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    Authority
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    Authority
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    Authority
    Audiobook10 hours

    Authority

    Written by Jeff VanderMeer

    Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    In the second volume of the Southern Reach Trilogy, questions are answered, stakes are raised, and mysteries are deepened …

    Following the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in ‘Annihilation’, the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy introduces John Rodriguez, the new head of the government agency responsible for the safeguarding of Area X. His first day is spent grappling with the fall-out from the last expedition. Area X itself remains a mystery. But, as instructed by a higher authority known only as The Voice, the self-styled Control must battle to ‘put his house in order’.

    From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the mysteries 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.

    Undermined and under pressure to make sense of everything, Rodriguez retreats into his past in a labyrinthine search for answers. Yet the more he uncovers, the more he risks, for the secrets of the Southern Reach are more sinister than anyone could have known.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateMay 22, 2014
    ISBN9780007564576
    Unavailable
    Authority
    Author

    Jeff VanderMeer

    Jeff VanderMeer is an award-winning novelist and editor. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages and has appeared in the Library of America's American Fantastic Tales and multiple year's best anthologies. He writes non-fiction for the Washington Post, the New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, and the Guardian, among others. His novels include the Ambergris series, and Annihilation. He grew up in the Fiji Islands and now lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his wife.

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    Reviews for Authority

    3.5/5

    1,139 ratings78 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      It’s hard to choose a favorite of this trilogy, very time I reread it I finish one of them and I think to myself; this is the best one. On this most recent revisit, as I couldn’t find the annihilation audiobook I decided to simply start with Authority, because I know I love it. But as Control spoke of the biologist, I was yearning for her POV. Authority is a spectacular book, and an incredible bridge between Annihilation and Acceptance. It’s hard to read just the one.
      I love this audiobook in particular because the voice given to Control is elevated through this reading, the emphasis and the cadence. It’s lovely.
    • 4/5
      Great acting! Bit glitchy. Immersive story, but takes its toll.
    • 4/5
      Again, VanderMeer captures a surreal dream/nightmare world (Lovecraft meets Kafka) so well that, even though I got bogged down in places, I ended up greatly admiring the unique achievement of this author. (I know I said Lovecraft and Kafka, but that was only to give a feel...this is VanderMeer's own world). Here's a passage that captures some of what I'm talking about (spoiler alert!).
      "At first, Control thought that Whitby must be sleeping with his eyes open. A waxwork corpse. A tailor's dummy. Then he realized that Whitby was wide awake and staring at him, Whitby's body shaking ever so slightly like a pile of leaves with something underneath it. Looking like something boneless, shoved into a too-small space.
      So close that Control could have leaned over and bit his nose or kissed it."
      The fuzzy, out-of-place details and half-remembered events of a dream...the feeling that something is just out of reach...
      Onward to the third book in the trilogy: Acceptance. I don't expect all the mysteries to be tied up neatly. Welcome to the real/dream world!
    • 3/5
      For thirty years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X—a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. After the twelfth expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (aka “Control”) is the team’s newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than two hundred 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.

      I...I don’t know what to think about this series, honestly. It is brain-grilling. The action happens off-screen, and the mystery is still there after the end of book two. I’m not sure there’ll ever be any payoff because...because… that’s just the sort of book it is, which is to say, it’s undefinable, kind of literary, and occasionally grueling. It’s definitely creepy. I think I liked book 1 better. I’m not sure if I want to continue yet. I had to follow it with a series of light books because I just needed a break. I don’t know.
    • 3/5
      3.25/5 This is a hard one to rate. It moves slowly in the beginning and picks up a bit in the end, but if it hadn’t been so short I’m not sure I would have finished. My main comment is that it is psychedelic. VanderMeer is such a strange writer. There’s not a lot of plot or character building. Its main theme is ‘stop environmental destruction’ I guess? Maybe something about death not being the end? I’m not sure. I read Borne last year and that was weird too but did have a more structured plot. This is a concept book. It's hard to write about maybe because there isn’t a lot to write about. None of the characters have names, which means that they are very flat.

