Acceptance

A wonderful cap to the first two books. Explains enough about what's going on to feel satisfying, without laying out a blueprint of the whole idea. Leaves plenty of mystery at the edges, plenty of things to still wonder about and turn over. But not so much that you feel left hanging by the story. A better delve into a lot of the characters and a beautiful look at the world Vandermeer has created.

The third in the trilogy manages to expand on the ideas and characters without trying to tie everything together with a nice little bow, which would be inappropriate for a series that thrives on curiosity and ambiguity. While I couldn't recommend this series to everybody, it's a well-done journey into so-called “weird” territory.

This didn't quite bring it home for me, but it gave the story a decent closing. Note I didn't use the term “resolution.” There sure as hell isn't a tidy bow on the end of this story, which is pretty much to be expected. But I wish the hints at explanation had more follow-through. It's like he gives enough breadcrumbs to make you think there's going to be an “aha!” but then there hardly ever is. We do pretty much get an explanation of how Area X started - but of course, it's wrapped in a lot of “human cognition and perception cannot conceive of this” baggage as well as poetic nature descriptions and first-person hallucinating and navel-gazing, so it can be hard to unpack.

If you're willing to tolerate the ambiguity, I still recommend the series! It brings the weird in a way that's both unique, and also echoes everything from The Color Out of Space to Rebecca to Lilith's Brood.

I'm amazed by the author's skill to answer all my nagging questions without being explicit. It actually felt like I almost figured it all out by myself.

I read the trilogy as a single-edition hardback and I have to say I don't really get why it was released as 3 separate books. Marketing, I guess? This FSG edition is amazing and it felt like a very well-structured, very long novel in 3 parts.

There are so many things I loved about the whole trilogy (the expeditions, the nature writing, the mystery and the hair-raising unexpected details, I could go on) that at times it felt like Vandermeer peered into my head and took some old terrors out as part of his research. I spent years as a kid being paranoid about getting a splinter that would turn me into someone else, like the splinter from H.C. Andersen's tales. Vandermeer made me re-live that horror, bless him.

“Wait, that's the end? That's how he ended this?” – Me, after every book in this series

VanderMeer has excellent prose and is great at creating unsettling atmospheres and an aura of mystery. He is not so good at character development or delivering payoffs. Like the rest of the trilogy, this is an enjoyable read but a little disappointing, in part because it was anticlimactic. The resolution, if there was one, kind of came abruptly and without explanation. And like the rest of the series, this is a slow burn that slowly and subtly builds tension, which is fine, but the tension never builds to a proper payoff.

Great for its atmosphere and prose, but with a plot and characters that were underdeveloped.

So if you're the type of person who likes neat endings with all your questions answered and characters achieving the goals for which they set out, this is not the trilogy for you.

If, however, you like books that leave the final analysis in your hands, that make you question and wonder and debate possible explanations, that are messy and open to interpretation, I can't recommend this series enough.

VanderMeer wraps up his Southern Reach Trilogy with this installment, and as the title implies, it involves a settling of a sort between Area X and the characters we've ment. Unlike the previous two books, this one is told through multiple perspectives, Ghost Bird and Control as well as the Director and the Lighthouse Keeper. It also slips through time more noticeably than the first two, back to pre-area X life and swirling in and out (as does time itself within Area X). Curve balls await around every corner and things the reader was never led to question turn out totally baseless. We can't understand because we are dealing with an intelligence utterly outside humanity's ability to interpret. The fact that this foreign element is represented by Mother Nature taking back what is hers makes me question exactly how much we understand the planet on which we all live. I love that VanderMeer pulls off this mysterious entity which catalyzes Area X in such a foreign way and that we, along with the characters, struggle to do the impossible: comprehend it.

The pacing swerves around in this one, but it still has plenty of that edge of your seat suspense from Annhiliation and the language is unique and definitely takes some thinking through. Once again, VanderMeer brings in a diverse cast without a cis, white male amongst the main players. This doesn't have any bearing on the plot (Charlie could just as easily be Charlene, but the inclusion of a gay character without his sexuality being a focus is a really nice change and makes the cast incredibly relatable.

Is it perfect? No. Is it confusing? Yes. Do I feel like I understand every aspect of it? Absolutely not. Do I still recommend it? Unquestioningly.

Have rated all four books in this trilogy as 4 stars, though I'm still quite unsure about what I just experienced. Initially frustrated by the fact that there were never any easy answers, I've read a few reviews that point out that this isn't a straight science fiction text, but more of a “weird” fiction, a genre I'm not all that familiar with, but which apparently has less of a reliance on tying things up.

There's a lot to enjoy in here, particularly the writing style which is very hypnotic. It washes over you with a kind of steady, wave-like rhythm, appropriately, given the strong presence of the sea in the book - and hypnosis, of course.

