In the second volume of the Southern Reach Trilogy, questions are answered, stakes are raised, and mysteries are deepened ... Following the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in 'Annihilation', the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy introduces John Rodriguez, the new head of the government agency responsible for the safeguarding of Area X. His first day is spent grappling with the fall-out from the last expedition. Area X itself remains a mystery. But, as instructed by a higher authority known only as ...
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In the second volume of the Southern Reach Trilogy, questions are answered, stakes are raised, and mysteries are deepened ... Following the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in 'Annihilation', the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy introduces John Rodriguez, the new head of the government agency responsible for the safeguarding of Area X. His first day is spent grappling with the fall-out from the last expedition. Area X itself remains a mystery. But, as instructed by a higher authority known only as The Voice, the self-styled Control must battle to 'put his house in order'. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the mysteries of Area X begin to reveal themselves-and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve. Undermined and under pressure to make sense of everything, Rodriguez retreats into his past in a labyrinthine search for answers. Yet the more he uncovers, the more he risks, for the secrets of the Southern Reach are more sinister than anyone could have known.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in None (as issued) jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) 1st ed/1st printing, SIGNED by the author on the title page. This book is square, solid, and unread; the lovely pictorial boards are solid and unblemished, and the book is in an archival bag for protection; no remainder marks. When you receive this book you'll tuck it into the zip pocket of your speedsuit, flip your glimmer shades to high-res, and hop into your id-shifter, all systems set to quantum-overdrive, headed for the far reaches of the solar system with your inner frequency set to-you guessed it-'The Dark Side of the Moon. '
After the amazing short little weird fiction/adventure novel that Annihilation was, I was really hoping for more of the same from Authority. If you are too, you will be sorely disappointed. Authority adventure-wise just follows the new director of the Southern Reach in the same circle between his house and the facility for the majority of the book, with a MUCH heavier focus on dialogue and thoughts in his head than anything actually happening. For so much of the book, I just couldn't help but think, "wow, this is kinda like VanderMeer went on a huge tangent and couldn't get back to it." You're left feeling frustrated, like not much is actually happening, being explained, or being resolved. All while watching the new director go slowly mad all the meantime, and sort of understanding how he feels... The climax really is a decent pay-off, but after the enormous drag of the meat of the book, it really feels underwhelming. I still somewhat liked it, and Annihilation was so good that I will without a doubt read Acceptance. However, in my opinion, Jeff could have probably sliced out 100 pages of this book, inserted more insights into Area X, and made it a bit more enjoyable of a read.
david f
Jul 21, 2014
Great Book
I loved both Annihilation, and Authority. I'm waiting, with baited breath,for Acceptance to complete this trilogy. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good, written, science fiction mystery.
