Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

more photos (2)

Annihilation

(Southern Reach #1)

Jeff VanderMeer (Goodreads Author)

3.66 · Rating details · 108,102 Ratings · 13,517 Reviews

Welcome to Area X. An Edenic wilderness, an environmental disaster zone, a mystery for thirty years.

For thirty years, Area X, monitored by the secret agency known as the Southern Reach, has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border– an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness. Eleven expeditions have been sent in to in ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Paperback, 195 pages

Published July 30th 2015 by Fourth Estate (HarperCollins) (first published February 4th 2014)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Annihilation, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Books that SHOULD be on the 1001-list but aren't

165 books — 93 voters

The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

New York Times: 100 Notable Books of 2014

101 books — 3 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

Rating details

Sort: Default

Filter

May 09, 2014 Alejandro rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, science-fiction, horror, dystopia

I am sure that it will shock to many readers my low rating of this popular novel, but sadly I think that it's the best way to express my own personal reading experience with the book. And I prefer to be honest than just giving a high rating if I don't believe on it.

First of all, I don't hate the author and I am not looking for affecting the average rating of this novel.

Basically, I had to balance the meaning of each rating here on Goodreads against what I thought about my reading experience with I am sure that it will shock to many readers my low rating of this popular novel, but sadly I think that it's the best way to express my own personal reading experience with the book. And I prefer to be honest than just giving a high rating if I don't believe on it.

First of all, I don't hate the author and I am not looking for affecting the average rating of this novel.

Basically, I had to balance the meaning of each rating here on Goodreads against what I thought about my reading experience with the novel, and I realized that I wasn't confortable even thinking on the book that "I like it" which it would imply a 3-stars rating, so at the end, I opted to give it a 2-star rating, but I don't enjoy to do it.

Maybe I am not the ideal reader for this kind of stories. Maybe, while I am huge fan of science fiction, I am not ready to read "weird fiction" that it's the closest way to genre the novel. It wasn't the surreal elements since I am used to read and watch surreal material like Alan Moore's comic books or Luis Buñuel's films.

I think that my frustration with this particular novel was the inconclusive ending along with the knowledge that maybe some of the information on the story can be false and most of all, the lack of any single explanation of what the heck is going on.

I understand that it's a trilogy, I get that it's a mystery, so the author can't explain all on the very first book, but I think that any novel has to bring some kind of closure on itself. Also, some explanations could be appreaciated. You don't have to explain everything but at least something.

...when you see beauty in desolation, it changes something in you.

That's a quote from the book, and analyzing my general impression of the book, sadly I think that the novel was like a "desolation" to me. No explanations, unreliable facts and an abrupt ending. So, I suppose that I am still the same, since I didn't change and I still don't find "beauty" on "desolation".

What I can appraise is the great writing style along with the smart and mature tone of the story.

Please, if you are curious about the novel, read it, just like I did it. I really do hope that you can enjoy to the fullest this novel. No two people read the same book. So, while I couldn't find it as a possitive reading experience, maybe for you will be different and that it can be just awesome. ...more

flag 423 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2014 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic

”...but whether it decays under the earth or above on green fields, or out to sea or in the very air, all shall come to revelation, and to revel, in the knowledge of the strangling fruit and the hand of the sinner shall rejoice, for there is no sin in shadow or in light that the seeds of the dead cannot forgive…”

An Anthropologist, a Surveyor, a Psychologist, and a Biologist, all female, make up the 12th expedition to AREA X. The expeditions that have come to this region before have not fared ...more

flag 408 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2015 Patrick rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, books-i-would-blurb

Really good books. Very different. Very atmospheric and different than anything else I've ever read.

I read part of this trilogy off the page and listened to some of it on audiobook. And looking back, I wish I'd read the entire thing off the page. I think it would have been a better overall experience that way.

Highly recommended.

flag 237 likes · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2014 Maggie Stiefvater rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended, adult

FINE, FINE, FINE, I'm buying book 2.

flag 222 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2014 Brendon Schrodinger rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, horror

Well it seems like Annihilation has divided the SF community into two, lovers and 'meh'ers. I'm pretty sure I'm one of the latter. I have been trying to think why a novel with a blurb that instantly sparked my curiousity was just so bleh. There are parts here that I love. I think the whole novel was under a cloud of boring, grey fungus spores.

