Annihilation
Ratings736
Average rating3.7
In many ways breaks some rules I expect. Characters only known by their role serving some common purpose which beyond exploration they barely know. Difficult to see beyond their roles make connections but then they are not meant to either. Team in enemy or hostile territory but nothoing about them speaks of a team other than some purpose that if they dont know neither do you as reader. So as reader you are walking with the protagonists. Viewpoint of the Biologist. Her understanding, her knowledge she distrusts even the landscape around her and the little she does know from previous expeditions unclear how given that she knows few have returned and this is the 12th expedition.
A difficult read. Little to attract the reader to other characters and not much to sympathize with the Biologist. But it is a mystery. Shades of Lovecraft and his narrators.
Unsatisfactory ending. I and the Biologist know more or have experienced more but have no more significant understanding than perhaps how survival may be possible. So i immediately start the second in the series and am irritated early in that it seems I could have started reading here. But it drags me on. I want answers . What is Area X or rather the Why of it.
Definitely worth reading.
Really enjoyed this; reminded me of my favorite parts of Lost but also a little frustrating. Hopefully the rest of the trilogy illuminates more.
A book that really makes you think and concentrate. Gives you lots of possible thoughts and definitely makes you want to read the next one!
3.5! I liked it enough to immediately start the next book, but I'll keep more comments to myself until the book club meeting. :)
Well, to be fair I drifted in and out of this a lot; that could be blamed on listening to the audiobook rather than reading the book, but if it had been a good book for me it would have kept my attention. Annihilation reminds me of the first [b:Wool 12287209 Wool (Wool, #1) Hugh Howey https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327889474s/12287209.jpg 17263666] story in the sense that it's a self contained story which sets the scene for a bigger story (as I've heard Annihilation is in the Southern Reach trilogy) but the difference is that Wool #1 is a compelling story in itself. This book, not so much. Had Annihilation been a longer book (audiobook was only 6 hours at 1x speed) I would not have finished it; as it was so short I kept giving it a chance to improve but it didn't.
Executive Summary: It's well written, but just never clicked for me.
Full Review
This is a hard review to write. I didn't exactly dislike this book, I just never got into it. The writing is good, the world seems interesting.
I love the mystery of it all. As someone who was a fan of Lost and the puzzle/exploration Myst games before it, it reminded me fondly of both of those things. But much like Lost I felt that it got too caught up in presenting mysteries to the audience while never really doing a good enough job of revealing things.
Now I know this is book 1 of a trilogy, but I felt like there just wasn't enough answering. I also had trouble connecting with the Biologist. She felt more like a camera. I didn't really care what happened to her or the other characters except for how it allowed me to learn more about Area X.
There just wasn't enough here for me to be interested in continuing on. I've heard mixed things about how much is actually revealed in the later books, and I have too many other things I want to read instead.
Either way, it's a short read and I'm glad to have checked it out.
More like a 3.5/5
Story : A couple of scientists go into Area X, a strange place that is in quarantine. Now that I think about it, this isn't about exploration, it's more about characters, and I kinda like this choice, but still, I wish I could have seen more from this Area X. The first 50-100 were a drag, but the second half... the fun begins! I don't understand why there are 2 more books... the ending was great.
Characters : They don't have names and this is only an element that makes you feel cold and isolated. Our main protagonist is shy and troubled, because her husband was in this place too. The parts about her past were a nice touch, but her journey into madness was great too. The other characters were fine, but I didn't cared about them... at all.
Overall : An interesting adventure into someones mind, full with uneasy paragraphs. I watched the movie, but from what I remember, it's so different from the book!
