Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their … of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.
The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one anotioner, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.
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I guess I had a similar experience with this book as many others. It was difficult to maintain J terest as most of the story is very slowing moving. It is related to the reader as a journal entry of the main Character, the biologist. Because of this, there is little dialoghe between the characters who comprise the expedition team Sent in to Area …
I cannot think of a single book that better epitomizes the New Weird genre than Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. There’s an unsettling feeling that grows as you read this book that’s missing from the film. While the film is beautiful and good in its own right, this is a story that benefits from being told inside the head of the Biologist.
If you …
Annihilation is a must read for any sci-fi fan. This book will have you hooked from beginning to end. I guess you could also call it a horror novel because it has those elements. Even though aliens are never seen or assumed to be in the story, the world of Area X has that sci-fi vibe, with a touch of supernatural and perhaps post-apocalyptic. …
Yup. This book left me scratching my head in complete confusion. I’m so lost after reading this book, but was still interested in the crazy things that were happening. Its like seeing something you know you should look away from, but some part of you is planted in place and can’t look away. That was this book. From the very beginning of the book …
It was good, but in this instance I think the movie was better. Without the movie I wouldn’t have bothered to buy the second book.
Not going to lie, I swiped this off of my sister’s desk because of the cover and blurb on the back. Very thought-provoking and engaging… The sense of doom loomed above each word of the prose.
By far the most original book I have ever read. The other two in the series are just as enticing. This isn’t an easy read and requires full submersion into the story. It’s a weird one but very very good.
This was a rather weird book. Four women go on an expedition into Area X in the US, in the sort of near future. The four women go into Area X, not knowing what to expect. They can’t bring any modern technology, but they can bring guns and some food with them. They feel like they are being watched. They are told to record things in their …