
’A contemporary masterpiece’ GuardianTHE FIRST VOLUME OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY – NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALEX GARLAND (EX MACHINA) AND STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC
For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border – an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness.
The Southern Reach, a secretive government agency, has sent eleven expeditions to investigate Area X. One has ended in mass suicide, another in a hail of gunfire, the eleventh in a fatal cancer epidemic.
Now four women...
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THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SOUTHERN REACH TRILOGY – NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY ALEX GARLAND (EX MACHINA) AND STARRING NATALIE PORTMAN AND OSCAR ISAAC
For thirty years, Area X has remained mysterious and remote behind its intangible border – an environmental disaster zone, though to all appearances an abundant wilderness.
The Southern Reach, a secretive government agency, has sent eleven expeditions to investigate Area X. One has ended in mass suicide, another in a hail of gunfire, the eleventh in a fatal cancer epidemic.
Now four women embark on the twelfth expedition into the unknown.
- ISBN13 9780007550715
- Publish Date 27 February 2014 (first published 4 February 2014)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 23 September 2016
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint Fourth Estate Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 208
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk
Reviews


maggiefan
I'm contemplating whether I should read the next one in the series.

HekArtemis

thepunktheory
You find my description of the plot to be confusing and - well - rather undescript? That's because the entire book is this way.
It's irritating and will leave you with a...Read more
You find my description of the plot to be confusing and - well - rather undescript? That's because the entire book is this way.
It's irritating and will leave you with a ton of unanswered questions.
Novels like that frustrate me a great deal.
The idea behind Annihilation is interesting enough. The beginning is also intriguing, so dove in, desperate to get some more info on Area X.
However, we don't know how reliable (if reliable at all) the narrator is. The story is told by the biologist who is a member of the expedition sent into Area X.
She doesn't even know herself whether what she sees is real or if she's been hypnotized (which is a thing in this book). We actually never find out what is true and was is not.
While I could sometimes relate to the biologist, I mostly found the book rather dull. That annoyed so much because the idea was so promising and many moments throughout the book had me hoping. But ultimately the novel fails to live to expectations it raises.
I really wanted to like the book, I tried to be intrigued but for every sentence that captured my interest an entire chapter of boredom followed.
Furthermore, the book kept piling up questions without answering a single one of them.

bettyehollands

ross91
There's no explanation whatsoever and I confess I decided to read the summary of the next two books just because I wanted to know what happened but didn't have...Read more
There's no explanation whatsoever and I confess I decided to read the summary of the next two books just because I wanted to know what happened but didn't have the strength to read 2 full books...
The movie trailer seems cool though!

jamiereadthis
There are a few good lines, like “Perhaps I should have left the psychologist alone, let her die without providing any answers, but I could not find that level of grace within me.”
Or, “Was it the remnants of the scientist in me, trying to regroup, trying to apply logic when all that mattered was survival?”
But without the emotional hook, they’re just that: good lines. I want the good story.

Beth C.
It's not a graceful read, but the words have a sort of rawness to them that matches the storyline. It is a fascinating read, and if I didn't have another book that I need to finish first, I would be starting immediately on the sequel to this one. Frankly, I may cave and start it anyway.

empressbrooke

Michael @ Knowledge Lost
Annihilation is the first book in the much talked about Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer; a short 200 page novel that packs a huge punch. The reader is thrown into this world and soon finds themselves with many questions; however the answers will only lead to more questions and so you will find yourself in a spiral of tension and excitement. Think Cormac McCarthy meets James Smythe; you have this thrilling and complex novel that sees four women and their impending doom.
I am hesitant in talking about this book too much because everything is shrouded in mystery and deception. I don't want to give too much away but I can say that Annihilation, on the surface, is a thrilling science-fiction novel. However as you dive deeper into the plot you will soon discover that this is full metafictional and psychoanalytical allegory that leads to a whole new type of exploration for those interested in critical reading. This is so annoying because I want to talk about this book but I don’t want to give anything away.
I have had similar issues reviewing The Explorer by James Smythe, I want to say so much more about this book but I want people to discover it for themselves. I am desperate to read Authority, followed by Acceptance but I know that reviewing them is going to be even more difficult (much like The Echo). Do yourself a favour, go out and pick up a copy of Annihilation if you haven’t done so already, but trust me when I say you will need the other two books in the Southern Reach Trilogy.
This review originally appeared on my blog: http://literary-exploration.com/2014/12/09/annihilation-by-jeff-vandermeer/