Good writing and character development. A bit overwhelmed at the culmination and overly detailing and sometimes losing thread of thought
Along with [b:The Magicians 6101718 The Magicians (The Magicians #1) Lev Grossman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1313772941s/6101718.jpg 6278977], this book belongs to my “I have no idea what I was expecting, but I added it to my to-read list because it's kind of controversial with the reviewers and I want to be surprised”. I loved The Magicians (bite me, I really did), but this.... I have no idea how I feel about it. 2 stars means IDK in this case, as there is no way of marking it in any different way for me. Area X is this mysterious place overtaken by nature where things are weird, it is more of a myth to the outside world than a real place where you take your family with a tent. The army sends expeditions there, after some rigorously brainwashing training, this time the protagonist (the biologist), the surveyor, the psychologist and the anthropologist. They don't know the goal of their trip, so you don't know either, they just go because they are sent and then things are starting to be weird. I swear this book makes no sense, it is all just one sequence of unexplained things that happen and make you feel like everyone is probably a bit high and getting paranoid. (Remember the flasback sequence from the Simon Pegg-Nick Frost movie The World's End, when they all get high on top of drunk and it's all fucked? Yeah, like that, but the characters all feel distant.) Things happen and you feel no rhyme or reason, at least I didn't. The worst about it is that it never really gets a proper reason and the protagonist is probably losing her mind, so you are not even sure if you can trust her. Some people love that form of ambiguity, but I personally felt like the book was weightless because of it. Sure, the things go wrong and you pretty much just know that there is no way of a positive outcome, but to me that wasn't enough to care for real. The distance from the characters didn't help with that either. The whole thing was philosophical, to the detriment of making the characters truly relatable and believable. They stayed weirdo , artsy fictional characters who never really acted like people. I guess that can be an interesting exercise if you are looking for one, but I'm still not convinced by it. The protagonist is especially infuriating in her rambling artsy ways;she is actually being sold as a true scientist with an asocial and rational mind, while she keeps rambling like an poet on crack. On what level does that make any sense? It goes against what we learn about her. Sure, I guess the author was just writing in the way he does (which was pretty sweet, I really liked it at some point), but I don't think first person narrative was the right choice for it. Made no sense to me. When the end rolls around, it doesn't feel like a proper ending, which was possibly expected from a book that made so little sense. Sure, the protagonist offers some idea, which is probably right in my opinion, but it is nothing objectively, proven right and while an open ending is not something I automatically dislike, this book seemed to lack any real factual information about the world and with the weird plot, it just resulted in a mess of “or whatever”. The style of the whole thing is just very defined, very bold in its ways, which is something you will either get and like or not get and dislike. In that way it reminds me of China Mieville and that one half book of his I tried to read. I guess weird fiction is just not really my cup of tea? All I'm saying is that it is something not everyone is going to dig, which is supported by the reviews. I'm back to not being able to say anything meaningful about this. Did I love it? Nope. Did I hate it? Nah. I just don't think I'm the right person to appreciate it. The weirdness is making it likely that I'm going to attempt the next book, not sure with how much success, plus the covers are absolutely awesome, I wouldn't mind hanging them on my walls. The artist deserves some kudos. Not sure how many times I will be recommending this book, other than the times when I want to hear someone's opinion about it; I don't really think I'm friends with anyone who would truly enjoy it, which probably makes me a sad human being with boring friends. All in all, kind of meh. Have a good night and preferably avoid camping in the Twilight Zone!
Very well written. the story kept me hooked while i was reading it, but the ending didn't hook me so much that i have to rush to the next book.
This book is intentionally weird, slow and creepy. The story centres around the mysterious “Area X” which has appeared at a unrevealed location. It is surrounded by a border, the nature of which is not clarified and it's purpose and origin are unknown. We follow an unnamed biologist and her fellow unnamed investigators as they enter Area X to determine, well, pretty much anything they can about the weirdness.
I must say, as someone who loves discovering the setting of any given novel I really enjoyed the first half of this novel. I loved the descriptions of the setting and the tantalising clues left here and there. There is a very tense and well written sequence in the middle of the book which I enjoyed, but it was after that that the true nature of the novel came to light.
We are treated to many flashbacks of the unnamed biologists past. Yet at the same time we are none too subtly told that actually her memories may not be accurate – she is the ultimate unreliable narrator.
This is not a book in which you get to know the characters, or the setting, or solve the mystery. This is in fact a book in which you are supposed to revel in the unknown. If you are the sort of person who enjoys that sort of thing – this is a book for you.
By the time I got to the end of the novel I felt as if I'd been trying to put together a 1000 piece jigsaw only to find that every piece came from a different picture....and that was why it was supposed to be cool!
Everyone is different. I can see the appeal of the book and appreciate the skill of the author. For me this book was not satisfying. I know there are sequels that may round things out, but after the effort of getting through that novel, I'm going to read something a little more satisfying.
I really enjoyed reading this book but, somewhat against what one might expect, I have no interest reading any others in the series. I like it as a standalone story.
I wanted to love this book, but it was just missing some sort of emotional anchor.
I'll freely admit I watched the film first after it came out, well, most of it. In fact, I turned it off and had to revisit it later. Thematic elements in the film were interesting and I wanted to see how much of it came from the source.
The answer is... Eh?
The format of the book and the prose didn't bother me. We're reading the character's account of said events, after all. The narrative is built on dream logic and somehow I feel like this being a series that continues on sort of cheapens any metaphorical impact the story provides.
Area X's mystery hardly matters in the face of what we're experiencing, right? Our protagonist lost her husband after he went off on a fool's errand of a job, veritably pushed away by his cold and distant wife, or so she thinks. She does miss him, though, in her own way, which pulls her into signing up for the same job to explore the same anomalous area on an expedition to track down what really happened to him.
She undergoes a series of hallucinations, there's some death and a lighthouse, as well as spores and creatures that molt human flesh and doppelgang whoever is there or something. Or something. Ultimately, reading her husband's journal, entirely addressed to her, is what prompts her metamorphosis.
Again, I'm just not entirely sure how effective any of this is continuing forward with the story, but it's worth a shot.
It was interesting, but wasn't a fan of the style. Didn't want to continue a trilogy of more of the same, especially since I didn't really see any of the mysteries being resolved.
So this is another book I wouldn't have found without Sword and Laser but boy oh boy am I glad I did.
