My first book of 2026 was a trilogy—Annihilation, Acceptance, and Authority, the portal into Jeff Vandermeer’s Area X/Southern Reach series. These are from 2014 and it seems things are continued in 2024’s Absolution. No matter, I’ve only read the first three.

These books walk the lines between horror, fantasy, and sci-fi. Sometimes people try the terms “speculative fiction” or “slipstream” for novels that aren’t genre-specific. Whatever. I think we should drop all those categories. Case in point: the Area X trilogy.

The books have a dystopian-SF surface layer. Beneath that is a Lovecraftian horror tale. Things get creepier as you go, and the sense of dread is palpable. Without giving things away, they get back to high-falutin’ SF with some stuff about time and dimensions and . . .

. . . a whole lotta other stuff. I found it mesmerizing.

Next up is Dan Chaon’s One of Us.

What are you reading?