Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance

by VanderMeer, Jeff
ISBN: 9780374261177
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Overview

A single-volume hardcover edition that brings together the three volumes of the Southern Reach Trilogy, which were originally published as paperback originals in February, May, and September 2014.

Annihilation is the first volume in Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy, Authority is the second, and Acceptance is the third.
Area X-a remote and lush terrain-has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.
This is the twelfth expedition.
Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers-they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding-but it's the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.
After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach-the secret agency that monitors these expeditions-is in disarray. In Authority, John Rodriguez, aka "Control," is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves-and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve. And the consequences will spread much further than that.
It is winter in Area X in Acceptance. A new team embarks across the border on a mission to find a member of a previous expedition who may have been left behind. As they press deeper into the unknown-navigating new terrain and new challenges-the threat to the outside world becomes more daunting. The mysteries of Area X may have been solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound-or terrifying.

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Author: VanderMeer, Jeff
  • ISBN: 9780374261177
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.30 x 2.00
  • Number Of Pages: 608
  • Publication Year: 2014

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  • A strong addition to my list of amazing reads

    harold h. - 2 years 11 months ago

    fantastic modern take on a lovecraftian level of extra dimensional horror, but a beautiful madness this go. A must read.

  • Prepare Yourself for Area X

    Dave S. - 4 years 5 months ago

    Area X ... top secret and cut off from the rest of the world. The Southern Reach, a government agency has control of Area X and has been sending expeditions to gather data, explore and take samples for years. The first expedition reported a land where nature has wiped out civilization completely and flourished. The second expedition ended in mass suicide and the third ... the members turned on themselves in gunfire! Our story begins with the twelfth expedition: A psychologist, an anthropologist, a biologist and a surveyor. The reader begins this journey in the mind of the biologist as we explore Area X and unravel mystery upon mystery. What is their purpose? What really happened to the previous expeditions into Area X? What is the significance of the lighthouse? And what of the topographical anomaly? The mysterious tunnel ... or is it just the top of a tower like the biologist believes!? Area X is a compilation of three novellas that make up the Southern Reach Trilogy. The first book, Annihilation takes us along for the ride as a member of the twelfth expedition. The second book, Authority, we get to take a look at the Southern Reach organization as a new Director has taken over the project and begins to dig deeper into the mysteries of Area X. The final volume, Acceptance is told from many points of view as we try to put all the pieces of this vast puzzle together. Jeff VanderMeer, sometimes called the literary alchemist, takes on a creepy and mysterious journey into Area X. VanderMeer's style of writing captures your attention from page one and keeps you questioning to the very end. Where China Mieville re-invented the genre of New Weird Fiction, Jeff VanderMeer has embraced that title and takes it to new heights! New Weird is modern speculative literature at its best and VanderMeer is its strongest voice!

    HPB Staff Review

  • Ambiguous Storytelling Leaves Enough Room for Interpretation by the Reader

    Dallas H. - 4 years 11 months ago

    ANNIHILATION (Southern Reach #1)... My impression is the author tried too hard. He avoids specific details about the supporting characters and most information about the primary character. Keeping the vague distance between the reader and the characters only reinforces one of the primary personality traits of the main character. She is a withdrawn loner. She struggles to be emotionally engaged with other people, including her own husband. The premise of the book's plot is enticing. But the intention to keep the characters at an emotionally safe distance by keeping their lives, personalities, and historical background simmering at an absolute minimum on the need-to-know basis kept me in the dark. AUTHORITY (Southern Reach #2)... The second book in the series was more intriguing than the first one. Its primary focus is an investigation of what occurred in the first installment. It then expands upon the dynamics of the government organization and those involved in learning about Area X. ACCEPTANCE (Southern Reach #3)... The installment is okay. I did not feel it is an adequate conclusion to the series. It demonstrated a sense of emotional fallout from the events that unfolded in the previous two books as the characters unraveled into post-apocalyptic style chaos. There is a balance in this book when the story jumps so far back in time to serve as a prequel of sorts. The time jump expands upon the backstory for the Director and lead psychologist for Southern Reach. I struggled to really develop any further connection with her beyond what I had already established in the two previous books.

  • Terror, Terroir on the Wall

    Brian H. - 5 years 10 months ago

    I came to this book after having watched the film Annihilation, which served as an apt primer, but is ultimately quite different. VanderMeer is masterful at balancing naturalist observations with slow-building dread and character detail, all of which build to moments of pure sci-fi “WTF”-ery. While the second book seems at first like a wild (or perhaps very mundane) departure from the first, I was glad to have stuck it out. I’m currently in the middle of the third book and can’t wait to see how it all wraps-up.

  • Great near-future Sci-Fi for nature lovers.

    Rebecca M. - 8 years ago

    The Area X trilogy documents from various points of view the latest expedition into the Southern Reach, an area of the US that has been off limits for years due to some unknown disaster. I found this book unique and fascinating - the characters are well developed and interesting and the suspense regarding what the heck is going on builds right to the end. I usually devour books that I enjoy but I found myself deliberately reading slowly so as not to miss a detail of the "reporting".

    HPB Staff Review