Southern limit in the Klondike. The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer. Is this fantasy or something else?

You may not believe it, but books and films in the horror style do not affect me at all. Probably because it turns out, if you want, to turn off your imagination completely. And after, for example, watching some creepy devilry, I can quietly sneak from the room to the toilet at night, and then leisurely drink some water in the kitchen. Without turning on the light. and without fear that from around the corner, from behind the bathroom curtain, from a dark window, someone will jump out at me something.

But I confess: while reading the books of the Southern Reach trilogy ( The Southern Reach) the hair on my head naturally moved from time to time in horror.

The action takes place around our time. On one forgotten coastline, a certain Zone X suddenly appears, surrounded by an invisible barrier. Any objects that collide with it disappear (either cross the border, or even teleport to an unknown location). The military, of course, sounds the alarm and encircles Zone X.

The news, of course, reports that nothing terrible happened. Local environmental disaster. The army is helping to eliminate the consequences. Everything is fine. Better listen to the weather forecast for tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a “door” is suddenly discovered in the invisible border - a passage through the barrier. The Southern Reach organization, which studies Area X, begins to send expeditions into the anomaly. The information received is insufficient and contradictory. A rough map of the area is known. They say thattherevery quiet and calm. But some of the expeditions die inexplicably. Field filming shows vague giant silhouettes and faces frozen in horror.

The science department at The Southern Reach stays awake at night testing theories, but they hit a wall. There is no progress in understanding Area X. Meanwhile, it is slowly expanding, capturing more and more new territories.

If we sum up the most general impressions, we can say that “The Southern Reach” is a mixture of “Under the Dome” by King and “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatskys.

But it’s better not to label it, but to formulate it this way: “The Southern Reach” is a frightening story of a collision with the unknown, which plays perfectly on understatement. In reviews of the trilogy, there is often a mention of the series “Lost” - this makes it easier to understand what they are talking about.

The main character of the first book - a biologist, one of the participants in the next expedition - finds herself in Area X for the first time. We are investigating the anomaly with her. A biologist sees a lot of incomprehensible and frightening things. We do not know the reasons for the emergence of Zone X, nor the purpose of its existence.

But there are clearly reasons and a purpose.

VanderMeer quickly develops the mythology of Area X, which will only be fully explained in the finale of the trilogy. The intrigue is well built. The characters and the time of action change from book to book, slowly pushing you towards the denouement and showing the history of the anomaly from unexpected angles.

If you start reading, you will probably get to the end. Even though the second volume turned out to be somewhat boring. VanderMeer’s heroes in it were too carried away by self-examination, although serious fiction probably wouldn’t be possible without this.

“...Where lies the fetid fruit that the sinner held in his hand, I will produce the seeds of the dead and share it with the worms...”

Annihilation is already in good hands. A former writer is going to direct a film based on the book. Alex Garland, whose directorial debut " From the car"never made it to Russia, but is an excellent example of the fantasy genre. Garland is interested in Annihilation and called for the lead role Natalie Portman. Having learned this, I bought both books available in Russian and read them in one gulp in three days. Despite the monstrous covers.

Honestly, I would never have picked up these books if the story about Garland and Portman had not caught my eye. The title of the second book is " Consolidation"I was alarmed - Authority in the original it’s still not “Consolidation”, but rather “ Power" Considering that the publisher decided not to adhere to the concept set by the author - the title of each book in the trilogy begins with “A” - the choice of word is all the more incomprehensible. But we will write separately about the features of book naming.

So, in Annihilation, four women are sent on an expedition to Area X. They don't have names, only their functions. Home - psychologist who knows hypnosis. Topographer And anthropologist not the main characters of this novel, but the narration is told from the perspective of biologist. She's quite a strange girl. As she travels with her colleagues through Area X, VanderMeer gives us a glimpse into her past. Flashbacks about her childhood, love for biology, relationship with her husband - they are important to better feel the heroine.

'Cause soon she'll be down in tower, and what she discovers there will change her forever.

