A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy Book 2)

His series of books has an interesting premise. But it went on forever and never produced an explanation or a resolution. This is among the least satisfying series I have ever read. I regret starting it.

Good read, but sometimes I struggled to stay in the series. The author is a stickler for details and minutia that some people might like-it drags the story down for me. It took me a few month to finally finish it. I didn't finish the series because I had read the ending of it was sort of like The Thing with Stephen King---dumb.

too much descriptive text...not oa lot of revealing info or conversation among the characters. It leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. I was not impressed. I thought it was going to build on the initial installment, but it left more questions and just way too much meandering descriptions and details that didn't really help the story.

I would recommend this trilogy for anyone interested in a very good, imaginative story about our first reactions to invasive elements of our pre-set perception of the world and the behind the curtains agenda. What is really going on for sure?

Where Annihilation was a thrill ride that had me trying to figure out what's going on inside the world of the book for days after, Authority is making me think about what is going on in the real world. Do we trust our protectors a little too much? Is it possible to self-analyze and figure out why we do the things we do, to see who has influenced us and in what ways? Does it matter?

The novel was extremely intense and compulsive. I found myself skimming the inner turmoil of the central character, and hungry for more of area x. The foreshadowing of the climax is there, if you pay attention. Looking forward to the conclusion.

I enjoyed Annihilation, so I was keen to read the sequel. A quarter of the way through this book I have given up; too much prose too little story. The progress of the story is painfully slow, and to no end.

Very much a middle book. After the very eventful first book in the series; almost nothing happens for most of this one. That said, there is tremendous tension and creepiness this story of institutional politics and decay. And once things do finally start to happen, they happen fast. Can't wait to get started on book 3!

I enjoyed Annihilation, so I was keen to read the sequel. A quarter of the way through this book I have given up; too much prose too little story. The progress of the story is painfully slow, and to no end.

Very much a middle book. After the very eventful first book in the series; almost nothing happens for most of this one. That said, there is tremendous tension and creepiness this story of institutional politics and decay. And once things do finally start to happen, they happen fast. Can't wait to get started on book 3!

As soon as I finished Jeff VanderMeer's novel Annihilation, I bought the sequel, Authority. Soon after it arrived on my Kindle reader, I read Authority.

In Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer's writing really shined. His descriptions of the natural habitat and the artifacts in Area X were lyrical and strong. I can still see the "tower" and the lighthouse in my mind's eye. This was combined with the lurking dread of the Biologist exploring Area X, which provided the drive for VanderMeer's surrealistic plot.

Authority is told from the point of view of Control (the alias used by John Rodrigues) who is the newly appointed director of the Southern Reach, which is a sub-agency (of Central) that is assigned to research Area X.

VanderMeer's writing is still good, but the lyricism of describing the pristine wilderness of Area X is replaced by the claustrophobic description of the Southern Reach and its bureaucratic battles. The surrealism which is the hallmark of VanderMeer's writing dominates Authority. There were places where an event took place only to be explained in retrospect, which at times forced me to reread sections. In other places I found that some plot elements were not explained at all (what happens to Controls Mother?) Perhaps these plot elements will be picked up in Acceptance (which I have also ordered). The three books have the feel of a single large novel that is being published in three pieces.

By the end of the novel it is difficult to completely understand Control's motivations. Like the Biologist in Annihilation he's been so manipulated by both Central and, perhaps, Area X itself that it's hard to understand why he is doing what he does. The strangeness of VanderMeer's surreal plotting might also be sloppy plot construction. Although a final judgement on this will have to wait until I finish Acceptance.

The middle of a story is frequently not as good as the start or the end. Annihilation was so good that I have to hope that Authority is just such a plot bridge.

If you liked Annihilation then Authority is worth reading. It's certainly not a bad book and it provides new information about Area X and the Southern Reach. But I did not find the book as breathtaking as Annihilation. Having crossed this plot bridge, I hope that Acceptance will be as spectacular as the start of the series.

I knew nothing about this series before reading Annihilation on my Kindle after a recommendation from the store. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the stories are, and they are really well written. Congratulations to the author Jeff VanderMeer on a refreshing new idea for the basis of his stories, and the perspective from which they are written.

Love both the books of the Southern Reach trilogy. Really looking forward to the third. Great scifi books with an element of mystery and passages reminiscent of horror. Authority is an excellent follow-up to Annihilation. It was a couldn't-put-it-down book. I felt as driven to read on as the protagonist did to investigate both the Southern Reach and Area X.

Jeff Vandermeer does it again with this second installment of Southern Reach trilogy. Carnality, complex characters and enigma is there for the reader to loose herself in it. I read it in three hours, love every moment of it.

The first book was much shorter and action packed. This one was longer and slower but filled in a lot of information. I wouldn't say it's the best book I've ever read, but it is well written and the story has me hooked. I would recommend this book, but only if you've read the first one.

Not my favorite trilogy ever. A tedious read with little thematic value. I read through all three books hoping it would all go somewhere meaningful and interesting but it never did. Wouldn't recommend it to my friends.

Intriguing, but nowhere near as interesting as the first book in the series. It maintained the claustrophobic sense of weirdness and unease, but the setting - the bureaucratic Southern Reach organisation - is not as interesting as the pristine wilderness of Area X in the first book. Similarly, the genre tropes explored - spy fiction, police procedurals - are not as interesting as the Lovecraftian notes of 'Annihilation'. It is definitely worth a read though, and did enough to make me extremely excited about the concluding book.

Pretty good, although quite meandering and somewhat muddled and/or just flat out weird, just like the Annhilation movie...guess that's also sort of cool, though, that being said - I like a good bit of "strange". Just hope to get some answers in the final book of the trilogy!

