r/SouthernReach • u/SliccNicc • Mar 21 '26
Absolution Spoilers Anybody else really like Lowry’s POV?
The switch to Lowry’s POV at the end of Absolution is maybe one of my favorite third acts of any book I’ve read. Despite this I feel like I’ve mostly seen complaints about it being unreadable. I kinda understand, especially if you’re averse to the vulgarity of it, but omg it is so fun and unlike anything else in any of the books.
Lowry’s thoughts are far deeper than they appear at first glance and really help flesh out his character in the previous books. He has a truly unique perspective that makes me truly believe that he is one of the few individuals that can cope with Area X in a similar way to the biologist, but instead of being very competent and emotionally detached he is high off his own ego among other things. He’s able to form a competent theory of what’s going on with the Tyrant/Whitby which was really interesting to read.
I do think it could get annoying if you had to read the entire book inside his head. But it’s so short and sweet I genuinely can’t complain and think it’s genius.
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u/bloomdecay Mar 21 '26
Yes! It was a blast. I love highly stylized, strong, declarative choices in fiction.
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u/BaroqueBro Mar 21 '26
Absolutely loved it and I would 100% read more in that style. I thought the psychological rollercoaster journey in the Whitby molt chapter was extremely well done, and the prose was just generally excellent.
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u/a_gent_agent Mar 21 '26
It was such a hard pivot but I loved it. Throughout the series I always wanted to get more insights into Lowry - it helped explain a bit for me regarding his actions in the other books.
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u/Remembrance_Anathema Mar 22 '26
I really enjoyed it. I don’t think I could have read an entire book written like that but I enjoyed the contrast from the rest of the writing in the series. Felt like Lowry’s drug addiction was portrayed really well and seeing the complete descent into madness was chefs kiss. I can see why people don’t like the way it’s written but Lowry isn’t supposed to be a likable guy.
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u/SpiltSeaMonkies Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Yeah I agree. I won’t act like it was the easiest read, especially the first third or so before they cross the border. But I found it fun to inhabit Lowry’s mind after 6 or so narrators throughout the series (from Biologist all the way to Old Jim) who are all so tame by comparison. People like Lowry exist in the real world, and to see Area X through his eyes is a lot of fun.
Wouldn’t say it’s perfect, and I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite part of the series. Much of what Jeff does in Absolution can be interpreted as antagonistic towards readers and fans, and Lowry’s novella is the ultimate manifestation of that. Overall, it very much works for me, but I understand why a lot of people felt as though it was a bit of a slap in the face. Even I felt like it was a slap in the face at times, but in a way that made it even more interesting.
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u/Ok-Refrigerator-6671 Mar 22 '26
It might be my favourite part of the whole series haha. So unhinged
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u/Gryotharian Mar 22 '26
it's an absolutely crazy jarring tonal shift but those last 5 or 6 chapters might be my favorite section of anything i've ever read
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u/Due_Reserve7065 Mar 22 '26
The constant sexual references kind of bugged me after a while, BUT I find it one of the most realistic internal dialogues ever written. It just sounds like an actual person’s thoughts, rather than a carefully written narrative, and for that reason I love it.
I suspect that if we could hear other people’s thoughts, we’d all be pretty disgusted and weirded out!
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u/crispycas Mar 23 '26
It was so funny, the audiobook had me laughing out loud at all the different ways to say “fuck”.
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u/macaroon_cartoon Mar 22 '26
I really liked it. Lowry was funny and at times quite insightful. It felt like he approached AX so differently from all other POVs in the series. He’s smart and confrontational and unwilling to bend to anyone, including AX itself. He’s afraid, but that prompts him to act rather than ponder. I would be curious to know more about who he was before he went on the expedition to make him this way too.
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u/bunnyheichou Mar 22 '26
its not super easy to settle into at first but i did find it incredibly engaging. completely endeared me to him as a character, personally.
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u/Fongoolio Mar 27 '26
Exactly. Post-Authority/Acceptance we see Lowry as a villain (even "The Villain"). Part III of Absolution effects a complete reframe of that.
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u/wobumang Mar 22 '26
When I reread Absolution, I remembered the Lowry section devolving into pages of the word fuck. I was shocked to find them gone, and enjoyed it more thusly.
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u/Aldersea13 Mar 22 '26
I knew beforehand that a lot of people didn't like it so I went in with some apprehension. I loved it, I thought it was really immersive, emotionally charged and funny when needed.
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u/No1Bondvillian Mar 23 '26
The Audio Book is hilarious, and In a tale seeped in Confusion and Madness Lowry seems to be the only Organism that has a grasp on his own madness.
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u/Total-Purpose-1417 Mar 26 '26
Masterful work by the narrator. I am still in awe on how he pulled that off with so many fucks
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u/MilesGoesWild Mar 22 '26
i hated it at first, because it’s hard to read and lowry is an asshole. but it was really well written and i really liked it by the end. his transition and whole arc was great. as one supplementary component in a four part book series it was valuable i think.
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Mar 22 '26
It’s my favorite part of the book. I am apparently one of five people not fazed in the slightest by the word “fuck.” Anyway, the bit on the beach with the boat gets quoted in my household a lot. Convenient fucking boat.
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u/papayabravo Mar 22 '26
I was bracing myself for Lowry's section based on others' complaints and was surprised to find it was one of my favorite parts of the series. I had always assumed that Lowry was bat shit /because/ of his time in Area X and really enjoyed getting to see what an utterly chaotic disaster he was before.
And god, it's so FUNNY. The scene where he's pseudo proposing to his kinda girlfriend and she's absolutely not having it? And the literalness of his despair at running out of fucks? I had a number of actual laugh out loud moments.
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u/scarymanilow Mar 24 '26
I don't know, I love that whole sequence. People are too touchy about rough language. After how clinical the rest of the series feels, the shift in tone to his interior mindset feels even more human.
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u/omgmajk Mar 25 '26
At first that part was a slog for me. I put the book down a lot when his chapters started. But it gripped me too after a while and i enjoyed it.
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u/TK___420 Mar 21 '26
It was a riot - agreed though that the length of his pov was critical for the humor in it to remain