The expedition we are watching is the twelfth in a row. But it's not that simple. Our introverted biologist manages to find a common language with Zone X and is not going to leave it. The fact is that the girl has personal motives for being in this terrible place, where strange animals howl at night, human silhouettes sprout from the ground, and the lighthouse standing in the distance looks from the inside as if a natural massacre had broken out there.

“Power”, that is “ Consolidation" seemed to me a very interesting continuation. Instead of sending another expedition to Area X (as another author would have done), VanderMeer talks about the everyday life of the new director of the Southern Reach. He has a name, but he prefers to be called Control.

Control- a young man who received a post thanks to his mother’s connections. However, he will have to figuratively fight the spirit of the previous headmistress, who disappeared in Area X. Employees will not help the young upstart, and Control itself reports daily on what it sees to the mysterious Voice.

“Southern Reach” turns out to be a provincial organization, not at all as powerful as it seemed in “ Annihilation" Here the roof is leaking, the food in the canteen is poor, and the employees are running away. The deputy headmistress puts a spoke in the wheels and is not going to interact with the new boss, because she is devoted to the former headmistress.

But gradually Control finds its way to Area X (after watching the obligatory video with rabbits and the recording left over from the first expedition), thanks to conversations with those who returned from there. Yes, there are some who have returned. But this is a spoiler.

And it’s a complete spoiler to retell the third book, which has not yet been released in Russian, but I skimmed through it on the Kindle.

In general, I really liked both books, but only the publishing house EXMO need to refuse translations by A.V. Filonova- the man’s last name turned out to be telling. The translator philosophizes as best he can - sometimes tracing paper, sometimes frankly unreadable sentences, and sometimes just mistakes (and elementary ones at that). Of course, the editor is to blame for allowing the book in this form to be published (if there was an editor at all) - but we will write separately about the peculiarities of book translations in Russia.

And be sure to read VanderMeer.

Genre: wyrd, mysticism

Publishing house: Eksmo

Series: Misterium

The year of publishing: 2016 (original - 2014)

Translation: Natalia Rein

Similar books:

• Arkady and Boris Strugatsky “Roadside Picnic” (story)
• Interauthor cycle “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.”

This book is not for you.

We live in the era of MSG. Nowadays, a rare successful product cannot do without the notorious flavoring additives. If you don't plunge the hero into adventure, the reader will be bored. If you don’t create intrigue with the obligatory “that twist” at the end, the reader will unravel the author’s intention and, again, lose interest. Only action, only hardcore - everything so that they buy the book, get to the final and like it.

All of the above also applies to the vird, a genre that is still unfamiliar and poorly understood in Russia. “New Strangers” are represented here mainly by China Mieville, whose novels (except for “Embassy City”) are full of dynamics: the characters are saved, searching, fighting. The eminent Briton does not disdain bright colors: this is the case when it is more interesting to read HOW it is written rather than WHAT it is written about.

Jeff Vandermeer, another ideologist of “strange literature”, compiler of the anthologies “The Weird: A Compendium of Strange & Dark Stories”, “The New Weird”, “Steampunk” and many others, writes in a completely different manner. In our country he is known for the collection “City of Saints and Madmen” - a witty literary hoax that received high marks from readers, as well as for the novel “Underground Veniss”. Both works are pure weirdness, with its experiments in form, psychedelicity and absolute non-formatism. The Southern Reach Trilogy, published by Eksmo, received the Shirley Jackson Award, and all three books became New York Times bestsellers.

The first book, Annihilations, tells the story of four women - an anthropologist, a psychologist, a topographer and a biologist. They go to "Area X", a place in North Florida where strange things happen. No, this is not Harmont, although VanderMeer admits that he was inspired by the Strugatskys’ “Picnic”. Area X is a natural anomaly that is being studied to determine whether it poses a threat and, if so, how to deal with it.