This is a terrible review, partly because I feel this trilogy has put me in a kind of fugue state. As if I have been colonised by Area X and am not sure where my own interpretations and impressions end, and Area X itself begins.

It's very haunting, and I think will stay with me for a while. Not so that I can try to solve the mystery (I don't think that is possible) - rather, so that I can revel in it.

Pros: fascinating story, get some concrete answers

Cons: lots of detail

Picking up where book two leaves off, Acceptance follows three individuals: Saul, the lighthouse keeper in the days before Area X; the Director and the lead up to the twelfth expedition; and Control and Ghost Bird, wandering through Area X, looking for the Biologist on the island.

While I enjoyed Saul's story the most, it was fantastic finally learning more about Area X's creation and the Southern Reach's real inner workings. While not every mystery is solved, enough concrete answers are given that having to interpret some for yourself is fine.

The story does get bogged down in details at times, making some parts harder to get through than others. I found my mind wandering at times and had to reread sections to make sure I wasn't missing something essential.

It was a good conclusion to the series, bringing in a lot of elements from both of the previous books.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can Barely articulate how this made me feel even after sleeping on it!!!!!!!!!!! This entire series made me feel seen in a way that I didn't think was possible, and that was SUCH a WONDERFUL conclusion!!!!!!!! Though I have heard VanderMeer is going to come out with a fourth book, and I sure hope he does!!!!!!!! This series feels like coming home and finishing this book and ending the series feels so painful!!!!!!! I am experiencing the Full Range of human emotions and then some about this series!!!!!!!!! HIGHLY recommend!!!!!!!!!!!

Many others have reviewed this book and the whole series better than I will, so I will confine myself to this comment. Although I am sometimes not the brightest reader in the library, and often I become confused when things get weird, and although I got to the end of the trilogy not entirely understanding what “happened” or what it was “about,” I have to say I Don't Care! Even with my bafflement, I loved these books. They are so engrossing I don't mind that I didn't understand them at all, so well-written that the words alone constitute enough reason to read them, and so real that I feel like I have spent time in Area X and known those poor people. Read this book if you love thought-provoking science fiction, “literary fiction,” or just an odd story.

I listened back to back to back through the three (then) Area X novels this past summer - see my reviews on "Annihilation" and "Authority" for my context. In many ways this is the richest of the initial trilogy as it alternates among three time lines within the same physical geography. Although the events - midway through the expeditions into Area X; before the border transforms the Coast; and after the catastrophe which ends "Authority" - happened years apart, this structure illuminates the interconnected people, themes, landscapes and intrigue. The audio narration is excellent and this helps to differentiate among the plot threads. When I arrived at the end of the 25+ hours of listening across the three books, I felt satisfied, yet longing to know more about the nature and origin of the force creating Area X. Imagine my excitement at learning Vandermeer felt compelled to write a fourth book "Absolution" which was released a month ago. I'm near the conclusion of that novel - gotta wrap this so I can finish that set of three novellas!

Area X is expanding, taking with it the Southern Reach border facility and its occupants. And, like an infection, the locations where the copies of the surveyor and the anthropologist appeared are also becoming part of Area X. The copy of the biologist, Ghost Bird, and Control have passed into Area X though an entry point created by Ghost Bird. In flashbacks the story of perhaps how the phenomena came into being is slowly revealed and how the lives of the psychologist, the lighthouse keeper, Control's secret-agent mother, Control's maternal secret-agent grandfather, the lone survivor of the first expedition, and two enigmatic people from a group called the Science and Séance Brigade are intertwined in that story. We also follow Ghost Bird and Control within Area X as they travel toward the island and through their characters learn more secrets, find more unanswerable questions and experience more horror.

VanderMeer, in his writing, is able to bring about a feeling of true alien otherness in which the characters in the story can never hope to understand or deal with Area X in any humanly rational way. We receive hints that it is a piece of a larger whole escaping destruction and pulled into Earth existence intentionally through a secret scientific/alchemical experiment gone wrong. Does it come from the stars or does it exist in another time, place and/or dimension? Is it an area controlled by an alien entity (the tunnel/tower creeper)? Is the entire biome the entity? Is it an actual intelligence or is it made up of more than one intelligence? Is it trying to communicate, invade or is it simply indifferent in its existence? What it does do is change/absorb everyone and everything that it comes in contact with into itself through destruction and/or unfathomable mutation and mimicry.

This was easily the most incoherent of the three books in the trilogy. I really loved the first one, Annihilation, and the second, Authority, was interesting, but this last was a bit of a slog. Sure, several questions got answered, but I knew not all of them would be. It was only my own stubbornness that made me finish this trilogy.

Most adults expect to be able to choose. The opportunity to choose, to be able to decide for oneself what course to take, is such a deeply-ingrained right that it forms the concept of ???rights??? in the first place. The most depraved and deplorable conditions often involve having no choice at all: slavery, for example, or extreme poverty. For some people, choosing death is preferable than living out the rest of their lives in circumstances not of their choosing.

