Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)

by Jeff VanderMeer

Our expedition was the first to enter Area X for more than two years,

Some reviewers have referenced the “forbidden zones” of the classic Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers, which was also made into the movie Stalker. But I was primarily influenced by the idea of expeditions into the unknown in the real world. Indeed, these continue in the twenty-first century–for example, this expedition in China. North Florida isn’t remote in that way–it’s riddled through with small towns, but it’s still possible to feel like you’re embedded very far in the wilderness.