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A review by i_ronnie
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
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.