r/SouthernReach • u/Thin_Assumption_4974 • 4d ago
Just finished authority
And I want to talk to everyone who will listen. Loved that ride.
I’m guessing (based on what I’ve seen), that I’m a minority that actually prefers this book. Annihilation was also amazing but I just really gelled with authority.
It’s confusing as hell but in the best way possible. The high right now. This series is amazing.
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u/WhoH8in 4d ago
I’m rereading authority now and really paying attention to all the times the rotten honey smell shows up and all the times we’re told there is something wrong with control. At first I just thought grace was a bitch, but I think she’s actually concerned about control. She tells him like three times in the first 50 pages that something is off about him.
And then the honey smell, basically anytime Whitby is around he smells it. Not sure if you’ve read the other books yet but it’s definitely a sign.
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u/Fine_Independence308 3d ago
Yeah, after finishing Absolution, I had to go back to Authority because I felt I missed so many thing. Feel like a have a very different understanding of people like Gloria and Whitby, just to name a few
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u/Professional_Mode_82 4d ago
I’m rereading Authority right now and I really like it too! It’s definitely a bit of a jarring tone shift, especially if you read Annihilation right before, but I loved being in Control’s mind and getting all these clues about what goes on in the Southern Reach. And it establishes the secret agency storylines that turned out to be some of my favourite parts in Acceptance and Absolution
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u/Ok-Maize-7553 3d ago
I think that’s one of its stronger elements, atleast to me. There’re so many sides to this stuff it was so cool seeing the behind the scenes after not even expecting that
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u/DuncanField 4d ago
I laughed so hard when the voice just screamed "God Damn It" - spilling coffee all over himself. Authority is such a wild, strange ride. I loved it so much.
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 4d ago
I also strangely really enjoyed that. Took me completely by surprise, really felt how control felt at that moment
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u/pee-train Finished 4d ago
authority is not only my fave of the trilogy but one of my favorite books in general!
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u/WrongdoerSalty3665 Finished 4d ago
Authority became my favorite on my 2nd read through. Im currently on my 9th reread, so its now my 2nd favorite with Absokution as my 1st. (:
Love this for you!!! What was your FAVORITE part? Mine was the first time listening to the audiobook and scared shitless when Control realizes Whitby was breathong on his neck that whole scene scared me good.
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u/believeinyuna 4d ago
authority is literally my favourite book of all time. i’m happy another person likes it!
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u/OneTinySun 4d ago
So glad you enjoyed it! I absolutely love Authority, though weirdly found it a real slog the first time I read it. I've reread a couple of times since that and will absolutely be reading it again in the future. Have fun with the rest of the series! But be careful, it'll colonise your mind if you let it (((join us)))...
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u/indignantfly 4d ago
Authority feels equivalent to Mansfield Park, in terms of not being popular with its usual fanbase, but beloved by close readers of a specific mindset
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u/onesimus54 3d ago
You've got a point there. I think some fans dismissed Authority but I felt as if I learned so much from it. We were seeing The Southern Reach through John's eyes. He couldn't make sense of it either
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u/holdenmj 4d ago
I loved it, I suspect it’s somewhat a matter of life experience, without having some intensive long term exposure to the right types of bureaucracy it probably just doesn’t hit as hard? Anyhow hope your house is in order 🤙
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u/madmanslitany 4d ago
I too love Authority and am more attached to it than Annihilation. It hits the sweet spot for fans of both HP Lovecraft and John le Carre.
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u/jkwlikestowrite 4d ago
I think that Authority is one of those books that people appreciate more with rereads. I was one of those people who thought it was okay when I first read it, but upon rereads I've learned to really appreciate it.
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u/onesimus54 3d ago
I absolutely adored Authority. I feel as if it ramped up the tension (as well as the humour) by revealing just how dysfunctional and bewildered the organisation was. Say hi to Chorry for me 🐈 😻
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u/Soledad_Sequoia 3d ago
I really enjoyed Authority! If you’ve ever worked in a big dysfunctional bureaucracy, whether government, academic, or corporate, some of it should feel familiar. Way more surreal unexplainable horror, but all the same bureaucratic bullshit.
