Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

9 reviews

theirgracegrace's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Annihilation starts off with a series of questions, but its ending does not answer them to incredible effect. The plot centres around an expedition of four scientists who are the twelfth expedition to a place called Area X, where a strange historical event has led to the complete removal of human civilization. What this "human civilization" is replaced with, and what the four uncover about each other, tells a harrowing tale about what it means to be human. 

I was recommended this by a friend who was into biology, and I can definitely say it was a worthy recommendation! I read it all in a handful of sittings over the course of twenty-four hours and this was because I could not put it down. Each revelation is followed by something even more tense and terrifying, and the ending leaves so much unanswered...leading nicely into a second and third book. An amazing read, all in all!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Suicide and Cursing

One of the characters uses hypnosis on the others, including a (ineffectual) command to kill themselves.

sophieamreacher's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Strange and intriguing, I just had to keep reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cancer, Gore, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Abandonment, Death, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, and Suicide

jessiejonesbentley's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Grief

karthnemesis's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

msradiosilence's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Self harm, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Suicide attempt, Violence, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content

jjjreads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Violence

maggies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

My goodness. For me, this was horror all the way through, even the parts where I lost the thread and had to backtrack and re-read to find my place again. From the beginning, I never shook off the crawling sense of dread on my skin, the back of my neck, the pit of my stomach. For such a short novel it is slow, ruminating and contemplating the past, present, and future. The few action scenes as well were focused on the narrator’s thought process such that it was difficult to tell what action had actually taken place. Considering my current mood, I enjoyed the challenge of this book, but I might not have enjoyed it at another time, and I am not sure that I will continue the series or see the film adaptation. I really had to work hard to build a mental picture of Area X based on the biologist’s descriptions, almost as though I was afflicted with some aphantasia specific to Annihilation, as I don’t recall experiencing that before. Hopefully it’s not too much of a spoiler to say that this is probably not going to be a favorite for people who need reliable, likable narrators or unambiguous endings. On the other hand, I usually gravitate towards stories with those characteristics, and I still found this one thoroughly engrossing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide

alexishill's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Abandonment

meg_elyse's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Gore, Murder, and Self harm

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide