Absolution

The surprise fourth installment of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach ecological-horror trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance) is both a prequel to these works and a standalone story. Set 20 years before the original books, Absolution focuses again on the Southern Reach, a secret government agency tasked with studying Area X, a stretch of Florida marsh that has been colonized by a strange presence. That presence manifests as a combination of theoretical scientific mysteries and literal oddities (in this case, carnivorous rabbits). Scientists who enter are either driven mad or transformed. Despite its title, Absolution resists offering neat answers to the mysteries that remained at the end of the original series. Horror series often disappoint by the end—the scariest monsters, ghouls, and killers become kitschy Halloween costumes once their secrets are revealed. But not so with Absolution. The last third of the book may alienate readers who require stability, let alone resolution—but it’s a bold experiment that, to its credit, refuses to conform to tropes.

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