Eventually, the Area X border begins to expand even further, things turn chaotic, and Control and the Biologist's clone Ghost Bird escape through a portal in a pool back into Area X. Like the characters in Annihilation (the book, that is not the movie), Control is also being hypnotized to do things against his will. He has an uncomfortable relationship with his mother and his grandfather, who are also both government spies.

He was previously in charge of a mission that went terribly wrong, and cost a woman her life. Through all of this, we learn more about Control.

Ghost Bird is being held at the Southern Reach, and through a series of interviews, Control begins to empathize with her. The Biologist insists that she's actually not the Biologist, but a clone created by Area X. Control also finds himself drawn to the Biologist, who suddenly re-appeared near her home. As Control attempts to take command of the Southern Reach, he butts heads with assistant director Grace Stevenson, who is still loyal to the former director – who vanished during an expedition into Area X and is now presumed dead. Control works for the mysterious CIA-like organization known as Central, and he's recently been appointed the new director of the Southern Reach – the government-backed organization investigating Area X. Annihilation plays out as a sci-fi tale set entirely in the wilderness, while Authority transforms the narrative into something akin to a spy novel. That character is Control, aka John Rodriguez.

While Annihilation is told entirely in the first-person by the Biologist (played by Natalie Portman in the film), the second book, Authority, is told in the second person and features a new main character. Again, it's highly unlikely we'll ever see these books adapted for the big screen. If you have yet to read The Southern Reach Trilogy, and are curious about what two Annihilation sequels might entail, I've broken down the key events of the next two books. His Annihilation is (mostly) a self-contained story, and the film's conclusion doesn't leave much room for the events of Authority and Acceptance to unfold on screen.

Low box office has all but killed any hope of an Annihilation sequel, but even before the film hit theaters, Garland had said he wasn't particularly interested in a sequel. Alex Garland's Annihilation adapts the first book in the series, and, as has been pointed out several times before, makes some pretty big changes. It's an altogether thrilling series, filled with elements of science fiction, espionage, horror and psychological drama. Authority and Acceptance continue, and conclude, the story, providing some answers while also creating entirely new questions. Annihilation is the first in a trilogy of books – The Southern Reach Trilogy.

Jeff vandermeer trilogy