The first expeditions end disastrously: some participants go crazy and die in shootouts, others disappear without a trace, others return back and die of cancer after a few months. Biologist, narrator, participates in the twelfth trip to the Zone. Inexplicable events begin immediately: the women stumble upon a topographical anomaly - a dungeon, into the depths of which a spiral staircase goes, and strange messages are inscribed on the walls, reminiscent of excerpts from the Bible. Further oddities make the biologist doubt whether they will return.

“Consolidation” is in no hurry to return the reader to the events of the previous book. Vandermeer moves the action to the Southern Reach, an organization located not far from the Zone. The main character is John Rodriguez, nicknamed "Control". John is a hereditary manager, whose mother and grandfather were also somehow connected with the activities of the Southern Reach. Control takes the place of the previous headmistress, who inexplicably disappeared (as it turns out later, she took part in that very twelfth expedition). For Rodriguez, strange things begin with the return of the biologist. He soon realizes that he is unable to control the Southern Reach, because the Zone has sprouted here too...

...and then “Assimilation” begins. Spoiler warning.

This time the book has several heroes. One of them is Saul Evans, a lighthouse keeper, whose storyline is connected with the events of thirty years ago, when neither the Zone nor the Southern Reach existed. Saul spends his days repairing the lighthouse, talking to the neighbor girl Gloria, observing nature, sleeping with his lover named Charlie. From time to time, Susan and Henry, researchers from the “Knowledge and Insight Brigade,” come to the caretaker. For some reason, they surrendered to the Evans lighthouse, or rather, something located on top of it. The couple's visits become more frequent and intrusive, but this is not the only thing that worries Saul. His body begins to change...

The headmistress talks about the more recent past, and in the second person (“ An ordinary day in Area X, the day of your death, and you are sitting with your back to a pile of sand."). Cynthia, who was once called by a different name, will tell you about the behind the scenes of the Southern Reach. And with Control and Cuckoo, who remained in the Zone after the events of “Consolidation,” the events after “Consolidation” are connected.

Four characters, three timelines, one big book to complete the trilogy. Numbers sufficient to tear back the curtain of secrecy and answer all the questions that arose in the first two parts. Readers are already quite rubbing their hands. However, the cunning author, having hung many guns, does not allow almost any of them to fire.

This is not to say that there are no answers at all. We learn about the fate of the biologist from the twelfth expedition, about the ancestors of Control, about the childhood of the headmistress. But Area X remains a mystery. What is she like? How did it come about? What are its goals? What will happen to the characters? You can come up with the answers yourself, because Area X itself is “a riddle wrapped in a secret.” It is home to living creatures from all over the world, in its different territories time flows at different paces, and some people who have been there are irreversibly changed. But why? The author says it straight: The Zone does not like answers.

Another reason to dislike this series is the slowness of the narrative. You shouldn't compare the Southern Reach trilogy with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. or even the famous “Picnic”. “Annihilation” and its sequels are most similar to “Snail on the Slope” by the same Strugatskys. It has its own Candide and Pepper, representing wild nature and civilization. But, unlike famous science fiction writers, Vandermeer does not rush things; the main thing for him is to talk about his feelings from the Zone, compare them with childhood memories and draw conclusions. Compared to plot-driven fiction, VanderMeer's trilogy looks like a black sheep. Does this mean the books are bad? Not at all. It’s just that “Assimilation” is devoid of the flavors characteristic of modern literature - a twisted plot, vivid events and characters. This is a meditative wyrd that doesn't have to answer the only question: "What the hell is going on here?"

