Annihilation Book Reviews

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Wut. The hell did I just read? I'm diving in to the next book bc I'm at a loss for words.

Do yourself a favor.... ...and read this. Undeniable engaging. Fantastically suspenseful. VenderMeer introduces a world that is terrifying and addictive, and you won't want to leave it's awe. It beckons you to stay and there is much comfort to find in that.

Sooooo weird. This is different from anything I have read recently. It’s almost too dystopian, but inventive and imaginative. If you like alternative views of the future and don’t mind bending your mind a bit, you will enjoy this.

Overwrought and Incomprehensible. A very poor imitation of the "Wool" series by Hugh Howley.

One word.... Boring.

Wow. This was one of the biggest waste of time since. I like everything, but not this

Interesting. This book held my attention well. The flashbacks to the narrator’s earlier life nearly started losing me but is likely due to it being from a FMC point of view.

Haunting. Annihilation is a haunting meditation on loss and self discovery emerging from a strange landscape of beauty and horror.

Entertaining play on man and wilderness. This was a fun read. Very fast and clearly the beginning of a larger series.

Thrilling is not the word I choose to described it. I’m not much of a reader so it’s rather difficult for a book to hold my attention. However, with this “new weird” genre label that the summary in GQ magazine this month had given it I was sure that I would be, if not at least interested, surely engaged. But I was completely disappointed. Instead, I found myself trying to read through the book, which is a very short read, simply to accomplish the task that I set out to do when I purchased the book. I'm not sure if it was the writing style, but I just couldn't understand why there were so many banal details systematically placed in between the actual “meat and potatoes” of this book. I kept hoping that the end would grab me and it would be the great redeemer, but that didn't happen. The end came and went and I find myself completely disinterested in continuing to read the rest of the series.

A study of consciousness. An unflinching vision quest. Surreal, profound, deeply disturbing. My sense of what is human has been brought into question. If one were to ask me what this story is about I think I’d have to say love. Self love, love of nature, love of the fear of the unknown. I would also have to say, I have no idea what this novel is about! This is one of the best novels I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. I highly, highly recommended embracing the unknown of it all!

Short and sweet. It’s worth a read and I’m strongly considering reading the next book. I have some comments related to the climax but then I would have to talk about spoilers. I say go for it.

Ick. This novel drags on like a whining child. It initially sucked me, because I thought something was going to happen. But no. Unless more and more whining counts for something.

Mind = Blown. I haven’t read a book in a while and read this for book club, and my do i have no regrets. This book is engaging and leaves you wondering. It makes you question things the entire time you’re reading. You search for clues in the text. 100% recommend.

Fascinating ideas. Altogether too wordy but fascinating, nonetheless. Few would read this first installment and not want to move on to the sequels (as I will). That it is crafted somewhat like a mystery novel, it should appeal to those beyond the hardcore sci-fi collectors.

Thought provoking but unemotional. I’ve never encountered any women like the ones he has written which leads me to think they’re poorly written ones, however I will let them be what they are, works of fiction from another’s imagination. I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters and thusly didn’t care what happened to them, maybe that was the desire of the author. It stirs no feelings in me except a paranoia of being hypnotized, and no answers are given that lend to the satisfaction of a mystery solved.

AWFUL. This was one of the worst books I’ve read in my life. It was a never ending staircase with no stairs. I kept waiting for the ‘good’ part and it never happened.

Weirdest Book. the author must be on hypnotic drugs. can’t get back the hours it took to plow through this.

Yes. This book absolutely rips. Psychedelic horror of an amorphous variety that seems to have left others frustrated, but I absolutely loved every second of it. Highly recommend

Can't wait. Insightful page turner!

One of the Best Books I Have Ever Read. Wow! What an amazing title! This should truly be hailed as a literary standard, in which all other books follow. It was very, very interesting, with many page-turners and cliffhangers. I truly hope that the rest of the books in The Southern Reach trilogy live up to this glory, because I will be sure to read them all. Thank you so much, Jeff VanderMeer, for such an phenomenal book.

