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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism
I really wish I liked this book because I just finished Annihilation (a favorite of mine) and had high hopes, but I had a really difficult time getting through this. I really should have DNF'd it, but I remember Authority picking up in the last quarter so I decided to stick it out. Nope, the last quarter of Absolution was the most unbearable section of the book (Lowry's POV) and was almost unreadable from the frequency of swearing.
I think for me, it was a large case of not caring for any of the narrators nor feeling invested in them. There's plenty of reference to characters from Authority and Acceptance, which was interesting, and some of the nature imagery (and the Tyrant) were conceptually good. But other than that, I am sad to say I wouldn't recommend.
I think for me, it was a large case of not caring for any of the narrators nor feeling invested in them. There's plenty of reference to characters from Authority and Acceptance, which was interesting, and some of the nature imagery (and the Tyrant) were conceptually good. But other than that, I am sad to say I wouldn't recommend.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, if you've read The Southern Reach trilogy, you probably have unanswered questions that you still ponder on occasion. Like a white rabbit, out pops Absolution. Now, anyone with experience with Area X should be wary of any gifts from the ethereal shimmering void, and Absolution is... well, a mixed bag.
It's in three parts, three expeditions, two prior to the event, and one after. I'm not a spoiler guy so I'll just say the first one was, odd... and like an opening act where you don't know about any of these characters other than they feel like non-important NPCs, and then without any of them rising to a storyline or, much of anything, we switch to the second part of the book.
The second part is nothing but fleshed out characters, characters that have motivations and backstories (some quite elaborate) and NPCs that are ominous and have a very strong presence in the story. Loved this part.
Then the third part of the book is pretty much just, a very unlikable character losing their tenuous grip on reality. Which for the most part is a chore to read. I mean I doubt anyone will care about the main character of this third part, but that's ...intentional?
But honestly the third part also unfortunately has the most complete picture of, well... everything, which is then slapped into a pan like a 80s anti-drug advertising campaign.
One thing I LOVED about this book is... well honestly the characters in the middle of the book, the other two are dry buns in this Area X sandwich, but also that the movie (which I actually watched before the book, and adored... even if I came to love the books better) fits in. Not in a wedged in way, but in a "Central sends all sorts of black ops jibberish into this beautiful nightmare to FAFO" way.
Which is what I always say to people who love the books but hate the movie (common), or love the movie and hate the books (uncommon).
I wanted to absolutely love this book, and I am glad it exists, but this is definately rated TOT for fucking fuckity fuckrabbits.
It's in three parts, three expeditions, two prior to the event, and one after. I'm not a spoiler guy so I'll just say the first one was, odd... and like an opening act where you don't know about any of these characters other than they feel like non-important NPCs, and then without any of them rising to a storyline or, much of anything, we switch to the second part of the book.
The second part is nothing but fleshed out characters, characters that have motivations and backstories (some quite elaborate) and NPCs that are ominous and have a very strong presence in the story. Loved this part.
Then the third part of the book is pretty much just, a very unlikable character losing their tenuous grip on reality. Which for the most part is a chore to read. I mean I doubt anyone will care about the main character of this third part, but that's ...intentional?
But honestly the third part also unfortunately has the most complete picture of, well... everything, which is then slapped into a pan like a 80s anti-drug advertising campaign.
One thing I LOVED about this book is... well honestly the characters in the middle of the book, the other two are dry buns in this Area X sandwich, but also that the movie (which I actually watched before the book, and adored... even if I came to love the books better) fits in. Not in a wedged in way, but in a "Central sends all sorts of black ops jibberish into this beautiful nightmare to FAFO" way.
Which is what I always say to people who love the books but hate the movie (common), or love the movie and hate the books (uncommon).
I wanted to absolutely love this book, and I am glad it exists, but this is definately rated TOT for fucking fuckity fuckrabbits.
i was really excited for this one but it just turned out fine :( i think it would have been much better served as a shorter novel or maybe a novella, and as a supplement to the trilogy rather than being framed as the fourth book, though maybe that's more of a marketing problem. a lot of the stuff in the first portion could have been cut down or excised
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first two acts of the book were incredible and kept the weird, unsettling feel of the first three books. The last act delved into the disturbing, following an extremely hate-able character going/being insane/changed by Area X. I did not like the third act as much as the first two, but it was good to know more about a character that is important to the other three books.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I loved the Southern Reach Trilogy, I should have left it there. The first half was building to something then the complete 180 to Lowry and the tone there was jarring and hard to get passed. If this was 2 short novels great, but this as a book just felt like 2 ideas crammed into one to get more pages. Rough. I will take a long think about picking up the next if there is a 5th book
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes