jeff vandermeer knows how to build dread. unease and otherworldliness and dark tension seeped through every page. the writing strikes a balance between beauty and ridiculousness. considering practically nothing actually happens, i was surprised at how fast my heart pounded. i was chilled by area x. while i truly enjoyed the writing style, i did feel quite a bit of distance between myself and the story. i wasn't affected by the deaths; my distrust of our narrator took a bit away from the immersive experience i usually enjoy while reading. i did enjoy the glimpses into her childhood and her ferocious attentiveness to her work. we don't get answers to most of the major mysteries - i wonder if things will be further explained in the rest of the trilogy, or if the expectation is to lean into the fact that there are things we simply cannot understand.