      I’m left with a nothingburger. My rating might be too high, but I’ll let it ride while I give it some more thought.
    • 5/5
      The second book in the trilogy is even better than the first. Very different from the first this volume gives us the whole picture and background in which volume one was set. While it remained mysterious, we now get all the answers which arose. The fantasy element I felt in "Annihilation" has become more defined with a possible alien connection. Yet the book leaves us with just as big of a mystery as it answers. This series is my first foray into sci-fi for many years and I'm finding it highly satisfying. Have to wait on the "hold" list at my library for the last volume.
    • 5/5
      Authority takes a different tack [from Annihilation] to take the story forward, following John Rodriguez after he’s purportedly sent in to turn around the secretive and failing Southern Reach Authority, the government body in charge of investigating Area X. Authority resolves some of the questions raised by Annihilation, but only to open up more mysteries.
    • 3/5
      A different take on the Dystopian future genre that just barely was able to hold my interest. The author deserves respect for a ton of stuff going on but ultimately that means there are way to many big themes going on to ever be satisfactorily resolved. Unlikely that I will continue with the series.
    • 4/5
      While this second book isn't as strong as the first one, there is still a strong primary narrator, a good mystery, and decent creep-factor. I regretted the distance from the original storyline, but still really enjoyed this one.
    • 5/5
      I was braced after listening to the first in this Trilogy - it has a bit of a slower build, more interaction between characters but is just as thrilling and unpredictable as the first in the series, Annihilation. VanderMeer expertly explores various themes, creating a story that is gripping and thought provoking, The tale contains sci-fi elements we recognise from Invasion of The Bodysnatchers and The Thing, but VanderMeer leaves you wondering if reality has already altered for the characters of the Southern Zone, mixing the strangeness of ordinary life with that of the Zone. Well worth listening!
    • 5/5
      The best of the 3 novels in the Southern Reach Trilogy.
    • 1/5
      "answers all the questions" proceeds to answer none of the questions. It seems the author thinks being mysterious is the same as not actually fleshing out plot points or character personalities. You spend most of the book just waiting for something to happen, some kind of development. Then right at the end a bunch of stuff happens but suddenly we don't have time to overanalyze every little detail like the first 90% of the book
    • 4/5
      4,3 stars

      I liked this a lot more than I expected based on the synopsis. I don't know if it was the great narration of the audiobook by Bronson Pinchot or what, but this book really held me in its grip. I feel like reading Acceptance straight away, but I think I'd rather wait for it to become available on Scribd here.
    • 4/5
      The second book in Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach" trilogy is a real surprise. It is very different from the first book in style, characterization, and length. There is more emphasis on the clandestine than the eerie. It reminded me more of Cormac McCarthy than H. P. Lovecraft, with its mirroring of the desolation of both spirit and environment, and the central role of dark truths. If the conflict in "Annihilation" (the first book in the trilogy) lay in the confrontation with the supernatural, the conflict in "Authority" is more between people, and within the main character, "Control." The appellation is ironic, for he has no control, can exert no control, and is himself controlled by others. In general, the story is one where the reader sees events are leading inexorably to the world "going to hell in a handbasket." Given the differences between the first two books, it's hard to imagine what the third book will be like, but like the first two it will undoubtedly be a riveting story.
    • 5/5
      I don't even know what to say. This series is awesome. Read it.
    • 3/5
      True horror is extremely difficult to come across these days. Thanks to CG in movies, horror has devolved into a cartoonish mess. (Most) Writers, meanwhile, focus on the grotesque, leaving little to the imagination. VanderMeer skips all that, building horror out of being present in a place rather than what really inhabits it. Sadly, it’s mired in pacing issues with the boring parts outnumbering the exciting ones.

      Annihilation’s beginning is atrociously slow, leaving the reader in total mystery. It isn’t until the second act that the horror truly unfolds through slow, sweet build-up. There’s palpable tension between the characters, though most of them are utterly forgettable. It’s the Psychologist and the Biologist who really shine through. Unfortunately, even their characterizations feel ponderous and heavy, with the author often spending huge chunks of text on their feelings that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

      Area X is a character unto itself, and boy oh boy, it shines more than the others. Beautiful and innocuous on the outside, but holds deep, dark secrets on the inside that are terrifying for human minds to fully comprehend. It’s host to both innocent and monstrous creatures who can be heard deep in the night. It’s also host to the Tower, which is a mystery unto itself.

      The second book in the trilogy, Authority, focuses on Southern Reach, the enigmatic organization behind the expeditions. Not only is it very different from the first, it’s also much slower and even more ponderous, which I thought was impossible. We’re introduced to Control, who I felt was sloppy and had massive mommy issues. He almost reminded me of Archer, but not in a good way. The book mostly deals with office politics, showing how inept the organization truly is. It was refreshing to see mysterious behind-the-scenes organizations to be investigated, but damn, I wasn’t expecting this…

      The book is slow as molasses and hosts only a few moments of true terror. Writing about any of them would be spoilers, so go ahead and read the book. Sadly, you’ll have to deal with a lot of unpleasantness before you can get to these fantastic scenes.

      Acceptance, the final book in the trilogy, is easily much better. Much better pacing and characterization await. So does Area X in all its glory. The mystery unfolds and reveals its guts to only leave you asking for more. However, it doesn’t really expand much on the lore built in the last two books. It’s content staying where it is, instead raising even more questions that won’t be answered.

