fan of.
It's worth noting that this does have an open-ended ending, which I actually like but some people seem not to be a fan of.
March 20, 2022
This was a great read until the ending, which pissed me off. If this is indicative of how his other works are, I probably won't be reading anything more from him. Basically, if you decide to read this, just know going in that you're going to have make up your own ending.
Sam has retreated to an old rental house of her father's that she inherited after a divorce and violence and trauma in her recent past. She is living on a ravine, and what she's been through has made her even more interested in the natural world, ecology, all kinds of life that lives outside her door. She has two neighbors, one she likes, and one she doesn't. The one she doesn't is interfering, mansplaining, and is more interested in eradicating nature than preserving it. He also appears to be trespassing, and the trail cams that Sam puts up start disappearing or malfunctioning. What is this asshole doing in the ravine?
Just know, you're not going to get an answer. What this ending reads like to me is that the author couldn't come up with a satisfying answer to his own problem, and decided that he could pass it off as "art" or whatever if he left it all open-ended. I call bullshit. This is one of the most unsatisfying things I've ever read, particularly because the first part was so good, and the ending so terrible. Two stars.
Sam has retreated to an old rental house of her father's that she inherited after a divorce and violence and trauma in her recent past. She is living on a ravine, and what she's been through has made her even more interested in the natural world, ecology, all kinds of life that lives outside her door. She has two neighbors, one she likes, and one she doesn't. The one she doesn't is interfering, mansplaining, and is more interested in eradicating nature than preserving it. He also appears to be trespassing, and the trail cams that Sam puts up start disappearing or malfunctioning. What is this asshole doing in the ravine?
Just know, you're not going to get an answer. What this ending reads like to me is that the author couldn't come up with a satisfying answer to his own problem, and decided that he could pass it off as "art" or whatever if he left it all open-ended. I call bullshit. This is one of the most unsatisfying things I've ever read, particularly because the first part was so good, and the ending so terrible. Two stars.
January 8, 2023
Ahhhhh! Loved this!
I just read WILDLIFE by Jeff Vandermeer and I could have stayed in this story forever. I love simmering suspense, escalation between neighbors that don't like each other, and Vandermeer's emphasis on the soothing catharsis of nature in our chaotic lives.
Neighbor escalation is so deliciously compelling, right? If you follow Vandermeer on social media and love his trail cam posts, descriptions of wildlife, and his love for flora and fauna you'll love the way he employs all of that in this tale.
I just read WILDLIFE by Jeff Vandermeer and I could have stayed in this story forever. I love simmering suspense, escalation between neighbors that don't like each other, and Vandermeer's emphasis on the soothing catharsis of nature in our chaotic lives.
Neighbor escalation is so deliciously compelling, right? If you follow Vandermeer on social media and love his trail cam posts, descriptions of wildlife, and his love for flora and fauna you'll love the way he employs all of that in this tale.
March 28, 2022
Still an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.
This was just a confirmation from reading a print version that it was the same confusing ending as it was from listening to the audiobook. I thought perhaps there might be more foreshadowing or other subtle information that would explain the ending which I might have missed from just listening to the audio. Nope. It was just as much of a mystery.
Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land."
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.
This was just a confirmation from reading a print version that it was the same confusing ending as it was from listening to the audiobook. I thought perhaps there might be more foreshadowing or other subtle information that would explain the ending which I might have missed from just listening to the audio. Nope. It was just as much of a mystery.
Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land."
March 20, 2022
Wow. VanderMeer is talented. I need to read his Southern Reach trilogy.
July 30, 2023
"Sam stared into the limitless green all around her, the way it cocooned her, the way it seduced her, wanted her to be part of it."
🦊🌳✨
If you wage war on Nature, don't expect her not to fight back. Simmering tension, paranoia, and ecological horror are blended into this intriguing short story. Who, or what, is lurking in the ravine? Can all trespasses be forgiven? Themes of regret, secrecy, and how nature and humanity's darker sides interact are all present in this novel, as well as Vandermeer's focus on nature's duality: a calming catharsis in the midst of our hectic lives can quickly turn savage, unpredictable, unforgiving. A mysterious, gripping read.
