Authority

Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 2

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

The bone-chilling, hair-raising second installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy.

For 30 years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X - a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. After the 12th expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (a.k.a. "Control") is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than two hundred hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets 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.

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

Meh

an unnecessary part of the trilogy, as far as I can tell, not a lot of things are resolved

mind bending and excellent

you'll ask yourself what the heck is going on almost as much as the main characters. the gradual unveiling of just a few answers is spectacularly thrilling, and the realization that it just leaves more questions keeps me coming back over and over again. my favorite of the southern reach trilogy.

Slow burn with perfect finish

Different from Annihilation, but just as shimmering with the author's brilliance. Starts off more like a workplace thriller and then gets gradually into the strangeness around Area X.

The storyline was very confusing

I love the first book in the southern reach trilogy annihilation. This book has a different feeling though and it doesn’t really make sense until over halfway through the book and then I kind of felt cheated and once again there’s no resolution. I’m really hoping book 3 is much better and answer some questions.

It’s worth toughing out

VanderMeers writing is that similar slow burn satisfaction you get similar to David Lynch’s twin peaks. I really felt like I had to slog through the first two thirds of the book but when things came together it was a beautiful masterpiece

I'm glad I read this, despite other's reviews

I liked this book, altho I got quite confused near the end with several mysteries and interesting characters that needed resolution getting swept away in the last chapter without explaination and closure...
Feels like I missed something...?
--book 3 will hopefully clear that up?

But I loved that narration of Bronson P! Such an improvement over book 1's narrator! He is awesome and drew me into the story like I was watching a movie!

Slow start / big finish

It was like basically reliving watching Lost again. Exciting start but eventually it turned into a slogfest. The first 9 hours are torturous at times but every now and then they would sprinkle in some excitement. The final two hours were great but you can almost skip hours 2-8 and just pick up there.

The reader did a great job fwiw, even when the story was dead in the water.

Good, but confusing at times

Unlike the previous book which was told from the logical, observant Biologist's point of view, this sequel is told from the point of view of Control, the son of an artist and a spy. The language used to tell the story is beautiful and intricate, and really shows his personality and the way he perceives the world, but DAMN if it isn't confusing at times. That probably reflects on just how confused Control is most of the time, but that just leaves the reader with a jumbled up idea of what's going on. I actually had to Google what happened during the CLIMAX because I was so confused and had to stop reading. I had no idea what was going on, and needed an external source to decipher it for me.

I'll probably read the next book at a later date, especially if it's told from someone else's perspective. Control is a deep, wonderfully written character, but he's not the best at telling the reader what's in front of his face, and instead tends to live in the world inside his head.

The ending was pretty solid, but the entire book felt like it was paced very slowly, and because I was so confused most of the time, I was unable to feel the suspense the writer was going for.

Curiosity and paranoia only get you so far

This second book weaves fervent, yet measured attempts of human understanding and reasoned approaches at trying to grasp the unknowable nature of Area X. Moving on from the first book’s dreamlike tone into a more defined, more mundane framing sells the feeble desperation of mankind seeking to fathom what’s unfolding with its ultimately useless calculations, plans, and tactics. Excited to see how it all ends/unfolds. Vandemeer’s mastery of metaphor and analogy continually delights. Bronson Pinchot’s narration is superb.

Not impressive

Would you listen to another book narrated by Bronson Pinchot?

Perhaps. His narration wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either.

Do you think Authority needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

This book is the second in a trilogy. I enjoyed the first - Annihilation - much more. But with as weak as I felt this book to be I am not sure I will go on to read the final book. This book solves some mysteries, and brings up a lot more, but really didn't leave a strong urge in me to continue reading and figure it all out.