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reviewed Absolution (Southern Reach, #4)

Absolution (inglês language) 5 stars

The surprise fourth volume in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series—and the final word on one …

Area X 4

5 stars

(em português → sol2070.in/2024/11/livro-absolution-jeff-vandermeer-comando-sul-4/ )

"Absolution" (2024) is the fourth installment in Jeff Vandermeer's "Southern Reach" series, a book whose release date I had even marked on my calendar.

It's a prequel to the other three books, which mix surreal horror with science and ecological fiction. The first of them, "Annihilation" (2014), is the most famous, since it became a cult movie by Alex Garland.

The story revolves around a phenomenon in a vast swampy area of the USA, Area X, which causes nature to behave in a bizarre and potentially annihilating way for humans. Southern Reach is the government task force that has been covering up what is happening for decades, investigating and ultimately influencing the whole process.

The things I like most about the series are:

  • Ecology. The predominant symbol is environmental catastrophe and our relationship with the natural world, revealing an inconceivable dimension of nature.
  • Ambiguity. At …