🦊🌳✨
If you wage war on Nature, don't expect her not to fight back. Simmering tension, paranoia, and ecological horror are blended into this intriguing short story. Who, or what, is lurking in the ravine? Can all trespasses be forgiven? Themes of regret, secrecy, and how nature and humanity's darker sides interact are all present in this novel, as well as Vandermeer's focus on nature's duality: a calming catharsis in the midst of our hectic lives can quickly turn savage, unpredictable, unforgiving. A mysterious, gripping read.
January 5, 2023
A captivating and intriguing short story....until I got to the ending.
Part 2 of the Trespass Series.
This is an ecologically themed tale with strong psychological undertones.
If it wasn't for that ending I'd rate this a solid four stars, but those last sentences have completely baffled me.
Part 2 of the Trespass Series.
This is an ecologically themed tale with strong psychological undertones.
If it wasn't for that ending I'd rate this a solid four stars, but those last sentences have completely baffled me.
December 23, 2023
'Not everyone likes living this close to wildlife.'
The best horror is ineffable, and tinged as much with wonder as it is with terror. VanderMeer really nails it here.
The best horror is ineffable, and tinged as much with wonder as it is with terror. VanderMeer really nails it here.
October 16, 2022
This story is part of Amazon's Trespass collection, described as: 'When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty....In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land.'
Wildlife is maybe my favorite of the Amazon Original Stories selections so far. It is very helpful, maybe even necessary, to be familiar with VanderMeer's work. I had already read the Southern Reach trilogy so I know what his Big Thing is ... he's really into the idea of nature, I wasn't going to hide that behind a spoiler curtain because it's so basic to his work but it's also what that ending is about — the ending that seems to have many readers very confused and annoyed.
I did have to listen to the beginning of this story three times to get myself situated, it just would not coalesce in my brain at first. I thought it was because I was distracted, hiking with my dog, but I can see from other reviews that this seems common. Once I got past that, I was drawn in. By the halfway point, I was hooked. I listened to last 20 minutes or so while curled up in bed, waiting for sleep, which was maybe a mistake because it's very creepy. I love the surreal atmosphere and crawling sense of doom.
A little more on that ending:
Wildlife is maybe my favorite of the Amazon Original Stories selections so far. It is very helpful, maybe even necessary, to be familiar with VanderMeer's work. I had already read the Southern Reach trilogy so I know what his Big Thing is ... he's really into the idea of nature, I wasn't going to hide that behind a spoiler curtain because it's so basic to his work but it's also what that ending is about — the ending that seems to have many readers very confused and annoyed.
I did have to listen to the beginning of this story three times to get myself situated, it just would not coalesce in my brain at first. I thought it was because I was distracted, hiking with my dog, but I can see from other reviews that this seems common. Once I got past that, I was drawn in. By the halfway point, I was hooked. I listened to last 20 minutes or so while curled up in bed, waiting for sleep, which was maybe a mistake because it's very creepy. I love the surreal atmosphere and crawling sense of doom.
A little more on that ending:
June 29, 2022
You are either going to hate the ending or be spooked by it.
The build up is well done, and as someone who lives on a block where you look aghast at how some people treat the flora in their yards, I found it on target.
The build up is well done, and as someone who lives on a block where you look aghast at how some people treat the flora in their yards, I found it on target.
July 12, 2022
Missing A Real Ending
Look, this story took some getting used to, but I was willing to wait until I got into the flow of the peculiar narrative style. I liked the air of mystery. I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the main character's past. I had fun being surrounded in lush descriptions of wildlife and scenery. I wanted to know more!
The story went from hard to follow (due to writing style) to actually kind of fun to flow along with, and I was glad I gave it a chance... when I believed every strange happening would ultimately be explained. But nope. An odd presence in the ravine, an evil man who may or may not mean well, a strange light, an alleged friend being controlling: all things built up as elements of a mystery go completely unanswered as the main character seemingly figures it all out and the narrative doesn't explain anything.
Why was this one character a thief? What did everyone except the readers and main character know about the ravine? Why were the wildlife scared? What difference would leaving the lights on make against some unexplained presence which itself glows? Why didn't anyone want to explain what the presence was? WHAT WAS IT?!
This story is a 3.5 star read until the final page. When it cuts from there to "about the author" instead of another chapter, it plummets to a 1.5 that I'm generously rounding up because I liked the rest of the story so much. But honestly I'm not sure if I should, since the ending is so deeply unsatisfying and frustrating.