While you have this wonderful premise of an expedition to a remote 'Area X' where the world is not quite right after some mysterious intervention from out ...more

flag 176 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2014 Eve rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Really a waste of time. The book seems to be going for the eerie "each man is every man" type of feeling that you got from Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," in which none of the characters have names. Here we have a small group of women, among them "the psychologist," "the surveyor," and "the biolgist" (our narrator) exploring Area X, a supernatural-type district that borders our own mundane world. I found myself completely uninvolved and not at all scared or disturbed by the team's discoveries. It ...more

flag 147 likes · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2014 Matthew rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, post-apocalyptic-dystopian, series, monsters, library, gr_awards_2015

I was expecting more from this book. I will read the next one at some point, mainly because I know there is a next book. If I didn't know there was one, I don't think I would have been left expecting more. The book did not really draw me in and I found it to be somewhat repetitious. All this was disappointing considering the hype I have heard about it.

But, since there are two others in the series, and the series as a whole is critically acclaimed - perhaps I will find something more as the story ...more

flag 143 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2015 Kai rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, 2017, underrated

“Silence creates its own violence.”

My initial reaction: BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN

And I'm still sitting here, wondering and pondering.
This novel was spectacular in every aspect. The best books are those that keep their secrets to themselves. Those, that don't tell you everything, that make you desperate for information that you will not receive. It's the mystery that keeps one interested, the depths that you want to explore. They make your fingers tremble because you want to touch everything, know t ...more

flag 121 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2014 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, 2015

Four women, the twelfth such expedition, enter the mysterious Area X to observe and collect samples. Will the calamities that have befallen previous expeditions befall them as well?

I'd read four Jeff VanderMeer books prior to this one and they were all unsettling in one way or another. This one was par from the course.

Annihilation is a horror tale about secrecy, the unknown, and insanity. The biologist is the narrator and an unreliable one at that. The other characters are known only by their jo ...more

flag 120 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2017 Philip rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, not-for-me

2.5ish stars.

I wanted to like this, and I think I probably did - I convinced myself I did - until I realized that maybe I didn't. I finished and had to have an internal conversation with myself (much like the biologist in 90% of the book) to identify that, beneath the eerie, suspenseful surface, the feeling I was left with was, well, a vacancy of feeling. I'm down with New Weird (VanderMeer's Borne is one of my recent favorites), and I can burn with the slowest of burns, but for whatever reason ...more

flag 110 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2014 Carmen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: fiction, horror, science-fiction, traditionally-published, he-says

I am convinced now that I and the rest of the expedition were given access to these records for the simple reason that, for certain kinds of classified information, it did not matter what we knew or didn't know. There was only one logical conclusion: Experience told our superiors that few if any of us would be coming back.

Area X is thought to be a myth. A conspiracy theory. Something whispered about in environmental circles.

But it's real. Appearing 30 years ago and baffling everyone with its exi ...more

flag 108 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2015 Richard Derus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rating: 4* of five

***MOVIE UPDATE: The Alex Garland adaptation will hit theaters on 23 February 2018. Garland's 2014 debut was Ex Machina, for which he got an Academy award nomination...let's hope this means good things.***

The Publisher Says: 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 Rating: 4* of five

***MOVIE UPDATE: The Alex Garland adaptation will hit theaters on 23 February 2018. Garland's 2014 debut was Ex Machina, for which he got an Academy award nomination...let's hope this means good things.***

The Publisher Says: 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 our narrator, a biologist. 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.

My Review: Winner of the 2015 Nebula Award for science fiction novels and the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for horror novels, this novel earns accolade after award heaped on top of praise for a good reason: It is eerie, atmospheric setting plus glimpsed monsters plus the recrudescence of the inner evil in all humans. And it's very well written.

We're well into this short book before something truly scary happens; before that, it was all spooky suggestions. The first truly scary thing (view spoiler)...an intense impact!

One thing I must note about Mr. Vandermeer's work is that he seems inordinately interested in fungi and molds. **shudder** The shroom-o-phobic members of the audience are warned. Everyone else, I recommend the book with mild reservations, but only mild ones, about the SF-resistant ladies. I myownself would say try 50pp, for what that's worth. ...more

flag 104 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2015 Fabian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Dr. Moreau + Sphere + Hunger Games + Lord of the Flies + the first half of the MaddAddam trilogy = this bizarre intro into the "Southern Reach" trilogy. There may even be some groovy transcendentalist Thoreau thrown somewhere in there! The platform here is potent enough a dose to ensure the future reading of the next novels.

...Yay!!

flag 99 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2018 Leonard Gaya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A swimming pool. A rocky bay. An empty lot. A tower. A lighthouse. These things are real and not real. They exist and they do not exist.

This is one of the weirdest pieces of literature I have read in recent months. I guess this short novel is redolent of the strange fascination one sometimes feels when gazing at a heavy, sleepy pool of water, where fish and tadpoles swarm and waggle among dead weeds, and more massive creatures seem to be lurking in the dark, unfathomable depths underneath.

Area X ...more

flag 97 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2018 Debra rated it liked it · review of another edition

I picked up this book at my local library because I saw the movie trailer and was intrigued. Knowing it was based on a book, I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie.