Jeff VanderMeer: "Area X" (The Southern Reach Trilogy), novel trilogy: "Annihilation", "Consolidation" ("Authority"), "Assimilation" ("Acceptance")

I came across an opinion online that this novel by VanderMeer is much simpler than his other books, not to say more primitive: another Zone X, another post-apocalypse, hello to “Stalker”, “so many of them fell into this Zone”, in general, nothing special, “ It will go with beer.” But since before that I managed to read “The City of Saints and Madmen” and “Underground Veniss”, and was very impressed, I was quite skeptical about this opinion and began reading the said trilogy.
Imagine my surprise when the opinion I read on the Internet began to be confirmed: the language indeed turned out to be much simpler than usual in VanderMeer - a minimum of images and allusions, shorter phrases, more action, less deep motivations, the descriptions are good, but, again , are much more simple than one would expect from VanderMeer... Nevertheless, it was quite interesting to read. And gradually, gradually, the author’s style and the narrative itself began to change: to become more complex, to acquire a second, third, or fourth bottom, to become overgrown with allusions, strange images, hints, retrospectives, hidden motivations - like a gradually emerging photograph. Towards the end of the first book, I realized that this was intentional. And not at all to attract fans of “action” - the main character of the novel changes, gradually “waking up” - and, accordingly, the style and depth of the narrative change.
The trilogy about Area X is worth reading in a row, without any special breaks, because in essence it is one big novel in three books, with a single plot, concept and composition. If in the first book almost all the action took place in the mysterious and unknowable Zone X, then in the second the action is transferred to the Southern Reach - a secret government center that studies this very Zone. The main character of the first book (or someone very similar to her) appears here as a supporting character, although she still plays a very significant role. Strange research, countless hypotheses, intrigues of the special services, excursions into the past of the heroes, an eerie video recording of the death of the first expedition to the Zone, a gradually heating up atmosphere of general suspicion, mistrust and insanity, turning into madness... And the rapid culmination of a local Apocalypse, threatening in the future to cover the entire planet. The denouement is the protagonist’s journey to a ghostly goal, racing against intelligence agents hot on their heels...
The third and final book is a return to Area X. All the main characters of the previous books will meet here, having finally received a number of answers to the accumulated questions. But not everything, don’t even hope! There is no certainty in this novel: the heroes died and the world was covered with a copper basin, or, conversely, the heroes survived and found a way out of the situation. No, everything here is much more complicated, and in general, the novel is not at all about (or not quite about?) what happened to the heroes and our planet. This is a novel about a meeting with the Unknowable, with something so alien that the human mind is unable to comprehend this... phenomenon? creature? another mind? a fragment of something immeasurably greater? This is a book about the limits of knowledge, about what a person is, and what, by and large, makes us human, and all the retrospections and reflections that at some point may seem unnecessary, redundant, actually work for this task, showing us “from what rubbish” what we are accustomed to call the human personality ultimately grows...
Oddly enough, there is no mysticism, nothing supernatural in the novel, although hints of its supernatural presence are scattered in abundance throughout all three books. This is real science fiction - yes, strange, psychedelic, deeply (or even super-deeply!) psychological, causing a sucking, hypnotic effect when reading, akin to immersion in meditation - and, nevertheless, completely scientific.
I don’t know whether VanderMeer read “Roadside Picnic” by the Strugatskys (his colleague in “New Strangers” China Miéville definitely did) – but allusions and associations from “Picnic...” can be traced in the book with the naked eye. And also from “Snail on the Slope” by the same Strugatskys, Lemovsky’s “Solaris”... Plus an environment that is painfully reminiscent of the famous horror film “The Ring”: a deserted coast, gray waves, wastelands overgrown with weeds, an abandoned lighthouse, an ominous well where something infernal lurks , a strange and frightening video recording, old black and white photographs hiding a mystery...
And yet - it’s its own, certainly its own, VanderMeer’s, everything here is not like Lem’s, not like the Strugatskys’, not like in “The Ring”... And, of course, the invariably high literary skill that is characteristic of all books by Jeff VanderMeer.
A strange and creepy book. Slow, drawn out, hinting at answers, giving ambiguous options - but not revealing anything to the end. Thought provoking. For fans of action, this is definitely not the place. I recommend it to everyone else, but it’s better to first read “Underground Veniss” and “City of Saints and Madmen” in order to feel the style, manner, and mood of VanderMeer’s books - and only after that should you take on the trilogy about “Area X”.

