BenLockwood reviewed Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
Worth reading
3.0 stars
I've got some issues with what VanderMeer is doing here, but one thing he succeeds at is expanding/deepening the mystery whenever revealing some aspect of it.
352 pages
English language
Published Dec. 20, 2015 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia.
I've got some issues with what VanderMeer is doing here, but one thing he succeeds at is expanding/deepening the mystery whenever revealing some aspect of it.
A worthy conclusion to the trilogy. It ties together the mysteries of the previous two books, but leaves open the meaning of the big picture. While there were some pointers as to what Area X actuallly is, I was longing for a bit more material to make sense of it. It makes sense that we can never fully understand it, but I will admit it leaves me slightly unsatisfied.
I wasn't a huge fan of the changing perspectives, although I saw their benefit for the narrative.
In general, a bit of the spark of the first two entries was lost for me here – not because Acceptance was worse, but because of the immense increase in available context from the other books to guide you through what's happening, reducing the unsettling nature somewhat. Which isn't to say Acceptance doesn't make you feel uneasy. It certainly does.