A review by michael_taylor
Authority, by Jeff VanderMeer
2.0
Authority is certainly Jeff VanderMeer taking a different approach to story telling.
Annihilation is an atmospheric, haunting and effective book. Authority is a dry, too long and oftentimes (sorry to say), boring book.
The premise is intriguing enough. John "Control" Rodriguez, the new director for the Southern Reach is tasked with finding out who (or what) returned from the latest expedition, and getting things back on track. Unfortunately the book moves so slowly that by the time some of the actually interesting revelations come about, it's too little too late. Annihilation created a really unique world that I wanted to spend more time exploring. From the start you get the sense that Control's job isn't going to be easy, but the book gets so bogged down in beurocracry so often it's tough going. I didn't connect with the character Control the same way I connected with the Biologist in Annihilation.
All of the stuff regarding Area X is cool and interesting. Learning about some of the "experiments" (the rabbits, the words, the journals) captures some of the atmosphere of the first book. A part of what I really liked about the first book was that I didn't get all the answers. Authority bills itself as a spy novel with a dark lacquer, but I just don't think it landed the spy novel part of that claim. Spy novels are typically more exciting, with the action more interspersed throughout. I'm still on board for the final book. I hope for a finale that moves with an actiony, spooky spring in it's step.
Annihilation is an atmospheric, haunting and effective book. Authority is a dry, too long and oftentimes (sorry to say), boring book.
The premise is intriguing enough. John "Control" Rodriguez, the new director for the Southern Reach is tasked with finding out who (or what) returned from the latest expedition, and getting things back on track. Unfortunately the book moves so slowly that by the time some of the actually interesting revelations come about, it's too little too late. Annihilation created a really unique world that I wanted to spend more time exploring. From the start you get the sense that Control's job isn't going to be easy, but the book gets so bogged down in beurocracry so often it's tough going. I didn't connect with the character Control the same way I connected with the Biologist in Annihilation.
All of the stuff regarding Area X is cool and interesting. Learning about some of the "experiments" (the rabbits, the words, the journals) captures some of the atmosphere of the first book. A part of what I really liked about the first book was that I didn't get all the answers. Authority bills itself as a spy novel with a dark lacquer, but I just don't think it landed the spy novel part of that claim. Spy novels are typically more exciting, with the action more interspersed throughout. I'm still on board for the final book. I hope for a finale that moves with an actiony, spooky spring in it's step.