341 pages

English language

Published Nov. 21, 2014

ISBN:
978-0-374-10410-8
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OCLC Number:
851421063

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4 stars (4 reviews)

"In the second volume of the Southern Reach Trilogy, questions are answered, stakes are raised, and mysteries are deepened. In Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer introduced Area X--a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. This was the first volume of a projected trilogy; well in advance of publication, translation rights had already sold around the world and a major movie deal had been struck. Just months later, Authority, the second volume, is here. For thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X has taken the form of a series of expeditions monitored by a secret agency called the Southern Reach. After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez, aka "Control," is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to …

8 editions

reviewed Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (FSG originals)

Review of 'Authority' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

From Jeff Vandermeer—inarguably the hardest-working man in publishing—comes the sterling second volumes of his Southern Reach Trilogy. After the events of Annihilation (review here), Vandermeer shifts focus from the explorers travelling through the mysterious Area X to the bureaucrats and scientists of the not-much-less-mysterious Southern Reach, a government installation devoted to parsing the unutterably strange aforementioned area. Completely switching viewpoints, style, and overall presentation, Authority is a brilliant continuation of one weird-ass series, and I’m dying to get my hands on the concluding novel Acceptance.

Read the full review here

Subjects

  • Quests (Expeditions)
  • Fiction
  • Psychic ability
  • Scientists