So there is something truly, genuinely terrifying about being confronted with an absolute absence of choice, of being forced to submit and accept what one is given. The most pleasant, uplifting narratives - the stories most people enjoy - always involve not giving up, not yielding, not submitting to the inevitable. These narratives emphasise the idea that, if one tries hard enough, if one has enough willpower, then one might, indeed, change a specific course of events by struggling against it as hard as one can.

Because of that, there is something truly frightening about its opposite, and this is something horror writers are keenly aware of, and they make use of it from time to time in their stories. H.P. Lovecraft was a master at this sort of horror: many of his stories involve the narrator coming to some horrific realisation and doing absolutely nothing to fight it, choosing instead to give in rather than fight the inevitable. Other writers who have followed in Lovecraft???s footsteps have chosen to do the same: oftentimes these characters commit suicide rather than face what is to come, since a death of their choosing is the only true choice they have left, and they would much rather make it than for their manner of dying to be chosen by someone - or something - else.

It is this same sort of fear that Jeff VanderMeer plays with in Acceptance, the last novel of the Southern Reach Trilogy. Following hot on the heels of events in Authority, Acceptance follows multiple paths: Saul, the enigmatic lighthouse keeper who used to live in the area now known as Area X; the Director of the Southern Reach; and Ghost Bird and Control, who were last seen in the concluding events of Authority determined to make their way back to Area X and figure out what is going on once and for all.

As with Authority, Acceptance breaks from the narrative conventions set in the novel before it. Authority has two narrative styles: third-person limited for Saul, Ghost Bird, and Control???s stories, and second-person for the Director. While the choice of third-person limited makes sense as a narrative style (it???s the most common style currently used in fiction), the choice of second-person for the Director - and only the Director - is rather unusual.

However, it???s clear that this was a carefully-considered choice: after all, VanderMeer???s a good-enough writer to know why and what he???s doing when he makes a stylistic decision in his writing, and I think there???s a very good reason for going with the unusual second-person perspective for the Director.

Of all the figures in the novels thus far, the Director has proven the most mysterious: her connection to Area X and the many various coverups and shady projects she was involved in while at the Southern Reach all make her a character of interest to the reader. Some readers may have come to believe, after the first two novels, that understanding the Director means unraveling the mystery behind Area X once and for all - and in a way, those readers are right. By choosing to write the Director???s side of the story from the second-person perspective, the reader must comprehend the Director???s decisions as if they were the reader???s own, as if the reader is taking responsibility for everything the Director does. And when one gradually comes to understand just what, precisely, the Director has - or has not - done, a true sense of horror is created. Even worse, the reader is forced to watch, unable to do anything to change the Director???s course, to accept her decisions as if they were the reader???s own, to submit entirely to the will of this person who is making choices and decisions that the reader absolutely cannot change. The reader has no choice but to accept - and that is a terrifying prospect indeed, all things considered.But what makes this so terrifying is that it???s so easy to slip into the Director???s skin, to accept that the reader has temporarily become this person who is, essentially, a stranger. But she is not a stranger: her personal trials and tribulations are familiar to the reader: dissatisfaction with one???s job, that feeling of being trapped by one???s superiors, even things like cancer - all of these things are familiar, relatable things. She is a regular person caught up in most irregular circumstances - and while that might sound funny, might be the root of some joke, in this case, it???s very much not funny.

Saul???s storyline will likely ring a few bells for some people, thought whether or not that???s a good thing is a bit of a question. This storyline is more traditionally Lovecraftian that the others in the novel, or even in the other books: the forgotten coast and its residents all read a bit like other seaside towns mentioned in Lovecraft???s works, albeit with a lot less fog and fewer ???batrachian??? references. However, though it might most clearly reference ???The Shadow Over Innsmouth??? on the surface, at it???s core it???s most clearly ???The Colour Out of Space??? in terms of its storyline. This isn???t immediately made clear, though sharp readers or those who are intimately familiar with Lovecraft???s works will probably pick it up as soon as a crucial event in the novel happens. Once the reader reaches that point, or once they recognise the similarities thanks to clues scattered in the rest of the novel, the link become clear - and, at least for me, quite enjoyable. I liked the parallels I saw between the two stories, and while I appreciate the parallelisms, some readers have expressed some small disappointment at the similarities.Regardless, it must be said that any reader can readily appreciate the personal touches in Saul???s storyline: his relationship with Charlie, for instance, and his friendship with Gloria, the little girl who would one day grow up to become the Director of the Southern Reach. His being a relatable human being in pretty much all his aspects is the most enjoyable part of his storyline, quite apart from the fact that I personally find it a pretty well-told horror story on its own. This is, most definitely, one of VanderMeer???s strengths, and it was pleasant to read about Saul???s going through the everyday pleasures of his life, and it was rather saddening - and scary - to watch him lose it.

