![Book cover for Jeff Vandermeer’s 4th book in the Southern Reach series.](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sTNwHicISoIu3YI2Iu3eido3ANs%3D/0x0%3A2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73255347/247077_Jeff_Vandermeer_Book_4_CVirginia.0.jpg?w=700&ssl=1)
Just like Area X itself, the mindbending Southern Reach story is set to grow even larger. Jeff VanderMeer has confirmed that he’s working on a fourth entry in the series, which to date has included the books Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. (The first was turned into a film by director Alex Garland.) In keeping with the alliterative titles, the new book will be called Absolution. It’s due out on October 22nd.
Absolution is coming around a decade after the series first started, and it’s billed as a prequel to the original trilogy, which followed a mysterious, dangerous, and expanding phenomenon known as Area X. There aren’t a lot of details about what ground the new book will cover, but VanderMeer had this to say in a statement:
A…