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A review by araowl
Authority by Jeff VanderMeer
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I have to admit that although this book is sold to us as a horror novel, I don't think I was remotely frightened or creeped out the entire time. This isn't to say that I hated the entire thing; I thought that there were some interesting themes woven throughout the story. I enjoyed the focus on the themes of power imbalances and the ever-present feeling that it would be so easy to sink into the mental abyss that exists in us all and never return.
However, I, like many others that have written reviews for this book on this platform, found the book very slow-paced and underwhelming. It certainly lacked the mystery and excitement of the first book, although the last section of the book intrigued me enough that I do want to finish out the series to see how it concludes. I found some of the scenes and motifs that were meant to be unnerving a little bit corny or even boring, since it was a lot that we already knew from the first book.
You can obviously tell that the author is a very skilled writer. His prose is very beautiful and loaded with metaphor; it has a very highly literary quality that is very lovely. However, I did find it quite clunky and hard to read. Also, the main character, as many others have mentioned, was not nearly as compelling as the biologist from the first book. I found myself many times wishing that the book had been written from the biologist's perspective instead of Control's. I also found the character of Whitby a bit underdeveloped. I didn't really find his "insanity" that convincing. I think a lot of the characters lacked dimension.
Overall, I think that this book definitely fell pray to second-book-syndrome. It felt like a lot of filler, and it definitely reminded me why I tend to prefer standalones. However, I think it touched on some very compelling and resonant themes, and had very beautiful prose. I would recommend this book to those that were really huge fans of the first and wish to finish out the series. I'm very interested in reading the third book and seeing how the Vandermeer wraps up this story.
However, I, like many others that have written reviews for this book on this platform, found the book very slow-paced and underwhelming. It certainly lacked the mystery and excitement of the first book, although the last section of the book intrigued me enough that I do want to finish out the series to see how it concludes. I found some of the scenes and motifs that were meant to be unnerving a little bit corny or even boring, since it was a lot that we already knew from the first book.
You can obviously tell that the author is a very skilled writer. His prose is very beautiful and loaded with metaphor; it has a very highly literary quality that is very lovely. However, I did find it quite clunky and hard to read. Also, the main character, as many others have mentioned, was not nearly as compelling as the biologist from the first book. I found myself many times wishing that the book had been written from the biologist's perspective instead of Control's. I also found the character of Whitby a bit underdeveloped. I didn't really find his "insanity" that convincing. I think a lot of the characters lacked dimension.
Overall, I think that this book definitely fell pray to second-book-syndrome. It felt like a lot of filler, and it definitely reminded me why I tend to prefer standalones. However, I think it touched on some very compelling and resonant themes, and had very beautiful prose. I would recommend this book to those that were really huge fans of the first and wish to finish out the series. I'm very interested in reading the third book and seeing how the Vandermeer wraps up this story.