overall absolution is a solid entry in the southern reach series. it’s more similar to authority and acceptance than it is to annihilation (which now seems more and more an outlier), but i enjoyed the creepy, atmospheric, twin peaksian (dare i say) vibe of the first two parts. part 3 has a pretty jarring shift with a new narrator (lowry) whos on drugs and says ‘fuck’ almost every other word, which seems fun until it just removes you from the immersion. part 3 still has some wild things goin on, lowry aside. i found myself largely enjoying this one.

my southern reach ranking would be
1. annihilation (obv)
2. absolution
3. acceptance
4. authority