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.

loved it

Fantastic read/ listen!
Favorite quote: "Observing all of this has quelled the last ashes of the burning compulsion I had to know everything … anything … and in its place remains the knowledge that the brightness is not done with me. It is just beginning, and the thought of continually doing harm to myself to remain human seems somehow pathetic."

Holy..........Shit

Slow and steady, the story and the mystery of Zone X reveals itself as it is. Uncareing in it it's pace or you, the readers regard of it's comprehensibility. Not to be understood, but experienced.

If you love H.P Lovecraft, you may like. Or hate.

What is fear except that which you don't understand? And what do you do when faced with the unknown? If you are HP Lovecraft, you go mad trying to understand, armed with impudent tools and far inept logic. Or, like Ghostbird, understand that you don't understand, and exist and act in the knowledge that you have none.

Annihilation will come for you all the same.

gripping, if you become drawn into the narrative.

I loved the book and I'm excited to continue the series. there is much more for me to learn about what's going on In area x, but if you cannot relate to the main character, or cannot be drawn in due to the nature of the story being recounted from journals In a way, then you may never get through the first book to complete the mystery.

narrator

I just wanted to say that the narration may not have bothered me as much if I hadn't read so many bad reviews beforehand. It wasn't so bad that I wish I had not listened.

That said, I hope I don't have to hear another from her in a long, long time.

Love it!

Loved the movie and love the book even more! Is a must read for those looking for a book that will make you think.

Psychological and Unnerving

I found this book because I had enjoyed the movie. While they are two VERY different experiences, I think I enjoyed them both. This book will get under your skin and will have you thinking about it even after you’ve hit pause. The overall story was well written, and I loved the unfeeling narrator. While this was a quick read, I felt like it packed a lot into a short time. If you’re into cosmic, psychological horror, then you have to check this book out.
The reader wasn’t my favorite, because her voice didn’t fit the story well in my opinion. That being said, she articulated the story well and handled some complex phrasing masterfully.

Slow build up and doesn’t go anywhere.

Narrator was ok but boring. Story started interesting but never took flight into compelling. Left the book with more questions than answers.

'ery noice

I really enjoyed Blackwood's 'The Willows', and this is the only book I've ever read that captured that same feeling. I once heard the term "eco-horror" used to describe The Willows, and I think that term applies equally well to Annihilation. I won't spoil anything, but I think you will enjoy it if you like that nature-as-monster vibe.

Great story, bad narrator

See title. Mispronounced homographs, odd inflection, and no perceivable differentiation where there ought to be (quotations, italics, narration, etc.)

Interesting story, uninteresting reader

I somewhat enjoyed the book. I think I would have liked it better if I'd read the book myself rather than listen to it. The reader didn't add anything to the story with her interpretation of the text but actually took away from it. I feel I missed out on some key parts of the story because the monotone of the reader was extremely forgettable and in interesting. The last 45 minutes have me interested to continue the series since it's about a different character and thus a different reader with the 3rd book supposedly tying everything together. So I'd recommend this book if you can sit down and actually read it. If not maybe look for a different version with a different reader.