Absolution: A Southern Reach Novel (The Southern Reach Series, 4) by Jeff VanderMeer

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Locus Awards Finalist ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York magazine, Time, Kirkus, Literary Hub, Goodreads Featuring a new introduction by award-winning author Julia Armfield. Absolution opens decades before Area X forms, with a science expedition whose mysterious end suggests terrifying consequences for the future―and marks the Forgotten Coast as a high priority for Central, the shadowy federal agency that monitors extraordinary threats. Many years later, the Forgotten Coast files wind up in the hands of a washed-up Central operative, Old Jim. He starts pulling a thread that reveals a long, troubling record of government agents meddling with forces they clearly cannot comprehend. Old Jim’s investigation culminates in the first Central expedition into what has now been labeled Area X. A border has come down, and a full team has been assembled to find Area X’s “off switch” somewhere in the volatile, dangerous terrain that has defied all attempts to be explored, mapped, or controlled. Read more