following annihilation comes authority, the second in the 'southern reach trilogy by jeff vandermeer, not quite annihilation 2 as this novel takes place within the agency responsible for sending expeditions into area x over the last 30 years. what we find in this strange sequel is what happens to an organisation that has failed after decades of attempts to investigate an inexplicable  anomaly that seems to have no interest in communication whatsoever. have they been effected by area x already?
i got off to a difficult start on this one but after a while realised that the writer was not going to explore the same territory as the first book, here he looks much wider at the implications of how the southern reach ('authority') works in an kafkaesque and orwellian way. 
this is an excellent book, it challenges the reader profoundly and although there is a slow pace to the writing it appears to reflect the surreal creepy alienation that occurs within the story. it's the best horror novel / sci fi novel i have read for years and it's quite original and well executed. this guy will become huge i think because he is literate and very clever. makes total sense why the church would want to write with him.