A Different Kind of Story About a Very Strange Place. "Annihilation" is a very different book, which I'm not sure I can classify. It seems like science fiction, horror, and fantasy all at the same time. It has been classified by some as an example of the "new weird" and that seems to be as good a definition as any. It also has been compared to Lovecraft, and there are certainly elements of that in the book. The story revolves around the mysterious Area X, which is actually a fictionalized version of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. This area has been changed by an undefined as yet force, which has resulted in a barrier being formed around the area. The area is returning to a natural state, but one with very unnatural elements. A shadowy government organization called The Southern Reach is in charge of this area, and has sent 11 acknowledged expeditions into it to try to discover its secrets. The members of expeditions either do not return, or return strangely changed. This is the story of the 12th expedition. The four characters of this expedition are never named, just identified by their professions. Our narrator is "The Biologist" and she is a very unreliable narrator indeed. Often her narrative has a dreamlike quality. She tells her story of the 12th expedition, and we learn more about her and Area X from her memories that are triggered by her experiences. There is a great deal of her internal dialog, but oddly enough, there is little other dialog with the other expedition members. Surprisingly, not a lot actually happens in the book as far as actual events: two areas are explored, odd things happen, disturbing discoveries are made, and everything falls apart. Our Biologist is deeply changed by her experiences. I found "Annihilation" fascinating! The idea of the strange Area X is certainly fresh and different. I'm glad this is only the first book of the trilogy, as I have many questions that I hope will be answered, but I fear that not all of them will be (and that might be good too). I'm pretty impressed with the setting and concepts, and I'm looking forward to the second novel, "Authority," in which we may learn something about The Southern Reach...

Annilation. Don't waste your money. Absurd attempt to sound intelligent. Overuse of words. The author needs to read a few Hemingway novels to get some idea of what quality fiction is about. It would also serve him well to know something about the subject matter he so ineptly tries describe.

Annihlation. I enjoyed reading this book. I bought it on a whim, with no idea of what it was about nor reading any reviews. It sat on my nightstand for a month before I picked it up to read. It turns out, the novel was pleasantly engaging. Mysteries expounded upon with just enough explanation to keep me reading, with a nice amount of creep factor woven in. I do not like books that subsist on bizarre perplexing experiences with no explanations or follow up to keep the balance. This book did not do that. It gave just enough information to make me want to keep reading.

Books gives no answers. What you read in the beginning is the same as the end. You learn nothing new

Great read!. Had to peel myself away to stop reading. Finished reading in 2 days.

Great. Dont listen to people that say the 2nd and 3rd books arent as good. It works as one continuous (wonderful) novel. Read them all and give them all the stars~

Rambling and Empty. If you read books for the prose as well as the plot- pass on this one. I questioned my grasp of the English language on almost every page because I literally cannot make sense of what I just read. A disjointed read pretending to be a serious book- the trilogy for me ended with this one.

Fantastically Weird. A wonderful start to a new series. I read it in two sittings. Can't wait for the next book. For fans old and new, Annihilation does not disappoint and further cements VanderMeer's position as a scion of the Weird.

amazing book- better than the movie. I had watched the Annihilation movie before discovering it came from a book and I was very compelled to read this after finding the movie a bit confusing (still a great film don’t get me wrong). The movie is probably more confusing now because it’s a totally different story than what is written in the book, and the story in the book is far better and richer than the one onscreen. (I have come to love them both as separate things). This book constantly challenged me, especially having preconceived thoughts from seeing the movie. I fell in love with this story, and read the whole trilogy. If this book confuses you, then I recommend reading the other two that follow it in the trilogy, they provide ample info about the phenomena outlined in this book. Truly a captivating series.

Strange Country Of Shadows and Illumination.... This beautifully written novel had me from the first page... I couldn't put it down. ...stylistically like Theodore Sturgeon, Clifford Simak, with a bit of Jonathan Letham and Harlan Ellison in the mix... Equal parts Magical Realism, and Quantum Mechanics. ...can't wait for the sequel!

Maybe Stop Here. I thoroughly enjoyed Annihilation. It was dark, creepy, weird...and wonderful. I thought I was in for a treat; two whole books left...both longer than the first. Well, halfway through Authority and it’s a total snooze fest. I’ve been told Authority does pay off but so far it’s been as bland and uninteresting as What I remember going to work with my dad was when I was little was like.

Read, Watch, Listen. I read this book listening to the Anhiliation Movie soundtrack. It’s perfect for this read. I then watched the movie after and it really pulled everything together. Already diving into the sequel!

Creepy. A good story with a lot of mysteries. I definitely feel the need to read the other two books to see what Area X really is. It was a bit slow here and there, but not so bad that I came bored. I recommend it. And, it really is creepy.

Over Priced. I was very disappointed in this read. It was just TOO WEIRD -- and I typically love an odd storyline. Maybe the other books are better? I find it a bit ridiculous that this 200 page novel is 10 dollars. If you want a good SciFi read try Stephen King's 11/22/63. It's two dollars more and you get 700 more pages of story!