Strange and very good. Personally didn't enjoy as much as the first, but once I accepted the change I very much enjoyed it. This is such a creatively imagined world, overall, that perhaps to clarify the mystery is beside the point.

Great book, kept me interested in what was going to happen-but when you look back on the book, nothing really happened (thus why I was always page turning to see what would happen). Having said that, I'm looking forward to reading the 3rd book.

Second book in the trilogy takes the story forward from the perspective of another character, Control. Then The Biologist comes back, zombie-like, from Area X, and the two begin to interact while other things spin out of control.

Annihilation, the first entry in the Southern Reach trilogy, chronicled a scientific expedition into the strange area simply known as "Area X." And as Annihilation unfolded, things went bad very quickly, as team mates turned on each other, secrets were revealed, and nightmarish realities came to life. Now comes Authority, the second volume of the series, which turns its eye from Area X and into the "Southern Reach," the government agency charged with overseeing and investigating Area X. In other words, at first glance, Authority is a far more conventional tale, following the new director of the organization as he tries to figure out what went wrong on the expedition chronicled in Annihilation and to make sense of an organization that seems to be every bit as insane as the area it's responsible for. And yet, Authority features that same strange sense that permeated Annihilation, giving you a sense that there's another reality lurking not far below the surface and just waiting for you to let down your guard. The result is a strange book, one that feels a little overlong and bloated at times, and yet one whose payoff is undeniably affective, as VanderMeer swings his plot in a whole new direction when you least expect it and does so while creating some of the most disturbing moments of the series so far. Is Authority a bit bloated and slow-paced? Undeniably, and it certainly doesn't help to trade the surreal, unsettling atmosphere of Area X for the more mundane world of government bureaucracy, no matter the hints of psychological damage on display. But Authority rewards those who stick with it, and while it's not the equal of Annihilation, it's a fascinating sequel to that book, one that feels like another piece in the overall mosaic that this trilogy seems to be.

I loved the first book, and thus one looked promising at firstbut then descended into a strange black monotony for the entire middle section of the book only recovering briefly and what I would say is the last 1/16. I sort of had the feeling VanderMeer got lost in his own bulls***. I really want to know what the ending of the trilogy is but I can hardly believe I have to read the third book- perhaps he'll turn a corner.

I loved book one. This is different. Don't expect the same characters, the same questions or the same style of writing. You get the same questioning intelligence, creepy unnerving questioning intelligence.

This has a very different tone than the first book, of people grappling with the literally indescribable and paradoxical puzzle of Area X. As with the first book in the series, the brooding yet irresistible prose drew me in. Each scene is anchored in the physical world and in layered characters. At times the labyrinthine office politics of the secret agency, the Southern Reach, and how the main character deals with it were so dense as to pause the narrative for me, which is why I am giving a 4 rating. That said, many pieces of the puzzle are eventually given to us while setting up for the final book of the trilogy; and the end of this one was particularly satisfying.

Cannot say enough about this series. While the film adaptation left me disappointed (and somewhat angry), the books are fantastic. They excel in suspense and the uncanny, taking readers on a wonderfully emotional and existential journey.

If you loved Annihilation, you'll be disappointed by Authority. It's frustratingly maddening at times, but continues the story just enough to keep you going. Can only hope the last novel is more like the first. Hope that we get some answers at the end, but not hanging on this hope.

Weird and compelling. The mystery of annihilation gets some answers, and yet deepens. Control and the Biologist play off each other, each revealing different aspects of the mystery of Area X and themselves.

"Authority" is a marked improvement over the Southern Reach Trilogy's first entry, Annihilation. In large part this is due to author Jeff VanderMeer's pivot away from the first book's Lovecraftian plain language surrealism into something different.

VanderMeer names his main character Control, and tasks him with investigating potential compromise in a clandestine bureaucracy. He may as well have written "I'M DOING LE CARRE NOW" in skywriting. But the convergence of Lovecraftian emphasis on spooky revelation through research / narrative summary (which "Annihilation" leaned on) and Le Carre's dense sleuthing / spy games ends up both a clever trick and an effective mesh of styles.

VanderMeer deserves credit for shoring up nearly every weakness of his first outing in this series. The writing is engaging, the mystery mostly intriguing, the plot is mostly propulsive. We even have, to do some degree, tangible characters and motivations that create stakes. Little touches, like background conversations you realize are endlessly repeated dialogue from the first book, create dread that the author struggled to elicit before. In terms of readability and fun, "Authority" is a real step up.

Some things, however, just can't seem to stick in this book. There's a cliched tragic past that doesn't amount to much or deepen Control as a character. Control having both a local connection to the Southern Reach area and a familial pedigree in espionage / Southern Reach feel contrived - that his boss is his mother strikes a false note.

And while not as narratively / thematically diffuse as its predecessor, "Authority's" grand shocks don't come off as payoff for well-built plots. There is simply so much weirdness (undying plants, the suggestion of magic, macabre ritualistic graffiti) that one doesn't know what to focus on, and when the bombs drop one thinks "Oh, THAT was important."

Not crammed with action, these books are still page turners. You have to get to the mystery. You need answers. You can't stop reading. Answers come with new questions, so you have to keep reading. There's also a quiet beauty in the prose. A lyric quality to the words that paint a sad world. To see how it ends.....

I really struggled with this book at time and from time to time list the thread. It was only in the last few chapters that I felt it click then come together. I intend to read the last of the trilogy and I hope he builds a tighter weave

I really enjoyed the first two books. A unique topic with twists and turns that is very well written. Definitely gets and keeps you thinking. This book adds such a unique aspect of the story from Control. Can't wait for the third.