I am sure this will be a reread in a few months, along with the first 3 books in this series, because while this book offers new information and perspective on what happened in the first 3 books, I am sure I missed some details in those books. So far, this may be my favorite of the 4, even though I am still not quite sure I understand what all happens in these books. I especially like the spy thriller elements in this one.

I loved this books and it's characters so much! It had something I wasn't expecting from the beginning (I'm not going to give any spoilers!) of this book but it was so so good!

Area X returns! Jeff VanderMeer’s thrilling and mind bogglingly obtuse Southern Reach trilogy gets a surprise fourth edition, a prequel collection of three novellas which each chronicle an “expedition” of their own. Absolution offers some answers and many new questions for fans, and continues the series’ Lovecraftian horror vibes in a very satisfying manner.

The collection begins with “Dead Town”, the shortest of the three. Taking place twenty years before the Border came down, this chronicles the visit of a group of biologists to the Forgotten Coast, where their field research is interrupted by a series of bizarre events and a mysterious figure they call “the Rogue”. “Dead Town” is written in a fairly detached manner, maintaining the wonderful and maddening prose VanderMeer is known for in this series while opening up some startling new avenues into the setting of the “conditions” for the origin of Area X.

The meat of the collection comes with the large middle section “The False Daughter.” This follows the character of Old Jim (who readers will remember from a particularly horrific piano scene in Acceptance) on a secret mission on the Forgotten Coast to gather more information on “the Rogue” by infiltrating the infamous Seance & Science Brigade. This story has more of a direct prose to it as we experience the thoughts of Old Jim as he tries to deal with the disappearance of his daughter while experiencing bizarre occurrences, dreams, and visitations throughout his mission for Central. Old Jim’s voice and character grow throughout this story with the reader and the melancholic tone of dread ramps up slowly before the inevitable climax. Old Jim will surely become a new fan favorite character to theorize about!

The final story, “The First and the Last”, is probably also the most anticipated by fans: the story of the first expedition after the Border came down from the point of view of Lowry. This story ramps up the horror and weirdness as Area X is in full bloom and Lowry’s profanity laden, whimsical descriptions of the events happening to him and his team turn the narrative to the batshit insane. This is probably the strongest story, mostly because it’s so off kilter and should be everything fans would have imagined from the fabled first expedition.

Taken on its own, fans won’t find too many obvious answers from Absolution, but when considered as a whole volume of four novels, there’s enough context here to use the new information to formulate many new theories for fans, which is the genius of VanderMeer and this series. Lovecraft often wrote around much of the explicit details in his horror by having his characters witness it and immediately lose their minds; VanderMeer prefers a slower burn with his descents into madness. Not a single character in this series may be considered a reliable narrator, but we are continually given new avenues into madness through his characters as they experience the unknowable place out of time that is Area X.

Now, get ready to read all four books again to piece all those threads together. Thanks, Jeff!

**I was provided with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley.**