Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

7 reviews

mikathereviewer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

1.0

The ending was a bit interesting. And even though I didn't like this book I enjoyed the writing style (though I would have preferred sometimes different words to describe something).



The information we got in this book about Area X and the southern reach wasn't good or even a lot. 

The pacing was awfully slow. One could start at 60-70% in, and haven't missed anything. It's a joke. 

Main character; Control (John) was annoying. Couldn't decide if he wanted to know everything or nothing at all.

Plot wasn't interesting (or rather dragged out too much as we got almost nothing out of it). At some point I was so bored out that even the plot twist didn't bring me back into reading with interest. 

Almost nothing happens in the book and we just get useless info, scenes and more that could have been cut out, as the book has about 70 pages content only. 

Confusing. Maybe it's my vocabulary, but most of the time I either didn't know what was going on or it was too bizarre (without even getting an explanation!). 

The last chapter. Who thinks it's a good idea to put the last 14% of the book in a whole chapter. That was way too much!



This book put me into a reading slump and even though I know that we get new characters and a new setting for each of the books from this series I seriously think I won't continue with it. Not complete set yet though, but definitely will read a different book (series) now.

04. August 2024

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Confinement, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Vomit, Stalking, and Alcohol

Minor mention of amnesia (memory loss)

chanellee's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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

4.0

This is better than the first one of the series. The main cast of characters were unique and provided a multifaceted perspective of coping strategies due to Area X. I appreciated the tense moments and the comic relief, provided my Control’s inner thoughts. The ending had me excited to dive into the third book.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racial slurs

michaelion's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Damn. I spoke too soon (in my review for Annihilation). I dozed off at least three times reading this. It wasn't exceptionally boring or bad but I believe if something is good enough even if I'm already tired I'll stay alert to enjoy it.

As a joke the first time I saw Lowry's name I thought "What if I google that name and get spoiled that Lowry was secretly the big bad all along?" I didn't google it but I ended up being right??? What the hey hey.

I thought of Control as a manchild, mostly because of his attachment to his mommy but also he didn't seem to get much of anything done. Not a critique of the book I just don't have anyone to talk to about it. Also negative points because characters have names now and I just think that's misogynistic!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Stalking, and Death of parent

bomenvernietiger's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Brave choice to not feature a new expedition into the area at all, and to completely rely on the academic and administrative side of the plot, but it pays off. Because of this, the story sometimes gets a little too slow, but overall the slow-burn works well.

Very colourful prose, sometimes trying a little too much to be clever, occasionally leading to metaphors and expressions that are just a little weird. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

scifi_rat's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Vomit

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

troisha's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Vomit, and Grief