Four women, an Anthropologist, a Surveyor, a Psychologist, and a Biologist (the narrator) make up the 12th expedition to AREA X. They do not share their names - names aren't necessary, their research is the most important thing these women need to focus on while in Area X. Area X is an area which has been cut off from the r I picked up this book at my local library because I saw the movie trailer and was intrigued. Knowing it was based on a book, I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie.

Four women, an Anthropologist, a Surveyor, a Psychologist, and a Biologist (the narrator) make up the 12th expedition to AREA X. They do not share their names - names aren't necessary, their research is the most important thing these women need to focus on while in Area X. Area X is an area which has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Many expeditions have gone into the area but were their expeditions successful - the first came back basically describing a utopia, others came back not quite themselves and died soon thereafter from cancer and some committed suicide.

I'm not quite sure why anyone would want to volunteer to join in on any of these expeditions after knowing those facts; however, these women enter Area X. The Biologist's husband was on Expedition 11 and his return was not quite so happy because he wasn't quite himself anymore.

The women on their expedition, encounter various strange life forms, an interesting topography and learn that one of them may have secrets. I will leave it at that. This book is a very fast read. I read it in one sitting. The book has a creepy feel as I never quite knew if Area X was an alien environment, had nature "found a way" or perhaps turned on them, was this some strange evolution thing going on, etc. You get the picture. I had a lot of questions while reading this book that never quite got answered. Plus, one character seemed to have secrets and we never go to learn about them. This is the first book in the series and hopefully there will be some answers to the questions.

I went back and forth while thinking about rating this book. Do I give it a 3 or a 3.5-star rating? I did sit and read it in one sitting. It completely sucked me in. I enjoyed the writing and the story, but it also frustrated me as I had so many questions while reading it. Of course, the Author is not going to answer all my questions, that is what the next two books are for, but I still wanted just "something" more. I also appreciated how this book was a blending on genres: Science fiction, horror, mystery, etc.

See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com ...more

flag 107 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2014 Karl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What occurred to create Area X ? Is it an alien outpost ? Is it another dimension breaking through into ours ? The Southern Reach, the political entity in charge, is keeping it all a secret from humanity at large. Yet expeditions are put together to investigate and research it's existence. None of the previous expeditions have returned alive or have survived long after returning.

Interestingly everyone who "crosses over" must be hypnotized in order to keep them sane. The exact methodology of "cro ...more

flag 83 likes · Like · see review

Jan 30, 2014 Annet rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalyptic, dark, weird

Need to think about this one. Mixed feelings about it... still haven't made my mind up completely. but no doubt the story is exceptional...
Really intriguing, weird story, kind of a hallucination.
I liked the story concept and you keep reading, wondering what the .... is going on and how it will all end... but I did not particularly love it. Vague happenings, flat characters, and for me pages of contemplations that were not always engaging.
Still, an exceptional, creepy storyline that makes you ke ...more

flag 81 likes · Like · see review

Aug 03, 2014 Trudi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, science-fiction, horror, group-in-peril, survive-this, series, just-plain-weird, what-the-bleep, twss

Welcome to Area X. Ecologically pristine. Cut off from civilization. Hostile to humans. What lurks there? Does it have a name? Will you live to tell about what you've seen? Who will believe you?

If one can be said to "do" weird, then I don't think I do it very well. Annihilation -- the first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy -- is Weird with a capital 'W' with its roots in H.P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood. It has a post-modern mindfuck vibe as well reminiscent of House of Leaves.

That is to say, there were parts of this book that worked really well for me (especially the first half). I felt the epic creep and that twisting, squirming sense of dread of what I couldn't see, of what was lurking right in the corner of my eye. But as with most Weird fiction I've tried, there was a lot of "huh?" and a growing sense of impatience that acts like a maddening itch I can't scratch.

Ever sit on a sneeze that just won't happen for more than 15 minutes? Yeah, kinda like that. Or put another way, lots of really great, thoughtful foreplay that does not deliver on that big finish (I'm a fan of the big finish. The journey is nice and all but I need to know there is a final destination and that there will be fireworks when I get there, that this all means something. I hate ambiguity. It is not my friend).

This book is also well-written. If you are a fan of the word-smithing and an author who is in complete control of creating mood and atmosphere then this is something you might want to check out. There are scenes that practically pulse with claustrophobia and paranoia. The dread is definitely present and some of the reveals are quite shocking and satisfying. I just needed more. What should have been leading towards a crashing climax and a crescendo of realizations simply just....peters out with a whimper, instead of delivering on the bang. Did I mention how much I love the bang?