I feel like I watched a really fascinating movie then reached the climax and the credits started rolling before a proper end. I just wanted to know if Sam was a witch or the ravine was haunted or Zanth was some kind of evil necromancer. But now I'll never know because nothing about the end made sense or explained anything.
I can't tell if I'm just too stupid to get it or the book was trying to be too profound. I don't like that feeling. At all. Just like I don't like feeling as if there's more to read just beyond my reach. Yet here we are and I'm so annoyed I'm rambling.
TL;DR - A story written in a peculiar style which at first is grating yet soon becomes immersive. An intriguing tale with twists and turns, where some of the characters know everything but the reader is told nothing conclusive. Good first draft material, but author seems to have forgotten to write an actual ending. Left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more in the bad way.
Look, this story took some getting used to, but I was willing to wait until I got into the flow of the peculiar narrative style. I liked the air of mystery. I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the main character's past. I had fun being surrounded in lush descriptions of wildlife and scenery. I wanted to know more!
The story went from hard to follow (due to writing style) to actually kind of fun to flow along with, and I was glad I gave it a chance... when I believed every strange happening would ultimately be explained. But nope. An odd presence in the ravine, an evil man who may or may not mean well, a strange light, an alleged friend being controlling: all things built up as elements of a mystery go completely unanswered as the main character seemingly figures it all out and the narrative doesn't explain anything.
Why was this one character a thief? What did everyone except the readers and main character know about the ravine? Why were the wildlife scared? What difference would leaving the lights on make against some unexplained presence which itself glows? Why didn't anyone want to explain what the presence was? WHAT WAS IT?!
This story is a 3.5 star read until the final page. When it cuts from there to "about the author" instead of another chapter, it plummets to a 1.5 that I'm generously rounding up because I liked the rest of the story so much. But honestly I'm not sure if I should, since the ending is so deeply unsatisfying and frustrating.
I feel like I watched a really fascinating movie then reached the climax and the credits started rolling before a proper end. I just wanted to know if Sam was a witch or the ravine was haunted or Zanth was some kind of evil necromancer. But now I'll never know because nothing about the end made sense or explained anything.
I can't tell if I'm just too stupid to get it or the book was trying to be too profound. I don't like that feeling. At all. Just like I don't like feeling as if there's more to read just beyond my reach. Yet here we are and I'm so annoyed I'm rambling.
TL;DR - A story written in a peculiar style which at first is grating yet soon becomes immersive. An intriguing tale with twists and turns, where some of the characters know everything but the reader is told nothing conclusive. Good first draft material, but author seems to have forgotten to write an actual ending. Left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more in the bad way.
November 17, 2023
I just always love Jeff VanderMeer's writing and should read him more often. The perfect blend of character study and unsettling.
July 22, 2023
diversity wins: diese beschützerin der natur ist eine femme fatale!! sie ist nicht so wie andere mädchen!
aber schiller hätte diese Geschichte geliebt lol
aber schiller hätte diese Geschichte geliebt lol
Read
March 5, 2022This is a very good and creepy short story but I've never read anything by this author before and I think I like his style, especially the extremely sympathetic but flawed main character.
It's funny because everything in this story screams "this is happening in Florida!!" and I don't think the location is given.
It's funny because everything in this story screams "this is happening in Florida!!" and I don't think the location is given.
April 19, 2022
Wow. I didn’t fully understand the ending, but still- this story reeled me in hook, line, and sinker. I’m taken aback by the emotion. I don’t even need to really “get” the ending to feel like I “got” something from this.
April 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this story. And I'm determined to figure out the ending...
August 16, 2022
3.5 Stars
Definitely weird as only this author can be. I have no idea what I just read, but it was interesting. lol
Definitely weird as only this author can be. I have no idea what I just read, but it was interesting. lol
July 8, 2022
I enjoyed this, but the ending confused me. Like what???
May 5, 2024
Nice appetizer!
This was a good little appetizer to tide me over between VanderMeer books. The story seems to draw from environs similar to his Florida habitat, and carries his love of nature and of the sublime with it. Check it out if you're curious!
This was a good little appetizer to tide me over between VanderMeer books. The story seems to draw from environs similar to his Florida habitat, and carries his love of nature and of the sublime with it. Check it out if you're curious!
February 11, 2024
reading a vandermeer book is like meditation. understanding anything, but particularly the ending, is just a concept. let go of the concept and you will find joy and peace (in beautiful passages of writing and genuinely very cool ideas)
March 28, 2022
Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Amazon Original Kindle eBook.
