Absolution, A New Southern Reach Novel By Jeff VanderMeer, Is Now Available

Jeff VanderMeer’s surprise fourth installment in the Southern Reach series, Absolution, is now available. The award-winning speculative sci-fi and fantasy author originally released Southern Reach as a trilogy in 2014. The last time there was something new related to Southern Reach was the 2018 film adaptation of Annihilation starring Natalie Portman and directed by Alex Garland. But now Southern Reach is back, turning the trilogy into a tetralogy with the longest book in the series.

If you liked the film adaptation but haven’t read the books, you’ll certainly want to start with Annihilation, which has fairly substantial differences from the movie. You could pick up the 10th Anniversary Editions of Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance to have matching covers for the whole series. But the best bargain right now is Area X, a single-volume hardcover collecting the original trilogy, for only $22. You could pair that with VanderMeer’s Ambergris Trilogy omnibus, also on sale for $22, and get one of them for 50% off thanks to Amazon’s buy one, get one 50% off book sale this week (runs through October 26).

B1G1 50% off Jeff VanderMeer Omnibus Editions:

Check out all of the details you need to know to start or continue your journey across Area X below.

$27 (was $30)

Absolution continues the tale of Area X–a mysterious, uninhabited coastal region where unexplainable phenomena occur. Absolution answers some lingering questions posed by the original trilogy while introducing new mysteries for readers to unravel.

The 464-page hardcover novel is broken up into three parts, with each section covering a new adventure. It’ll likely make a great addition to bookshelves too, as its colorful, abstract cover is a gorgeous piece of artwork. Absolution is the longest novel in the Southern Reach series by nearly 100 pages.

Absolution is available now in hardcover for $27, Kindle ebook for $15, and as an audiobook for $20 or an Audible Credit (for subscribers).

Get 2 Jeff VanderMeer Hardcover Omnibuses for only $33 this week

Amazon’s running a B1G1 50% off book sale this week, and the promotion includes omnibus editions of the first three Southern Reach novels and Ambergris, the trilogy VanderMeer wrote before Annihilation.

Area X includes Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance in one eye-catching, 608-page hardcover. This omnibus edition has the same aesthetic as the Ambergris Trilogy hardcover, an 880-page tome collecting VanderMeer’s first series.

Mushroom-like humanoids used to rule the metropolis of Ambergris, and now they want to conquer the humans and reclaim their spot as the leaders of the city. The trilogy includes the following books: City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek: An Afterword, and Finch. The first book is a collection of short stories, while the last two are novels. Ambergris is quite different from Southern Reach, but VanderMeer fans and newcomers alike should give this sprawling collection a try, especially since you can get it for so cheap right now.

With Amazon’s buy one, get one 50% off book sale, you can get both omnibuses–six books total–for only $33. Alternatively, you can get The Big Book of Science Fiction, a 1,200-plus page anthology of sci-fi stories edited by VanderMeer and his wife, Ann.

Target is also hosting a B1G1 50% off book sale through October 26 that includes Area X and several other books by VanderMeer. A couple other anthologies edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer are featured in Target’s sale alongside a couple of novels and a cool illustrated guide on creating fantasy and sci-fi fiction with contributions from George R.R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Ursula K. Le Guinn, and more successful novelists.

Buy one, get one 50% off Jeff Vandermeer books at Target:

We’ve rounded up more Jeff VanderMeer books available at Amazon below. And if you want to see the film adaptation of the first Southern Reach novel, you can grab the Annihilation 4K Blu-ray edition for $17 (was $26) at Amazon.

More Jeff VanderMeer books at Amazon