#absolution book

[heated-blanket]

which expedition member are you?

dead

alive

half-dead

gruntled

disgruntled

alligator

sloshing into the aquifer

Voting ended onMay 28

[rynreads91]

absolution by jeff vandermeer review

I want to thank @fsgbooks and NetGalley for the ARC of Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer to read before it's released!

I rated this five stars, and honestly, it's almost a six star read for me. But jesus, Lowry, what the actual fuck? (Spoilers below)

I loved Old Jim's POV. I loved his heartbreak and how angry he was at the replacement Cass, who he does come to love. I loved Cass, too, or the fake one anyway, for not really pushing Jim to love her but just to work with her. Just to adhere to their mission from Central. Fuck Jack and Jackie, though, like jesus christ. I loved his thoughts on the OG expedition of biologists into the Forgotten Coast/Dead Town. I loved the descriptions of everything; as usual, VanderMeer has a way with words.

And then...then we get to Lowry. And fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. I???? Hate this guy. Hated him with every fiber of my being, but for some reason, kept hearing my friend Brandon's voice in my head as I read his POV. And I love my friend Brandon, he's like a brother to me. I...the cannibalism...I read that section at like midnight and was so incredibly grossed out, but not grossed out enough to put it down and finish it later. It just kind of spurred me on.

I was SO GLAD to see Karen/Cass back at the end and then she kills Lowry which I was like "THANK FUCK". But it was so good. I enjoyed this. It felt like an ending to the series. So. If you liked the first three, I think you might enjoy this one. It might not be a five star for you, might not even be a four star, but I think it sheds light on the before times, on the early Southern Reach, and that was interesting to me.