[Was going to be a 4, but dropped to a 1 in its final minute]
I had a road trip out of town yesterday and thought that I'd squeeze in a quick audiobook during the journey. I have been mostly enjoying the Amazon Original Trespass series of short stories on Kindle, so I thought I'd try one on audio. It was a big mistake in this case.
This is the story where a "fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors" which is mentioned in the Collection's synopsis (see below). Samantha (Sam) has moved into her deceased father's house after a separation from her husband. The house backs onto a ravine which is full of wildlife such as foxes, raccoons, armadillos, etc. Sam is in some sort of PTSD crisis, the background to which is only gradually revealed. The result of it is that she has vowed to never take the life of any living thing.
Sam comes up against her ravine neighbour Zanth (irritatingly, the two names sound very similar on audio), who is just about the opposite. He is killing everything around him that he can. This includes the trees, plants and possibly the wildlife (by digging murderous ditches and moats spiked with broken glass, barb wire etc.).
The suspense and mystery of this conflict is built very effectively throughout, but then as we head into what we would expect to be a final confrontation, the whole thing is undercut by . You are left completely mystified and wondering whether it was ?
Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land."
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Amazon Original Kindle eBook.
[Was going to be a 4, but dropped to a 1 in its final minute]
I had a road trip out of town yesterday and thought that I'd squeeze in a quick audiobook during the journey. I have been mostly enjoying the Amazon Original Trespass series of short stories on Kindle, so I thought I'd try one on audio. It was a big mistake in this case.
This is the story where a "fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors" which is mentioned in the Collection's synopsis (see below). Samantha (Sam) has moved into her deceased father's house after a separation from her husband. The house backs onto a ravine which is full of wildlife such as foxes, raccoons, armadillos, etc. Sam is in some sort of PTSD crisis, the background to which is only gradually revealed. The result of it is that she has vowed to never take the life of any living thing.
Sam comes up against her ravine neighbour Zanth (irritatingly, the two names sound very similar on audio), who is just about the opposite. He is killing everything around him that he can. This includes the trees, plants and possibly the wildlife (by digging murderous ditches and moats spiked with broken glass, barb wire etc.).
The suspense and mystery of this conflict is built very effectively throughout, but then as we head into what we would expect to be a final confrontation, the whole thing is undercut by . You are left completely mystified and wondering whether it was ?
Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land."
July 5, 2023
I basically chose to read this one because of the plethora of 1- and 2-star ratings of people being pissed off by the ending of this short story. What could be so upsetting to so many people, thought I? And now I have the answer - uncertainty! Of course! It doesn't surprise me. Anyway all or most of them must be unfamiliar with Jeff Vandermeer's writing since I was very much anticipating something in this vein (and there were plenty of hints pointing in that direction). He is a writer of the weird after all. The low ratings seem to me such as so many people who say they only read realistic fiction of real people doing real things being totally out of their depth when confronted with fantasy, sci-fi, fairytales etc. "But this isn't real! You can't do this!" It's a story, m'aam. All stories are made up. Anyway it was totally fine and as far as Jeff Vandermeer's work goes, very very tame (on the weirdness front). There aren't even any bears. If you know, you know ;)
I enjoyed it a great deal, the build-up of tension worked well for me and the characters were compelling. I even got a bit afraid reading it all alone in my country house.
I enjoyed it a great deal, the build-up of tension worked well for me and the characters were compelling. I even got a bit afraid reading it all alone in my country house.
March 9, 2022
Waaaaay too weird for me... I didn't get the ending, at all.
July 31, 2022
Not the first time I've read something by VanderMeer, and it felt great to read something by him again, if I'm honest. Albeit not as strange and unsettling as his full length novels, this was still an interesting read. His signature fascination and nod to nature is present, with a hefty splash of mystery.
However, similar to the first short story in this series, it took a bit too long to get going. I liked the ending of this installment too, but for different reasons. VanderMeer takes the human nature and our neverending curiosity, and taunts us with the unknown. But, do we really want to know? Is the price too high to pay for such things?
However, similar to the first short story in this series, it took a bit too long to get going. I liked the ending of this installment too, but for different reasons. VanderMeer takes the human nature and our neverending curiosity, and taunts us with the unknown. But, do we really want to know? Is the price too high to pay for such things?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews