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The Southern Reach
Feb. 16th, 2020 04:04 pmI read the two sequels to Annihilation in the last couple of weeks. The books were released in fairly quick succession and it shows; they are one piece of work, and although I would say Annihilation is a perfect thing on its own, the follow-ups feel structurally congruous.
As a whole, these books are a fevered love letter to ecological restoration independent of, and uninterested in, human needs. They are also an exploration of the concept of hyperobjects. They're also a deeply unsettling exploration of transformation. The core of these books are a fractally repeating spiral: forever moving towards a thing that they will never arrive at.
In fact, the parts of the third book that stumble the worst are the ones that offer too direct an answer to certain questions: I would rather the story have stayed a meditation of the unknowable, although in many ways it still did despite these moments.
If you have an interest in meditations on the unknowable, or if you have an abiding horror in where the anthropocene era is headed, I recommend these books to you.
As a whole, these books are a fevered love letter to ecological restoration independent of, and uninterested in, human needs. They are also an exploration of the concept of hyperobjects. They're also a deeply unsettling exploration of transformation. The core of these books are a fractally repeating spiral: forever moving towards a thing that they will never arrive at.
In fact, the parts of the third book that stumble the worst are the ones that offer too direct an answer to certain questions: I would rather the story have stayed a meditation of the unknowable, although in many ways it still did despite these moments.
If you have an interest in meditations on the unknowable, or if you have an abiding horror in where the anthropocene era is headed, I recommend these books to you.
