The facility that housed these rooms was under the control of the Southern Reach, the clandestine government agency that dealt with all matters connected to Area X. I saw this in vast and intricate detail as we all stood there, and, looking back, I mark it as the first irrational thought I had once we had reached our destination. Whilst I would have preferred a little more action throughout the narrative and a more climactic, defined conclusion, the story remained absorbing throughout and the beauty of VanderMeer’s writing more than made up for it. I lay awake in my tent for a while trying to turn the tower into a tunnel, or even a shaft, but with no success. There we waited while innumerable readings were taken and various blasts of air, some cool, some hot, pressed down on us from vents in the ceiling.

There is a regularity to the circle, seen from the inside walls, that suggests precision in the creation of the building,” the anthropologist said.I hadn’t even thought of this, though I should have; I was still trying to parse the lingual meaning, had not transitioned to the idea of taking a physical sample.

But as we climbed back up, I had a moment of vertigo despite being in such an enclosed space, a kind of panic for a moment, in which the walls suddenly had a fleshy aspect to them, as if we traveled inside of the gullet of a beast. We had been cautioned to provide maximum context, so that anyone ignorant of Area X could understand our accounts. What a brilliant and strange museum of dystopian artefacts he has there, and this tale assembled via outstanding prose, assured pacing, exquisite timing, all leading you slowly from science-suspense into a horror most profound. Most important, however, I now could guess at one way in which the spores had affected me: They had made me immune to the psychologist’s hypnotic suggestions.There are so many aspects of how VanderMeer has constructed this tale, from the intentionally unnamed characters, the unreliable history of previous expeditions, the imposition of hypnotic distortions of perception, the almost biblical poetry of The Biologist's progressing insanity, the surreal sounds and images, the tension and mistrust of the team, and the growing realisation that all will go terrifyingly wrong, trapped with no way out. For example, although we had all received basic weapons and survival training, the surveyor had far more medical and firearms experience than the rest of us. We should explore farther first, and we should come back to it with whatever data we gather from our other investigations—including of the lighthouse. Half-hidden by the green filaments, most of these creatures were translucent and shaped like tiny hands embedded by the base of the palm.

My reaction apparently fell within the range of acceptable responses, for she descended while we waited anxiously above. You will find that you ultimately agreed with me about the best course of action, and that you felt quite confident about this course of action. It was more important to make sure they were not directly exposed until we could come back with the proper equipment.It measured roughly sixty feet in diameter, this circular block, and was raised from ground level by about eight inches.