The Southern Reach Trilogy: Beyond a Plot
Synopsis:
The Southern Reach trilogy is a Sci-Fi series written by Jeff VanderMeer in 2014. The series follows an event in which an area in the US is taken over by an alien presence that mutates and alters life inside the zone, known as Area X. The series follows multiple individuals as they seek to understand the cause and intent of Area X under the will of the secret government organization The Southern Reach. The series is written in 3 books: Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance, though I found they are best read as one book.
Thoughts and Feelings
The Southern Reach Trilogy is an excellent and fascinating read. Annihilation perfectly captures cosmic horror’s essence, while Authority and Acceptance dabble more in the psychological.
The most captivating part of the books was the characters, concepts, and themes, rather than the actual plot. Much of VanderMeer’s writing consists of characters reacting to events, analyzing their findings, and monologing, contemplating their place in Area X.
Because of this I became heavily invested in the characters. Looking into their minds, reading their hopes and fears made the characters feel like living beings rather than tools pushing the plot forward. VanderMeer’s ability to shift the tone of voice between characters only helped to further my interest in these characters. Each change of POV felt like I was reading a different book, making each of the characters more unique.
The concepts and themes of the story equally captivated me. The idea of being in the wake of a force that is completely beyond your comprehension let alone your control was fascinating.
Now of course the trilogy does have a plot, the characters investigate both Are X and the Southern Reach, constantly seeking some sort of understanding. However, (SPOILER WARNING) The characters never really find an answer, even when the character, Control, investigates the goals of the Southern Reach he finds that they are as confused as he is.
VanderMeer isn’t interested in giving the readers a satisfying conclusion, where everything is tidied up in the end. He wants us to feel what the characters feel, lost, afraid but in the end, as we see the pages widdle away, feel acceptance. The characters give up their attempts at understanding, accept that this alien entity is beyond them, and accept their new position in this new world. As a result, the series’s conclusion is cathartic, almost hopeful, reading about these characters I’ve come to love to live out their new lives in a transformed world.
Though it wasn’t a plot-focused story I loved this series and find myself reflecting on it constantly.
Analysis: Why isn’t this trilogy more popular?
While the trilogy has received mostly positive reviews, with the first book, Annihilation, receiving the most recognition in the form of a fantastic movie adaption (though the movie is a very loose adaption).
Annihilation deserves the praise it receives, (especially since it's my favorite of the 3 books) but most people tend to stop their journey through Area X there. Following ratings on Goodreads, the series takes a significant dive losing about 140k readers by the 3rd book. The trilogy as a whole has mixed reviews. Some critiques reference the difficult-to-read prose, disinterest in the concept, or the cosmic horror genre as a whole, but a criticism that I’ve seen the most is the series’ lack of plot.
As I stated earlier the series isn’t plot focused, instead, it's more focused on characters' reactions, choices, and building the world around them. I was never deterred by the lack of a firm plot, but as it turns out this isn’t the case for most.
I find increasingly today that audiences favor plot-focused story structures. Books, movies, tv-series, need to have an overarching, connecting plot culminating in a satisfying conclusion. This is likely due to cinematic universes, creating cross-over events with a big baddie looming over for a final fight. Because of this audiences have less patients for stories focused on characters, concepts, or simply slices of life.
As a result, many series or movies that do focus on character are usually labeled as “filler” a term used negatively to describe slower episodes where “nothing happens”. As a Star Wars fan, I see this frequently in the TV series. Any episode where the characters take a moment to connect and reflect, diverting away from the ‘main plot’, is quickly dismissed, and labeled as “filler”. Several of the said “filler” episodes are often the best in the series, allowing characters to display their personalities and add to the greater themes of the show.
The Dune series is another sci-fi series that has a less plot-centered story that tends to lose readership. While the Dune saga does have a major plot, lapsing over thousands of years, the most alluring elements of the story are: the philosophy, ecology, and concepts like the effects environments have on its inhabitants and the impacts of religion.
However, similarly, to the Southern Reach trilogy, Dune has a large readership dropoff of nearly 700k readers between the 1st and 2nd books. Many readers abandon the saga because of Frank Herbert's tendency to gloss over major plot moments, especially large battles, favoring inner monologues and conversations.
“There are important scenes which could have been written to show how crucial they were -as they did in the movie-, but you can miss them while reading because the author barely wasted a sentence in them. It was also curious the fact that there was barely any war scene, they were mostly off-page.” -Lau’s Reviews, Goodreads
Because they don’t make it past the first book, readers miss out on thematic elements in later books like the dangers of charismatic leaders, the dangers of religious organizations, and the ideas of precognition.
The urge to favor media that is focused on its plot is understandable. They’re often faster-paced and more satisfying. Also worth noting I'm not arguing for stories to completely void their plots. Of course, every story must have a plot of some sort, loose or otherwise, but audiences should slow down and appreciate the stories that focus on characters, settings, concepts, and even philosophy. You can attach yourselves more to the character, live in their world, understand them, and thus find out more about yourselves.
The Southern Reach Trilogy did exactly that for me. Several weeks after finishing the series I am still reflecting on what’s the cost of having a “pristine environment”, and what it is like to live with a force of nature you cannot fathom, let alone control. I formed connections with the biologist and the lighthouse keeper, and when I turned over their last pages, it felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. The trilogy didn’t have an epic conclusion where all the pieces come together and they fix Area X saving the world, but the story didn’t need that. Instead, it gave me a somber cathartic end that I know I’ll reflect on for years to come.
