Authority

The sequel differs from its predecessor quite strongly. Annihilation could stand pretty much on its own but I was still curious what VanderMeer would do in a sequel - although the opinions quite differed regarding the second book. I agree that there was a definite change in tone and pacing which could be called boring or meandering, even pointless at times by some readers. I at least have to say that I very much enjoyed the complete shift and I could relate to Controll's point of view and his struggle. The reader did get some explanations about Southern Reach, character motivations and some strange objects from the first installment without explaining too much. I also liked the open ending. I'm definitely stoked for the final book.