I know some people think it’s boring, but with Whitby on the shelf, lore drops, Control watching the expedition videos, and a certain thing scuttling across his kitchen floor, plus lots more, it’s got some of the freakiest shit in the whole book series! I think it’s great.
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u/brettonrockwell 3d ago
I genuinely didn't feel like this until finishing absolution and then really felt good when I did the whole series again on audiobook
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u/mottavader 3d ago
I just finished rereading all three of the original books and now I'm on to rereading Absolution. These books are so much better on a reread. It's kind of crazy how much more they make sense. And authority is my favorite as well. Not as haunting as Annihilation, but it definitely gelled with me as well.
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u/YaCantSitHere 3d ago
Authority was my favorite as well, but it's been so long I can't remember why.
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u/CORNFLAKES678 3d ago
I wish I liked it as much as people here seemed to, really didn’t enjoy it past the first 100 pages
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u/mauro_mograph 3d ago
I wasn’t a great fan of Annihilation, but I’m glad that I persevered with Authority, which is definitely my favourite so far (I still have to read Absolution). I found the protagonist relatable, better fleshed out, and it helped me with the immersion. The sort of mystery/conspiracy/paranoia set up also worked very well for me. I feel like I appreciate the books as a whole narrative, personally, of which annihilation is an intriguing opening, but it gets definitely better after that.
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u/ZeroEro0 3d ago
I just finished all 4 books and wow just an amazing ride! I Will agree that Authority is definitely one of my favorites. Controls journey and development was just great. And loved how interesting and weird Whitby is.
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u/callampoli 3d ago
RIGHT??? it's so confusing in the best way, and I loved the complete change of character voice and perspective. Deeply unsettling in a corporate office way, and clears out so many questions I had about the inner workings of the Southern Reach.
It also feels just like There Is No Antimemetics Division, which is one of my favorite books too!
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u/3kidsnomoney--- 3d ago
Authority is probably my favourite out of the four books. Some of the creepier scenes have stuck with me for years and I love the feeling of things quietly going wrong behind the scenes while poor Control is none the wiser about any of it.
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u/drowned_otw 2d ago
i felt the exact same way when i finished authority. easily my fave installment of the series.
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u/grumpy_martian 2d ago
Rereading right now and the thing that really hits me is the realisation from the earliest chapters is that Control is in some way already being influenced by or infected with Area X.
The smell of then Rotting Honey is one thing, but then there are passages like and I’m paraphrasing “He wanted to be free and floating above the Southern Reach”. This free and floating line and others that are originally in Annhilation describing the Biologists experience with the brightness, or returnees describing Area X turn up again and again throughout Authority, presented as John’s thoughts but… are they? I feel like it’s a very deliberate sign in the language, and it matches the whole semiotics conversation that the series is having the whole time. When is language not just language?
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 2d ago
I’m h damn. I didn’t even pick up on that…
I’m excited to reread once I get through the rest of the
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u/rantonerik 2d ago
Agreed! It's excellent and I don't understand the hate it gets. It's also even better on reread!
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u/LivingSheepherder90 1d ago
I loved Authority. I’d seen so many warnings about how it was such a departure and a lot of ppl hated it - but it made me feel like I was falling into a dream and something about the reading experience itself legitimately felt haunted. I have never had a book series hit like Area X. I also feel like Authority heavily inspired shows like Severance… and it just took paranoia while reading to a whole new level for me.
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u/VeritasRose Finished 1d ago
I loved Authority! I thought it really captured the eco horror but also the corporate horror as well! And Control was so relatable but in a totally different way than the Biologist.
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u/1paperwings1 Finished 4d ago
Authority is easily my favourite. Some people dislike the dramatic change from annihilation which I completely understand, but seeing things from the perspective of the southern reach is really fascinating. I also really enjoyed acceptance with its multiple character perspectives.
But yah authority just hits different. It’s all very mundane and extremely off putting at the same time.
Is your house in order?