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Science Fantasy Characters Fight For Survival And Connection

Author of 'Borne,' Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer

In Jeff VanderMeer’s highly successful Southern Reach trilogy, characters were cut off from one another, and their stories unfolded against the backdrop of a devastated landscape. In his latest novel “Borne,” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/2017) he highlights how a new cast of characters attempt to make connections with each other.

Editor of 'Borne,' Ann VanderMeer
Credit Ann VanderMeer
Editor of 'Borne,' Ann VanderMeer

At the center of the novel is Rachel, a climate change refugee who forms a strong bond with a charming piece of biotech named Borne. But as Borne grows and develops, it is unclear if he was intended to be a weapon, and at what cost Rachel will invest her love and trust in him.

Host Frank Stasio talks with author Jeff VanderMeer and with his wife and editor Ann VanderMeer about the novel, their process, and their experiences creating and sharing science fiction and science fantasy.    

Jennifer Brookland is the American Homefront Project Veterans Reporting Fellow. She covers stories about the military and veterans as well as issues affecting the people and places of North Carolina.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.