For you Weird aficionados out there and fans of the unreliable narrator (I'm primarily looking at you mark monday) you might want to give this a second look. ...more

flag 77 likes · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2018 l a i n e y rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: unreliable-narrator, mystery-thriller, très-boring, what-is-going-onnn, slump-triggering

By the time we were ready to cross the border, we knew everything... and we knew nothing

(Basically the description of yours truly’s feeling after reading the last page of Annihilation)

Ok I need a sixth sense in order to really ‘get’ this book it seems. (view spoiler) And since I unfortunately don’t have that, I cannot say I enjoyed this book more than a ...more

flag 73 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2018 Lyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Back in the 90s and early 2000s video and computer game fans were all the rave for a game called Myst. You logged in and were quietly transported to a seemingly deserted island. The POV would move around and you could find clues and then wander around some more. The artwork was impressive and slowly, tediously learning the backstory was the real fun.

I remember sitting down in front of the screen and thinking … “Ok, now what? What’s going on? What are we doing? What’s the purpose? Am I supposed t Back in the 90s and early 2000s video and computer game fans were all the rave for a game called Myst. You logged in and were quietly transported to a seemingly deserted island. The POV would move around and you could find clues and then wander around some more. The artwork was impressive and slowly, tediously learning the backstory was the real fun.

I remember sitting down in front of the screen and thinking … “Ok, now what? What’s going on? What are we doing? What’s the purpose? Am I supposed to fight something or is there treasure to find or monsters to avoid? … Can I fight something? … Is my game messed up?” Quizzically looking for instructions and turning it off and on again. “What the hell? … Hello?”

And yet, in it’s weird and original way, it was gently mesmerizing.

So we come to Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 Nebula Award winner. SF fans must be accustomed to a certain “what the hell is going on?” curiosity in the first few pages and sometimes we can be prepared for this obdurate insensibility to continue for a while. We’re speculative fiction fans, it’s in our DNA, we are looking for the Winona Ryder strange and unusual and we’re willing to say Beetlejuice three times and click our ruby slippers and shamble along the uninhabited shores of Myst for hours on end. At least for a while and then we either DNF and go find some Orcs to slay or trudge on to the end, all the while hoping for some clarity, even to the last pages.

I can see why some folks returned Myst and wanted their money back and I can appreciate much of the criticism I have seen for this work. It does not follow established paths for storylines. The writer asks a lot from his readers.

Four women from what seems to be an alternate history or near future mysterious and unexplained dystopian world go on an expedition into Area X. I’m fairly certain that Speed Racer’s brother Racer X does NOT come from this place, but that’s one of the few things of which I am certain.

There are hints that the strangely biohazard swamp was some kind of alien visitation and that made me think of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s 1972 novel Roadside Picnic where people entered the radioactive zones on clandestine missions to find alien treasure. Why is the group sent on this mission? And this is the twelfth such operation and there are oblique and disturbing references to the failed past trips into the jungle / swamp / pristine ecological system that does not play well with others.

I must say that I did very much enjoy VanderMeer’s writing and for his artfully biological prose. There seemed to be some earthy or wild description on every page, like a green tint glowing from the book. But this was not biopunk; the language is more dreamy and introspective, almost Bradburyesque in it’s style and craft.

Told from the perspective of The Biologist ( we never know the individuals' names – there is also a Surveyor, a Psychologist and an Anthropologist), which furthers the mystery of the dystopian society from which they come and heightens the otherworldliness of VanderMeer’s already strange narrative. Parts Lovecraft and parts Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, parts Philip K. Dick’s Piper in the Woods: A Short Science Fiction Novel, this is more than a journey into Swamp Thing’s lair, this is a spiritual quest from which the Biologist may not return, at least not the same as how she crossed the border.

Captivating, thought provoking, and damned if I am not reaching for the next in the series.

description

...more

flag 72 likes · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2015 Bradley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, sci-fi, biopunk

So I went to the Natural History Museum in NYC and watched a wonderful IMAX film about the wonders of the ocean world, the horrors of a living coral reef, and animals that more properly resembled plant life. One life form slowly devours another, using all the myriad tricks of evolution, from symbiosis and natural selection, to rise, unerringly, to be the top of the food chain.

I felt like I just read a SF/Horror hybrid that was just narrated by Jacques Cousteau, full of even and progressive prose So I went to the Natural History Museum in NYC and watched a wonderful IMAX film about the wonders of the ocean world, the horrors of a living coral reef, and animals that more properly resembled plant life. One life form slowly devours another, using all the myriad tricks of evolution, from symbiosis and natural selection, to rise, unerringly, to be the top of the food chain.

I felt like I just read a SF/Horror hybrid that was just narrated by Jacques Cousteau, full of even and progressive prose, leading me inexorably to a great change. I can't quite place it as either the end of a feeding or the opening sequence of a brand new symbiosis.

