Cover image of "Authority," a poor science fiction novel

Have you ever gotten to the end of a book and wondered why you read the silly thing? Well, that was my reaction to having — somehow — managed to plod my way to the end of Authority, the second book in Jeff Vandermeer‘s Southern Reach Trilogy. Because I’d enjoyed the first book in the trilogy, Annihilation, I looked forward eagerly to the second. To say that I was disappointed is a gross understatement.

Too many mysteries

In Annihilation, we are introduced to a secretive U.S. government agency called the Southern Reach. This mysterious operation has established a scientific research station just outside the border of Area X on the southern coast. No one understands Area X: its origin, its purpose, or even its fundamental nature. Is it an invasion? An infestation? A manifestation of an alternate Earth? Teams of scientists dispatched over the border have been unable to determine the answer to those questions. In fact, few have returned alive from the experience, and those few have come back changed in disturbing ways. Annihilation recounts the experience of the 12th expedition into Area X. It’s not a pretty story.


Authority (Southern Reach Trilogy #2) by Jeff Vandermeer ★★☆☆☆


Unbelievable human relationships

After that promising beginning, we might expect that the sequel would cast a little light on the mystery. No such luck. From beginning to end, Authority merely adds to the mystery. This second novel in the trilogy is set exclusively within the Southern Reach facility near Area X. It’s all about the relationships among the personnel there and their handlers in an equally mysterious headquarters office called the Center. That approach might have worked well, except that there is not one single credible human relationship depicted in the story. Not one. Everybody is suspicious of everyone else. Everyone manipulates everyone else. And practically nothing happens until the very end of this sad excuse for a book.

No science in this science fiction novel

To compound the problems, the first two books of the trilogy are set in what appears to be the 2030s. I say “appears,” because virtually all the references to technology are dated and would surely be viewed as that long before the 2030s. Cell phone, television, fluorescent light, laptop, Internet era: can anyone seriously suggest that these terms would still be in common use two decades from now, given the breakneck pace of technological change? I don’t think so.

About the author

Jeff Vandermeer has written enough science fiction and fantasy books to have won a passel of awards in both genres. Presumably, those winners were better than Authority.

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