Authority

Wow! I just can't stop reading these books. I enjoyed the first book, though I felt somewhat confused about it all, but this second volume (although not answering everything) does put things in a much sharper perspective. The narrative switches from the unnerving, unknowable Area X from the first book to the outside world and to Southern Reach itself - the company/research facility responsible for sending the expeditions through into Area X. Following a man named ‘Control'- some sort of operative sent in to put Southern Reach back on track, after disastrous expeditions and a seeming falling apart of the ranks among its employees - the story is seen from his perspective and is much like the readers. He has no previous knowledge of Southern Reach and must become a type of detective digging in to find answers and to understand the nature of Area X and every piece of information regarding it that is known from the people involved in the company. He must sift through what little bits and pieces he can scrounge together to get an idea of the ‘bigger picture'. But nothing is ever as it seems and soon we are once again falling down the rabbit hole, as it were, into the bizarre essence and weirdness of Area X and its influence on Southern Reach and its unusual employees. Some answers are gleaned from the first book, but a whole cavern of new mysteries take their place. I was flipping pages as fast as I could, following Control, eager to get answers and yet at the same time, not sure I actually want to know them. The creepiness that pervaded the first book doesn't really get going until the last quarter of the book, but the build is like a puzzle you're trying to complete in order to find out what the picture is. I must say I enjoyed it! References and tie-ins to the first book were not just superfluous and had actual weight and meaning, drawing the two stories together in unlikely, but interesting ways. The disturbing and ominous atmosphere really does get under your skin after a while. VanderMeer has a fantastic way of letting it seep in and sit there in your brain, not really ever quite settling there though. I'm really looking forward to reading the final book 3! Highly recommended!