Review of Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Read for: Borrowed Books

Synopsis: "Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third 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 weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The 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, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—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: I have heard a lot about this book and the movie that came out a couple of years ago is intriguing, so I finally picked it up from the library. I listened to the audio book while reading the print copy as I usually have a hard time wrapping my head around the concepts in Sci-Fi. This book was so odd and obscure but yet rather enjoyable. The descriptions of what the character encountered were so vague that you aren't forced to try to picture what the author puts on paper but lets your mind wander and form your own ideas. I found it very odd that we never get to know the names of anyone in the books, simply what their roles are in the story. It was such an unusual reading experience, it was enjoyable and fast moving, the pages kept turning because I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

My Rating: This was so out of my realm but I still found it super intriguing and rather enjoyable.  I found it odd that we never get any names and that just added to the level of weirdness.  I don't think I will continue with the series but it was still a fun step outside my comfort zone and a perfect read to get me in the creepy weird mood for Halloween.  I give it a rating of Three Paws.