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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!
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!
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._nem_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
There are so many questions left at the end of the book, especially with reading the synopsis of the second book. I'll definitely be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ravensandlace's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Title: Annihilation
Author: Jeff VanderMeer
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: ebook from Libby
Series: Southern Reach (#1)
Star Rating: 4 stars
tw: intimate partner violence recounted, suicide & attempted suicide discussed, alcohol consumption, blood & gore depiction, including physical injuries, dead bodies, terminal cancer recounted, hospital mentioned, death of a husband recounted, murder, gun violence, mind control & loss of autonomy (theme), animal attack
Note: When I read this book, I was in the process of moving. I lost the little notebook that contained my trigger warnings so I used the trigger warnings provided by the trigger warning database (https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/). Be sure to go check them out as they do an amazing job making sure trigger warnings are accounted for. They have hundreds of books on there.
Ever since I saw the movie, I have been dying to read this book. I was curious as to how different it would be from the movie. I hadn’t heard a lot of buzz about the books so I was curious. Because the movie is one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s right up there with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Sinister. That bear scene though, if you know you know. And don’t even get me started on the soundtrack. I haven’t heard anything better since I played Destiny.
This book was like nothing I’ve ever read. It was truly a unique experience. First off, no one in the book had a name at all. Absolutely no one. It was strange and took some time to get used to. The main character was a biologist, hence her name was biologist. There was also an anthropologist, a surveyor, and a psychologist. But surprisingly, it was not hard to keep up with who was who. I really thought it added another layer to this novel, it made it stand out. It didn’t let me get too close to the characters, which was actually nice.
One of the downfalls of this book was there was science. I mean, a lot of science. There were a lot of scientific terms. The biologist is very passionate about being a biologist so there were times when she would just talk about the biology of something and use so many scientific terms. I am not a science person. I’m more of a history gal. There was one part of the book where the team comes across something (I won't say what because of spoilers) but it suddenly becomes all about the biology of said thing. It took me out of the story a bit because I had no idea what they were talking about. I ended up skimming that part, which was detrimental to me because that thing ended up being pretty important later on.
Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be but it ended up being a welcome surprise. I will most certainly be continuing with this series and I’ve even found an absolutely gorgeous set of books I will purchase (or I can add them to my Amazon wishlist in case anyone likes me enough! Kidding!). Also, be on the lookout for a movie/book comparison post, as soon as I get around to watching the movie again. Because while there were similarities, there was also some pretty big differences too. Overall, though, I highly recommend both this book and the movie.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, and Alcohol
keegan53's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is the kind of book that makes you stop, ask yourself “what the heck did I just read”, and reread the sentence. I mean this in the best possible way. Annihilation is such a mind-bending story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Sexual content, Self harm, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, and Suicide
A note on the body horror:msradiosilence's review
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
rickvsthebooksagenda's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, and Cancer
mosshaunt's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sometimes i found the text confusing, and either too detailed or not detailed enough, but i feel that is the most appropriate way to experience the world of area x, in the same way the biologist is compelled into it.
would i say it is incredible? no. but because of its flaws, i loved it.
sidenote: multiple major characters are confirmed to not be white in the sequel, but it is not brought up in this book at all.
would i say it is incredible? no. but because of its flaws, i loved it.
sidenote: multiple major characters are confirmed to not be white in the sequel, but it is not brought up in this book at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Body horror
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Sexual content
kinddog2073's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Read this because I loved the film based on it that came out a few years ago and have rewatched it several times. I didn't know much of what to expect going in, but had read Hummingbird Salamander a few months ago and found that there was much to recognise in the tone and attitude of the narrator towards the reader. Vandermeer likes narrators that hold back information, at least between these two novels. This book landed better than Hummingbird Salamander for me, mostly due to it being far less hopelessly nihilistic. I suppose Vandermeer might be feeling a bit less hopeful about climate crisis recently... can't blame him for that really.
The themes in this book felt a lot more relatable to me, regarding assimilation and especially guardedness in relationships. Hummingbird Salamander had far fewer relatable elements in it for me, perhaps aside from the paranoia of the narrator as a security researcher.
The themes in this book felt a lot more relatable to me, regarding assimilation and especially guardedness in relationships. Hummingbird Salamander had far fewer relatable elements in it for me, perhaps aside from the paranoia of the narrator as a security researcher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, and Animal death
mossgoblins's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Annihilation feels like a hallucination in the best way. Although there is little focus on the characters outside of their archetypes, VanderMeer’s calculated use of language and gorgeous, terrifying worldbuilding make the book a joy for any surrealist horror fan to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Murder, and Body horror
savvy999's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow. Quietly, hauntingly, beautiful and luminescent, this novel scratches at the window trying to get in begging to take up residence and by the end you have opened the door halfway, waiting for it to step foot inside. You turn to walk down the hall, and it is already beside you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Alcohol