Consolidation

In the mysterious Zone X, mutants and hunters for profit do not roam, and amazing artifacts are not brought from there. There they simply disappear forever - or return, but strangely and terribly changed. During another fruitless expedition, the director of the Southern Reach, a secret government organization studying the Zone, disappeared.

Now the new director will have to understand the legacy of the missing woman. The problem is that for an outsider, this organization turns out to be a mystery no less confusing than the Zone itself. Where are the research results? Why is the staff behaving so strangely? What are they really doing here? Penetrating the secrets of the Southern Reach, the new director approaches a terrifying discovery...

Each region of Italy is famous for its signature dishes, but whatever the region - northern Emilia-Romagna or southern Puglia - the main dish has been and will be pasta. There is no limit to the variety of pasta dishes. But in order to try real Italian pasta, you don’t have to wait for a vacation; you can cook at home penguin with artichokes, flounder, spaghetti carbona, “cockscombs” with citrus fruits and vegetables, rice fusilli with shrimp and much more.

What is needed for this? Nothing at all: high-quality ingredients, sunny mood and recipes from Valentino Bontempi, the guru of Italian cuisine.

Icelandic map

The new action-packed novel by the popular science fiction writer Alexander Gromov is written in the genre of alternative history and “alternative geography.” By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Imperial Russia, a prosperous patriarchal state, occupies a leading place in world politics, vying for global influence with Great Britain, France, Germany and other developed European powers.

But America simply does not exist - neither North nor South: from the western to the eastern borders of Eurasia one huge ocean stretches... Count Nikolai Nikolaevich Lopukhin, a secret agent of the Third Section, receives a personal order from the emperor to accompany the heir to the throne, heading on an official visit to Japan.

During the voyage, Lopukhin manages to uncover an international conspiracy to eliminate the heir. Now all that remains is to thwart the plans of the attackers - on the high seas, without the support of the Russian fleet, under the guns of the Icelandic pirates, who have the latest invulnerable super battleship...

Almanac “Russian bell” No. 1 2017

I prepare each issue of the Russian Bell almanac with great pleasure. I am always happy when regular authors publish their works on its pages from issue to issue. But I am most interested in new talented participants.

Their “test of writing” on the pages of the almanac makes the issue cheerful and decisive, like everything new! In tandem with more experienced writers who master words, rhyme, and thought, each issue turns out solid and strong! And what a geography of talents in the Russian Bell almanac! From the Far East to Kaliningrad, from the northern shores of the country to its southern borders.

What about the borders of Russia? Each issue we erase them and go beyond: we go on a creative journey and find Russian-speaking authors abroad. And we are pleased that our publication unites and inspires all authors.

The latest general geography. Part 2

Full title: “The latest general geography. or Description of all parts of the world Europe, Asia, Africa, America and South India; with the history of peoples and all states from the beginning to our times, with a new addition to Russian geography in its current state, with a description of the Bialystok region and Finland, with Russian history from the beginning of the origin of the Russians, to the days of the now reigning Emperor Alexander I: Part I, II and III.

Contains: a detailed description of each land such as: government, state revenues, limits, ancient and new names, division, climate, quality of land, mountains, forests, rivers, islands, bays, canals, lakes, mineral waters, metals and minerals , plants, animals, number of inhabitants, manners, customs and folk amusements, clothing, faith, language, scientists, writers and artists, universities and academies, antiquities, manufactories, trade, colonies, land and sea forces, topography, coins of the cavalry order, coat of arms , history of states, etc.

Antarctica section: are we ready?

An entertaining, although in many ways very tedious read. Those who are looking for entertainment in the spirit of combat science fiction, which is so popular today, don’t have to worry - this is not for you. Those who are tired of thoughtless adventures and don’t mind flexing their brains are welcome!

Yes, this is real SF. For raising serious questions, the trilogy, or rather its first part, received the Nebula Award.

What kind of questions? A meeting of brothers in mind, the reaction of modern society to the unknown, trends in world development - in fact, everything. But this is enough to make the roof go crazy.