It's not easy to summarize this book without massive spoilers, but it exists somewhere on the continuum between H.P. Lovecraft and House of Leaves. Even when very little is happening (which is plenty of the time), you are still on the edge of your seat because you known any minute now the silt is going to get real. And then it gets REAL
The narrator in this story is a biologist who studies life without ever truly partaking in it. Her studies of ecosystems, her work, and her marriage are all things she observes without experiencing. Then she volunteer to observe Area X, a twilight zone just barely removed from on our reality. She can't trust her team, her superiors, or herself, and the resulting narrative is brilliantly original. It would be hubris to say I totally understand this book. I don't. It left me very confused and disturbed, and I'm the type of reader who is made happy by that sort of ending.
Also, I am always happy to see a sci-fi book whose away team is composed entirely of female scientists. The other characters don't get a lot of screen time, but hell yes anyway.
It just wasn't for me. I didn't feel the tension nor care about the main character. I can see why it is loved by many but I just didn't enjoy it. Only persevered as a result of book being so short. Hope everyone else loves it!
I liked the premise and found it interesting. However, for me it did drag quite a few times. I would recommend reading it.
Pros: interesting premise, strange
Cons: few answers
The Biologist is one of four women sent into Area X on the twelfth expedition to learn more about this mysterious region.
Written as a journal, the book details the expedition, their findings, and the strange occurrences of Area X. Events happen quickly and are very focused, so there isn't time to learn much about anyone other than the Biologist. The Biologist herself is taciturn and secretive, though you do get flashback scenes that help flesh her out. She's also not the most reliable narrator, as you sometimes learn that she hasn't been entirely honest in this account.
The mystery is interesting, though don't expect to fully understand what's going on. The story does wrap up nicely.
It's a quick, unsettling story.
This review is coming several months after I've read Annihilation, the first installment ofJeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, but I thought it was about time I got around to reviewing it. The books in this collection have been getting quite a bit of buzz and has won the 2014 Nebula for Best Novel, the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for best novel, and was the Sword & Laser book club pick for February of this year.
Annihlation is the first in a trilogy about the mysterious Area X, a region that has been quarantined from civilization due to the odd things that keep happening in the area. The only people who enter Area X are the members of occasional expeditions of specialists who are attempting to understand what is creating this strange region. In Annihilation, the expedition consists of four female scientists who are trained in anthropology, biology, psychology, and surveying. The women start the expedition by working together, but, after an odd fungus infects the biologist, the others start to disappear in strange ways.
Based off of the description this seems like the sort of book that would be right up my alley - scientists, strange biological beings, mysteries to be solved. Unfortunately, I can't say that I was very excited by the events of the book. The story is told from the perspective of the biologist, who, despite having recently lost her husband, was not the most exciting character to read about. Her husband had been a member of the previous Area X expedition, but returned to civilization unexpectedly with no memory of his travels, and died shortly thereafter from cancer. These odd series of events happened to every member of his expedition, which should add to the mystery and create suspense for the well being of our current explorers. However, as I felt almost no emotional connection to the biologist, it was difficult to concern myself with her prolonged well being. The biologist is a very stoic character (it has been argued that she may feel so emotionless due to some odd influence from being inside Area X, but she makes enough references to her life outside of Area X that I tend to think it really is just her personality), which makes it difficult to really care about her journey to understand Area X and its connection to her late husband. The book itself isn't poorly written, and it clearly has done quite well with the critics and on the awards circuit. I just never really connected with it. There was nothing that grabbed my attention, or made me care about the characters or the plot. It was the sort of book I had to force myself to read, and one where I found my attention wandering away from the words on the page as I read it. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more as an audiobook, though I tend to think I would have just tuned it out if I'd read it that way instead of on paper.
Originally, the Southern Reach Trilogy was meant to be published as one novel. As Annihilation is the first book of the trilogy, I had considered that perhaps I would have a greater appreciation for the work if I read the series as a whole. After listening to Tom on the Sword & Laser Podcast, I thought maybe the other two books in the series might be necessary to pull the whole story together, but looking at some of the reviews on Goodreads, I'm not sure that either of the follow-up stories will do that at all. And a lot of the less than favorable reviews are from people who admittedly liked the first book. I've gotten a lot of “meh” reports about the series as a whole, and since I wasn't overly excited by the first novel, I'm having a difficult time finding the motivation to read the other two books. I sort of wish that these books had been published together, because then I would have read the story in its entirety, but, on the other hand, since I didn't really enjoy this book all that much, perhaps I should be grateful that I only had to read a third of the story?
This is one of those books that wasn't really a bad in any discernible way, yet it was incredibly difficult for me to get through. I suppose it comes down to personal taste; for me to have enjoyed the book I think I either needed a more complex main character, or a more complex plot. The idea of Area X is rather interesting, but the book never made my curiosity about the region strong enough to entice me to read any further than necessary. I don't want to say that I don't recommend it - it has won some rather significant awards, so clearly it has some merit in the science fiction genre - but I can't say that it was a great read for me. It is, however, a rather short novel on its own, so if you are curious it isn't too much of a time investment to give it a try.
