Annihilation

Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1

De: Jeff VanderMeer

Narrado por: Carolyn McCormick

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.

A Strange, Surreal Delight

Annihilation is the first volume in a planned trilogy but the novel easily stands on it's own. It reminded me of the work of J.G. Ballard in that it's at least as concerned with the psychological state of it's primary character as it is with the strange, mysterious area she and her companions are exploring. There's a dose of Machen and Lovecraft in the book too, which isn't surprising since Jeff Vandermeer is a champion of weird fiction. However, in the end, the novel is unique and original, a beautifully written, sometimes harrowing, exploration of humanity's encounter with something new. There are passages that border on the hallicinogenic and Vandermeer wisely leaves some questions unanswered. Perhaps they will be answered in subsequent books but honestly, I hope not. Some things are best left to the imagination.

I highly recommend Annihilation. I found Carolyn McCormick's reading of the book a little monochromatic but it's certainly not bad and there are moments where the placid tone she uses really works in the novel's favor.

I need to listen to that last chapter again.

I also need to listen to all the first chapters again. That was a fun listen.

can't wait for the rest of the trilogy!

Great creepy and extremely mind boggling start of a series I'm so excited to finish. The story isn't necessarily action packed, but it's full of crazy shit that I can't figure out and can't wait to understand! The narrator (unreliable?), the "biologist," slowly tells the story of her and her husband (flashbacks) and of her experiences on Area X ("present") as the story trudges on. We learn a bit about the Area itself, though I leave this novel with no more understanding of what happened to the world than I entered it. Some biological craziness is going on here...and it's weird and wonderful.

I have a feeling that this is the type of trilogy that will only be understood as complete set, each book revealing more and more and hopefully ending up with a full picture of what the f is going on. That being said, I am sure tantalized to read more.

I'm suppressing the urge to gobble up the second installation right away because I have to wait til September for the final book. Trying to space it out so that I get to savor this trilogy.

Would make a great film.

Merely not a fan of this story telling method.

The story is told in an anecdotal style. things are left somewhat vague and many answers are left for you to infer. Not necessarily a bad story, just not something that sings to me.

Potentially Great, Overall Meh

There were a lot of good passages with descriptions and prose, but overall there wasn't a main antagonist fueling the story. It was like a pizza cut into too many pieces and one slice wasn't enough. I'm curious how the movie adapts to this, but as a series, I'd have to respectfully back out.

Possibly Greatest Weird Fiction of 21st Century

Many of the reviews for this book misunderstand the genre it is written in.

This is a novel of weird fiction.

The strange takes precedence over character.

The bizarre is more important than plot.

It is written with the intention of unsettling you, feeling as though the world is just to the left of where you thought it was before. Nearly every decision Vandermeer makes in this novel is done to unsettle the reader in this way.

For example, the novel is almost entirely absent proper nouns. Characters are called by their job title, such as "anthropologist" or "linguist." If there is a restaurant in the novel, it is a restaurant. It is not Jake's Chinese BBQ.

There is a plot, one I find deeply disturbing, but if you are expecting a whiz-bang revelation that neatly ties up everything, you're looking for a mystery or a thriller, not weird fiction.

The narrator of the book has perfectly adapted herself to the alien beauty of Vandermeer's prose. Like the character whose words she reads, she can at times seem to be distancing herself from the very wonders and horrors she is relating. Those who fault her performance in other reviews I again hold do not understand weird fiction, and this novel. Did you want her to hoot and scream at every shock and peril like a bad actor?

You might say I am being elitist. Perhaps I am. Or perhaps the weird novel is simply not something that can find a wide audience. After all, the most famous purveyor of the weird, HP Lovecraft, has really never seen a successful translation of his work to any medium other than the role-playing game.

So if you find yourself gaping in wonder at the beauty of a dead leaf on a rainy sidewalk, if you would watch in fascination as the spider drained the trapped fly, if you consider the contemplation of your own death a sort of mental pushup which leaves you stronger than you were before, then perhaps this novel is for you.

If you have no fascination for the macabre, then move on friend. There are plenty of other books in the world, and you can leave the wonder of the weird to us...

Loved it

The story itself is different from the movie so if you read it try to clear your brain of that and just listen or read. I really enjoyed it and I plan to continue with the series.

Surprisingly Deep and Thematic, but Avoid the Sequ

This book starts out in pretty uninteresting and vague way but ultimately comes around through its thematic nature and it's super personal story. it works quite well as a standalone story which is why I strongly recommend against it's sequels, which more themselves in a tired mystery box approach, leaving behind analogies and themes and character driven story telling.

if you do want to read the whole series be aware that audible does offer all three for a single credit

Exploration and Sci Fi Lovers Will Enjoy This

There’s a dreamlike quality and braininess to this book that should satisfy those who loved the film, although they are different beasts.

3 and a half to 4 maybe 4 and a half.

3 and a half to 4 for story to maybe 4 and a half. It's really hard to tell. The narration maybe could have been stronger for most of the book, but I think it was nessecary at the end.