Acceptance

The Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 3

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick, Bronson Pinchot, Xe Sands

It is winter in Area X. A new team embarks across the border on a mission to find a member of a previous expedition who may have been left behind. As they press deeper into the unknown—navigating new terrain and new challenges—the threat to the outside world becomes only more daunting.

In the final installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy, the mysteries of Area X may have been solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound—or terrifying.

©2014 Jeff VanderMeer (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Conflicting

I'm not sure how one could follow the first book in this trilogy satisfactorily and maybe books two and three are as good as they could've been. I notice often times authors will struggle to handle promises they make earlier in a series - with complex plot lines or ideas - and while I am not entirely happy with how this book turned out, it may be as good as it could have been.
Given the scope of what was accomplished in the first book, tying all of the ideas and plots up nicely was no small undertaking. Here in book three and to a lesser extent in book two I believe Jeff Vandermeer did an admirable job with his story. I can say honestly that book one was the best of the three but I am happy to have read the rest of the series and am walking away satisfied to have stuck it out to the end.

good acters but not my kind of book.

I did read all of them and I know people that likes this book but I rather read wheel of time

good book

good book, great cast for the read. still so many questions and things to know

This Book And This Series Are Important!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This series is unlike any other story I have ever read. It is excellently executed "sciency" science fiction but it is also very poetic. The imagery is beautiful and the characters are deep, complicated and beautifully vulnerable. This series definitely will attain cult classic status rapidly but has a real shot at mass public appeal because the story is so timely. Much of my fears these days are ecological. Lets face it all of the books in this series are about how humans interact with their environments, blundering about, largely making things worse for themselves. I was never sure if I should be rooting for Area X or the humans.

These characters have been really important to me especially "The Biologist" and her counterpart "Ghostbird". I have learned about bravery from them. I am a better person for reading this book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Acceptance: The Writing is On the Wall.

A Letdown After Strong First Book

I recommend reading/listening to the first book in this series without reservation,it is quite enjoyable and very well narrated. The second book is mediocre, a bit more forced in its narrative, but I bought this third hoping the second was a bridge from strong start to strong finish. It was not. This third book feels like a fan lit club got a hold of the rights and each wrote a chapter trying to out-weird the previous.

It makes little to no sense, and does not satisfactorily close gaping plot holes or tie up story lines (seriously: Its a magic wormhole, but not a wormhole, but look—time travel! She becomes a giant amorphous monster covered in eyes. He does something vaguely described but that’s supposed to be the climax of the book. The end?!). Makes little sense and left me perplexed and disappointed after such a strong series start.

Lush and Haunting

Jeff VanderMeer's trilogy concludes in unforgettable, heartbreaking fashion. The characters -- The Lighthouse Keeper, The Director, Control, Grace, Ghost Bird and her kindred spirit The Biologist -- come alive as their secrets are unveiled in a meticulous, delicate weave of a narrative. The narrators set the mood in a way VanderMeer must have loved.

Acceptance

I was a bit disappointed with the narration; I appreciate that it is edited and updated, but it was far from seamless and different volumes. Otherwise, fun story!

Urge to Kill... Fading

Compared to the second book, this one is relatively eventful and serves up a sufficient amount of creepy imagery and tantalizing hints and turns of phrase. It switches between characters and builds on previously established elements in ways that offer some intrigue. As mentioned in other reviews, the story of the lighthouse keeper feels like the main course. Whether or not it's worth the price of admission depends on personal taste. The pacing is still, at times, infuriatingly glacial and the characters feel languid and directionless. This is accentuated by an anemic sounding voice cast. That said, there are good things here that will stay with you if you are receptive. Maybe they'll inspire you to write a better story.

This series is a treadmill, and on the treadmill there are little flavorful nuggets of cosmic horror goodness, never enough to satisfy, but enough to keep you plodding along, hoping the author will give you what he seems to be promising. I think that's his method, something he learned or was taught - to withhold and hint and tease so as to avoid spoiling the mystery with insufficiently interesting answers - to switch characters just as things get interesting, to trap the reader In a cycle of anticipation. When done too obviously, it can feel like a cheap move. In this book, he was less stingy than in the second one and I no longer feel the urge to hold him down and take my money back by force. 65% will be fine, and we can transact without violence.

Mind altering trilogy

A fantastic, mind altering finale to this amazing trilogy. Narration as always perfect for the story.

Great Story, Bad Audio

The story itself is amazing. I used audible for every book of this trilogy.
This last version had the worst audio of the 3 though. It cuts in and out between obvious re-recordings that are at a MUCH worse quality than the rest. It occurs sporadically, but often throughout the whole audio. The readers are great, but it's obvious that they did not work in concert. One vocal actor has a character with a southern accent, and another who is reading the same character does not.
So, story is FANTASTIC.
Actors are good!
Audio is only ok and with many hiccups.