A review by kcnoun
Acceptance, by Jeff VanderMeer

3.0

this rating could go up or down a star depending on how this sits with me, but for now, this is a perfunctory if not somewhat disappointing conclusion to the trilogy (and not because of its ambiguity re: the central mystery. that makes me like it more, if anything, even if i have no interest whatsoever in fan theories.) as a standalone novel it's almost completely incoherent which is probably my biggest disappointment here, since the first two books work so well on their own and can really be read in either order. this also has got to be one of the most weirdly, kinda poorly paced books i can think of, and i truly have no idea why it's structured this way, alternating between three plots, two of which are flashbacks. the first two books are addictive even when there are long stretches of nothing happening, whereas anytime this picks up any momentum it loses it immediately by having scenes that go nowhere. there are still passages here that are as moving and haunting as anything in the first two books but i don't see myself revisiting this one as often! ok!