Either way, this was definitely an awesome Biopunk novel, and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't have won 2014's Nebula. (And it did.)

I was reminded, of course, of Ballard's Crystal World, so many of Greg Bear's novels, but especially his novel Legacy. I can't ignore Perdido Street Station either, or any of the other great bio-enhanced SF that's out there, but I'll check my nostalgia at the door right here.

I was actually very impressed at the way Ghost Bird was handled, as a character, jumping back and forth from her past to her present regularly. Mr. VanderMeer purposefully turned his characters into cyphers, placed tons of limitations on them, and then set them loose to have their own life in this horrible place, but instead of staying limited, they broke out of their bonds like little expressions of fungi and animal-like protoplasms to slither across the page in unexpected ways. Ghost Bird, herself, was like a great ocean of denial, always telling us that she was no more than her surface appearing, and yet, every step of the way, she reflected back to us a great unconscious drive that kept pounding at us until she met the lighthouse keeper, and after.

Oddly enough, I had a horrible reaction while reading this. Does anyone know the music from Clockwork Orange? The one with the ditty about "I wanna marry a lighthouse keeper and keep him company?" Well, I kept hearing that tune throughout my reading of this novel, and what a counterpoint it was. I heartily recommend finding it and listening to it a dozen times while reading or rereading the awesome trippy crawler scenes. It opened up my experience in wonderful ways. :)

Horror is absolutely not dead, and thank god for it! It's just gone underground into New Weird and SF titles. It's been a good while coming, I know, but life changes. I'm just not certain whether horror is being consumed or becoming symbiotic. Who knows? It's the same thing with me. I come away from this novel feeling a bit infested. A bit glowy. Have I jumped the fence? I don't know. Maybe I'll never know.

There is one thing that I do know, though. I have to read the two sequels. It's too good not to. ...more

flag 75 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2015 Ɗắɳ 2.☊ rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalyptic, sci-fi, horror, mind-bender

I don’t know why I was feeling so generous when I initially slapped a two-star rating on this book. Perhaps I was still riding the high of Paradise Sky, or perhaps I was willing to ignore some of my annoyance due to the brevity of the story. But whatever the case may be, it’s time to rectify that error because, overall, this was a pretty awful reading experience.

Annihilation recounts the twelfth expedition into the mysterious Area X—an ecologically devastated swampland in the southern United St I don’t know why I was feeling so generous when I initially slapped a two-star rating on this book. Perhaps I was still riding the high of Paradise Sky, or perhaps I was willing to ignore some of my annoyance due to the brevity of the story. But whatever the case may be, it’s time to rectify that error because, overall, this was a pretty awful reading experience.

Annihilation recounts the twelfth expedition into the mysterious Area X—an ecologically devastated swampland in the southern United States. All previous expeditions have gone pear-shaped in one way or another, with many explorers failing to ever return. Those that did, often reappeared in unexpected places, having been altered in some manner, with no accounting for lost time or their experiences in Area X. So as a means to provide the latest group with the best possible odds of success, they undergo an intensive months-long training regimen. Then all are hypnotized before crossing the border, due to the great difficulty previous expeditions encountered in trying to cope with the transition. They’re also directed to leave all of their personal identities behind, and keep a close watch on their colleagues for signs of mental breakdown.

The all-female team is comprised of a biologist, anthropologist, surveyor, and a psychologist—no names are ever provided. Once across the border, the investigation begins in earnest and things start to get weird . . . really, really weird. However, one of the crippling side effects of stripping the group of their identities and watching for signs of stress is that suspicion and paranoia run rampant. Can the scientist set aside their mistrust of one another long enough to make any real progress in their investigation, or will Area X continue to stubbornly cling to its secrets?

I have to admit it all sounded rather intriguing to me. Well, except for one major problem—the story is recounted by the most unreliable of unreliable narrators. So almost immediately I began to question everything. What are we to believe? Was any of this actually happening? Or was it all some crazy nightmare, or merely the ravings of a lunatic scribbling away on her notebook, sitting at her desk, staring out the window of an asylum?

“When you are too close to the center of a mystery there is no way to pull back and see the shape of it entire.” And the one we’re shrouded in here was thicker than pea soup. So much so, that I began to lose interest long before any of those big reveals began to flood in—not that there was much sense to be gleaned from them anyhow.

