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I just finished Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, consisting of three novels - Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance. I really enjoyed it.
I was led to the series after watching Alex Garland's film version loosely based on the first book. I enjoyed the film, but not as much as his Ex Machina. It's visually stunning - both beautiful and horrific simultaneously. But it's a very trippy ride that raises a ton of questions but offers few answers.
The first novel, Annihilation, is much the same in that respect. It has a gothic horror/Lovecraftian dread, and it definitely leaves you wondering what the hell is going on at the end. But the second novel, Authority, adds a bit of a detective mystery combined with spy thriller element to the continuation of the story, answering some questions, but revealing deeper mysteries in the process. The overall feel is still dread and impending horror. The last novel, Acceptance, begins tying many elements of the ever more complex narrative together, with some of the strangest and creepiest parts yet. The characters are complex and interestingly flawed. Several of them develop in surprising ways, and are believable in their reactions and motivations throughout.
Garland has said he has no intention of doing any more films based on the second and third novels. Which I'm fine with, because the film is quite different from the novel in many ways, and works as a standalone horror film. But it's always going to be remembered as something that makes you wonder, "what the hell just happened?". The book series, on the other hand, leaves you with a satisfying sense of resolution, but without completely explaining away all the mysteries - without reducing something meant to be beyond human understanding to a "Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick" wrap-up.
I just finished Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, consisting of three novels - Annihilation, Authority and Acceptance. I really enjoyed it.
I was led to the series after watching Alex Garland's film version loosely based on the first book. I enjoyed the film, but not as much as his Ex Machina. It's visually stunning - both beautiful and horrific simultaneously. But it's a very trippy ride that raises a ton of questions but offers few answers.
The first novel, Annihilation, is much the same in that respect. It has a gothic horror/Lovecraftian dread, and it definitely leaves you wondering what the hell is going on at the end. But the second novel, Authority, adds a bit of a detective mystery combined with spy thriller element to the continuation of the story, answering some questions, but revealing deeper mysteries in the process. The overall feel is still dread and impending horror. The last novel, Acceptance, begins tying many elements of the ever more complex narrative together, with some of the strangest and creepiest parts yet. The characters are complex and interestingly flawed. Several of them develop in surprising ways, and are believable in their reactions and motivations throughout.
Garland has said he has no intention of doing any more films based on the second and third novels. Which I'm fine with, because the film is quite different from the novel in many ways, and works as a standalone horror film. But it's always going to be remembered as something that makes you wonder, "what the hell just happened?". The book series, on the other hand, leaves you with a satisfying sense of resolution, but without completely explaining away all the mysteries - without reducing something meant to be beyond human understanding to a "Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick" wrap-up.
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