After a ten-year hiatus, sci-fi author Jeff VanderMeer is giving fans a surprise fourth installment in the Southern Reach series. The first three books were all published back in 2014 to critical acclaim, and the first novel, Annihilation, was adapted into a film of the same name starring Natalie Portman in 2018. Now the trilogy is becoming a tetralogy with the fourth novel, Absolution. The book arrives on October 22, and preorders are available now at Amazon.
To celebrate the upcoming release, new 10th Anniversary Editions of the first three Southern Reach novels–Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance–released in July. The new editions have cover art that matches Absolution.
If you need to catch up on the Southern Reach series before Absolution, your cheapest option in physical format is the Area X single-volume hardcover featuring the first three novels. Your cheapest option overall, however, is the Jeff VanderMeer’s Weird Worlds Humble Bundle, which is available until August 24, and contains digital copies of the Southern Reach series as well as VanderMeer’s other fiction.
If you’d prefer to own VanderMeer’s non-Southern Reach books in physical format, there are some nice deals at Amazon, too.
Most notably, you can buy the single-volume hardcover edition of the Ambergris trilogy for only $24.50 (was $35). This 880-page edition of Ambergris is the only way to get City of Saints and Madmen, Shriek, and Finch in one package. It also has the benefit of matching the previously mentioned single-volume edition of the original Southern Reach Trilogy (Area X).
Other standout deals include the wildly inventive novel Borne for $11 (was $19) and its sequel, Dead Astronauts, for $13 (was $19). You’ll also find his debut novel, Veniss Underground, available in a reissued 20th edition format for $11 (down from $19).
Beyond VanderMeer’s fiction, you’ll find Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction for $16 (down from $28, and great for aspiring novelists), The Big Book of Classic Fantasy for $19 (down from $25), and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy for $15 (down from $26). The pair of fantasy anthologies were co-edited with VanderMeer’s wife, Ann.
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 $22.58 (was $26) at Amazon.
Jeff VanderMeer Books
Absolution: Southern Reach Book 4 (Hardcover) — $26 ($30) | Releases October 22Area X: Southern Reach Trilogy (Hardcover) — $22 ($36)Annihilation: Southern Reach Book 1 – Anniversary Edition — $18Authority: Southern Reach Book 2 – Anniversary Edition — $18Acceptance: Southern Reach Book 3 – Anniversary Edition — $18Ambergris: 3-Book Collection (Hardcover) — $25 ($35)Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction (Paperback) — $16 ($28)Borne: A Novel (Paperback) — $11 ($19)The Strange Bird: A Borne Story (Paperback) — $15 ($17)Dead Astronauts: Borne Sequel (Paperback) — $13 ($19)Hummingbird Salamander (Paperback) — $11 ($18)Veniss Underground (Paperback) — $11 ($19)A Peculiar Peril (Hardcover) — $12 ($22)The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (Paperback) — $18 ($25)The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (Paperback) — $15 ($26)Annihilation 4K Blu-ray — $22.58 ($26)
