1.59k reviews for:

Absolution

Jeff VanderMeer

3.73 AVERAGE

jordanw's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

calamitymeat's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

grey_goo's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book is very good. If you read the southern reach trilogy, this Is a good expansion, although there is a little bit of the inherent dilution of horror as it is further expanded upon. Vandermeer's prose has a way of kind of disintegrating into poetry that is equally powerful and frustrating, because it is cool and pretty, but means that the book rapidly oscillates between straightforward understanding and requiring literary close reading to figure out what is happening.

mforsyth's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

meghan28's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

knitgeek's review against another edition

2.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

steponme_yam's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism

Minor: Drug use

nates_pages's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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🌟🌟🌟

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“The darkness of the night beyond his desk beguiled him now at times, the way it could feel like the prow of a boat and the mutters of the open waters beyond almost like words rising from the depths.”

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Absolution is the newest foray into madness by the incomparable Jeff VanderMeer. A prequel, it is the fourth novel of the Southern Reqch series exploring the mysterious and horrifying Area X, under government control with secret missions that end badly. VanderMeer builds his worlds as environmental horror and psyops madness that are part spy, part horror, part nature, and all WTF adventure. I enjoyed the Southern Reach series, and this prequel dives further into the history of that vision. It is enthralling and disorienting, though at times exhausting to decipher. 

kmariek's review against another edition

4.0

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Another good time in the Southern Reach. I didn't always follow the machinations of Old Jim's world, but I enjoyed him as a character, and it took me a bit to get used to Lowry's POV for obvious reasons. Perhaps the most interesting expedition in the story was the one even before Old Jim's time, with the rabbits and the gators. I'd read a pre-prequel about that, Tyrant POV.

wickedmitch's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes