Annihilation

Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM ALEX GARLAND, STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC

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).

If J. J. Abrams, Margaret Atwood, and Alan Weisman collaborated on a novel … it might be this awesome.

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; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died 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 months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist—the de facto leader—and a biologist, who is our narrator. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to 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.

Cover artwork © Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

©2014 Jeff VanderMeer (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Interesting concept, but not well written.

(Note: May contain a small spoiler) I really wanted to enjoy this book and I do like the concept a lot, but I am not sure it was written well. It also doesn't help that the narrator is a bit monotoned throughout the story. I could see that both of these things might be intentional given the main character's personality , but I think it is a bit too rambling.

Good story, dicey performance

So many audio splices as to take you out of the story. Plus I think she mispronounced several words. Distracting.

captivating!

Couldn't stop listening to this book.
A must read! The end will leave u speechless.

Amazing story.

Loved this book. It was my first audio book and a great introduction to audio books.

I had to read it twice

I still don't know what this book is about or what really happens in it. I hope the movie is better. Perhaps third time is the charm?

A Mixed and Confusing Story

I got a lot of what this story was saying, weirdly enough I believe it has touches of Lovecraftian horror involved and in its own little universe it isn't bad.

My problem lies not with the story, but the writing style. The use of no names I am sure is intentional to cause discomfort, but it doesn't help the story from my perspective. The other may very well have been trying to use that disassociation when a person doesn't have a name, just a title, but it doesn't do it for me.

The lack of details and real answers for me feels more like a way to write something as you go and not have to explain things, then a stylistic interpretation. It leaves the reader floating, not sure what reality is and while some may like it, to me it just feels too dreamlike.

The characters themselves didn't have much depth, and while the main character did supposedly change over the course of the book, she didn't feel like it. The other characters felt almost "villiany" if you understand what I am getting at. Arbitrarily not good people, put there as story bosses, not really other individuals.

Overall it wasn't a bad story, and it is a quick listen (I listened to an audiobook) and when that takes into consideration it makes it a three for me.

Strange, But I'm Hooked!

Very dense detail sometimes made me wish I was looking at book pages to review. I backed up 30 secs several times to be sure I heard what I thought I did. The story raised plenty of questions and made me want to jump right into book two!

Sci fi Horror Masterpiece

I was completely blown away by this one. It moves fast and doesn't hold your hand. But it's one hell of a ride.

brilliant, I'm sure, but not my cup-of-tea

Would you try another book from Jeff VanderMeer and/or Carolyn McCormick?

don't think so

What did you like best about this story?

very inventive

How could the performance have been better?

slowing it down a bit would help make it more intelligible

Do you think Annihilation needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, I think it has several

Wut

It was pretty good. Interesting and kept me guessing right up until the end where it left me guessing. I suppose my main issue with the book is that it left me with a profound feeling of anti climax but there are two more books to wrap things up. I quite liked the sort of lovecraftian cosmic horror angle it seems to take by the end. Although it did lose me somewhat.