      Most people compare the Southern Reach trilogy with Lovecraftian horror. See, the thing about horror isn’t really fear or anxiety, but a terrible dislike or repugnance towards something. There’s only one thing that was truly scary in these three books, and that too was revealed to be pathetic in a later act. Yes, the series doesn’t really have anything horrifying, or at least I didn’t feel that way, it does capture a sense of terribleness towards Area X and its denizens, especially those revealed in the last book. You feel disgusted by the organism and how it works, not truly terrified by its powers. Like Lovecraft, VanderMeer captures the essence of cosmic horror quite well, showing off how alien aliens can be. But sadly, like Lovecraft, his creations are dragged down by pacing and language.

      Overall, if you’re feeling patient and up for a somewhat slow walk through nature, I recommend this trilogy. If you’re looking for fast action, skip.
    • 3/5
      This series is frustrating. I love stories that build mystery upon mystery. Lost and The X-Files are two of my favourite shows. And The Southern Reach books do the same. But the amount of expository material is kind of driving my nuts.

      This book goes through the tiniest minutiae of Control's days as the new Director at The SR Facility where the Biologist is being held. Great! So, we'll get his insight on top of hers as he interviews her. Nope.

      Instead we read a lot about Control's mother. We hear a lot about Control's grandfather. We get far too much information about Control's formative years.

      And every once in a while, VanderMeer cracks open the Pandora's Box and lets some fun stuff out, but the revelations are too few and too far between. VanderMeer also has a predilection for never settling on anything. He was confused, yet somehow clear. She was cold, yet felt warm. It was small, yet somehow enormous. On and on and on with this stuff. And there's a whole lot of telling going on. Control was flooded with emotions. Lovely. What emotions? What does that look like? What does it feel like? Show us, don't tell us.

      So, the first book was a Shirley Jackson/H.P. Lovecraft hybrid. This one was more an Ian Fleming/Michael Chrichton hybrid (without any of the action and twice the talk!), with a seasoning of Lovecraft.

      One more book to go. Let's see if anything happens in that one.
    • 3/5
      After the failure of the twelfth expedition into Area X, the Southern Reach is in a state of upheaval. John Rodrigues (also known as "Control") has been dispatched to oversee operations. He faces an adversarial staff and a member of the most recent expedition team who serves only to provide more questions than answers. But Control is on a mission to find whatever answers he can, even though they might just turn out to be more disturbing than he ever could have imagined.

      If you enjoy unexpected twists, you will find them here in spades. I remember finishing the first book and having so many questions. While some of them are answered here in the second book, there are just as many new questions that come up. The conspiracy runs deep, and that conspiracy obscures any understanding of what is truly going on in Area X. The layers here are so masterfully constructed that readers are definitely unlikely to see what's coming, but it all starts to make sense as each one is pulled back to reveal what's behind it.
    • 2/5
      This story follows the shadowy organization responsible for the events of the first book in the series, and elaborates on the mysteries and histories of some of the characters from that book. .