Now, who said that brothers in mind are really brothers? Not in the sense of kinship and friendship, but from the point of view of the criteria of that reasonableness? Who assigned these criteria? Another mind - another world. What will happen upon contact and in what form is this contact possible? Are we and they ready for that contact?

The splendor of “Heart of the Serpent” by I. Efremov and “The Kid” by the Strugatsky brothers and the fears of “War of the Worlds” by H. Wells and “Andromeda” by F. Hoyle and J. Elliot are a thing of the past. It's too simple, although with the right skill it's quite exciting. The reality will, rather, be closer to the “Roadside Picnic” of the same Strugatskys, where another mind simply screwed up on our territory and moved on without noticing its relatives.

However, mind is life, and life is prone to expansion. This is her immanent property. And here, for an unbiased look, it turns out to be a natural horror.

Something happened somewhere in the southern regions. Several thousand people went missing and, in fact, died. Something was destroyed. Strange things began to happen. Then a border arose - some territory fell out of our world. But there were passages along the border. And they began to study the zone.

But all this is in the past. Now the Zone is occupied by a special institute - the Southern Reach.

The first part, “Annihilation”, is a trip to the Zone of the next expedition. Something between “Roadside Picnic” and “Snail on the Slope” by the Strugatskys. Not as exciting as the Strugatskys, but quite readable.

“Annihilation” is a code word that triggers a self-destruction mindset implanted under hypnosis. Due to some peculiarities of crossing the border and the reaction of the Zone to visitors, expedition members are subjected to hypnotic treatment. But, as always, something goes wrong.

The second part, “Consolidation,” is an attempt to revive the Southern Reach after many years of marking time in an attempt to achieve at least some reproducible reaction from the Zone. Well, just like in “Snail on the Slope” by the Strugatskys or “Solaris” by S. Lem. It is unlikely that they will give another Nebula for it - the hero’s reasoning for the most part transforms into an uncontrollable painful stream of consciousness, although this part is the most interesting intellectually.

“Consolidation of power” is another code phrase for hypnotized visitors to the Zone. She launches the installation of peremptory submission to the head of the expedition. Well, for the Southern Reach, deciding who really rules it and establishing unity of command is the primary task. What if the Zone itself? This will be the number!

The third part, “Assimilation,” is where everything is explained. However, in fact, all these are just assumptions, one of many, and the ending remains open.

Why "Assimilation"? The zone is beginning to expand. Now the question is who will digest whom: the zone - our world or our world - the zone? Or will there be some kind of symbiosis? And most importantly, what is there at the end of the tunnel?

Everyday life of the pre-apocalyptic world...

Yes, it takes place in America. This is not stated directly, but according to indirect signs - yes. Even, not so much in the USA, but in North America in general. But this is not the United States, in the sense that the state and society of the United States have been greatly transformed.

Now the Center is in charge. The Center is both a super intelligence service, a scientific organization, and the state as an institution. Spies, conspirators, rebels, terrorists and violators of environmental laws - there are many points to apply forces. And the lives of ordinary people continue to go on as usual, not depending on the government in any way. Until it intersects with his interests.

LGBT adherents should like it: homosexuals prevail. Two of the three main characters are lesbians, one of the two main characters is gay. And not a single normal happy family - neither in the current action, nor in retrospect. Plot-driven? Not at all! Deflection to liberal principles? Maybe. On the other hand, if you look more broadly - from the point of view of the pre-apocalyptic world, its total decomposition, then why not? A kind of sophisticated author's trolling.

And what's the result?

We are looking for brothers in mind by scanning the universe in the narrow ranges of hydrogen and hydroxyl. We look through telescopes. Preparing the red carpet for the front door. And those brothers may well come in from the back door - through the world of spirits, for example. For us this is an unscientific heresy. But how does it follow that our view is correct? A couple of magical passes in the right place - and please: meet the Martians! Funny...

However, it may not be brothers who appear - their ecosystem may appear. Or maybe not theirs - maybe just someone else's. This will be even more fun.