Authority (novel)

Authority

Author	Jeff VanderMeer
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Southern Reach Trilogy
Genre	Fantasy, Horror, Science fiction
Publisher	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date	May 6, 2014
Media type	Print
Pages	352
ISBN	978-0-374-10410-8
Preceded by	Annihilation
Followed by	Acceptance

Authority is a 2014 novel by Jeff VanderMeer. It is the second in a series of three books called the Southern Reach Trilogy. In an interview, VanderMeer stated that, "if Annihilation is an expedition into Area X, then Authority is an expedition into the Southern Reach, the agency sending in the expeditions."^[1] It was released in May 2014.^[2]

Authority revolves around the operatives of the Southern Reach agency. The agency is responsible for the investigation into the unexplained phenomena of Area X. The second book takes place in the human inhabited areas unlike the first book, Annihilation, which was set within Area X.

Plot summary

John Rodriguez a.k.a. Control takes over as the new director of the Southern Reach agency. He is a secret operative assigned by the mysterious Central group which oversees the Southern Reach agency. He comes from a family of operatives: his mother and grandfather are prominent and influential members. Control reports to a handler called "the Voice" at the Central over phone calls and emails.

In his role as director, Control frequently encounters friction with the existing staff to various degrees: in particular, the assistant director Grace Stevenson is against him and tries to outdo him at every opportunity. In spite of this resistance, Control methodically sifts through the accumulated data (interviews, photos, videos) and works out several key facts. Control learns that there were many more missions than have been disclosed to the public. The 11th expedition alone had multiple iterations with slightly different control factors similar to a lab experiment. The 12th expedition had an all-female crew to see how this composition would interact with Area X. The biologist, who is the protagonist of the first book, and the psychologist were both part of the 12th expedition, and Control learns that the psychologist was in fact the Director of the Southern Reach (whom he replaced), a fact that she did not reveal to the other members of the expedition.

Control interrogates the biologist who is undergoing debriefing after she mysteriously re-appeared in a vacant lot. Slowly, he begins to empathize with her and understand her interest in the area's ecosystem. However he does not gain any information about Area X or what happened there, so he decides to use unconventional tactics to get the biologist to talk.

Control suspects that he is under hypnosis and (correctly) guesses that his handler "The Voice" is hypnotizing him to steer his investigation. He breaks out of this hypnosis cycle, allowing him to work more independently and make quicker progress on the investigation. However, it alienates him from Central and he relies upon his mother to protect him from any retaliation. Central forcibly moves the biologist from the Southern Reach into their own detention facility, as they believe Control has developed an emotional attachment to the biologist.

After an unsettling interaction with one of the scientists and another discovery at the former Director's house, Control briefly calms himself to deal with minutia around the Southern Reach. However, he is startled to find his path to the Science Division's laboratories blocked by a living wall that should not exist, and as he runs upstairs in terror, a replica of the Director who led the twelfth expedition emerges from Area X, bringing with her the border itself. Control cannot convince others to flee but abandons the office as Area X envelops the premises. Returning to his home to pack, he encounters his mother and learns more about what has been happening. Control also figures out that the Director/psychologist actually was the little girl in a photo found at the lighthouse in Area X. This completely alters his outlook, as it is now clear that the psychologist is somehow deeply interlinked with the anomaly.

Elsewhere, the biologist escapes detention. Based on his knowledge of the biologist's background files and his intuition, Control correctly guesses where she would go and follows her, with Central close behind despite his efforts to dodge their agents. Control finally meets the biologist at a remote location where she has unexpectedly created another portal to Area X at the bottom of a pool of water, a gateway that she believes has formed from something she carried that is now finished with her. She jumps into the pool, and Control hears a voice inside his head, urging him to follow her.

Reception

Authority made the best sellers list for trade fiction paperback for the May 25, 2014 edition of The New York Times.^[3] Entertainment Weekly gave Authority a B+, saying that the story in Authority "elevates the series beyond bio-thriller to something truly compelling."^[4] The New York Times also gave Authority favorable review:

As in the first book, VanderMeer also performs a careful character study of one of the few people strange enough to contend (debatably) with Area X. This elevates the whole exercise into something more than just a horror novel; there’s something Poe-like in this tightening, increasingly paranoid focus. But where Poe kept his most vicious blows relatively oblique, VanderMeer drives them deep — albeit in a corkscrewing way that is no less cruel and exquisite. There’s a slower buildup of tension in this book than the first, possibly because it’s almost twice as long. The payoff is absolutely worth the patience.^[5]

References

External links

• The first chapter of Authority on io9.com