      Otherworldly psychological horror and general weirdness are less interesting to me when they're combined with beauracratic infighting and family drama. The book's end promises more excitement in the sequel, but I need a break before giving it a shot.
    • 3/5
      Some of this felt like a writing exercise. There are a lot of analogies in this book. Everything is like something else, and there are a lot of allusions to bigger things and ideas, but rarely anything concrete. That said, it was interesting and pushes the story forward. I'm hoping things get a little clearer in Acceptance.
    • 4/5
      A slow buildup yields to quick, satisfying bursts of horror and fright. VanderMeer is a skillful writer in that he raises just as many questions as answers. Looking forward to the finale in this trilogy.
    • 4/5
      Whereas the first book in the series sucked me in immediately, it did take longer for me to feel truly engaged with this one--but, once I did, I couldn't put it down. The flavoring of the book is entirely different from the first in the series (most notably in relation to character and setting), but it adds to the story in such a way that you can feel it building upon the first book's set up without repeating the same emotion or territory in any way. It almost feels like a distortion of the first book, but in a good way--so, although it wasn't at all what I expected, I came to really enjoy it. If readers set aside any expectations they have for the series and/or first book's set-up, I think they'll really enjoy this one. I'm looking forward to seeing what the third brings.
    • 4/5
      In the second book of the Southern Reach trilogy, the biologist has reappeared. But is she really the biologist? Two other members of the 12th expedition have also mysteriously appeared outside of Area X. Since they should be dead, something is clearly amiss. But it’s the biologist who holds the key. And it is John Rodriquez, the newly appointed director of the Southern Reach facility, who is tasked with finding out how to use that key. Since no one in ops uses personal names, John insists that everyone call him “Control”. Did he choose that himself, or was that something his mother, a shadowy figure at Central, or his handler, the Voice, instructed him to do? He’s not sure. But then he’s not really sure of anything. And the level of animosity coming his way from the deputy director and others here is not going to make things easy. Of course the fact that the previous director got herself onto the 12th expedition as “the psychologist” and did not return from Area X may have something to do with it. There are mysteries within mysteries from Southern Reach through to the border, assuming the border is even where it’s supposed to be.Vandermeer generates impressive levels of paranoia and justified fear in his protagonist, Control. Although initially not as sympathetic a lead character as the biologist in the first volume, Control grows into his role, or out of it as perhaps fits the case. His alignment with whatever is posing as the biologist (she insists that she is not the biologist) is a risk, a gamble that may or may not pay off. Unless his plans get scuppered by the factionalism at Central or he succumbs to the siren call of Area X. Or gives in to terror. Or is that terroir?There is a great deal at play as Vandermeer expands his world beyond Area X and perhaps too many strands to keep well-ordered. But the pace continues to ratchet up and it would be almost impossible now to not go on and read the final volume of the trilogy.Anxiously recommended.
    • 4/5
      Somehow I was even more enthralled in this book than the last one. The change in narrator and main viewpoint presents a sort of cracked and disillusioned Clancy/Ludlum character and renders the bureaucracy in great detail, then introduces that heavy WEIRD element that I just can’t get enough of. Starting Acceptance tonight.
    • 5/5
      Thirty years or so ago, something known only as "The Event" created Area X. A boundary dropped around a section of Florida's Panhandle region known as "the Forgotten Coast," sealing it off from the rest of the world.The Southern Reach, a scientific-cum-clandestine government organization, finds a "door" into Area X, and begins sending expeditions into the Area. Those who come back - and most do not - come back _changed_.The second book, _Authority_, takes place in the aftermath of the Twelfth Expedition. Three of its members have returned, and the man who calls himself "Control" is assigned by "Central" to take up the headship of the Southern Reach, whose director has vanished. The title is apt; a significant part of the book concerns a power struggle between Control, the assistant director (who is fiercely loyal to the vanished director), and Control's contact at Central, The Voice. At the same time, Control is learning about the Southern Reach, and what little is known of Area X, and just how weird things are down there...The style here is so different from Annihilation. Its a dispatch from the same world but coming from a totally different angle, an infected angle? Its so good and so wonderfully and weridly different from the first book. Its a must read and a tour-de-force of style change while maintaining the idea that it exists in the same world as the first book.
    • 4/5
      “Authority” is the second book in the Southern Reach series. This novel takes place at the Southern Reach, a government agency devoted to studying Area X. Area X is an expanse of land shut off by an invisible border. The Southern Reach has sent many expeditions into Area X and all of them have been failures. The agency is floundering, the previous director disappeared into Area X with the last expedition. The new director, John Rodrigues, aka Control, has been brought in by the government to assess the facility. What he finds will test his sanity.You need to read the first book, “Annihilation,” before reading this book or you will not understand what is going on. The first book takes you into Area X. This book introduces you to the government agency trying to understand Area X. The new director of the Southern Reach is the main character. You see the agency through his eyes. His character is well developed with an interesting back round story. The author does a good job of creating a setting of desperation and hopelessness. The characters at the Southern Reach know that everything they do is futile. I have enjoyed reading this series so far and look forward to reading the last book in the trilogy, “Acceptance.”
    • 5/5
      Spooky follow-up to Annihilation. It's a slow burn, with a new director at the Southern Reach facility having to navigate a Byzantine set of office politics and unearth the history of the twelfth expedition. Everything's off-kilter.
    • 5/5
      Wow. This book has a very different mood from the first in the trilogy, but just like it it sucked me in from a slow and uncertain start to completely taking over head for a few days after I finished it. I love the simultaneous vividness and vagueness of the thing that looms over this trilogy's world, and the endless ambiguity of who "should" prevail through the whole story. Looking forward to the final book.
    • 5/5
      Annihilation reviewA story about a group of scientists exploring a mysterious area that defies the natural laws. It is an exciting, thrilling, and terrifying story. The main protagonist explores the many facets of "Area X", but a lot of it is about how she reacts to it. Since it is seen from her POV, there is very little explanation of anything and you feel like you are on the expedition with her. I really enjoyed how none of the characters have names, only titles. It has a similar essence to the movie, but has a completely different narration style. I think this is a fantastic book and I'm looking forward to continuing with the series. The book does have an ending and I can see this book being a stand alone as well.
    • 3/5
      I liked the narration but this story isn't working well for me. I'm playing with the idea of not reading the last one at all.

      I probably will though, because I feel the need to finish the series after investing all this time.