BookooBreadCo t1_itv21le wrote on October 26, 2022 at 2:57 PM

Reply to comment by ErisianMoon in Jeff Vandermeer, Annihilation, and Borne by MyStarling

I'm glad someone else enjoyed Authority. I've seen a lot of people complain about it being boring but it really captures existential horror in such a mundane way, unlike in Annihilation which confronts hit head on. It's a slow build that starts off so normal and explodes into craziness at the end. Acceptance actually ended up being my least favorite, but I still enjoyed it, because it explained too much and felt less horror focused than the other 2. But I really enjoyed the lighthouse keepers POV.

I put off Borne for a few months after finishing Southern Reach but I just started it and kinda wish I didn't. It's really good. I'm definitely going to binge the rest of his novels after Borne, his writing enthralls me.

Also I'm pretty sure he's doing a 4th Southern Reach book btw.

ErisianMoon t1_itv48hk wrote on October 26, 2022 at 3:12 PM

I can definitely see why you felt Acceptance explained too much, in retrospect there are definitely a few details in there that could have been left up for the reader to interpret a bit more, although it doesn't bother me much personally. getting the PoV from the lighthouse keeper was indeed a great touch!
I'm a sucker for paranormal investigation type of stuff and Authority really hit the spot for me, replacing the paranormal with the incomprehensible and adding the internal disfunction of the Southern Reach as a nice touch.

Yeah, I've heard so too, I think it's called 'Absolution', looking forward to it, and to reading Borne (whenever I'm through with Cixin Liu's works I've now begun to explore)

BookooBreadCo t1_itvmt8m wrote on October 26, 2022 at 5:13 PM

I should say Acceptance didn't explain too much, otherwise I wouldn't have liked it, I just enjoyed the not understanding anything aspect of Annihilation more.

gloryday23 t1_itvakbd wrote on October 26, 2022 at 3:54 PM

>because it explained too much and felt less horror focused than the other 2

It's funny to me, because it seems this is the exact opposite reason most people disliked it. I loved book 3, and have never really understood the criticism that it didn't explain enough in the end, I always thought it cleared a lot up. Though I may have felt differently than you, I can at least understand your take on it.