Annihilation: A Novel (The Southern Reach Series, 1)
A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM ALEX GARLAND, STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC
NOW AVAILBLE IN A SPECIAL NEW TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
The Southern Reach Trilogy begins with Annihilation, the Nebula Award-winning novel that "reads as if Verne or Wellsian adventurers exploring a mysterious island had warped through into a Kafkaesque nightmare world" (Kim Stanley Robinson).
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 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 another, 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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Okay so this was a bookclub read with my peers and I actually enjoyed it that way this time around! I also did the half end of the book as the audiobook and that made for a much better experience for me.
The first half was a little hard for me due to the lack of dialogue, because I felt this book did have a lot of tell vs show and I kinda struggled with that. But once the bookclub picked this up, I found my self enjoying it much more. I suppose due to being able to discuss this with others as we all started it together.
Anyway to the meat of this book!
***SPOILER***
The psychologist was crazy she creeped me out a lot. I think they were all some sort of messed up group. I really visualized Area X a lot and the weird creatures that showed up (the crawler anyone?). The biologist which is the FMC was a little weird too and she seemed off to me. I did think the writing was a little stilted and felt there was a lot of telling vs showing, also a lot of lack of dialogue that made it hard for me, but this is mostly due to the biologist recounting her experience/journal entry of Area X. I felt the movie was much better than the book, just my thoughts. With that being said, I am not sure if I will continue the rest of the series and may be one I give a shot if and only with the bookclub if we pick up the rest of the series. I do think it is a decent filler audiobook, but not sure I would recommend the physical book. Just my thoughts
Meanwhile, I enjoyed the constant offer of strange phenomenon within Area X. It kept my interest piqued. I wanted to know more. I wanted to understand. I wanted answers, but this is where the author left me, never fully answering my questions. This is where the âstrangeâ part comes in.
The author showed me all the details of the inner-workings of Area X, or at least the parts that interest our narrator, but even so, itâs muddled. There are no clear answers, leaving me with a sense of receiving no answers at all. Itâs maddening, really! *pulls hair out* And the lack of definite answers to my questions felt like a cop-out on the authorâs part, like they were too lazy or unsure about what was really in their world and they chose not to define it. -.- <â this is me glaring at the author.
Even so, when it comes right down to it, the book was fascinating. I loved the world building and the way the plot developed: always keeping me on my toes. The characters interacted in abnormal, yet extraordinary ways and each one of them kept me drawn in, wantingâ No. Craving to know more. Yet, I left my review at 3 stars because of this resolution that felt nothing like a resolution.
roomie book bracket #6
rating: 4 stars
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