Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

[Ellen]

The 12th expedition team, all women, arrive in the mysterious Area X to map the area's features and record their observations. The team consists of an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist and the narrator of the story, a biologist. The psychologist acts as the leader of the group, often staying behind while the others investigate the area. There is a lighthouse, an abandoned town, and a large hole in the ground with steps leading downward. The biologist refers to it as a tower and as the psychologist stays at the top, the other three descend. Shockingly, they see words on the walls, the words themselves seeming consist of mosses and lichens. The biologist believes she can feel the walls breathing and even detects a heartbeat. After their initial exploration the anthropologist becomes the first victim of the tower and what the biologist refers to as the "Crawler". The lighthouse claims another victim and paranoia claims a third. What is the secret of Area X?

Considering I am not a sci-fi fan, this story wasn't too bad. It's the first in a trilogy and I just might have to read the next 2 as well.

[Nicole]

The second book in this series had me up at night, terrifying! Good books though. Movie doesn’t really align.