Authority

The much anticipated second instalment in VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy

In Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer introduced the mysteries of Area X—a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. It was the first volume of a projected trilogy; well in advance of publication, translation rights had sold all around the world, and a major movie deal had been struck. Just months later, the second volume is here.

For thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X has taken the form of a series of expeditions monitored by a secret agency called the Southern Reach. After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (a.k.a. “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 reach much farther than that.

The Southern Reach trilogy will conclude in fall 2014 with Acceptance.