Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) in Beyond Reality

Feb 22, 2014 Jason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2014, e-books

5 Stars

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer is a trip to the unknown “Area X” told by the master of the new weird. Vandermeer is one of my favorite authors and Finch one of my all time favorite novels period. He writes fantasy, the new weird, where things are not always what they seem and the unusual will be the ordinary. This book is no exception to that only it is done with a light touch. Like in his Ambergis series the setting itself ‘Area X’ is a character in of itself. Although it does not reach 5 Stars

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer is a trip to the unknown “Area X” told by the master of the new weird. Vandermeer is one of my favorite authors and Finch one of my all time favorite novels period. He writes fantasy, the new weird, where things are not always what they seem and the unusual will be the ordinary. This book is no exception to that only it is done with a light touch. Like in his Ambergis series the setting itself ‘Area X’ is a character in of itself. Although it does not reach the level of the city of Ambergis, to me, maybe the coolest fictional city ever built by pen, it does give this novel it’s incredible feel and sets up to be the center for additional books in this The Southern Reach trilogy.

Ok, to describe what Annihilation is, I compare it to a TV show and a movie maker. First, it is a novel about a group of scientists that are charged with trying to map out, record, and uncover the mysteries of ‘Area X’. These professionals are chosen and trained by the Southern Reach…think, The Dharma Initiative. They than insert the group of scientists into ‘Area X’…think, The Island of Lost. So much of this book plays out as did the amazing television series Lost, the mysteries, the back story, and the relationships. Now imagine Hayao Miyazaki penning a story that takes place on a beach. It has a lighthouse, an ocean and of course a hole in the ground. There are strange plants and animals. Things are not as they might first appear. Colors are significant and meaningful and more. Couple all this with mystery after mystery. People with no names. Psychological warfare, philosophical debate, and even more questions than answers…All of this being told by a master story teller Jeff Vandermeer. Now you can get a sense of what this book and this series is about without me actually telling you anything and giving away nothing.

Simply incredible.

As our biologist said in this book….

“I am aware that all of this speculation is incomplete, inexact, inaccurate, useless. If I don’t have real answers, it is because we still don’t know what questions to ask. Our instruments are useless, our methodology broken, our motivations selfish.
* * *
There is nothing much left to tell you, though I haven’t quite told it right. But I am done trying anyway…”

To sum it up —-
Vandermeer one of my all time favorites…
Cool ass setting.
Incredible writing.
And oh what a mystery!!!

Get it!!! ...more

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Jun 30, 2015 Tomislav rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, 5-stars, fantasy

This is the first volume of New Weird writer Jeff Vandermeer's 2014 Southern Reach trilogy.

Because I was riding on an airplane and later on a coach bus, and because the book is relatively short, I was fortunate to be able to read it in essentially one session. That is a good thing in a work like this, because it is set in a continuously mysterious and irrational place - Area X - and involves mysterious and untrustworthy characters - anthropologist, psychologist, surveyor, and first person perspe ...more

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Jun 16, 2014 Kelly Flanagan rated it it was amazing

one of the best books I've read in a dog's age! But we all know Jeff VanderMeer rocks! ...more

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Mar 18, 2018 Izzie rated it liked it

Shelves: adult, up-for-review, sci-fi, mystery-thriller

Um, wow. Okay. Review to come.

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Aug 01, 2014 Brian rated it really liked it

Shelves: cc-recommends

A fun and engaging read. Reminded me a lot of the show Lost. There were some people. There was a hole in the ground. I really don't know what was going on. But I enjoyed it anyway. I'll definitely pick up the next one in the series. ...more

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