Annihilation

This was weird. The story is told in a journal style about an expedition to a place called area X - where some ill defined environmental catastrophe happened. As the story continues we learn more and more about previous expeditions to the area, but the overlying alien and strange experience dominates.

This book goes out of its way to feel uncomfortable to the reader. All the characters are referred to by their job description/specialization rather than their name. This impersonal feel gives a cold feeling to almost all the interactions. Then there is the weird otherworldliness of the environment with strange organic tunnels and creatures. There is the overriding mystery of what happened in area X, the untruths about previous expeditions, the jarring description of a bunker as a tower. These all go out of their way to leave the reader uncertain about what rules apply in area X.

I can appreciate the cleverness of these techniques and the craft with which they are applied. However, that coldness, that distance, makes it hard to get truly engaged with the story. This was weird, unsettling and ultimately a bit to cold for me.