A review by bryn_thebookworm
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of this series, liked the third, and went into the fourth wanting to love it. While I enjoyed the Area X origin story and the dynamic between Old Jim and Not Cass, I didn’t love the abrupt tonal change in the last 150 pages. Most of this series had an eerie, dragging quality that felt entirely immersive. Reading from Lowry’s frenetic perspective was anxiety-inducing, but it was most disruptive because it made it difficult to derive meaning from each sentence. I enjoy a good f-bomb as much as the next person, but the incessant usage made them truly feel like concentration landmines. The aggressive turn felt like something I needed to endure and detracted from my ability to appreciate the ending.