The Newt is Mute But Speaks Volumes: WaPo Resurrectionist Review
Jeff VanderMeer • June 27th, 2008 • Book Reviews
…Aaaaand just when I think I’m done, they pull me back in. The Washington Post Book World just posted my review of Jack O’Connell’s The Resurrectionist, a book that despite my reservations I recommend highly and am adding to the rec list on the right (click through to order).
Excerpt: You would think that a conversation between a mad scientist and his prized newt might not stand out in a novel dominated by sociopathic bikers, a father’s unbearable guilt and a sad quest by a group of sideshow freaks. You would be wrong. In the strange crucible of reality and imagination that is The Resurrectionist, by Jack O’Connell, their one-sided exchange exemplifies the author’s sheer chutzpah: from its meticulous attention to detail to the parallels between Dr. Peck, founder of a coma clinic, and his blue-spotted newt, Rene.











Jeff VanderMeer is a two-time winner, 12-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award as a fiction writer, editor, and publisher. The final novel in his Ambergris Cycle, Finch,was published in 2009 and was a finalist for the Locus Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award. The Steampunk Bible came out in 2011. Recent books coedited with his wife Ann include The Weird and The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. His writer guide Booklife and associated Booklifenow website focus on sustainable creativity and he his currently working on a unique illustrated guide to writing entitled Wonderbook. His short fiction has appeared in Conjunctions, Library of America's American Fantastic Tales, and several year's best anthologies. He writes nonfiction for The Washington Post Book World, Omnivoracious, The New York Times Book Review, the B&N Review, the LA Times, The Guardian, and many others. He has lectured at MIT and the Library of Congress and helps run the Shared Worlds teen SF/Fantasy writing camp out of Wofford College. VanderMeer recently completed the first novel in the Southern Reach series, titled Annihilation.