Shriek: An Afterword

Jeff Vandermeer's Shriek, an Afterword is a novel-length followup to his story "The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris" apparently written immediately afterwards (1999 for the story, and 199-2006 for the novel).

Shriek tells the story of the author of "Early History", narrated by his sister, annotated by himself, and edited by their employer at Hoegbotton Books. In keeping with the style of "Early History", these individuals are given their voice in different components in the work; the sister speaks in the main text, the author in his annotations (similar to his persona appearing in the footnotes of "Early History"), and the editor in the appendix.

The story itself is biographical, tracing the backgrounds of the author and his sister from childhood through recent events that have radically changed the city itself (Ambergris, a setting for perhaps too many of Vandermeer's tales). The setting is purely fantasy genre, though to dismiss Vandermeer as a fantasy writer would be a disservice to one of the most imaginative writers out there.

A bit tough to start into, a bit slow at times, but ultimately a rewarding read with some interesting commentary on fame, ambition, and obsession.