A good example of mastered creative writing.. A short and sweet review. This book is great. I can’t put my finger on it, the exact reason why. But I can mention two or three things about the book that I like. The Psychologist is psychedelic and diabolical. The biologist, and also our narrator, fills in the narrative with plenty of interesting information about herself; here reason as to why she became a biologist is perfect; sweet and sufficient and really very good in terms of story telling because not only is it creative and beautiful but it’s meaningful and also full of great examples of pitch perfect imagery. Actually, nearly all the imagery in the book is pitch perfect and vivid and real, not overdone or underdone. I’m jealous of the perfectness of the story telling. A good example of the creative writing craft nearly mastered. Bravo 🤓

Review. Pretty decently, was let down when the main character met with another main character

Not a fan.... So many long words and pages of just rambling and talking about nothing. I kept waiting for the climax, crazy part of this story and there wasn’t one... kinda bummed I paid for this book.

A M A Z I N G. Such an amazing work of art. 20/10. Would read 100 more times and probably will.

Awful. Just about the worst book ever read.

Surreal with a heart. A decent into madness? An understanding beyond the unexplainable? Best advice...strap in and enjoy the ride. Let your mind travel and float, void of all you think you know. For the mind can play tricks and choosing to believe what the eyes see even if that thing is beyond comprehending is a fascinating journey.

Great book. Will read number 2

Spectacular. An unknown biological catastrophe claims a chunk of the world, cuts a clear border between the tainted and the untainted. This tainted place is called Area X, named so by an unnamed government, a government not at all above sacrificing lives to unlock the mystery that is Area X. This government charges a cloak and dagger agency, The Southern Reach, with the handling of Area X, infiltration; training personnel to cross the border and study Area X. The very first team reported a place once inhabited by people living in modest homes, a lighthouse off the coast, then, somehow, nature took it all back. Life became death, grass, vines, spread over the homes, forests grew thick, marshlands swelled, the people apparently swallowed by nature growing unabated. Loss of life aside, the early reports described Area X as beautiful, peaceful, pure. This picture didn't last long. Then came the mass suicide of one team, another self-destructed in a hail of gunfire, blasting each other to fleshy mounds of former colleagues. The eleventh expedition came home, only to die of a very rapid terminal cancer. Despite the early reports, Area X is dangerous, its beauty, false. Answers, however, are more important than lives, The Southern Reach is willing to spill as much blood as necessary in order to know what they need to know. Enter the twelfth team, four women; a surveyor, a psychologist, a biologist, and an anthropologist. Teams are chosen by various statistics, skill-sets and variables known only by The Southern Reach. Team twelve is tasked to study Area X, and each other. Any member who might behave oddly or appear "changed" by Area X is to be shot on sight, lest the mission as a whole be compromised. Thus, the stage is set for Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer, Book 1 of the Southern Reach Trilogy. The novel is narrated by the biologist, teams leave their names and lives behind. It's much easier to remain impartial to each other if everything is impersonal. It's also easier to shoot a "changed" colleague in the face if they don't have a name, or a story. The biologist is a flawed character, a woman more comfortable around frogs and dragonflies than people and their conversations and desire for closeness. Yet, through her story, her struggles, we do care about this detached woman of science. This is part of VanderMeer's skill, he makes us care about characters whose general lives are incomprehensible, as there's always still some relatable spark in them. Immediately, VanderMeer sets a tone of dread, we're told early that members of the team will die, one very quickly. From the start, we know the mission is damned, there's no heroic happy ending. We don't know the hows, we only know that the biologist is looking back from the ruins of a wrecked ship. We read, desperately at times, because we want to know the hows, and more urgently, the whys. Why does The Southern Reach send people to Area X like cattle to a killing floor? Why is such a beautiful place so full of death? So many whys, but I won't reveal them here. There's also a what, a most important what. What ultimately becomes of the biologist? We don't want Area X to claim her, but there's a constant fear that in her final sentence, it will. VanderMeer uses perfect words to paint images of gorgeous landscapes, macabre dark, hidden places, and images of death and decay that will disturb readers long after the final page is turned. His use of descriptive imagery, quick plotting, and rich character development is spot-on, perhaps the best balance he has ever struck. Annihilation is a short, fast-paced novel that is really the beginning of a much deeper narrative. For those who have never read Jeff VanderMeer this novel is a perfect introduction, and for those who have, his brilliance will only be further demonstrated. Buy Annihilation, it absolutely won't disappoint, and I'm sure the rest of the trilogy will be just as spectacular...

This is my new favorite book.. This book has a good ending, one that fits a great story. The character is unlike others this is a worthy read.

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