So here’s your litmus test. If the following phrase—which was written in a kind of living fungus on the walls of a stairwell descending into the bowels of the Earth, and repeated ad nauseam throughout the narrative—sounds fascinating to you, then by all means check it out for yourself: “Where lies the strangling fruit that came from the hand of the sinner I shall bring forth the seeds of the dead to share with the worms that…”

But just know, that I too was initially intrigued by this gibberish, which I could only assume was some thinly veiled apocalyptic metaphor. But the further the story unfolded, the more it became apparent that no satisfyingly simple answers were to be provided. Although the book just oozes atmosphere—the flora smothers, the fauna stalks, the mold spores waft, the fungus is among us—the explanation for Area X was too goofy to make the time spent within its clutches seem all that worthwhile. So if you do decide to give it a go, be prepared for a total mind-fuck. As for me, all of my mounting frustration inevitably led the mystery to feel like an exercise in futility. ...more

flag 70 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2014 Melki rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, science-fiction, thriller

The first thing I noticed on the staging level before we reached the wider staircase that spiraled down, before we encountered again the words written on the wall...the tower was breathing. The tower breathed, and the walls when I went to touch them carried the echo of a heartbeat...and they were not made of stone but of living tissue.

Four scientists embark on an expedition to Area X.

From the beginning, they view each other with suspicion and doubt; it does not help that they have been encourag ...more

flag 70 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2017 Hannah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: loved-it, sci-fi

Oh I liked this so.

I had this book on my TBR for what feels like forever and I am so glad I finally read it. Jeff VanderMeer has a brilliant imagination and the world he creates feels utterly original, startlingly so, but still grounded in something like believability.

There is not all that much to the plot: four women embarque on an expedition into Area X; they are the 12th expedition of this kind and all the ones that came before ended somewhat mysteriously. The reader never really learns what ...more

flag 70 likes · Like · see review

May 14, 2014 Will M. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, crime-mystery-thriller, 2015

Curiosity could be a powerful distraction

When the 12th expedition planned on further investigating the mysterious Area X, things started to get weird again. The team was comprised of a biologist, anthropologist, surveyor, and a psychologist. This expedition proved to be just as dangerous as the first 11. Will this one finally be the successful one, or will it be the worst one of them all?

Annihilation received a huge amount of buzz and positive feedback over the past few months. I've also bee Curiosity could be a powerful distraction

When the 12th expedition planned on further investigating the mysterious Area X, things started to get weird again. The team was comprised of a biologist, anthropologist, surveyor, and a psychologist. This expedition proved to be just as dangerous as the first 11. Will this one finally be the successful one, or will it be the worst one of them all?

Annihilation received a huge amount of buzz and positive feedback over the past few months. I've also been seeing it in bookstores lately so I finally decided to give it a try. While this one sounded a lot like Michael Crichton's Sphere, I liked Sphere a million times better than this. I'll be a bit honest and say that my liking of Sphere affected my expectations for this novel. The premise was not that different, but the execution was.

The premise was really promising. Area X seemed nothing but a mystery to me, and obviously that was what the author was trying to portray. I liked that idea, but honestly I was clueless not till the last 20% of the novel. It took me that long to finally realize what was really happening. I liked the overall plot, but I was expecting better execution.

The novel was very detailed and vivid about what it wanted to portray. One example would be;

Velvet ants and tiny emerald beetles crawled over them. The tall pines, with their scaly ridges of bark, rose on both sides, and the shadows of flying birds conjured lines between them.

The writing was really good. I can't complain about that.

The main thing that I hated about this novel would be the terrible lifeless characters. None of them was good enough to be liked. I honestly didn't care if all of them died, even the boring ass main character. While the plot was decent, the characters ruined what little left of fondness I had of the novel. I'm very glad that the next novel would have a different set of characters. I'm hoping for redemption for this trilogy.

I almost forgot to add in that the secret in the end was not that bad. I was expecting something cheesy but I liked it in a way. Not really a plot twist, but it was a good revelation nonetheless.

3/5 stars. Decent plot, really good writing, but terrible character development. I'm still giving the next novel a chance. I'm really hoping the characters would be a lot better there. ...more

flag 67 likes · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2017 Heidi The Hippie Reader rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi

A group of female scientists and professionals are sent to explore a region that is not like the world they know. Annihilation is a hypnotic science fiction/thriller that weaves its spell slowly. Then, all at once, it has your complete attention and you find yourself hanging on every word. I loved it.

Isolation from the modern world and technology places this tale in an anachronistic bubble: "One rule for an expedition into Area X was that we were to attempt no outside contact, for fear of some i ...more

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2014 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: creepy-books, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, liburrrrrry-book, read-in-2016

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

“We all live in a kind of continuous dream. When we wake, it is because something, some event, some pinprick even, disturbs the edges of what we’ve taken as reality.”

Welcome to the place that lies outside of Trump’s wall that Mexico paid for. It is known as Area X . . .

“Our mission was simple: to continue the government’s investigation into the mysteries of Area X . . . We were the twelfth expedition.”

