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michaelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Animal death, and Cancer
gerryskeays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Certainly one of the most interesting and atmospheric series I’ve read - this one was a satisfying (as much as anything can be satisfying in a series allergic to answers or explanations) conclusion to it all.
Scene in bar came out of nowhere for me and rocked me to my very core. Vandermeer is a master of creating evocative and moving environments but somehow always remaining nebulous and subjective.
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
olieander's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Cancer
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Murder, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol and Cancer
kek513's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror
bo0kf4n2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Body horror and Death of parent
samdalefox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Acceptance is written in second person ( Idon't understand or feel the reason why), from five people's point of view; Control, Ghost Bird, The Director, Saul (the lighthouse keeper), and the Biologist. We get some answers, none are satisfying. The tone and pace of the book are boring, no mystery, tension, or dread that I've been seeking since Annihilation.
Final gripe - the audiobook quality was spotty. The voices sometimes sounded far away, as if there were two recordings spliced together. This was offputting since the change happened every few sentences, not at expected intervals such as for an entire chapter.
"But what if you discover that the process of purpose is to render invisible so many other things?"
Others' reviews that I strongly resonate with
txw9394's review:
I enjoy how this series explores insanity in the face of something truly unknowable, but the unknowable here is also apparently unwritable for the author. The descriptions of the central mysteries that surround Area X are so deliberately vague they almost always failed to make me feel anything. Just kind of bummed, because again the premise is fascinating.
ahna's review:
As the conclusion to a trilogy, I expected it to answer the questions around Area X set up by the first two books. While it does answer some, it leaves much wanting, and not in a thought-provoking way. Simply in a disappointing way.
ryanmcweeny's review:
never come close to capturing the brilliance of annihilation. There are some answers but nothing truly satisfying and no new mysteries to excite the imagination.
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, and Death
jiaojiao's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Acceptance picks up almost immediately where Authority leaves off. Unlike in Annihilation and Authority, no new characters are introduced; instead, VanderMeer expands on the story of characters we already know who seem to be prominently connected to Area X. We see the lighthouse keeper’s final moments, for example. Like Annihilation and Authority, Acceptance switches between present events and select events from each character’s past. In terms of pacing, I think this worked a bit better in here than it did in Authority, as the past events that come to light have more direct connections to either Area X or present events.
While I did like that a lot more loose ends were dealt with in Acceptance, I still felt like something was missing. I think it might just be that I was expecting from the trilogy. I’m used to novels that have more linear storylines, with clear resolutions. This trilogy, however, is very character-driven, introspective as a result, and focused more on the psychological horror of confronting an existential threat that, in the end, was impossible to control. There isn’t really a resolution. Just acceptance—and whatever peace that might bring. I’m left feeling kind of empty-handed.
I’m glad I finished the trilogy, but I’m not sure whether I’d pick up any other books by VanderMeer.
My rating system:
★☆☆☆☆ - DNF.
★★☆☆☆ - I really wish I’d read something else.
★★★☆☆ - Glad I finished, but I’m probably not re-reading this.
★★★★☆ - I really enjoyed reading this! Would probably rec/re-read.
★★★★★ - OMG.
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
roenfoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It's mostly cerebral (which is not new to the Area X series) and offers few resolutions to plot threads that have spanned the trilogy. I usually have absolutely no issue with not being handed answers, but after three books and about 800 pages it's fair to expect some plot substance. It seems that Acceptance only scratches the surface of Area X's potential.
I greatly enjoyed the lighthouse keeper chapters and all other details provided concerning the origin of the anomaly. I was intrigued by the biologist and Ghost Bird's story but was left feeling ultimately unsatisfied. I cared very little for Control (re: my problems with Authority).
My biggest letdown was VanderMeer's failure to cultivate feelings of buzzing, primal fear and unsettlement. These emotions were integral to my experience reading Annihilation, and I was disappointed to find him unable to evoke these same feelings (which are inseparable from Area X in my mind) in Acceptance. What was left felt like a theme park clone of a formerly frightening setting.
I enjoyed spending more time with Area X and its characters but was ultimately underwhelmed with the final installment in what could have been a great trilogy. I still plan to continue reading VanderMeer (his ideas always pull me in) but I hope that his other works are stronger.
Moderate: Body horror
muffmacguff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
In this concluding book I think that’s a strength and also something that irritated the hell out of me! It’s so fascinating and disorienting, and I keep hoping anything will make more sense but it never does. There isn’t much to explain why all this weird shit is happening. Which is FINE and VALID but also makes me so angry.
Anyway these were a really interesting read that gave me a headache.
Moderate: Body horror and Violence