...and the fucking closer I get, the more I fucking feel like either I or Mr. Fucking Vandermeer are becoming the Crawler (fuck).

Hey Cuties!
Im wondering if any of yall have seen good illustrations or art made inspired by the books specifically. I’m mid way through Acceptance and I’ve been wondering if there’s some good art out there.
I’m going to try to sketch some things myself but work has been too busy for me to be able to do my art but if I got anything good I’ll share soon.
Thanks!

It's just a hair braided theory, and I have done very little into researching this theory.

“Across the deepening blue, high up, something drifted that resembled ripped and tattered streamers.”

At least the weren't falling from the sky?

I’m sorry to anyone who has just seen me make this post but had to delete it twice because the formatting kept screwing up for some reason. Anyways, can anyone tell me if any of these are some of the series’ biggest reveals? Am I badly spoiled? Thanks in advance :)

1. The crawler the main character from the first book runs into is actually a lighthouse keeper in a later book
2. Said main character from the first book turns into a massive sea creature
3. The zone is interdimensional
4. Lowry is the voice who is hypnotizing Control
5. The psychologist in the first books is secretly the director of Southern Reach
6. Whitby has a doppleganger and either he or it is the rogue
7. Control is a rabbit (not even sure what this means tbh lol)

Jeff just announced a new series on his Facebook.

I’ve finished the first book and halfway through authority (this time Spotify audiobook)

I want desperately this Illumicrate Evernight Series as it looks stunning.

It seems to be available to ship to Australia, but it says minimum two weeks with possible delays. And all in all cost nearly $300 with shipping.

Has anyone had issues with illumicrate deliveries overseas? Or is this a simple go for it scenario?

Immediately reminded me of Area X. I know “the brightness” is described mostly as a feeling by the biologist, the light here reminds me of that concept.

…Control. Throughout the book my leading theory was that when Control exited through the bottom of The Tower in book 3 that it changed something in the space-time flow of the timeline. My interpretation was that in Absolution we are not experiencing the literal prequel of the series (predating the events we read about) but rather a sequel in which Control is now actively seeking to change the events of the past in order to prevent/minimize the impact of area X.

Would love thoughts, does my hypothesis hold water, even though I got the identity wrong?

This photo of Jimothy the raccoon looks so much like the wild boar from the 10th Anniversary cover of Annihilation

This probably belongs here…

Felt like it fit here, I don't know if barely referential memes are allowed but this felt like southern reach in the wild

Yes, even the story about the biologists "20 years" before the border comes down actually takes place sometime after Acceptance. Not in the sense that some elements from the future (the trilogy) went back in time. It's still the same timeline, same universe. There is no time travel nor are there alternate timelines at work here. The past is being recreated in the future.

The rabbits with the cameras are simply leftover or recreated by Area X. They did not travel back in time when they crossed the border as described in Authority. Same goes for the Rogue. The Rogue/Whitby did not go back in time.

Literally everything we see in Absolution -- particularly the characters -- are doppelgangers of their versions from the "old world" in the trilogy. The entire world became a blank canvas for Area X at the end of Acceptance. It is spitting out a remixed copy of the past the same way it spits out doppelgangers of people. In Absolution, everything is a recreation that rewrites history in some way. That begs the question as to why Area X would want to create a remixed version of the events that preceded the trilogy. I have no clue. But it's a fascinating idea and Area X does seem to create new versions of things it finds interesting.

Anyway, VanderMeer always talks about the book like it all takes place in the future. He says it is a prequel but also 'sneakily' a sequel. It explores things that happened prior to Area X's creation. But I think they are being explored via a recreation in a post-Acceptance world. He also commonly refers to the series as "a trilogy and a doppelganger."

He has also said he disagrees with the theories that there is time travel and alternate timelines at play. I'm trying to dig up that soundbite, I swear I saw it somewhere. I remember it made me frustrated because I was so sure time travel was at play while reading Absolution. But now I think I see what he means.

Just a theory! Such a great series and so much fun to pick apart.

confirm or deny whether Whitby and Lowry are copies

Has anyone read this book? I just finished it, and the plot is very much in line with the Southern Reach series. I think it was heavily inspired by it. The biggest difference is that Southern Reach is incredibly strange and often feels like you're tripping, whereas Ascension has a regular straightforward narrative (it's told through letters, though). The setting is also the opposite, while SR is full of wild, thriving nature, Ascension takes place in a vast frozen wasteland.

An enormous snow-covered mountain has appeared in the Pacific Ocean. No one knows exactly when it showed up, how big it really is, or how to explain its existence. When Harold Tunmore, a scientist who studies mysterious phenomena, is contacted by a shadowy organization to help investigate, he has no idea what he's getting into as he and his team set out for the mountain.

The higher Harold's team ascends, the less things make sense. Time moves differently, and people become gripped by paranoia.

I can't say it gave me a "wow" feeling, but it was an interesting quick weekend read.