As for Ghost Bird and Control, their stories are intertwined. To be sure, the stories of Saul and the Director are intertwined, but Ghost Bird and Control are special because they were together at the end of the second novel. It is through them, and later Grace, the Director???s assistant and confidante from Authority, that the reader comes to understand the true, dual nature of Area X, the fact that it is neither good, nor evil - and that, at its core, it doesn???t really care. This is, again, a Lovecraftian trope, and VanderMeer once again handles it deftly to reveal a picture of cosmic horror that is very much in keeping with some of the best material Lovecraft created, but still remaining distinctly VanderMeer.However, I find that I liked Ghost Bird???s narrative more than Control???s. There was something confusing and hazy about Control???s narrative, and it got worse as the novel went on. It???s pretty much the same problem I had with his narration in Authority: confusing enough that it???s rather easy to just glide over parts and not really miss much at all. The only thing that???s interesting about his narration is how he finally just yields, in the end, to everything that Area X is: how he just throws in the towel and accepts that he - and everything around him - has become pointless, and that everything will be remade. In contrast to the murkiness of Control???s narrative, Ghost Bird???s is wonderfully lucid. To be sure, she doesn???t quite understand who or what she is at first, but she is determined to find out, and that determination acts like a guiding flame throughout her storyline. It rarely wavers, and while it does a number on Control???s psyche, I attribute that mostly to an inner weakness on Control???s part. Of course, Ghost Bird could have been more kind about it, I suppose, but then again I don???t think she could have. She might not be the Biologist, but a part of the Biologist is in her, and part of what makes the Biologist who she is is that single-minded focus - perhaps obsession - on one particular thing, and the ability to ignore everything and everyone else in favour of that one thing. And now that I mention the Biologist, I really enjoyed that brief interlude explaining what happened to her when, at the end of Annihilation, she went off in search of her husband. It???s where a lot of things get explained, and while it doesn???t give all the answers to every single question a reader might have about what happens in the series, it does a good job of at least suggesting possible answers. I do wish, however, that it had been given its own entire storyline, in the same way that the Director, Saul, Ghost Bird and Control were given their own storylines. I think it would have allowed for a subtler reveal of the information given by the Biologist, as well as add a certain amount of nuance to Ghost Bird???s quest for identity. After all, she herself says that she is not the Biologist, but it would have been nice to have a narrative against which the reader could contrast that statement. There???s also the issue of Grace. She appears all throughout the novel, primarily in the Director???s storyline, but she puts in an appearance in Ghost Bird and Control???s storylines, as well. At first her role is antagonistic, but it later becomes clear that she???s not an antagonist at all: simply someone whose goals don???t perfectly align with Ghost Bird???s or Control???s, and therefore might be viewed as a challenger to both their shared and individual goals. Given how important she turns out to be in understanding the Director and Area X, I found myself wishing that she???d gotten her own storyline, as well - maybe eliminate Control entirely and give over his narrative space to Grace. I would have liked to read about her own take about what happened in the Southern Reach, and about Area X, especially because she could have provided some interesting perspective.

Perhaps the biggest concern readers have about the novel is: are the answers here? To that I say: yes, they are - they just probably aren???t all there, or they take some digging and rereading to find, or they aren???t the answers one thought they would be. VanderMeer does not make it easy for his readers to find the answers to their questions - come to that, he doesn???t even answer all of them. What he does, though, is give the answers they need, and a starting point to finding the answers they want. It???s not easy, of course - at this point in the series the reader probably already knows that, or hsould - but they are there, for the reader willing to take their time to find them. I appreciate that, actually: the trust VanderMeer has in his readers to be smart enough and patient enough to go through his work, more than once, if necessary, to find what they need and want. It???s great when a writer places such faith in the intelligence of their readers, and writes accordingly.

Overall, Acceptance is an intriguing conclusion to the Southern Reach Trilogy - one that has all the answers the reader could possibly need, but maybe not the ones they want, since there???s a big difference between the two. It???s also a return to the style and setting of the first novel, Annihilation, which will probably make quite a few people happy, but it???s not without some remnants of Authority: Control???s storyline, in particular, might be frustrating for some readers who were glad to leave that all behind in the second novel. I also found myself wishing that certain characters had been given a voice in place of Control: Grace, especially, would have made for an intriguing narrator, with the potential of a more nuanced understanding of other characters and certain key events in previous novels and in Acceptance itself.

The novel has some spectacular creepy moments of its own, but what is really, truly frightening about Acceptance - and what makes it an excellent, albeit not entirely unproblematic, conclusion to the series is encapsulated in the title. Sometimes, there is no such thing as a triumphant ending: there is only weary acceptance of the inevitable.