Authority by Jeff VanderMeer

I finished the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy and it is so good! It takes place after the first book so be warned: this review has spoilers for Annihilation.

While Annihilation took place in Area X, Authority takes place in Southern Reach, the authority that sends expeditions into Area X. Control/John (playing around with names and identity here!) has been sent to take command of Southern Reach and fix it.

But his attempts to understand the place and the biologist who returned slowly changes him, and the last part of the book honestly had me wondering how much of it was real and how much was in his head.

I really enjoyed this book! I mentioned before that book one seemed to be more of an exploration of Area X than a quest, but this book has a much stronger plot. It does center around Control and his perceptions of things, but the book also delves a little deeper into the mystery of Area X and the returnees.

That said, not everything has been answered because there’s still book three. While I do know a bit more about this odd and fascinating world, there’s still so much more I want to know! Especially about Control’s past and the secret of the Director/Psychologist.

You definitely can’t read this book as a stand-alone so I would highly recommend reading Annihilation first. And if you liked Annihilation, you have to read this.