Authority: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy)
In the second installment of the Southern Reach trilogy, Vandermeer continues to unravel the mysteries surrounding Area X, an isolated dystopia where unknown powers either disappear its inhabitants or return them to humanity brainwashed and useless. The sole surviving member of the twelfth expedition undergoes questioning by one of the government’s most experienced investigators, a man named Control. Control is sent to the Southern Reach to investigate the disappearance of its director into Area X and to interrogate the psychologist who returned from the expedition; but while he’s there he discovers the true dysfunction of the scientists and staff studying Area X. Authority should not be read in isolation from the first installment of the trilogy, Annihilation (2014), because much of the backstory of the Southern Reach expeditions is explained in the earlier volume. Those familiar with the series will understand the subtle foreshadowing that points to an action-packed conclusion to the trilogy. Compelling science fiction for those who can’t get enough dystopia. --Heather Paulson