After my failure yesterday I ...more

flag 60 likes · Like · see review

May 01, 2016 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Jarringly beautiful and horrifying. Easily my favorite book so far this year.

flag 58 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2018 Barry Pierce rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-century, read-in-2018

Annihilation is a sci-fi novel that follows a team of four women as they explore a mysterious region known as Area X. A shady company called Southern Reach is sending teams of biologists, anthropologists, linguists, architects and others into Area X to try to discover just what it is and why it has become so inhospitable. Thus far, being one of these team members has a 100% mortality rate. Just what is Area X and what is killing everyone?

This novel would be nothing without Tarkovsky's Stalker. I Annihilation is a sci-fi novel that follows a team of four women as they explore a mysterious region known as Area X. A shady company called Southern Reach is sending teams of biologists, anthropologists, linguists, architects and others into Area X to try to discover just what it is and why it has become so inhospitable. Thus far, being one of these team members has a 100% mortality rate. Just what is Area X and what is killing everyone?

This novel would be nothing without Tarkovsky's Stalker. I think the best way I can describe Annihilation is imagine a cross between Stalker and The Day of the Triffids but y'know, with women.

Despite being published in 2014, the plot and prose of VanderMeer's novel reads more like classic sci-fi than anything more contemporary. I can see John Wyndham in there, as well as Richard Matheson and Walter Tevis. It is a welcome break from the sci-fi of our era, which I find can sometimes get slightly too caught up in its own mythology.

VanderMeer imbues his novel with a thick and sooty atmosphere which only helps heighten the dank thread of dread which is taut throughout. Most of the novel could be accompanied by a shrill and prolonged note on the violin, an overwhelming build-up only broken by staccato'd reprieves of jump scare horror.

In other words, this book is a whole lot of fun.

When people saw that I was reading this novel I received a couple of messaging saying that it wasn't that great or that it's a good idea but not very well executed. Of course I understand those reservations but I personally do not agree with them. I thought this was a fine little book. To quote Ronseal: 'it does exactly what it says on the tin'. I had loads of fun reading this.

A dark and suffocating exploration of the unknown, Annihilation, like its mother Stalker, purposefully leaves the reader with more questions than answers. The first in a frankly unnecessary trilogy (I think this would work just fine as a standalone), the novel is a hark back to mid-20th century science fiction. Highly readable, quick, and fun. I enjoyed this a lot. ...more

flag 58 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2014 Carol. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of jeanette winterson, environmental exploration, the New Wierd

Shelves: sci-fi, friend-recommended, female-lead, should-buy, mindbender

"The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you."

So is it with Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Summaries do not do this book justice. Its story colonized me. It was not an invasion; it did not attack my brain, insistent that I continue reading. I was not forced by fear to discover if the hero lives. My limbic system did not spike m "The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you."

So is it with Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Summaries do not do this book justice. Its story colonized me. It was not an invasion; it did not attack my brain, insistent that I continue reading. I was not forced by fear to discover if the hero lives. My limbic system did not spike me with adrenaline until I finished. Instead, slowly, phrase by phrase, the story moved into my head. Area X edged into my imagination. The biologist’s words whispered to me. Leafy tendrils unfurled around me, gently scenting the air with greenness.

The basic plot: a biologist, a psychologist, a surveyor and an anthropologist are the twelfth team sent to explore the mysterious, primitive, Area X. Other expeditions have all gone drastically wrong, but due to an inability of technology to function in Area X, no one knows exactly how or why. In order to maintain control over the trip and the experience, the team is stripped of their personal identity, leaving only their roles to define themselves.

The biologist narrates their experience in Area X, providing a touchpoint for the reader’s conception of the world Vandermeer is working in. I found the combination of the uncertainty of the background world, the mystery of Area X and the beauty and specificity of the writing irresistible.

“I thought again of the silhouette of the lighthouse, as I had seen it during the late afternoon of our first day at base camp. We assumed that the structure in question was a lighthouse because the map showed a lighthouse at that location and because everyone immediately recognized what a lighthouse should look like. In fact, the surveyor and anthropologist had both expressed a kind of relief when they had seen the lighthouse. Its appearance on both the map and in reality reassured them, anchored them. Being familiar with its function further reassured them.“

In fact, it functioned as a lighthouse for them, adrift in Area X and from each other. The biologist is a solitary woman, and her self-containment makes a profound statement. Of course, they all are particularly isolated–there is a strange lack of emotional connection between them–but the biologist’s fascination with the creation around her sets her apart.

“The tension lifted somewhat, and we even joked a little bit at dinner. ‘I wish I knew what you were thinking,’ the anthropologist confessed to me, and I replied, ‘No, you don’t,’ which was met with a laughter that surprised me. I didn’t want their voices in my head, their ideas of me, nor their own stories or problems. Why would they want mine?“

I finally realized the deep sense of familiarity I had reading: Jeanette Winterson’s profound, substantive writing style (Lighthousekeeping) collaborating with David Quammen’s enthusiasm for biology (I really need to bump him up on the to-re-read list). Together Vandermeer has created a sophisticated blend of science fiction, vaguely ominous, reminiscent of Sheri S. Tepper mid-career. Identity, connection and environment are all major themes threading through Annihilation, themes that are often shared with the writers mentioned.

