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janeleng's review against another edition
4.0
I was going to wait until I finished the series to write a review, but this book is such a departure from the first that I felt the need to comment.
The first and second book are written in a similar style but result a in wildly different experience. The solipsistic, confined writing still works in Authority, but it makes the pace of the book a little unbearable at times. Where as in Annihilation, which was over a hundred pages less than Authority, the writing felt like a frenzied sprint toward the conclusion of the book, in Authority it felt repetitious and meandering. I flew through the first hundred pages of Authority, but after that it felt like I was trudging through. It didn't pick up again for me until about the last hundred pages, which were wonderfully horrific.
For right now, this book is worth the read. It answered some of the big questions posed in Annihilation and provided a larger context for the story of Area X. It's hard to add a whole new setting and cast of characters (minus the director and Saul Evans) and still have it feel a part of the previous story but VanderMeer succeeded.
(Whether or not it will still feel worth it once I finish the series remains to be seen.)
The first and second book are written in a similar style but result a in wildly different experience. The solipsistic, confined writing still works in Authority, but it makes the pace of the book a little unbearable at times. Where as in Annihilation, which was over a hundred pages less than Authority, the writing felt like a frenzied sprint toward the conclusion of the book, in Authority it felt repetitious and meandering. I flew through the first hundred pages of Authority, but after that it felt like I was trudging through. It didn't pick up again for me until about the last hundred pages, which were wonderfully horrific.
For right now, this book is worth the read. It answered some of the big questions posed in Annihilation and provided a larger context for the story of Area X. It's hard to add a whole new setting and cast of characters (minus the director and Saul Evans) and still have it feel a part of the previous story but VanderMeer succeeded.
(Whether or not it will still feel worth it once I finish the series remains to be seen.)
lizard13's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
amb123abc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
underscoremeg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
spacesong's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
mixter86's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
shubagar's review against another edition
2.0
Mild Spoilers Ahead:
I deemed the first 3/4th of this book useless. It hardly gave us more info on Area X, and whenever Control found anything related to it, the author got the evidence put aside and hardly gave it a further look. There was crazy potential in this book-- they had a room full of 1000 samples from Area X, a bunch of videos from the first expedition, and a man who survived it and was sane enough to get a job at Central. WHY WAS THERE SUCH LACK OF INFORMATION? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS BOOK? What was the point of having the perspective of someone in the Southern Reach, the director of all people, if nothing big was uncovered? Hardly anything new was told to us. Only the last 30 pages interested me. I will continue the series, but this one was a big disappointment. I am sorry if I have failed to understand the essence of the novel, but it didn't quite come across to me.
I deemed the first 3/4th of this book useless. It hardly gave us more info on Area X, and whenever Control found anything related to it, the author got the evidence put aside and hardly gave it a further look. There was crazy potential in this book-- they had a room full of 1000 samples from Area X, a bunch of videos from the first expedition, and a man who survived it and was sane enough to get a job at Central. WHY WAS THERE SUCH LACK OF INFORMATION? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS BOOK? What was the point of having the perspective of someone in the Southern Reach, the director of all people, if nothing big was uncovered? Hardly anything new was told to us. Only the last 30 pages interested me. I will continue the series, but this one was a big disappointment. I am sorry if I have failed to understand the essence of the novel, but it didn't quite come across to me.
mrsrccockrell's review against another edition
3.0
Still more questions than answers...
This book was more confusing than the first. I feel like just when I start to figure something out, something weird happens and there’s so much more to unravel. Usually, that makes for an engaging story, but it’s almost TOO much in this series. I’ll finish it and continue with the final book, but if it’s on the same vein as the first two, I don’t have high hopes.
This book was more confusing than the first. I feel like just when I start to figure something out, something weird happens and there’s so much more to unravel. Usually, that makes for an engaging story, but it’s almost TOO much in this series. I’ll finish it and continue with the final book, but if it’s on the same vein as the first two, I don’t have high hopes.
pascalibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Not as strong or compelling as the first. Definitely a lot to like here, but also a lot of unnecessary verbiage. Authority wasn't even that lengthy, but it was still too long. Excited for Acceptance, though.