Authority

From the expansive, Lovecraftian eco-horror of the first book exploring Area X, we move to the claustrophobic and paranoid office politics of book two in the Southern Reach trilogy. Jeff VanderMeer's Authority sees John Rodriguez brought into the secret government agency to make some sense of what's going on. He insists on being called Control, reports into The Voice and is manipulated by his mother. It's like we're reading for a TV serial here.

It's about getting the pieces in place for the final act. There's lots to examine and pull apart, like the notion of terroir they keep coming back to, but it's a little forced for my liking. Despite a few surprises it was a bit plodding. I'm still in for the final book however and am curious how VanderMeer pulls it all together.

(Who just up and decides to call themselves Control? Especially an office suit like Rodriguez. It was probably hard enough for Sting or Bono to convince their mates, but coming from a momma's boy like Rodriquez seems a bit of an extraneous stretch)