Annihilation

Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1

By: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrated by: Carolyn McCormick

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

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.

The New Weird

I have heard some claim this is an example of the new weird. It has its strange moments, but it is no odder than some older SciFi I have read. The failing it has it that it feels like the story offers no resolution. Some claim later books in the series add interest to this world, but this novel hasn't motivated me in any way to seek them out. I would suggest only getting this if it is really cheap.

A bit of a slog

The narrator perfectly conveys the monotony of the story. The protagonist it’s not very likable, and worse, uninteresting. There’s plenty of atmosphere and intriguing clues to mysteries without solutions, but it probably would’ve worked better as a short story.

I Want All Stories to be This Story

What other book might you compare Annihilation to and why?

It has aspects of "House of Leaves" in that its about humans trying to relate to terrifying environments that defy understanding.

Any additional comments?

This is at its core both an adventure story and a mystery. The main character is well developed and likable. The landscape is as fascinating as it is mysterious. I will definitely be reading the next two volumes. Carolyn McCormick has a great range in her different vocalizations of different characters. Her reading in particular of the main character was well done. She added a lovely vulnerability that I may not have gotten from reading just on a page.

Ok

I liked the story but I had a hard time listening to this one. The narrator wasn't very...enthusiastic about speaking? I am not sure if that is the word to use. I think the story was good but I think it would have been better if I read the book myself.

Beauty and Desolation

What aspect of Carolyn McCormick’s performance would you have changed?

I have a slight complaint about some off-phrasing between sentences at times; sometimes rushing through sections that feel like they should have more of a suspenseful pause, but this is only a 2 or 3 on my scale of listening annoyance.

Any additional comments?

There is a particular quote from Annihilation that sums up my entire experience with it:

“When you see beauty and desolation, it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you.”

I teetered between loving and seriously not liking this story. It wasn’t until the very last scenes that I came to some degree of reconciliation with my reaction to it. To Jeff VanderMeer’s credit, I think that this is the exact experience he intends for the reader to have, as he skillfully manipulates the reader into the same difficult emotional journey that his main character is taking.

I use the word “manipulate,” because this reading experience isn’t always easy. VanderMeer gives the narration of the story to a nameless scientist, referred to only as The Biologist. In the style of a journal entry, she maintains a nearly emotionless, analytical tone throughout. This serves to heighten the extremely creepy nature of the story, but also keeps the reader at a significant distance from characters.

Mr. VanderMeer’s protagonist is self-described as extremely solitary, preferring her observations of isolated environments to human interaction. She is irrevocably distant from the humans in her life, as well as from the reader. If I had written this review about halfway through the book, I might have said that there was nobody in the story to like or sympathize with. Thankfully, a single scene at the very end redeems our main character and creates the necessary bridge to the reader.

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

The plot is the standard “group of people encounter something alien and inexplicable, then are killed off, one by one, as they deal with hallucinated (or not?) monsters, self-doubt, internal conspiracy, and the breakdown of social order.” I’m not always a big fan of this device, usually because the resolution lands somewhere in the “esoteric philosophical statement” arena without providing any identification of the “big bad” or substantive resolution. Annihilation at least leans towards some firm answers and gives us a number of very tangible clues along the way.

In the end, I believe I can recommend Annihilation with some qualifications. The key to its enjoyment is in reconciling that beauty and desolation we discussed earlier. Beautiful prose, beautiful world building . . . desolate characters, desolate outlook, desolate tone. All wrapped up in hypnotic, unrelenting suspense. It is the primary reason why I stayed with Annihilation to the end and will likely continue on to read the sequels. The more answers I was given, the more questions I had.

Beautiful, desolate questions.

Suspenseful story in a green surreal environment.

First installment of the Southern Reach Trilogy. Reads more like a thriller than a sci-fi adventure. At least that’s the part of it that I enjoyed. The writing is evocative of the green atmosphere the author is painting and well done for the most part. Not sure if I will go back for the rest of the works.

A journal about things unknown

This is a book written in a biologists point of view. The journal goes into the exploration of area x with her expedition consisting of 4 members. This is a trilogy, so you will not find any answers reading this book. Instead, you will develop questions about every thing described in this book because there is no way to know the answer. This is a great book for people who like to think and develop theories, so I would not recommend to every one but only to people that I know that likes abstract writings.

Keep shopping

The story is wonderful but available in a group with the next two in the series for a single credit. Look for those

Mindbending eco-horror – Triumph of new weird sci-

What about Carolyn McCormick’s performance did you like?

The way she pronounces "-tion" gives me ASMR.

Any additional comments?

This eco-horror sci-fi mindbender is told from the perspective of a very unreliable narrator who has ample incentives to mislead the audience. Wading through the unique texture of the Biologist's journal entries of her experiences in Area X was a very special kind of trip (in every sense of the word) that I've not been on before and it left me dying for the next book.

This book is fantastic

I watched the movie before I read this book and I really wish I had done it the other way around. This is a fantastic story and I loved the plot line. I think this movie could have been a wonderful TV show.