In Authority, the New York Times bestselling second volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, Area X's most disturbing questions are answered . . . but the answers are far from reassuring.In Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer introduced Area X-a remote and lush terrain mysteriously sequestered from civilization. This is the second volume.For thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X has taken the form of a series of expeditions monitored by a secret agency called the Southern Reach. After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez, aka "Control, " is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves-and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve. And the consequences will spread much further than that.