VanderMeer built an incredible stage in Annihilation. Intensity, character development, fear, mystery--and yet this book, that was according to the blurb on the back was going to solve the mysteries of Area X, left me disappointed. Yes, you see more from the lighthouse keeper and the director, but at the end of the day you don't know anything more about where Area X came from or why. It could have been a book that answered the science question and left you wondering about humanity (which Annihilation handled well) but instead it took the cheap route and left it unnecessarily open ended. I don't think I've ever read a trilogy that started so incredibly and went downhill this badly.