For some, the pitch-perfect writing won’t be enough to sustain them through slow plot build and even slower resolution. Like The Night Circus, this isn’t a plot-driven story as much as one based on both character and ideas, with writing that is truly well-crafted. It worked for me, yet I’m also left with the feeling that I might just want/need to read it again after finishing the final book, Acceptance. It’s that kind of story. ...more

flag 138 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Journey into the mind?	11	44	Jul 24, 2018 01:50PM
SciFi and Fantasy...: "Annihilation" Final Thoughts Spoilers	41	271	Jul 20, 2018 03:43AM
Play Book Tag: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer	4	25	Jul 06, 2018 12:47AM
Annihilation: Area X and identity	13	85	Jun 14, 2018 07:05PM
Nerds & Encrenque...: Annihilation (Março/2017)	13	37	May 19, 2018 03:57PM
The BOOK/MOVIE Club: Book #19 - Annihilation	10	63	May 01, 2018 08:03PM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Science Fiction

2,971 users

Fiction

1,910 users

Horror

1,588 users

Fantasy

754 users

Mystery

435 users

See top shelves…

About Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer

6,031 followers

NYT bestselling writer Jeff VanderMeer has been called “the weird Thoreau” by the New Yorker for his engagement with ecological issues. His most recent novel, the national bestseller Borne, received wide-spread critical acclaim and his prior novels include the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance). Annihilation won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson Awards, has been translat ...more

Other books in the series

Southern Reach (3 books)

Books by Jeff VanderMeer

City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris, #1)

Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy (Southern Reach, #1-3)

More…

Fantasy & Science Fiction Deals

$4.99 $1.99
$5.99 $2.49
$3.49 $0.99
$3.49 $0.99
$5.49 $1.99
$6.99 $1.99
$6.99 $1.99
$3.99 $0.99
$9.99 $1.99
$10.99 $2.99
$10.99 $1.99
$12.99 $3.99
$4.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$9.99 $2.99
$3.99 $0.99
$4.99 $1.99
$9.99 $1.99
$3.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$9.99 $1.99
$9.99 $1.99
$9.99 $1.99
$4.49 $1.99
$6.99 $1.99
$9.99 $2.49
$9.99 $2.99
$9.99 $2.99
$3.99 $1.99
$7.99 $1.99
$5.99 $1.99
$7.99 $2.99
$8.99 $2.49
$7.99 $1.99
$9.99 $2.99
$4.99 $1.99
$9.99 $2.49
$5.99 $2.49
$7.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.49
$3.99 $1.99
$3.99 $1.49
$4.99 $1.99
$9.99 $2.99
$4.99 $1.99
$3.99 $0.99
$3.99 $0.99
$4.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$7.09 $2.99
$4.99 $1.99
$4.99 $1.99
$3.99 $1.99
$4.49 $0.99

See All Goodreads Deals…

Trivia About Annihilation (Sou...

3 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Annihilation

“The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you.” — 152 likes

“Where lies the strangling fruit that came from the hand of the sinner I shall bring forth the seeds of the dead to share with the worms that gather in the darkness and surround the world with the power of their lives while from the dimlit halls of other places forms that never were and never could be writhe for the impatience of the few who never saw what could have been. In the black water with the sun shining at midnight, those fruit shall come ripe and in the darkness of that which is golden shall split open to reveal the revelation of the fatal softness in the earth. The shadows of the abyss are like the petals of a monstrous flower that shall blossom within the skull and expand the mind beyond what any man can bear, but whether it decays under the earth or above on green fields, or out to sea or in the very air, all shall come to revelation, and to revel, in the knowledge of the strangling fruit—and the hand of the sinner shall rejoice, for there is no sin in shadow or in light that the seeds of the dead cannot forgive. And there shall be in the planting in the shadows a grace and a mercy from which shall blossom dark flowers, and their teeth shall devour and sustain and herald the passing of an age. That which dies shall still know life in death for all that decays is not forgotten and reanimated it shall walk the world in the bliss of not-knowing. And then there shall be a fire that knows the naming of you, and in the presence of the strangling fruit, its dark flame shall acquire every part of you that remains.” — 142 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation

(Southern Reach #1)

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About Jeff VanderMeer

Other books in the series

Books by Jeff VanderMeer

Fantasy & Science Fiction Deals

Trivia About Annihilation (Sou...

Quotes from Annihilation