Authority by Jeff Vandermeer (2014)

Finished: 2/15/21

Grade: C+

The sequel to Annihilation, and the second book in the Southern Reach Trilogy.

Annihilation is a rollercoaster thrill-ride through a unique and vibrant world of horror and mystery. Authority is like if someone did a book report on the user manual for that rollercoaster. There are one or two moments of genuine horror in this novel, but on the whole it felt unnecessary.

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (2014)

Finished: 2/09/21

Grade: A+

WOW! What a thrill ride. It's been a while since I've had such a visceral reaction to a book. I couldn't stop reading.

Spooky and exciting. Action packed. Beautiful. Horrifying.

I was "on the edge of my seat" the entire time.

So good!

Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda (2016)

Finished: 2/08/21

Grade: A

A book of somewhat connected short stories each of which revolves around a different woman with magical powers.

A fun and silly book. I laughed out loud a couple of times, but mostly was just THOROUGHLY CHARMED. Many of the stories are adapted from old Japanese folk tales and kabuki plays. It seems like the author was taking female characters from traditional stories who had either gotten a bad shake or were portrayed as terrifying monsters and giving them happier endings. That’s pretty cool! Big ups to my mom for giving me this bad boy!