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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
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
I was excited about Absolution, because I love the Southern Reach Trilogy. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations.
The first (and shortest) part, Dead Town, felt wonderfully familiar, full of the creeping, gnawing unease I’ve come to expect from Vandermeer. Annihilation is my favourite of the trilogy, so I was more than happy to explore a similar story: outsiders studying something they don’t understand, team members with hidden agendas, monstrous wildlife, the slow descent into madness and death.
The second part (The False Daughter) started solidly, building on the existing foundations as Old Jim takes up residence in what will become Area X. The water continues to muddy as more and more familiar players are drawn in - Gloria, Henry, and Suzanne, to name a few.
I was about halfway through The False Daughter when my interest started to wane. I’m well aware that this isn’t the kind of book where you’ll get a nice, neat explanation at the end, but I reached a point where I felt Vandermeer was just throwing things into the mix without any intent other than to confuse. And honestly, that annoyed me.
By ~75% of the way through The False Daughter I’d had enough. Another 200 pages of obfuscation seemed self-indulgent on Vandermeer’s part, and I’d no real desire to revisit Lowry. Also, having waded through Hummingbird Salamander, I had no desire to make the same mistake twice.
My advice? Stick with the original trilogy, or just read Dead Towns and don’t bother with the rest.
The first (and shortest) part, Dead Town, felt wonderfully familiar, full of the creeping, gnawing unease I’ve come to expect from Vandermeer. Annihilation is my favourite of the trilogy, so I was more than happy to explore a similar story: outsiders studying something they don’t understand, team members with hidden agendas, monstrous wildlife, the slow descent into madness and death.
The second part (The False Daughter) started solidly, building on the existing foundations as Old Jim takes up residence in what will become Area X. The water continues to muddy as more and more familiar players are drawn in - Gloria, Henry, and Suzanne, to name a few.
I was about halfway through The False Daughter when my interest started to wane. I’m well aware that this isn’t the kind of book where you’ll get a nice, neat explanation at the end, but I reached a point where I felt Vandermeer was just throwing things into the mix without any intent other than to confuse. And honestly, that annoyed me.
By ~75% of the way through The False Daughter I’d had enough. Another 200 pages of obfuscation seemed self-indulgent on Vandermeer’s part, and I’d no real desire to revisit Lowry. Also, having waded through Hummingbird Salamander, I had no desire to make the same mistake twice.
My advice? Stick with the original trilogy, or just read Dead Towns and don’t bother with the rest.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Borderline unreadable at times, the Lowry section, just aweful.
Boring first third, solid middle, insufferable finale.
Wouldn’t recommend if you enjoyed the rest of the series.
Boring first third, solid middle, insufferable finale.
Wouldn’t recommend if you enjoyed the rest of the series.
I liked Cass. I didn't actually hate the Lowry part, but I don't think I was invested enough to pick out the alternate-timeline bits which other people have. In THEORY absolutely my thing but I am simply not invested enough in Whitby to care what he's doing. Also, just personal preference but I am sad Area X is an alien thing, I quite liked when characters suggested it was just an old forgotten part of the world waking up. I respect that leaving unanswered questions is the whole vibe of Area X but I would just like to know 😆.
adventurous
dark
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
Trippy, with lots to unpack. Enjoyed the Old Jim storyline, and was not prepared for the jarring switch in timelines. Loved Bronson Pinchot's narration, and definitely laughed out loud more than a few times at some of the absurdities.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
The first two parts were slow and I was really just hoping for more. Somehow all of the characters I didn't click with were the focus of this book, but I trudged through. There was just a enough interest/Area-X weirdness at the end of part 2 to make me think, "Now we're getting somewhere!". Didn't make it a page into part 3. I skimmed the rest of the section but it didn't look promising so here I will stop reading. I like Jeff's writing, but this character writing for Lowry is so annoying to read that I simply can't. Sorry Jeff, this isn't for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the first two sections of this book, but really struggled to finish the last section. I really love the Old Jim perspectives, but the Lowry perspective I hated reading, I found it annoying and obnoxious and extremely boring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Cannibalism